OXFORD PRODUCTS DUCATI | 
DUCKHAMS NORTON |
I received an invitation through the post and I was pleased to see it was from Alec Hammond of Oxford Fairings. There was to be a special launch - in Oxfordshire !
I drove out into the wild countryside in horrible wet and windy weather and eventually arrived at a nice pub. The Big Van was there and I went into the pub to sign on. Robert Dunlop greeted me and we had a brief chat as more journalists arrived. We had a welcoming drink and buffet meal. At the appointed hour we all went out to the pub car park where two Ducatis were placed on paddock stands. These machines were nicely painted up in the Oxford Fairings livery and Robert and Mark Farmer came out to pose with the machines, the entries for that years TT. I was able to get some excellent photographs.
Another year, I was invited to the Norton launch in London which was the Duckhams version to be ridden by Jim Moodie. Also present were Colin Seeley and Brian Crichton. Brian Crighton teamed up with Colin Seeley towards the end of the 1992 season. Colin saw the potential of the Norton Rotary Racers, and brought a pool of sponsors together, headed by Duckhams Oils, to race on a national level. The common denominator was Mark Farmer who rode for both. The onslaught on the TT by the JPS sponsored Nortons came a couple of years later..
The one I felt was the most interesting at the time was the appearance of the Britten when, thanks to my friend Douglas Randall, I saw the Brittens in their secret base situated in Dougs Shop in Newbury. I was one of the first to see these exotic machines and was able to watch as they were stripped down and set up for that years TT to be ridden by Shaun Harris. I have written about my involvement in Book One but I was privileged to be in at the beginning of their TT attempt and subsequently I saw them race in the TT. I even helped to push start one in the Warming Up area and that was a real push ! When John Britten decided to enter a team of three, he chose,...Mark Farmer.....to partner Nick Jefferies and Robert Holden.
SHAUN HARRIS ON THE AWESOME V1000 BRITTEN
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