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Sean Kelly's Winning Formula

Jan 8

Sean Kelly's Winning Formula

The interest in the DTRA's Vintage class grows with every year. Four-strokes and two-strokes are mixed on the track, but split into two championships, and Sean Kelly proved you didn't need anyone's idea of a typical flat tracker, or a big budget, to win the two-stroke title, as he did in 2019. Here Sean shares the story of his Suzuki TS400. (Action photos: Braking Point Images) Motorcycles have always been the family trade but not always in the blood. As a third-generation mo

Inman Column: Running a Marathon in Clogs

Nov 24, 2020

Inman Column: Running a Marathon in Clogs

Regular blog readers will know I've been a columnist for magazines including Café Racer, GQ Italia, Rolling Stone Italy and Bike over the years. Some I packed in, others dried up with editors changed. I still contribute to Café Racer in France as I have for over ten years. Every now and then I repost the columns here. This one is from 2019. Type Inman Column into the search bar to see the others. GI Three years ago I was at the first Dirt Track Riders Association race of the

The Death of Rye House

Aug 9, 2020

The Death of Rye House

Blog post from John Harrison. Another One Bites the Dust: Yesterday (8 Aug 2020) the management at Rye House Stadium stated that 'We are sad to announce that motorcycle events at the stadium have come to an end', thus terminating a long history of speedway, and a more recent past of flat track events at the iconic venue. It's no secret that regrettably, British speedway is on its knees. A largely pensioner fanbase, venues in increasingly residential areas, and now Covid all n

DTRA Indian Euros 2020

Jan 20, 2020

DTRA Indian Euros 2020

Dates are out for the 2020 Euro flat track series, organised by the DTRA and sponsored by Indian Motorcycles. this is what Indian say... Indian Motorcycle is reinforcing its investment in the growth of European motorcycle sport with the Dirt Track Riders Association (DTRA) and are pleased to announce the race schedule for the 2020 Indian Motorcycle European Flat Track Series. Following a successful inaugural series in 2019, Indian Motorcycle has worked with the DTRA to selec

Vintage Memories Megapost

Nov 21, 2019

Vintage Memories Megapost

It's a given that all UK Flat Tracker Racers owe a debt of gratitude to Anthony Brown for organising races under the DTRA umbrella for us and for keeping the scene gradually growing. Since the early days of the club he has always collaborated with great artists to promote the Club and the sport. Having Ryan Roadkill's event posters and trackside banners, House Industries race plates, Tom Bing videos etc help to set a scene and pitch the club just so. Lord Brown has also alway

DTRA Vintage Finale Report

Sep 25, 2019

DTRA Vintage Finale Report

Held under the vast, cloudless Lincolnshire sky at George Pickering's Greenfield oval, the final round of the DTRA National Championship was also the ultimate round of the inaugural DTRA European Championship, which meant that we had a bumper 30 bike entry in the Sideburn sponsored Vintage Class. With riders coming from Germany, Switzerland and France to join most of the British regulars (and some welcome irregulars). There were going to be 18 disappointed riders not making

Triple Tomato Jackpot

Sep 9, 2019

Triple Tomato Jackpot

Mike Fisherm DTRA #80, successfully tunes and races an early Champion framed Bultaco in the Sideburn Vintage class in the UK. Like me, he has celebrated his 60th birthday this summer, but our two lives share a lot more than both beginning in the summer of 1959. I first met Mike when I went to Peter Boast's Flat track school in the spring of 2015. I was there because I had entered Dirt Quake and needed all the tuition I could get to help me survive my first ride on a speedway

DTRA Vintage - Redcar Report

Aug 23, 2019

DTRA Vintage - Redcar Report

August meant Redcar, the most northerly track the DTRA visits. A lovely 300m speedway track with wide, long, banked turns and decent trackside facilities. We had an added incentive to make the long journey up country with a Friday evening show of 'sickle & surf film shorts put on by DTRA photographer and film maker Tom Bing and his pro surfer partner Sally, in a fine old Victorian Lifeguard museum on the coast at Tynemouth (see the blog post). On Saturday evening we were trea

DTRA Vintage - Amman Valley report

Jul 27, 2019

DTRA Vintage - Amman Valley report

Note: John is such a stereotypically modest Englishman he didn't want to write about his first ever win in the DTRA Vintage class, so he wrote using a nom de plume. This, of course, is ridiculous, so I edited his copy back from the third person. Congrats John, you rode like a demon. GI June's Vintage DTRA round became a non-championship points-scoring at the Greenfield TT because the scheduled Saturday was rained off and a key championship contender couldn't make the reschedu

Aldana v Lewis

Jul 22, 2019

Aldana v Lewis

I've put on you tube a vid I took from my flag position on turn 4 at Peterborough last year, that shows Dave Aldana and Johnny Lewis riding together. It starts out a bit shaky but settles down. I was going to put it on my Instagram (@that58dodge) , but it's probably too big a file. For those that get it, it needs to be out there to watch. For me to have been so close to such a nostalgic and also current spectacle was an unbelievable and inspiring event for me. To watch JL nos

Ben's Bultaco

Jun 1, 2019

Ben's Bultaco

This Bultaco is going to make it's DTRA Sideburn Vintage class debut in the near future, hopefully next week at the Greenfield TT. Its owner, Ben Eddings, shared some details about himself and his bike. I've been a Sideburn subscriber since issue #21 but only had my first actual taste of racing in August 2018; Sean Kelly loaned me his race proven Yamaha #33 for a day at Rye House. I came dead last in the two heats I could make the thing start for but loved it, in particular t

DTRA Rnd 2 Sideburn Vintage report

May 23, 2019

DTRA Rnd 2 Sideburn Vintage report

The Peterborough round of the DTRA Championships is an event with a different atmosphere to any other round. Being part of the MCN Festival there are big crowds, lots of motorcycle industry involvement and the DTRA Flat track racing is the main live attraction. The Sideburn Vintage Class entry lined up 18 riders vying for a place in the 12 bike final. French Sideburn Ambassador Hubert Bastie #2 was back with his Husqvarna running reliably at last and was full of confidence af

Ironhead (sort of) Street Tracker on UK eBay

May 8, 2019

Ironhead (sort of) Street Tracker on UK eBay

I've been a bit slack on sharing the bikes for sales that Kev keeps forwarding to me, but here's one. 1976 Harley Sportster ironhead flat tracker. I think this engine is DTRA Vintage compatible, but check with the DTRA. It's pushrod, not overhead cam (which is what keeps XS650s out of the DTRA Vintage class) Step 1. Successfully bid on bike. Step 2. Get some much longer rear shocks from DTRA supporters, Hagon Step 3. Slide those forks through the yokes about 3in Step 4. Lose

Stansfield Triumph

Apr 26, 2019

Stansfield Triumph

A couple of years ago I decided it might be a good idea to build a bike specifically for flat track/Dirt Quake type events. I'd competed at four Dirt Quakes, three on my old Triumph chop, but I fancied something a bit more suitable/faster. As a small pensioner, a vintage two stroke should be ideal, nice and light and pretty affordable in comparison to old British stuff. A couple of Bultacos and a Honda Elsinore caught my eye but passed by. I only really fancied the Honda as I

DTRA Vintage 2019: Round 1

Apr 19, 2019

DTRA Vintage 2019: Round 1

The long awaited 2019 DTRA Flat track season kicked off in fine style in King's Lynn at the weekend. It's a great venue that always produces fine evening races under floodlights. This year was no exception, the setting sun making the whole event wonderfully atmospheric as the inters, pros and Hooligans battled heroically into the dark on Saturday evening. The Sideburn Vintage class ran on Sunday. It was cold, but the racing was hot. Lots of new old bikes and some familiar and

DTRA King's Lynn Vintage Metal. Pt.1

Apr 16, 2019

DTRA King's Lynn Vintage Metal. Pt.1

I wrote about my excitement for the new DTRA season last week, and didn't touch upon that added bonus of tons of new bikes turning up. We'll be posting snaps of them. First up is Dave Webb's Triumph T120. David has raced with the DTRA Vintage class for two or three seasons now and is quite a regular on the podium. There were 24 entries for the King's Lynn race. There are championships for two-a dn four-strokes, but the class runs in mixed heats, all machines combined into gri

Krazy Horse Flat Track Night: MEGAPOST

Apr 9, 2019

Krazy Horse Flat Track Night: MEGAPOST

Krazy Horse themed their first late Thursday night of 2019 as a flat track night. The late nights, the first Thursday of the month from spring to autumn, are big, everyone's welcome, bike nights. There's a huge barbecue, a band and Krazy Horse work with their neighbours to allow loads of parking for the crazy variety of vehicles that turn up. Mark brought his beautifully turned out Trackmaster Triumph. This used to belong to Guy Sutherland, and Rob will be debuting it in the

Ossa Stiletto Flat Tracker For Sale

Jan 22, 2019

Ossa Stiletto Flat Tracker For Sale

UPDATE: SOLD Now then, I do know this bike. The description, taken from eBay, tallies with my own thoughts on the bike, when it comes to reliability. When I've seen this bike at races it's not one of those where the owner is in a made panic and constantly working on his bike. It seems to behave itself, at least from where I'm standing. It is DTRA Vintage flat track eligible, and, like Darren says, was second in the two-stroke championship this year. Click the Ossa link at the

Separated at Birth?

DTRA Presentation Report

Nov 13, 2018

DTRA Presentation Report

The DTRA Presentation night in Bury St. Edmund’s was a memorable night for most, but a blur for some… The doors opened at 18:00 leaving an hour for visitors to look around the impressive Krazy Horse shop, selling custom built and low production motorcycles as well as clothing and food and drinks from the café and bar upstairs. The presentation, led by the DTRA's Anthony Brown, started with a list of companies and people to be thanked for helping throughout the racing season.

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