The quarter-mile course ran slightly downhill, but the advantage was more than cancelled by a headwind.
In the Vintage class Bernard White got his times on his Douglas down to 13.14/96mph, but it was not enough to catch John Young who, in customary spectacular style, wrung a best of 12.90/99mph from his Triumph-JAP. Alan and Richard Morgan were upholding family honours on the Rudges that have been family heirlooms for years. Their times were on a par with Chris Illman, having another outing on the Bayley-Cole Douglas, although Mark Illman’s Rudge-mounted challenge ended when a valve head dropped in.
The later Vintage-class bikes were all Triumph based, but Roger Pailes’ sprint special recorded a 14.22/91mph best before the gear lever broke to end his day. Among the classic era bikes, Roy Robertson had an uneven day, but his Egli-Vincent, immaculate as ever, thundered to 11.63/111mph, topping his class easily.
