Transatlantic trophy

[SteveG]

Does any one remember the Transatlantic trophy series of the eighties ?

Every easter time there'd be a three race event, I think it was Brands on the good Friday, Mallory on the Saturday and then Oulton on the Monday. :bow:

Watchin' the likes of Sheen,Grant & Haslam racing Shwantz,mamola & roberts. :lick:

did we ever win ? :dunno:

http://www.superbike-racing.co.uk/Gallery/TransAtlantic/TransAtlantic_01.htm

 

[BlackBirdBaz]

Does any one remember the Transatlantic trophy series of the eighties ?

Every easter time there'd be a three race event, I think it was Brands on the good Friday, Mallory on the Saturday and then Oulton on the Monday. :bow:

Watchin' the likes of Sheen,Grant & Haslam racing Shwantz,mamola & roberts. :lick:

did we ever win ? :dunno:

http://www.superbike-racing.co.uk/Gallery/TransAtlantic/TransAtlantic_01.htm

Loved it, bring it back. :yo: :bow:

 

[BlackBirdBaz]

.......... Mind you, some ugly buggers on that Hall of Fame :rant:

 

[duncan]

started in the seventies I think even Cal Raybourn had a go ,and yes we won loads

 

[Punchy]

started in the seventies I think even Cal Raybourn had a go ,and yes we won loads

Yes Duncan Cal Rayborn did indead take part in 1972/73 and despite all and sundry taking the piss out of his Harley (Yes you heard correctly a Harley Davidson) he won three races and came second in the other three. The USA team in 1973 were Cal (capt), Mert Lawwill, Doug Sehl, Gary Nixon, Yvon Du Hamel, Art Baumann, Ron Grant and Dave Aldana. The UK team was Paul Smart (capt), Barry Sheene, John Cooper (moon eyes), Peter Williams, Tony Jeffries, Percy Tait, Mick Grant and Dave Potter
My local bike club have guest speakers every so often. One of the last we had was Percy Tait the ex factory test rider, I took along the programme from the 1973 match races and got his signature.

:-:

 

[Gerrard]

Transatlantic.

Remember the 80s racing well but not the 70s........Bloody great.
Why did it stop ?.....Ah the good old days.
Zippo.

 

[Picquet]

Oh yes.

In 1976, I got married on the 17th April (Sat)
On the Sunday I took my new Musses to Brands to watch the racing.(we are still married-to each other).
Me and a group of mates went for several years to Oulton and Mallory not so often to Brands as money was tight. One year we hired a VW caravanett, I remember it did about 15 mpg. It cost us a weeks wages in petrol.
Ah those were the days !!!

:} :} :} :} :} :}

 

[russ_fae_fyvie]

Ah the good ol days !
Did anyone else used to get into Oulton park in the boot of their mates cars cos we couldn't afford to get in !!
Once my mate parked his car, we sneaked out of the boot and by the looks of it there were heaps of others doing the same !!

Great mammories, oops, thats another story !!

 

[D@ve C.]

Fun days, ace racing, future stars, every one of them were gods.
remember it like it was yesterday. Bank hol Monday Oulton Park. those where the days......

 

[Punchy]

Remember the 80s racing well but not the 70s........Bloody great.
Why did it stop ?.....Ah the good old days.
Zippo.

As I remember the series was started by the Triumph/BSA factory pushing sales of the 750cc triples in the USA. In the first races in the series all the riders raced the Trident based machines. As the factory slowly went under and finances were restricted other makes slowly made their appearance.

One thing I do remember is that riders in those days rode in several classes at the same race meeting including the grand prix events especially the 125 and 250's. The 350 class has long gone but the likes of Hailwood, Ago and co used to double up in the 350 and 500 classes.

 

[kenmini]

transatlantic

i go back to yvon du hammel, dave croxford barry ditburn, top blokes all of them

 

[Duck n Dive]

Yep... regular easter pilgrimage was that series :bow: :yo:

 

[kenmini]

transatlantic

i tnink that Ditchburn was on the Ted broad yamaha, mick grant on the kwack, dave croxford on the norton with peter williams, someone on a tripple triumph called slipery sam,

 

[kenmini]

just read that back, i meant that pete williams & dave croxford were on nortons (not the same norton) & slippery sam was the name of the bike not the bloke:yo: c7u8

 

[Steve66]

I remember the 1973 series, it was the first time I'd been to Brands . As I recall Cal Rayborn was in the US team on a Harley, sadly he was killed later that year in New Zealand. 1973 was a tragic year for motorcycle racing with the loss of Cal, Jarno and Renzo.

 

[Dibbler]

I used to go to oulton park in the 80's.

I seem to remember they all rode two stroke 500/750's, apart from one guy, who used to ride a huge great GS1000S with flat bars and a deep 4stroke roar. Was his name Crosby?

He never won, as I saw, but I thought he was the coolest guy on the planet at the time! :-0)

 

[Vinterceptor]

Brilliant racing :yo: :yo: :yo:

The transatlantic Trophy was the meaning of easter for me and my brother (rip Mick), started going in 1975 or 76 when we were 17 & 18. We would go to Mallory and then onto Oulton Park him on his CB400 4 and me on the CB500T and camped over. Was brilliant, the hey bales always provided plenty of heat energy and the officials never prevented it. Was magic to awake early on an easter monday to the rythmic reving of the 2 stroke engines getting blipped in the paddock, then the bacon & egg brekky with the wafting smell of 2 strokes.... what a top event it was and it was always sunny on easter monday. Along with a good full race programme. I emmigrated in 82 so didn't go to anymore after that
When did the event finally finish & why?

Have got loads of poor quality photo's of the transatalantics in a box in the loft....must dig em out again.

Anyone remember a racer called Steve Baker hitting our shores, he won just about everything.

:yo: :yo: top event!

 

[Vinterceptor]

I used to go to oulton park in the 80's.

I seem to remember they all rode two stroke 500/750's, apart from one guy, who used to ride a huge great GS1000S with flat bars and a deep 4stroke roar. Was his name Crosby?

He never won, as I saw, but I thought he was the coolest guy on the planet at the time! :-0)

Yeah Graham(sp) Crosby, I thought he was on a Moriwaki Kawasaki or maybe that was later? he certainly made a name for himself, was a bloke on a Laverda Jota at the same time although I can't remember his name.... was an orange one.

 

[karlos2000]

two things that brought back memories

yvon du hammel <<<<< he was the guy who they said of in MCN once "spends more time on the floor that on the bike" and I totally pissed myself as a kid when I read that. And the other thing someone mentioned was "hiding in the boot", which sadly we still did as a family up until the 90's, not out of need, more because we just could. I had my wife & 2 kids in the boot once at Cadwell and people simply pissed themselves when they emerged ........ I'm not not sure the response would be the same today :dunno:
and Mark Phillips is still around, he now has a bike clothing shop on the A46 just outside Lincoln. Seems to be doing well ......... unlike the Indian Restaurant next door on the same site that's up for sale .........

 

[kenmini]

steve baker what a top bloke, i used too go to brands & mallory but not to oulton, great racing from men of steel, i'm just wondering how many of us wish we could still fit in our leathers & didnt have kids that take up all of our incomeb0x1 :violin: