Road Racing Summer 2023

Editorial Team
June 23, 2023

The Isle of Man TT may have finished for 2023, but the Real Road Racing summer for 2023 is still in full bloom.

The Northwest 200 always flowers early in May, while the Manx Grand Prix makes us wait until the middle of August before coming into full bloom. But there is much more in the road racing garden for us to enjoy. Even in December, if you are freezing and fancy some sunshine, there is the Boxing Day Race around the Cemetery Circuit in Wanganui, New Zealand.

If that is a little too far to travel and too long to wait, after an initially bleak outlook, the Armoy Road Races in Ireland are going ahead on the 28th & 29th of July.

Meanwhile, in the northeast of England and the southeast of Finland, there are iconic road races to visit, and – because international boundaries do not hamper Murphy’s Law – they have events on the same day.

Road Racing at Oliver’s Mount

The history of Oliver’s Mount Road Racing Circuit goes back to 1946, when the first race was held on the 2.43 miles (3.91 km) service road leading to the War Memorial. The track has remained pretty much unchanged since that first race, except for the addition of Farm Bends in 1991, as a way of reducing the speeds on the start/finish straight.

Until the mid-1980s, the circuit hosted rounds of the British Championships, including the MCN British Superbike Series and the F1 Series.

As motorcycle development marched relentlessly forward, the geographical constraints of Oliver’s Mount could not change with the requirements for international race circuits, and sadly it was eventually replaced on the calendar by purpose-built venues.

But none of that dampened the enthusiasm for real road racing at Oliver’s Mount, with strong grids of national and international racers attending the Gold Cup and Cock ‘o the North meetings.

By 2015, Oliver’s Mount Circuit was showing its age and in need of some deep investment. Driven forward by a team of passionate supporters, led by Andy and Wendy Hayes and including Mick Grant, Eddie Roberts, along with Scarborough Borough Council – now North Yorkshire Council – road racing returned to Oliver’s Mount in 2019.

Successful years have since followed, and the 2023 agenda began in April with the Bob Smith Spring Cup. Next up – as I write this – is the Cock O’ North meeting over the weekend of the 1st and 2nd of July, which just so happens to be the same weekend as the Imatranajo Road Races in Finland.

There are three further motorcycle events at Oliver’s Mount in 2023: The Barry Sheene Classic in July, a round of the GB SuperMoto Championship in August, which includes a hill climb on the Bank Holiday Monday, and the Steve Henshaw Gold Cup in September.

The rest of the year, the road racing circuit is a public road, and with due deference to the speed limit, nothing stops you from riding a lap (or three), which is precisely what I did after stopping at the café on the circuit for a mug of tea.

Jarno Saarinen Imatra Circuit

Between 1964 and 1982, the Grand Prix at Imatra held world championship status. The list of those who raced there includes all of the headline names of that era, including Agostini, who won there 16 times, Hailwood, Katayama, Roberts, Mamola, Sheene … the list is long and distinguished.

Finnish rider Jarno Saarinen – the only Finn to win a world title on two wheels – won there several times, perhaps most noteworthy being his 1972 victory that sealed his 250cc world title.

There is a rumour that through a unique sequence of events, Barry Sheene and Steve Parrish may have been associated with “redesigning” the toilet block at Imatra in the late 1970s. Further details can be found in Steve Parrish’s book.

Come the mid-1980s, the costs and the circuit facilities required for World Championship events put a hold on international racing at Imatra until 2016, when the revised street circuit became part of the International Road Racing Championship.

Since then, the event’s popularity has constantly grown, with 2023 welcoming some 50,000 spectators and an entry list from across Europe, including Peter Hickman, Forest Dunn, Rhys Hardisty, Jamie Williams (GB) and Brian McCormack (IRL).

If you can’t make the 2023 event, because you’ll be at Cock O’ North at Oliver’s Mount – obviously – highlights can usually be found on the MotorClub Imatra YouTube channel.

As for 2024 … What a great tour that would make. Ride across the Netherlands to Germany. Catch a ferry to Sweden and then ride to the Swedish east coast for the ferry to Finland. Hmm… now there is one of my better ideas.