This Castle Combe meeting is tagged the Grand National for a good reason. Not only is there the full NG series, but also the 250 GP ACU National… King of Combe National… FSRA F2 National Sidecars, and the National Historic Lansdowne series. Only at a BSB meeting will you see riders chasing more British championship titles.
There is more though with static and on track displays of special machinery, BSB teams and riders and bikes celebrating the 50
th Anniversary of the 1965 500 mile D’Endurance, with legendary rider Dave Degens on track.
The Circuit.
Castle Combe as we know is one of the longest established short circuits in the UK with meetings dating back to the 1950’s. All the greats on two and four wheels have raced here, from John Surtees, through Mike Hailwood to Carl Fogarty. Combe is fast… very fast… and very flat, and known to be bumpy in places, so a well-set-up bike is essential. Suspension and traction are key to a fast lap…. and that allied to a bit of bravery !!. On a map it looks straightforward but any racer will say "...it is far from it !".
The Fastest.
BSB Superbike rider Joe Burns set the fastest NG Road Racing lap here at last years meeting on his JG Speedfit ZX10R Kawasaki. He hustled the big ZX10 round in 1min 10.91 seconds.... That’s an average speed of 93.92mph……. Believe me when I say… “…….that will take some beating !!!!!”
The Phoenix Open and “Mr Blast” King of Combe.
Phoenix Motorcycles from Trowbridge support the Open, and Mr Blast the King of Combe, all the fastest riders will be battling it out for one of the prize funds in the country. Combe has never been kind to NG Superbike champ Phil Bevan so he will be very wary of the challenge from Dan Cooper who returns from a fantastic fortnight at the Isle of Man TT, and BSB 600 Evo podium regular Josh Day. There are a host of other potential front runners including Roo Cotton, Dale Thomas, Chris Pope on his new R1 and BSB Superstock runners Forrest Dunn, and Dale Thomas.
The 250 GP ACU National Championship.
These former 250cc world championship spec machines are pure race bikes and are designed with one thing in mind, to race, and this is the best place to see them. Former champ Ant Hodson heads the grid, along with former champ Daniel Jackson, but we also have proven 250 winners Dave Hampton, Darrell Higgins and Scott Pitchers on the grid and looking for points and podiums.
The Lansdowne Historic Series.
Mike Edwards is the pick of the entry for this prestigious Bonhams backed series on his 500 Ripley Land Matchless, but keep an eye out for Chris Firmin on his Molnar Manx and Peter Crew on the Manx Norton who runs in the Lansdowne Cup
The FSRA National F2 Sidecars.
With many crews returning from the Isle of Man TT to compete here, who can get back into short circuit mode quickest? Expect Alan Founds and Tom Peters to be up front on the PME LCR Suzuki although Steve and Matty Ramsden, Ian and Carl Bell along with NG regulars Sean Reeve and Mark Wilkes will be aiming for podiums.
Ones to watch.
The Open and GP classes may be viewed by some as the premier classes, but some of the best and closest racing comes in the NG classes. The 600 Open class will one of the toughest to win with defending champ Max Symonds fighting to hold off a revitalised, Sean Montgomery plus Dale Thomas, James Harrison and Mark Hughes. The Thunder class will see Peter Carr and David Irons along with Ben Broadway and Sam Thompson. Meanwhile there are also classes for Mini Twins and Super Twins, F400’s, 500’s. GP 450’s, 125’s, Streetstocks and pre Injections, so what ever sort of racing whets your appetite, you will see them out on track.
But as I said earlier this Castle Combe meeting sees so much more, both on and off track than you regular run of the mill race meeting… There is so much more besides… Settle-back on the spectator banking and enjoy!!!…..tell them I sent you !!