The downside was it made the judging tough as there were some superbly restored machines together with a sprinkling of ex-works bikes that came with good provenance.
Most agreed the show stealer was the display of a private collection of the bikes and extensive memorabilia belonging to Ted Frend, former works AJS rider. In this glittering crown the brightest jewel was a superb restoration of an E90 Porcupine race bike, Ted was the first rider to win a race on such a model. In all, the owner of the collection collected awards for Best Stand, Best Race Bike and Best Bike in Show.
The London Douglas Club was also successful as the horizontal twins on the club stand picked up awards in the sprint, trials and grass-track categories.
Alastair Gibson had a 1928 DKW, a rare supercharged 250 ORe model, which had been raced in South Africa. It was among a selection of bikes that were wheeled outside for some aural entertainment for an appreciative crowd. Unfortunately, some candidates proved too challenging for the starting rollers.
Results:
Best in Show: 1948 500cc E90 AJS Porcupine – entered anonymously
Best Sprinter: 1931 Douglas – Eddie Turner, London Douglas Club
Best Grass Track: 1980 Rotary Norton – Roy Allison, VMCC GT Section
Best Speedway: 1939 Rotrax-J.A.P – Friends of Speedway
Best ISDT/Enduro: 1953 500cc Royal Enfield – John Ely
Best Trials: 1950 350cc Douglas – Mr Wright, London Douglas Club
Best Scrambles/Mx: 1961 500cc Lito – Fabrice Bazire
Best Outfit: 1953 350cc Royal Enfield/Watsonian – John Ely
Best Road Race: 1948 500cc E90 AJS Porcupine – entered anonymously
Best Stand: 1st Ted Frend Collection, 2nd Brough Superior Stand, 3rd Normandy MCC
