Chris Walker rides the new Norton 961 at Thundersprint and picks up first place for his class.
I don’t intend turning STM into an extended blog about the Thundersprint but this year’s event was a cracker in so many ways. For someone who sat on his Mum’s knee at Creg Ny Baa, and watched the immortal Mike Hailwood take the last ever TT win by a Manx Norton, seeing Chris Walker in action on the new Norton 961 was a really emotional experience. It is difficult to convey how incredibly special it felt to have Norton race their all new bike at OUR event - rather than anywhere else in the world - and when Chris won no-one cheered louder than Carol and I. It was great!
The crowds were even bigger than ever this year. We’re always very careful never to claim an attendance at the Thundersprint because, as a free event, we can never provide an audited figure. But here’s a bit of informal data for the Math experts amongst you to consider:
At lunchtime, we have a Cavalcade of all the race bikes, plus a few road machines, around the town of Northwich. We are led by the very helpful Cheshire Police and we keep to a steady 30mph which is great for the riders and spectators alike. The route is 2.1-miles long and was lined on both sides by spectators. To state the obvious, that’s 4.2 miles of cheering fans. At the busiest points, the crowds are maybe six deep on the sidewalk. Added to this are the thousands of spectators who prefer to remain in the center of the show. Can any Math major come up with a decent estimate?
So that’s the public face of the Thundersprint but the purpose of this column is to give you a backstage view of some of the special moments from this year’s event.
Our New Baby:
Thundersprint brings families closer together and maybe even help avoid that costly divorce.
We take great pleasure in being part of the community, rather than some outsiders descending on Northwich like a great, corporate cuckoo.
This means that we delight in doing all sorts of nice things which are way outside the remit of a motorcycle race - like persuading warring couples to kiss and make up and come to the Thundersprint instead of having a divorce.
We’ve also hosted a marriage proposal - that was rather cute - but now we’re sort of Godparents - I think.
One of our great Thundersprint fans owns a mare who had a foal on the morning of the Thundersprint and she is named “Thundersprint” in our honor. And I’ll bet Carmelo Ezpeleta doesn’t get any horses named MotoGP!
The Kamikaze Seagull:
The only certain thing about event organization is that nothing is certain. We are extremely lucky in that we run the Thundersprint from a small converted garage at the back of our cottage, in the heart of the Cheshire countryside. It is a tourist brochure pretty location but incredibly, because we are only five miles from the major city of Chester, we have an unreliable electricity supply.
Six hours before our vendors and exhibitors were due to arrive on site, a seagull flew into the rural sub-station which feeds our lane - and blew it up!
This could have proved something of a challenge since our computers, holding all our records, rather needed the electricity. But with the seamless skills born of arriving late at race meetings all over the world, I sprinted over to the workshop, dug out the little generator we sometimes take to races and ten minutes later we were back on line.
Paddock skills and organization ought to be taught on every Harvard MBA course.
There is no guarantee on English summer weather, cloudy is about as good as it gets.
We have a very good relationship with a lot of Asian vendors. Our Pakistani traders in particular are good fun, pay well and go out of their way to be co-operative. However, sometimes the English sense of humor can be misunderstood.
An Afghan trader arrives on site on Saturday morning and looks at the grey, overcast sky and says: “It looks as if it might rain - and you promised me that it never rains in England in the summer. Can I have my money back?”
No, actually, on three counts: First, I’m not a God - of any brand - and therefore can’t guarantee the weather.
Second, this is England in summer and not Afghanistan.
Finally, it didn’t actually rain - and everyone made a lot of money.
Marriage Guidance is All Part of the Service:
The Thundersprint is a very busy day. We have over 200 bikes in the racing and Cavalcade and they all have to be given a safety check. This means an early start with Technical Control opening at 6:00 a.m. and closing at 8:00 a.m. simply because we must start practice promptly at 8:30 a.m. in order to fit everything in.
The Cavalcade is set on a very strict schedule, be prepared to rise early and ready to ride or be standing on the side lines.
The racers are really relaxed about the savagely early start but some of the Cavalcaders, unused to the disciplines of Tech, get rather hormonal over the whole exercise.
Picture the scene: It is 10:30 at night, two days before the event. I sent my first e-mail at 4:03 in the morning and now I am beginning to get ever so slightly tired.
Cavalcader: I’m taking part in the Cavalcade this Sunday and I’m not happy about having my machine checked so early in the morning.
Frank: Oh, I’m really sorry about this.. (then the long, detailed explanation about the demands of a packed schedule and tight timing) but it’s a lot of fun and you can have a good gossip with all the other riders.
Cavalcader: Well, I’m still not happy. Can I come at lunchtime?
Frank: No, I’m really sorry but you have to be there along with everyone else.
Cavalcader: My wife doesn’t get up until ten o’clock on a Sunday and she wants to come. What shall I do?
Frank: Have you thought of a subscription to a reputable dating site?
Open All Hours:
We pride ourselves on always being available because, more than anything else, the Thundersprint is an enormous family event. And by family we mean spectators, riders and vendors all enjoying themselves. However sometimes, this accessibility can cause problems.
It is 11:57 - three minutes to midnight. I have just fallen into a deep sleep after working more or less without a break for 17 hours. The phone rings.
Thundersprint Fan: Are you okay to tell me about the Spitfire or is it a bit too late?
Frank: No, it’s fine. In fact, if you hang on for three minutes everything will be perfect because you will be the first caller of the morning.
Thundersprint Fan: I love the Thundersprint and the Spitfire is the highlight of my year.
Frank: Me too. Night, night God bless...
