As the week progressed, building up to the annual VMCC big one, the Festival of 1000 Bikes, the rain just got heavier and more prolonged. On the Friday before the event, the car park fields looked more like paddy fields and the site itself resembled the Somme, as clay stained water ran down the circuit. The organisers were worried.
Come Saturday however, it began to dry up, apart from an odd shower, and Sunday even saw some sunshine, which meant that both the public entrants and the racers too could enjoy a dry track. The organisers breathed a sigh of relief!
Sunday’s past masters parades gathered together more top names than has probably ever been seen on a British short circuit, the likes of Read, Croxford, Fogarty, Hodgson, Lucchinelli, Chilli, Mamola, Schwantz, Redman, Smart, Sarron, Miller, Bryans, Robb, Lansivuori, Grant, Cooper, Chandler, Vincent and many more.