Ladies and gentlemen, it’s MICK GRANT!

5 x British Championships, 5 x NW200 Wins, 7 x TT winner, Yorkshire legend Mick Grant joins us for the first of three hour-long shows looking back at the career of one of our most successful homegrown riders. From humble beginnings to a career that spanned road racing and Grand Prix, it’s a fascinating journey. Sit back, relax and enjoy!

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Hello welcome to off track the motorcycle racing podcast I’m your host Dave Neil welcome to lace B Manor thank you so much to Roger benett for vacating his office for us but I’m delighted to say five times British champion five times Northwest 200 winner seven time TT

Winner the legend is Mick Grant Mick welcome to off track it’s a pleasure to be here we’ve done this once already haven’t we guess who forgot to Fresh record on the new microphones I’m getting good at this it’s becoming a running joke on the podcast now that we

Do forget to turn the microphones on now and again because we keep changing the technology and upgrading the technology to make the audio better and then I forget so now we know it’s recording thank you for your patience M we only got 30 seconds in yeah we we did start

At 7 o’clock this morning and it’s now it’s now quarter to two so we’re getting there eventually as we said we’re at La be Mana a fantastic Place we’ve had lunch together with Roger and how much we enjoyed that the food’s fantastic here it’s just nice to get in this area

A good restaurant because it’s you can get Pub grub I mean I’ve been in Lincolnshire from West Yorkshire I’ve been over here now 18 years and the the only thing I dislike about the place is you can’t get good food but Roger is providing it and and it’s only just new

And it’s new facility but I’m going to be coming on a regular basis I tell you he’ll be overjoyed to hear that be some stories then to be caught up absolutely yeah let’s start at the beginning how did you get involved in ccle racing as

The son of a a West yor Minor um I got a palot Chris Bradley we grew up together in the same Village in middlestown and his father um used to be a member of the W field and District motor club and we used to he used to take us out on a

Sunday to watch trials and Motocross and wherever else and this particular weekend we went to scarver to Oliver’s Mount which is obviously it’s had a very special place for me because that’s where I got my enthusiasm to go racing and the funny thing is that when I was

Doing an art college course to teach a training course and my parents because they were working class they wanted me to have something better and the pushed me into doing this and I couldn’t see I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel I was just going through a

Process and it was a horrible dark time and then I saw some at scabra and suddenly there’s a light at the end of the tunnel thank God and I’ve chased that light all my career and I just feel sorry for kids now that don’t you know

That don’t know what they want to do because I went through that and if I hadn’t have had motorcycle racing I don’t know where I’d have finished up at you started quite late as well didn’t you and you look at the Modern way of doing it you you were a fairly late

Starter I was but you know I’ve always had this theory that I I think now I I would argue that maybe kids have being started too early because you have your common sense bit around about 25 to about 32 and really I think he should be

Running he should be getting kids to be at the best around about that time and I started I mean I was at my very best at 32 years old um so yeah how did the the the fascination with the TT come about he started early

Um on the Norton and then moved on to um to the TT side of things with Kawasaki and um and Slippery Sam in the early days as well tell me about the fascination with the TT because that’s where it kind of all kicked off for you

Was it listen if if you enjoy riding the racing motorbikes you would love riding around the Alabama I remember when agustini suddenly blacked it because of you know because of safety reasons I remember the year before I was going up Craig Willis Hill not as quick as he was

By his stretch and he passed me on the MV austa in in in a practice and he was on the back wheel all the way up there and he did that for one reason he was enjoying it if you enjoy riding motorbikes you’ve got to ride the IR man

And I can’t I can see from the safety point of view why people wouldn’t do it um but at that age safety is not that important it’s more important to fill full fill what you want to do and I’ve always enjoyed I’ve enjoyed the mixture of racing on roads out

Circuits I mean let’s be honest every time I went to the AL man I’ve always been conscious of being safe and I say to myself and I’m going over there no you’ll be careful do you’ll be coming back in a box you’ll get to the average

As ask the average guy on the Monday morning to go to work and say to himself now look you’ll be careful don’t you be back on on on in a box we aren’t quite right the special road races are a special but thank God we aren’t yeah well that that’s right because that’s

What gives us the TT isn’t it it’s Riders like yourselves over the years and to the modernday riders that go over they are something different and and it it it is for me it is it’s almost gladitorial yeah in in the the feeling that you get for the the writers that do

The CT and you all did it and do it because you want to not because you have to that’s right and it’s you know whether you’re riding around the short circuit of brown Z which takes 50 o seconds or around the TT which takes best about 20 minutes or he used to

Do the the the the actual pleasure you get from actually being on a bike being in control and just doing everything absolutely perfectly well you never actually achieved that but getting near to that is a is a fabulous feeling tell me about the early days of going over

There and getting used to the the TT Circ oh well the first time I did the M’s Grand Prix in 1968 and had no money I’d left out College I was then taking laboring jobs just to to feed the motorcycle habit and I got an old velocet 500 which is basically a road

Bike and I needed to go and look at the TT because obviously 38 miles round it needs a bit of learning and I have the word wor memory in the world always ever I got it from my father he a crap memory so I got to go over a few weeks before

And record the place I borrowed him a Vincent thousand off a Palam mine and the big end was rattling so it wasn’t going to go that far and I took me took me wife cattle with me and we we that with no money I mean no money so the first night we

Stayed we got sleeping bags and we slept in hedge bottom going to up towards bagary and my M complained like hell that you know she didn’t want to do that and so the the second night we slept on the beach at Ramsey on the Pebbles it was really comfortable and the following

Morning I said out now then I felt really pleased with myself did you enjoy that she said I couldn’t sleep a week couldn’t sleep a win she said I right to the Sea coming and washing us away you know but we just didn’t have any money

Um and it you know later on when I was running teams you get DS DS coming with the motor HS and the kids got little monkey bikes and whatever and they’re saying you know just go and watch M Jimmy because he’s going to be world champion and I think well hang on a

Minute that that kid’s having it so easy that when the time get as you get further up the ladder it actually does get harder once it gets hard the W what’s hit him you know you’ve I think the the beauty about people from I’m sound I can write all fat now

But people from my era we we didn’t have it easy we didn’t have the sponsorship we have now you got to you got to actually got to work work for it and earn it and as things get harder I think you cope with it better I would agree

And it I mean times have changed and sometimes not for the better in terms of when you say as you rightly say with the some of the younger ones today they’re six and seven years old they’re on metricate bikes they’ve motor homes with slide outs and all of a sudden when when

The going gets tough and and I guess m that’s sort starting later in life at 24 was it 24 25 whatever when you somewhere around there I wasn’t I wasn’t very old when you were at that age I was in long pants you was in long pants to start

Unlike some nowadays it’s still in short pants um you have a a finer appreciation for when things do get tough when you do have to to scrimp and save to go racing and to chase that light that you spoke about yeah yeah you have a a not saying that everybody’s but some there’s

There’s sometimes an era of entitlement and expectation these days which sometimes when the going gets to off he like don’t want to do that everything’s been handed to me so far why do I have to work for it so I think that the the highs were higher then as well because

You’d had to work your way through it sleeping on the beach with Carol and hedge bottoms all when you start getting to stay at the sefon and places like that it’s like we we’ve done it this is what we did yeah yeah which gives you a greater

Appreciation I think it does and yeah I’ve no and when I started as well I had a road going vet it was actually mid road bik going to college on and I couldn’t afford a G50 or a manks nor so I just pulled the lights off it and and and put made a

Little fancy racing seat for it and went racing that and although it wasn’t really competitive it actually did me it actually got me a bit of sponsorship because the bike didn’t look quick and I’m sort of sort of to the top end of a National Field beating people on better bikes and it

Was actually better than being on a mans hor or something that was capable of winning and finishing first or second you got better recognition for it it happens a lot doesn’t it if you look in in Grand Prix racing over recent years Casey Stoner when he was on the

LCR he it was a difficult B to ride but those that knew knew absolutely and that’s the important thing sometimes the fans don’t understand everything that go on because there’s so much goes on behind the scenes but those who know could see what you were doing on the

Machinery you were doing it on it’s like the school boy dad that comes up and say come and look at my Jimmy when Jimmy’s ready for being taken into a team the people that know will actually go and see the school boy dad until then they’re doing a good job it’s right

Sometimes it’s better to wait for the teams to come to you keep doing your job keep your head down keep bringing the results in people aren’t daed there’s eyes everywhere absolutely and I think they’re the ones that that go about the business quietly and then just say

You’ve been a team manager you’ve been in the same situation and and it does make a difference but I I guess where from from the vet where did you go from there how how did it progress from there well from there there’s a lovely fellow called Jim Lee who um for people that

Remember my helmet Des would be JL on it and that was Jim Lee’s motive from his business Jim was a it was larger than a life character you go into a a restaurant on the night and he’d laugh louder than anybody and he was that infectious with his laugh that everybody

In the restaurant had laugh with him you know and he was a brilliant engineer and he had a business called racing components he would make um petal tanks frames we made a lot of frames for dalesman um love little story with Jim there’s a guy called Harry Thompson who had Suzuki and

Harut and Harry would come in every now and again and have some clipons or some fuel tank made and this particular time I was actually there and he came to see Jim he said Jimmy said he says there’s a lovely little fell wanting to buy a bike

Of me he says he’s a grand little fell I can’t think of anybody in in Isa he says but he’s got a bit of an Affliction I want you to make me attack a little bit different so it fits him better so Jim did it made the tank

Anyway three or four weeks later Ari came back in again and um Jim said hey he said um how did that grand little fell go with the um the tank I made for you he said the wrotten little unch back in never PID me dear those were the days dear

Fantastic to get away with but that going back to going back to Jim he was he came I used to go to the battle motorcycle club what the padet were and everyone which which was another part of it and Jim came to me and just said I want you to come and

Work for me I we’ll we’ll we’ll build you a racing bike and it was just the most amazing thing ever happened to me because until then I’ve been working I was working in a a carpet Factory in battley driving a forklift truck and doing night shifts or horrible stuff and

To actually go and work in a business making racing bike bits and giving the bike to ride I couldn’t believe it and that that’s where it started from where did you go on from there to take it to the to the next level right well what happened with

Jim was that we ran first of all we ran 350 Mr then we had a Go star and an nor Commando all which we did quite well with but the problem was we were developing bikes rather than actually racing bikes and padet were just a few miles down the

Road and were Arch enemies of Jim almost as as a business they offered me the right so reluctantly I left gym and went to padet and we riding production bikes which was a lot lot easier and I went that from there I went we we got we can

Go into the padet thing if you want them whatever but I got a chance then to write for jum BL Orton um and it just it just went on from there really tell me the padet story this is all about you mate oh Cy well we yeah okay

So Peter badget lovely fell have a lot of time for him but they are quite hard business people and I remember we went to the I went to the te maybe 70 71 72 and I finished third on the 500 caki behind agustini and um is it bergamonte or

Somewhat on the two MV gusts and I finished third in the 350 race behind ago and Tony Rutter anyway we we came back and um the following week had no wage I said Peter where’s where’s my wage he said NAD he says you’re on holiday I said no I said

They working for you he said no no you’re on holiday so I said well you’ll pay me you put me stamp on the M thing no you’re on holiday so and and the deal at that time was they they would provide the bike I I pay it for tires change

Enter fees whatever and we we split the money 50/50 well between the two third places then got 600 Quid so I actually said to Peter said by this time I’m really getting bit pissed off with him so I said look I owe you 300 quid is that right he said yeah that’s

Right so we don’t get and that was the end of it which was it was sad really because don’t get me wrong I mean as as a denti they’ve been fantastic um but Peter were just pushing too hard and in actual fact we we we we s of came around

A bit after that and at the time I was leading the 350 and 500 British championships and I agreed to do although I left the I left them I agreed to do the remaining rounds of the Championships and uh yeah I finished winning the 351 um and the 500 the final round was

That’s Ned in the bike seesar I didn’t win that one um you know but we we were still good friends and friends after that but in a racing situation if it had just been a bit easier it would life would have been happier so it it makes it difficult Racing’s difficult enough

Yeah without throwing the financial angle in as well yeah yeah because as as you said right at the beginning yeah when when you don’t have a lot to start with yes and then you’re not having the return of something that you’re expecting a little sour taste problem

And the problem is that I’m I’m not the sharpest knife of the Box b a stretch of the imagination but I KN that your productive time as a racer is quite limited so you you can’t have any holdups and remember we halfway through the season and I’ve been winning the

Doubles everywhere because the bites were good and you know that was fairly handy and um just before the TT I got the phone call from uh uh Frank Paris who was the N jum play Norton team boss would I like to go down and discuss signing a contract U because what I

Happed the got Peter Williams and Phil Reed and put out Tony Rutter well for whatever reason Tony couldn’t get on with the bike so they sort of sacked him and they wanted a third ride or him so they looked at me so I went into padet really excited one morning with the

Telegram as they were then Peter Peter I’ve got I’ve got a chance of a worked ride and Peter said to me he said if you ride on that he says there’s more ass and Saddles you’ll have to you know you not be you not must ride my bikes again

Anyway I went down to Norton and signed a contract and and I was aware at that stage and it’s quite interesting it just I’ve always been lucky um thank God and what actually happened was that I got my contract with Norton that was 1,200 quid for the second half of the

Year there were only three bikes we didn’t have any spare bikes so the deal with Frank peris was if one of the bikes broke that pinch my bike but in that condition I could actually ride Me 3 50 Yamaha okay which have been given to me

It gets a bit confusing now but John Cooper who had a lot to thank for Jon said to me just as I’m leaving padet he just won a big race in Ontario with like a lot of money a lot of the quite expensive wins that time and jonet said to me I’ve just

Bought a 250 350 Yama brand new take them and pay me when you could when you can afford it and I’ve always been brought up if you can’t afford it you don’t do it so I wasn’t ke to qu a long story short I agreed to do it and um so

Me 350 every time the Norton broke I could rrive me Yamaha which was actually more competitive than the Norton um and at the end of the and the the 250 and 350 Jon had paid 2,200 for the pair of them which do sound a lot of money lot

Lots of money about then and um at the end of the year with with the jump £1,200 and me winnings I went to coup with a water not like that 2,200 and really I never looked back from that I was I was up and away then

Because I then got I got my own private bikes and it was a wonderful time because you could I could go to BR AR o Park I could do the odd meeting in at Grand Prix in Asen or hoenheim or Monza or where I wanted to go you just went

Wherever you wanted and if you went and did a Grand Prix if you’re one of the if you’re the fastest 40 in the world you got on the grid it was just amazing I mean now it’s a closed shop uh it wasn’t then and a

Lot a lot better A lot a lot better the world was at your feet wasn’t it at that point yeah you knew then that this is this is It’s not that you’d made it but this is now where the work begins yeah because we’re on the ladder where the

Lights a little bit brighter yeah and this is where we go yeah yeah so tell me tell me about the times going to to the Grand pris and and riding across Europe coming out of the UK for the first time probably we did the race of the year and

Things and brown atch and the Grand Prix guys I could more or less certainly hold my own and beat most of them because I didn’t realize at the time that racing short circuit in England wasn’t like Grand PRI were then Grand PRI then were all fast circuits and the

First grum Prix I went to hawan and I finished 10th and I was that disappointed and embarrassed I never went and pick M money me prize money up I was embarrassed looking back it was a good result to be one of the 10th fastest Riders 10 fastest riders in the world

But I I didn’t realize at the time that in England you didn’t need a quick motorbike you needed good brakes and and that got you around and got you in a good position Grand pris they were using bits of time I could never seen before big flowing racing lines you got you

People I remember at haenim Phil Reed who was my teammate in Norton earlier who was quite very friendly with in fact he was running a 350 MV Guster in and I said I was struggling in practice I said Phil can I follow you out please and he

Was running this 350 in not going really quick and you using the time I could never even thought about using and it made so much sense um but it was quite a hard learning curve how much did did you learn from that going forward into the

Later career how much of a an influence was were those times on that absolutely because yeah you’ve got to realize there’s a different the there’s a different technique completely different technique uh and a lot of the circuits then the grand pris like IM Matra and places there were almost like I mean they

Matter was just like the Northwest just fabulous just Road between trees and wheeling and and whatever I used to really enjoy that just completely and it’s just experienceing you just building on experience I mean I remember experiences the first time the first race I ever did was at Crofton

Mel and I thought I was going the best thing in the world and I got lapped halfway through the final by a guy called Robin fitton on a works well on a very fast ma n and Robin finished second at the Ultram pre behind ago so he he

Was a bit of a goer with experience three years later I bet Robin on the same vet on the same circuit and that was just down to experience you know and it’s it’s just a big learning curve was riding on IM Matra and the old hackenheim circuits

And and also the world championship at the time was still taking in the alab Man TT races yes did that kind of lean you towards the road racing like the Northwest 200 in its in its original um guys and the the island Man TT was that

A contributing factor no I I I just I’ve through my career I’ve always taken steps like going up a staircase I just take one step at a time so the the fact that the TT was a Grand Prix didn’t even occur to me because it wasn’t something

I was going to do I was never going to be good enough to be able to do that I just did the TT because I wanted to do it when did you realize you were good enough to be competitive there it took two or three years it took

I would think the third or fourth year before I started going good I mean the first year I went to the ma Grand Prix 68 on me vet actually finished last I think there were 48 finished in the senior race I finished 48th and those a reason I think I’m I was even

With the chance of maybe winning the newcomers um but i’ made my own contact ignition system and um I said I’m not the sharpest knife in the box and and the engineering facil ability at that time wasn’t very good and I didn’t do a

Very good job of it and on the third lap coming down to hillbury the bike stopped and had to push from hillbury to the start um open the end of the contact thing get screwdriver and prize the points apart and set off again I lost a

Lap um but all good it and then on Jim Lee’s bikes after that I think finish in 16th and 17th it just and then me first wind oh 70 now then let me think 73 7 fo 74 on the on the private Yamaha um I was

Lying I was winning I was leading the race and that stage I realized I was capable of winning and U lovely little story with it there were um The Jump N thing it was so must I’ve got M dates wrong was about 72 1972 Works n 72 yeah

And the be I had actually got the the N contract signed by this stage and there was a guy called Peter Neil and unfortunately there’s a guy called Jeff cood to commentating in the pub just Behind the B the jump at Bala of the bridge and I’ve always had this Theory

Especially more important in those days than now that you land on the front wheel to save the gearbox and the chain so I’m doing these front wheeel Landings and all through practice Jeff Jeff Kell saying oh mix looking dangerous and you know it’s going to fall off and it’s

It’s all and Carl can he all this my wife and I’m thinking well if if Frank ptis from Norton can hear this I’m maybe not going to get me Norton ride so in one of the practice sessions the one 125 was on so I went to see Jeff

Canell had never met him Alik before and I went upstairs and his Pub into he’s got his his commentator thing set up in the bedroom and I said Jeff I’m M Grant I’m the guy that he saying doesn’t know what he’s doing jumping land I said I’m

Doing it on purpose he said well as far as I’m concerned cuz he was quite abrasive as far as I’m concerned it looks dangerous so I’m going to say it’s dangerous I said all right fine okay so the the 500 race came by and um the

First lap I was in a real rush and I landed on the front wheel as normal and apparently Jeff Kel said oh he’s at it again he landed on the front wheel God it looks so scary and then the second lap i’ got about 30 second lead over Jack Finley on the

Suzuki and um the second lap I got time to Mo about so instead of holding the break right to the top of the hill you let it go early and just touch the throttle and land on the back wheel and canel said oh long last he got the jump

Right so the next lap this sounds like a real smart ass I’m sorry but the next lap around and got me mid lead increased again so the third lap round I went over I didn’t take off and I I just did that to him and he said oh he’s he’s he’s he’s

He’s so happy he’s even he’s even waving at me and um unfortunately Jeff had the last laugh because I fell off the lap later at um rut put some oil down at Parliament square and there was no flag out for it I I fell off there so Jeff

Got the last laugh but uh yeah one of the slower places to fall off yeah yeah but what a story you’d be able to to to have the presence of mind to do that as he’s ging giving you some into the heat as you’re going over B but I knew I knew

I knew we be commentating that and I just it was just funny yeah what a great I can picture that now yeah yeah so going on from from that time was when you really kicked into gear at at the TT wasn’t it and your first win wasn’t far

Away yeah the follow well 74 on on slippery s and I’d broke my wrist at BR action the transatlantic trophy on a 700 y out of the were awful things to ride and um Les Williams who by that time actually owned Slippery Sam we’ done a deal over

The phone and I saw Les in on the Monday morning and I never forget his face when he saw that got me right wrist in plaster um thinking what have I done here what idiot have I signed up and I couldn’t bend me wrist so we’re having

To do the throttle just by P rolling it backwards and forwards and um anyway we did the four laps and I won the race it was yeah it was good why was it called Slippery Sam it was called Slippery Sam because a couple of years earlier perate and whoever else have

Been riding in Barcelona at the 24 m park and for the full 24 hours it had an oil leak and so Percy being Percy called it slippery salmon it the name stuck with it but I must when I rode it we never had an oil leak but I remember in

Practice it just we hadly finished a lap it kept breaking cranks and doing all sorts of things but come the race it was AB it ran absolutely perfectly it knew what was going on yeah and back in those say you had the early mornings as well didn’t you early morning practice you

Know yeah the the most frightening thing in the world and it would never happen again but a Lamont typ start really yeah 50 Riders lined up on one side of the Glen clutcher Road yeah and the bikes on the other the guy dropped his flag and you got 50 Riders

Down Braille within about 3 seconds I never knew that oh it just yeah scary I’ve never ever wanted back to start as quick I wanted to move front of that Bunch I’ll tell you is that what helped you push starts over the years because you needed to get away from them quick

As you could but this is a kickart the production bike oh was it so it wasn’t because slippery s because he didn’t have electric starts in those days no he’s could even bump no of course you couldn’t bump start it either could you no no kickart oh dear my days oh just

Everybody kicks out yeah um but just scary well you got to hope that it goes first time and then he he didn’t want to be in the middle of that Bunch going down bill but somebody had to be somebody had to be so when when um I’m

Going to move this this side because I got my my notes and um a little bit of history for for you here um so 7 from 72 73 were the early days of the TT and then 74 was the start of the relationship with Kawasaki yes

74 the year I won on Slippery Sam I got the broken wrist and it was an unofficial 750 uh ride I had it wasn’t actually with the factory and again I got me mid right wrist in plaster and it was a wet day and um I I finished 17th I

Just couldn’t ride it because obviously slippery sound was quite a soft thing to ride and I could actually manage to ride it like as that um but the cow saac was different kettle of fish and I think I held the plugs and we came in on the

Third lap and changed plugs and I think I finished 17th and got a bronze replica the only one I ever got um yeah so that wasn’t the best of starts with the Kawasaki but uh the following year I’d started a four-year contract with caki from

75 to 1978 and that was that was a lot better that’s a long-term contract isn’t it in today’s terms we we with renewed there were just yearly contracts Al it was still a yearly it wasn’t signing a fouryear deal it was four three renewals yeah yeah

Yeah yeah and you started with um with with Stan shenton at the time yes Stan was Stan Boyers of Bromley that was a motorcycle that was a dealer that with the boy Kawasaki yeah yeah yeah yeah and a couple of years before that had a mechanic called ni Leverett

And when I when I was started doing my own private Yamahas n was only 16 and he come up from Ox Oxford somewhere Whitney and um he’ got L plates on his little 50 cc thing and it chook his L plates in the in the ditch and ride up the

Motorway every weekend for to go racing with and um although it was green as grass and had no real experience I just thought well a kid with that sort of enthusiasm he got to worth keep it on and in actual fact I kept Nel on the

Rest of my career so he was your wingman for yeah for every year wasn’t he yeah he was a man for all seasons he was indeed yeah yeah so tell me about 1975 because as I’ve looked at at the records um TT lap record Northwest first

Ever 120 lap that was that was sort of the the St of of I guess stardom for MC Grant yeah there’s something about C there’s something about green meany um that just seemed to work and I I just I just fitted into that nicely um yeah just an amazing period of

Time really but I remember we went to the Northwest and um by this stage we had a little problem within the team in the B Ed and myself we were never made but we never really had any problem we just Riders in the same team the same color Leathers um Stan the team

Manager initially we gotten really well but as the contract went from year to year the relationship deteriorated and I think it started because Stan he saw me as the professional and Barry was the sort of guy he was bringing on and he tended to favor Barry quite a

Bit Barry didn’t like road racing he didn’t like the alaman he didn’t like the North West um because at that stage if Kawasaki did the TT did the Northwest these sort of things it make quite a difference to bike sales a lot more than

It does now so we got to go to these places and um I remember I used to have a pal in Northern Ireland Billy mosh car dealer he’ always provide me with a car when I went over and I was telling Stan that night

In in the in the pub that um I’ve been coming from bam and passed a long line of cars and almost put a police car in the ditch com in the opposite direction and he immediately turned around and followed me and FL got me down and read

The right act me what do you think you’re doing or whatever and I said he said why in a rush I said I’m trying to get to the Northwest cuz I’m late for practice oh you’re riding now and I told him your name so he said all right we

Have a good practice and crack on get on with it so we’re in the pub that night having a me and uh I’m telling this to sh to shenton and ditchburn and the you know well they believe not it don’t really matter so the following day after practice we’re

Going around the car and I got stand in the back and Bar in the front and because I’ve done the Northwest two or three times before I’m showing bar the lines and we’re going up Juniper Hill and without any War this black police cab lights on pulled me over and I

Looked in the mirror and stand in the back and is looking now smart bastard and this big fat Sergeant came up put the window down and he said oh Mick said you want to say good luck for the weekend brilliant yeah right but up a eting doing on his face

Thinking that you going to be going to be given a ticket yeah but that was the first time that that any motorcycle lapped over 120 mph at the Northwest on the old course that went down into to call Rain that’s right yeah and and I I can’t imagine I’ve been over to the

Northwest a couple of times and now we you cut across at University on the link Road not down into cor where the magic roundabout is that used to be a flat out Left Right Ander oh you yeah you coming out because you’re coming out of col rain and it

Does doesn’t it it goes around to the right but then after that at Mat is it Ma’s Cross isn’t it the first one magra boy the last Chic we didn’t you didn’t have those we didn’t have sh no but just to work out where you are yeah yeah tell

Me tell me about Mother’s cross because that you flat out Top Gear yeah right-hander yeah as you hit the Apex I think we there’s a g end I think we be down a gear for you go down a gear for it I think so I can’t remember quite

About I think but as you go through it there’s a Gable end of a house right all I would do there coming out of there is just be watching me ref counter and I just wanted a few more revs on the to know that come through better but again

Corners like that from the experience doing the grand pris earlier fast Corners it definitely has a big Advantage as against people who had maybe ridden Nationals in England and not ridden anywhere else this is what I remember with the crossover of we spoke about before ABS it makes a difference

Especially with the course back then when it was the full nine miles and no chicanes yeah yeah um what are what are your finest memories from then um ah K let me think I remember one winning One race in the Kawasaki not a fine memory but a memory

And we got so many flies on the on the visor I couldn’t see a thing so we just done the race and then here we didn’t have enough fueling to do the another lap so I got to York corner and we came back through the back roads through the

Estate hous estate I think and there’s a rope across the road and I never saw it and it it yanked me straight off the back good grief but uh yeah I’ve still got a rope burn on my M NE to this day from it good God that’s

Not what you need and when we spoke to to Roger and reg um over the last couple of episodes that we did with with them um the nights out at the Northwest um I the the track action was fantastic because it it it was a nutritional race yes back then both for

Finishing and surviving in in some cases because it was a road race yes um but the thing that that I love about that era of racing and into the 80s is how you boys let your hair down yeah I mean Roger and I we were later on we were

Teammates in Suzuki and um we had a great friendship and we used to work hard and we used to play hard and Roger used to play a bit harder than I did tell me about that now was it the extra pint that you bought him the very last oh well Roger Roger it

Was I feel sorry for Roger because it was so in that particular time he was probably the best writer in Britain I think he was better than Shane and he never really got the next step up the L because of it um but I remember the Northwest one

Particular time Roger had been drinking that he loved Guinness he been drinking the Guinness lunchtime and the evening all through and on the morning of the race I heard that it wasn’t so well and uh I went up into the bedroom and there’s Roger B’s mechanic and Ian

Roger’s brother and it was a bit like you’ve seen the painting of of Nelson when he’s dying on and they’re all they’re all around him it was very much like that and Roger’s moaning and groaning and and Barry Simmons the team manager saying Roger can I get you some breakfast and

Couldn’t couldn’t thought couldn’t just fancy the thought of baking eggs and that and um and then bar Sim trying to think of an execution he’s saying he said I’m sure that someone poisoned him I said I bought him a pint of that myself last night put on Roger one of the favorite

Stories that he told during a chat when he was sat just right next to where you are now yeah um and and it it was it was a time to you were rock stars of the time and one of one of your greatest Rivals through the the 70s was was

Barish Sheen yes and you two couldn’t be further apart in terms of character that’s right how did you get on with Barry in those times we were we had a lot of respect for one another um people people would say oh we were good friends we weren’t good friends we

We we we’ve had the night out together but I wouldn’t say we were good friends um anged riding with him he was a safe guy to ride with got so much talent and Barry would have got a lot further than he has had he not got his dad

Franco as his main mechanic you know Frank I remember Franco putting discs on that were put on Rong and various bits and Bobs and Franco like a school boy D did helped to in his career but later on Barry would have been better and the other thing Barry did

Barry was so convinced of his own ability and whatever setting bikes up and whatever else he tended to do it all himself rather than um segmenting it and letting other people help him and I think bar could have done a bit better than he did although he did all right he

He didn’t do so bad did he he did all right in that respect um the transatlantic trophy I’m going through my here and and what we have so we’re into the kind of the mid 70s now the transatlantic trophy through 76 still carrying on the road racing and then you

Get a little bit of a shot at at Grand Prix racing yeah well what actually happened in 1975 we did a race in America on the 250 Kawasaki which brand new bike out seven speed gearbox um and it used to vibrate like H and we I think we raced was

Ontario in America and I finished third behind D haml my teammate and Kenny Roberts and from that point onwards um within the Kawasaki team Barry had never done Grand pris and now PR pressing the Japanese please develop this bike I mean it vibrated so bad that

Last two three laps it blew the exhaust pipes apart the just the vibration and then 77 they actually came back with a 250 they alter the fire in order and and made it completely smooth it was lovely motorbike to ride and again this is where with I sound to be

Winging you’re asking me questions I’m winging about things but um shenton said at the beginning at the time we running the super bikes the 750s in in England and um I was getting quite a good start money for some reason and I went along with it I must have been a bit stupid

For 77 shenton said to me right I will’ll increase your contract to cover the start money so I’ll take his start money and I’ll I’ll increase that um which I thought it’s just a load of my mind that’s do um and then the next i’

Agree that and then he said oh we’ve got the 250 cows is coming we’ve got full team of Japanese mechanics but what we’re going to do is ditchman will do the first half of the season and you’ll do the second half I said well that’s crazy because I’ve done

Grand PRI I’ve done most of the circuits Barry hasn’t done any and if the bike’s that good we maybe losing a chance here anyway it wouldn’t budge on it so I’m at home doing the British meetings and bar I think until about half of the Season

He think he think he had one third place um just because he didn’t have the experience of it and the first meeting I went to was uh Paul Ricard and I crashed quite badly I qualified third I think but I quite crashed in the last

Lap um so that didn’t work so that the next meeting was Asen and I said to the the MD of csac at the time a guy called John Norman who did not like racing I said John and I wasn’t being bigheaded there have been certain times in my

Career when I’ve known I’ve been going to win it’s really weird feeling and there’s no logic to it because it isn’t on form and before I left slow where C at quarter at the time I said John I said I’m going to win this weekend and he

Said oh yes well we’ve heard it all before and um got Went to went to ask some um the I qualifi I think the third quickest only fraction of a second off the off the pole and um I sat in the pub that night with it was the Erland Hotel I sat there

With n Mechanic Dave book The D loock Tire engineer and Barry Barry ditman Stan chenton with the Japanese having a meal and we we just sat having a drink before the night before the race and shenton came past and he said to me he said oh

I’m just going for a just going for a meeting with the Japanese so okay fine so then a couple of minutes later bar went to bed so we finished our drinks and N me were sharing a twin beded room so we’re going up up to the bedroom and

This sounds stupid but if Nel was in it would actually back me up 100% we gone on the corridor and I have my name being mentioned out this bedroom that shenton’s in and shenton saying to the Japanese a mixed dangerous and um Barry’s already got third place with 12

Points or whatever so we’ve got to make sure that Barry gets to the front and I’m not violent person and in fact I couldn’t fight me out of a paper bag but I wanted to go and punch him and I didn’t I went I went to my room and I

Never slept I just I was checking all night and the following morning it was quite funny before at that time I used to get cramped quite badly even though even though super fit and at the time I was taking these big salt tablets that

About to size of 50 p a piece and the Japanese Guy Mr yida he saw me take a tablet he didn’t say anything thing and then I got to the got to the start line and I set to Nel said because it a push start I said those handlebars tight he

Said why cuz I I’m going to bend the thing and the flag dropped and we had um a slick rear and an intermediate front and I got away first I remember Halfway Around the first La it just a few patches of damp and it it the thing Let Go went

Completely sideways and I that angry normally I think whoops and all I was thinking it’s just this is costing me time and I got the lead up to 27 seconds and um then about three laps from the end it started raining so I just I thought like

Knock 4 seconds lap off so I knocked it off and I came around again it’s still plus 27 I thought that’s strange that’s okay I’ll knock a little bit more off then I came around the last lap and it plus P1 plus 7 and I absolutely panicked

Because the trouble is what you don’t real people don’t realize is you’re on a bike the only information you get unless you’re behind is what you get on your pitboard yeah and me pitboard suddenly said I lost 20 seconds in the lap which didn’t

Make sense but I can only go on with the information I’m getting course so the last lap how I didn’t fall off I don’t know had it sideways I lost the front by some free week I stayed on it came back and um of course d l were

Delighted me mechanic was there no sign of shenton didn’t come anywhere here went to the prize giv that night both shenton and Barry gone home didn’t come anyone here um and it was just sad because there was no need for it no that’s that’s disappointing and disrespectful

To you as a riter and what you your achievement it isn’t productive for doesn’t matter for me but for for the team it doesn’t work I mean the Japanese were delighted because they’ve been told by caka in Japan that they’ got to stay on the Grand Prix

Scene until they’d won a Grand Prix then they could go home so that they they were delighted because they could soonly go back to the families um and then of course I won the next weekend in Sweden and it was just one of those purple patches

Where a lot of most Riders will go through it there just a particular time and you can’t do anything wrong if it went into a slide you know it was you weren’t going to fall off just a just a magic feeling and then we the weekend after that we did

Finland and I finished second um Walter Villa BME on the Ary Davidson um but I can honestly say that in my my belief he was only 350 in the 250 race because his teammate Fran Franco and sheini came to me after the race and said Walter riding at 350

So um we agreed that Walter didn’t get his bike back in the P fir he said it run out fuel on on the closing downlap so I said to Franco was his Walter’s teammate right Bruno next weekend will jointly put a protest in and get his bike measured and if if he’s

Riding a 250 then we’re going to look stupid if he’s riding a 350 deserves to be caught it’s quite simple and the other guy in the equation was a guy called Mario leer a rag friend of mine who won the World Championship that year on the marelli and ma Mario was also win

On it he thought that Walter was running 350 so the three of us are going to put a joint protest in Bruno so went to Bruno the following weekend and the Cs sa the I lost the brakes half with of the race we in the I

Was in the lead group so I went to UNI afterwards and said right Franco let’s get this protest in and he said well no he said Mario doesn’t want to put protest in because he just won the World Championship so it never happened um and then of

Course that was it we got the British CR pre um there’s a complete up there but that year I genuinely I’m not being beded I genuinely thought that year I could have won the world Championship um we never got we never got the chance of it but you’ll know

That because Riders I’ve spoken to Riders over the years and they talk about that feeling of of being in the moment and just the planets aligning and the feeli that you have with the motorcycle yeah you know more than anybody yeah and to people on the outside it comes across as bravado it

Comes across as Cockiness yeah but nobody knows better than the rider in the saddle that’s right I mean from 1980 to when I packed in in 85 I never had reached Myself by date and you know I was there I was always in the top field

But I wasn’t the guy that i’ been in the 70s um you know that’s hey oh that’s that’s how it goes is it but you know and it never really bothered me until about four years ago where Spa frankamp doing a a parade thing and the organizer

Said right want all the world champions on the grid and I’m walking on that’s thing I I’m not a world champion I can’t do it and and it just came home it doesn’t really it doesn’t really matter but it does matter um there was an opportunity

There I I could have I could have done even if I had won it I could have had a proper crack at it do you look back on those days and appreciate being in the moment of what you were doing absolutely yeah good because sometimes I

Talk s of riders and they don’t they only appreciate it after so that that’s I think because of starting a little bit later having a little bit more maturity and Clarity enables you to go this is really good we’re doing something here this this is my career this is my life and the

Support of your wife and everything that that all fitted together for it yeah it’s really refreshing to understand that you appreciated everything you were doing in the moment yeah yeah and not after You’ hung up the letters yeah yeah yeah yeah cuz and the the one of the problems is you

Know briers can be seen as being big headed and you get a microphone stuffed under your face when you’ve just won a race and maybe done a lap record and this the the commentator say how was that and you actually say something like it wasn’t difficult and I could have

Gone quicker and you’re actually been all you’re doing is you’re not being be beet being honest the truth is that in actual fact when it’s all working properly for you it doesn’t feel quick it doesn’t feel to be an effort that’s the most efficient so you get the comment again

How was it I could have gone quicker probably no you couldn’t because if you started to dry to go quicker you’d have actually gone backwards um and it just took me a long while to actually get that into my head but you that’s that’s the way it is people people see that as

Being beded it isn’t it’s just been you’re being honest you know did that help you on the route by being aware of what you were doing and not pushing and not chasing the lap times I never I don’t think ever start on the start line without thinking

Just be careful this is this going be dangerous um at quite a lot of Crashers um but in the the people that would worry me especially in the early days when before you got really professional were people that were chanters that would think the people that thought it

It won’t happen to me they were the Dangerous Ones and they were the ones that when they did have a big crash if they came back at all it took him a long time the riders that thought it’s that fully understood that it’s dangerous you

Could have a big crash and he could jump back on and you you go quick straight away again because you’re aware of it it wasn’t a shock to the system when you look back at the the mid and late ’70s through the TT and the Grand Prix times what are your favorite

Memories the TT oh c these are ones where I give you a bit of time to think and I don’t know it’s just I don’t know how to answer that I mean the the it’s it’s all being it’s all being good really it’s all being good um some of the funniest stories you

Couldn’t tell um some of the yeah some of the best stories you couldn’t tell um we haven’t even got on to maau yet no no no no but no so tell me what what the decision what was the decision behind leaving Kawasaki and moving to Honda right when towards the end

Of to carry on the real winging Saga about why didn’t win get away from that for you trying to get winging about not get win the world championship of 77 78 continue with kawaki doing what I’d asked them to do in the first place which was doing Grand

Prix and at that stage in 78 that stopped development on the 750 kaaki obviously to work on the 250 and 350 tandem twins so from um a 750 point of view in the 7576 we got good good package with a 750 Kawasaki but by 7778 Suzuki and yamama were catching up

In fact they’re actually pastors so the 750 Kawasaki for 709 would wasn’t really competitive anymore so the Grand Prix was the way to go the brought C balington in and again I had bother with Stan um I had two contracts that year want to do the

National scene on the 750 and to do the grand pris Nigel mechanic he was staying at home doing the home meetings which I didn’t want I wanted him to be at the Grand pris and I we didn’t have a bus full of mechanics like they have now I

Had one mechanic Coy had one mechanic who was his brother and doie ballington was a first class mechanic at really spot on bloke and he worked well with Ki I had an of a guy work helping me and it just it didn’t work all year we just never he was doing things

Without telling me on the bik that sprockets falling off it was just complete mess KY won the World Championship that year um I couldn’t see I couldn’t see things getting any better the following year so I decided I got I enough I needed new pastures uh

Incidentally we this mechanic we I did a race at Donington Park on the 250 and 350 and the 250 C’s going down cran the curve and threw me off the carburation problem and the the the other bike the gear boxer kept jumping out of gear um

And I had a big Fallout with the team and went to BR the follow the last meeting on a 104 Racers um which pissed me off because it was that put the job right too late Honda came along and said we’ve got the most exciting project it’s Hond com

Back into 500 Grand PR well suddenly I’m looking at halwood 1968 Honda Sixers Honda 4S what a fabulous thing to be involved in you couldn’t say no to it and you know the money was quite good so I I signed a contract with Honda and regrettably left

Kawasaki um but even with eyesight it was the right thing to do we we were going nowhere with them and the the Honda thing is just it was an amazing two years do you know what I’m going to do at this point this is the point where we finish part

One because we’re going to have a drink we’re going to have a nature break and then we’ll tell you all about the Honda and then into mix later career into Rider management and trials riding as well which will probably need another episode on its own for trials riding

Because this is where we see the big smile now for and which you’re enjoying the pre-65 trials so join us for part two thanks for watching