Racers ready for Bonneville Vintage GP - Norton 961 sets new record

Racers in the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Assoc. (AHRMA) series are on their way to Utah for rounds 16 and 17 of the AHRMA Michigan Engineering/RaceTech Historic Cup Roadrace Series at the 5th Annual Bonneville Vintage GP Presented by Motorcycle Classics. They’ll be descending on Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, west of Salt Lake City, just as other riders finish up the BUB Motorcycle Speed Trials at the famed Bonneville Salt Flats, where a new Norton 961 Commando SE broke the land speed record in the 1,000cc Production Push-rod class, recording an average top speed of 129.191mph.

John Surtees named Grand Marshal for 2010 Barber Vintage Festival

John Surtees, the only man ever to win world championships on two wheels and four, has been named Grand Marshal for the 6th Annual Barber Vintage Festival. Surtees was on hand for the 2nd Annual Barber Vintage Festival in 2006, greeting fans and signing autographs, and getting in a few hot laps of the Barber track in the very Ferrari 158 F1 he took to a world championship in 1964. He also put in laps riding one of the 500cc 4-cylinder MV Agustas he rode to world championships in 1958-1960.

Burt Munro Special takes top honors at Pebble Beach

The “Munro Special,” the 1920 Indian Scout piloted by New Zealander Burt Munro to 183.586mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967, won top honors for prewar American racing motorcycles at the Aug. 15, 2010, Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. A car-only show since its founding in 1950, the prestigious Pebble Beach event opened its doors to motorcycles for the first time in 2009. The Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum won top honors in 2009 for its 1954 AJS E95. One of four claimed built, that machine is featured in the September/October 2010 issue of Motorcycle Classics.