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Team Spencer Classic Racing
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Congratulations to all on Terry's second place in the 2003 Championship, first place in 2004, and his leading of the Championship in 2005! | |
Contents: | ||||
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1) The Manager 2) The Rider  Updated..25/08/033) The Bike 4) The Tuner |
5) The Inspiration 6) The Opposition 7) Racing photos New section8) Announcements and Notices |
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| "I was brought up in a small village in Derbyshire called Clowne and some of my earliest memories are of being round motorcycles, my dad was a keen trials rider and he had some wonderful old machines, including Scotts, Greeves and a beautiful old Humber sidecar outfit which is now in Geesons Museum in Lincolnshire. I lived round the corner from my mate Terry Brocklehurst whose dad Des had a motorbike shop and also raced solos and sidecars. There was a gang of us who knocked about together, all bike mad and we used to go with Des to race meetings. Terry decided he wanted a go at racing so we taped everything up, removed the surplus bits and off we went to Cadwell Park with his daily transport, a Honda CB550 which was a bad handling, slow bike at the best of times, on the race track even more so. But we had fun. Lots of it. This was the late '70's/early '80's. Terry got married and had children and racing took a back seat. I concentrated on my trialling and amassed a small collection of trials bikes over the years. " |
Terry, Simon, Andy and Spen.
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"A complete lunatic.." "Funniest bloke I've ever met" "The most helpful person in the pits" "Is this guy sane?" |
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Here is the man himself practising his deep breathing exercise - they help keep him calm at race meetings.... |
Brock on the 350 BSA that started it all... |
It was the late 70's when Terry decided he wanted a go at racing. (Hence the 'afro' hairstyle seen here) Being known for doing things on the cheap, Terry 'Tightwad' Brocklehurst ('TT' to his mates), Spen and friends set off for Cadwell one sunny day....... No race bike for these hardy chaps - just Terry's daily transport, a Honda CB550. They taped everything up, removed the surplus bits and off they went. This was a bad handling, slow bike at the best of times, and totally unsuited to the track, but what fun they had. It didn't last for long, but the seed was set...
Years passed, marriage, children, jobs...all the normal stuff but many trips to the track to watch 'The Inspiration' himself made the urge to race grow. Terry was offered a ride on the 350 BSA Gold Star seen here, Spen sold all his Trials bikes to fund the project and Team Spencer Classic Racing took off... |
| As for Brocks reputation for being 'tight' he strongly refutes the allegation. "Its just not true" he says, bending down to pick up a used tissue. However, a 'larger-than-life' Worksop based Team Manager, who asked me to keep his identity secret disagrees - "it's said about Brock that he's still got the first tanner his mum gave him for spending money and he only agreed to have a nose operation to widen the passages as fresh air is free. Rumour is he once found somebody else's wage packet and grumbled because of the amount of tax the chap had paid!! He says he's lost weight to get more speed out of the bike, but we know it's so he doesn't have to pay for food at meetings.... " Whatever the truth, Brock's riding skills have progressed and his confidence in his own ability knows no bounds, as can be seen on the picture on the right, with Brock testing a bike at Cadwell........ |
I'm dead fast me like! |
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See the man himself in action!!!! | |
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The T200 was bought as a 'race prepared' bike, and although it was OK, it had an almost standard engine, no tacho, and needed plenty of work.
Brock's first season on the bike was with the engine as it was, with work done continually to improve its appearance and handling. It was fairly competitive, got the team started and got 'TT' the experience he needed. Slowly but surely the bike has improved, and now it looks the part, has a far better state of tune and has every chance of winning the championship this year! The bikes worst failing was the ignition system - an road-bike based electronic ignition set-up, with a battery under the seat hump to power the coils. This wasn't up to scratch though and in many races, the bike misfired or ran on one cylinder only. |
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Awaiting work at race team HQ (You think they'd tidy up a bit!) |
| Lea Gourlay,(Lea's website), son of Bob 'The Inspiration' Gourlay is well known on the Classic Circuit, where to be frank, he outclasses all of us and rides circles round the opposition.
Lea wins pretty much every race he enters on pretty much any machine! The picture to the right shows him in action on the Summerfield Manx at Snetterton 2003. I saw him at Pembrey on this bike earlier in the year where he beat some very fast, disc braked 750 Triumph Tridents! As the race commentator said:
"Even Lea Gourlay can't come from the back of the grid to win this one ....... Gourlay is into third place..incredible, but no way can he catch the 750s at the front .....and Lea takes the lead!! ..how does he do it?" At CRMC meetings, he makes the rest of us so-called racers look like we are nipping down the shops on mopeds! Lea should be racing Superbikes or the like really, but instead is happy to sweep the field in the Classic events. |
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| Team Spencer have been very lucky in getting Lea to tune their bike for them. Not only can Lea ride, but he sure knows how to make an engine fly. The Spencer bike was not much better than standard at first but after a little mild porting, new pipes (made by Lea) and a bit of carb tweaking, the bike was up from mid 20s bhp to 31bhp! Since then, more has been done and it will be increasing steadily as the year progresses (It was producing 36bhp at season end). Lea is presently working on some new T200 liners he has made up, and next season the bike should be on 'Gourlay barrels'. I see a championship beckoning!
Lea is stating to take on a fair bit of tuning work, so if you are interested, come see him and the Spencer team in action, then get in touch! |
Lea on a Bimota Ringhini TZ |
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Robert is a train driver who has been interested in motorcycling all his life. Started racing and winning in 1968 on a Triumph Bonneville. Best days were the 70's and '80's when he was mainly Suzuki mounted. He used to borrow a lad called Skin's GS1000 which Skin rode to work on in the week and Robert raced at the weekends. He even pipped Ron Haslam to the post on that at Donington Park, much to the crowds surprise....straight underneath him on the last left hander before the flag! Robert has been instrumental in helping Team Spencer Classic Racing get off the ground with Terry's racing. If you've been in the racing game as long as Robert, you've got to know what you're doing. |
| Robert then went on to race a Mk 8 RG 500 which he was brilliant on, his unhurried style looks like he's just off to the shops for a pint of milk rather than going out to win a race. He still wears an open face helmet and goggles!
There has been some terrible crashes over the years though; Robert crashed at Mallory Park in the early '80's and looked like he'd been through a car crusher ......imagine Spen's surprise when he got a 'phone call a few days later asking him to pop down on the bike to see him, and Rob was waiting outside on his crutches with his open face lid in his hand....."Take me to Worksop, will you? I'm going to look at a bike". Off they went, Robert hanging on with his one good hand and sitting on his crutches, mashed up leg dangling off the side, when they got there to see the bike, a Norton Atlas, the vendor started it up and Rob paid him and rode it home! |
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Spen, as Brock's Team manager was often to be seen this year badgering Simpkin - something he does with all Brock's competitors. They have the pleasure of Spen's normal continual chatter about how brilliant Brock can ride, that no-one had a chance of ever beating him, two strokes ruled the world, T200s were 'top of the range' racers etc etc... Here we can see Ian Simpkin looking apprehensive listening to one of Spen's rantings..... |
 "...ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ..." |
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