Racing an MV Agusta and Manx Norton at Barber Motorsports Park

October is the perfect time of year for the AHRMA Vintage Motorcycle races at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. Brilliant blue skies and warm weather provided a welcome alternative to the hurricane that was battering the coastal states this year. We were there to race our bikes with friends for the final race event of the year. Motorcycles of all types are at what to expect at what has now become the largest motorcycle sporting event in the USA. The combination of the impossibly well-done Barber Museum (the largest motorcycle museum in the world), classic road racing, swap meets and vendor exhibits is truly overwhelming. You must experience it to believe it.

After being laid up for a decade, my MV Agusta 350cc racer was again ready for action. The heavily subscribed 350 Grand Prix class was chock-full of competition and the MV was right in the mix. It may never win another race with me in the saddle, but every lap is an adventure in Italian race mythology, my head swimming with images of Giacomo Agostini, Mike Hailwood, John Surtees, Phil Read, John Hartle and other great riders of the classic era in action. But above all, it's that sound, a glorious cacophony of unmuffled aggression bellowing from those hand rolled exhaust pipes. Bellissimo !

Photo by Etech 2016 @ Barber

Photo by Etech Photo 2016

Photo by Revit on Instagram

Fond memories of meeting the great Giacomo Agostini aka 'Ago' and Eraldo Ferracci with the MV at Mid Ohio AHRMA Vintages races in 2006

Cook Neilson on the MV at Barber 2016

As if racing a little gem like the MV 350 wasn't enough for one race weekend, my trusty 1961 Manx Norton 30M (500cc) was running well, too. Blessed with good company and sunny skies, not to mention my new Arai helmet, it was pure racing bliss.

Photo by Razzo

The ex-John McLaughlin / Tony Murphy Manx has always remained in America since it was new in 1961. McLaughlin sold it used to up and coming talent Murphy who raced it to good advantage in AFM roadracing on the West Coast in the early to mid-1960's. I've now owned the bike for a decade and have found it to be the ideal balance of performance and handling for Classic 60's class racing. It's been regularly fettled by Dick Miles and Maurice Candy rebuilt the engine in 2015. The class it runs in is small as only a handful of original Manx Norton's are still raced in the USA today. I am most fortunate to have the opportunity to run such a thoroughbred machine and each outing is something to be savored.