Frank Jones tears down the straight on his Harley-Davidson at last weekend's Thundersprint event.
The sun beat down and the crowds packed in for Thundersprint 2008 - Europe's biggest biking street party.
The weekend of biking nostalgia and family fun kicked off with the Thundersprint Bike Show held at Winnington Park Rugby Club. With over 100 superb bikes on show, and incorporating American "V" Magazine's custom show, the thousands of spectators were kept fully entertained all day.
Sunday saw brilliant blue skies and by 8 a.m. Northwich town centre was buzzing with excitement. Fifteen times World Champion, Giacomo Agostini, battled with six times World Champion Jim Redman and motorcycling legend, Sammy Miller on the tight town centre track whilst the fans roared their approval. This was the glory days of Grand Prix racing brought to life again.
Agostini spent the whole day talking to fans, shaking his head and saying: "This is incredible. Only in England could you have this much passion for bike racing."
Jim Redman, a Thundersprint regular for the last ten years, was far less surprised. Jim noted: "The Thundersprint just gets better and better every year. The weather has helped but the key thing is that the Thundersprint gives spectators what they want - a wonderful trip down memory lane in a safe and welcoming environment. It is easily the biggest and best event I attend during the year."
First time visitors to the Thundersprint were just as impressed. Teenage MotoGP star Danny Webb said: "I just don't believe it. The event is massive - easily as big as MotoGP - and it has been great meeting fans and seeing these incredible old bikes."
eBike Insurance, the Thundersprint's title sponsor, had a great time as the sun baked the town centre. eBike Director, Geoff Derham, was delighted. "The Thundersprint runs seamlessly with perfect organisation. We met a lot of our existing customers and hopefully many new ones. "Except for an outbreak of red noses through too much sun, we had a great weekend."
It was a blast from the past as Jim Redman, Giacomo Agostini and Sammy Miller donned the leathers one more time for some friendly competition.
Vale Royal Borough Council, who host the Thundersprint in Northwich, were equally pleased. VRBC's Tourism Manager, Andrea Peattie said: "The Thundersprint brings visitors from all over the world to Northwich and results in considerable economic benefits for the region.
"But we are even more proud that we can show what a uniquely welcoming place Northwich is for visitors. Despite the record breaking crowd there was not a single criminal incident reported and the event ran perfectly from Friday evening until Sunday night."
And the last word goes to Thundersprint Director, Frank Melling: "The Thundersprint simply shows what can be achieved when everyone is working towards the same end. We only lay out the pieces of the jigsaw on the table. Our riders, traders, sponsors, Cheshire Police, Vale Royal Borough Council and, most importantly of all, the people of Northwich then put them in place to make the Thundersprint happen.
"We're tired but happy after the best ever Thundersprint - and we are already working hard on an even bigger and better Thundersprint for 2009!"
