Manx Grand Prix Top Ten

This year's Manx Grand Prix once again proved what a brilliant event it is, with the great weather contributing towards some fabulous racing. Several new stars where unearthed and some of the older ones upped their game substantially, with close racing being the order of the week from the Newcomers Race right through to the Senior on Friday.

Here we take a look back at some of the riders who impressed us the most during Manx Grand Prix 2002.

1 - Mick Skene
Mick Skene came to the 2002 Manx Grand Prix with a reputation as a crasher, after only finishing one out of his three starts on the Mountain Circuit previously. Not only did the Scot's ace put that reputation right, he shattered just about every record he could along the way, winning the Junior event and only missing out on the Senior when his steering damper worked loose on the third lap of the race.

Skene, who has since retired from the sport, now holds a unique record as being the only rider to ever hold the Newcomers, Junior and Senior Manx Grand Prix lap records all at the same time. Add to that a race record for the Junior Class, the absolute record for the event and perhaps even more amazingly the fact that he is now the 8th fastest rider ever around the Mountain Circuit on a 600cc motor cycle, and his standing start lap in the Senior is the 5th fastest 600cc standing start lap ever. Pretty amazing!

Mick Skene was THE man of Manx Grand Prix 2002, and although he has now retired from the sport, he will not be quickly forgotten and some of his records will take a long time to be broken.

2 - Mark Parrett
For Midhurst man Mark Parrett, the 2002 Manx Grand Prix saw him come of age as a road racer. After a slow start he clawed his way up to an impressive third place in the Junior event on his own R6 Yamaha. But the best was to come, when he realised a dream by winning the Senior Manx Grand Prix after early leader Mick Skene ran into trouble.

But let's take nothing away from Mark. He rode the big Kawasaki hard in the Senior, and people in the know claim that the 750cc ZXR is a real handful around the Isle of Man with only certain people ever really getting to grips with them on the torturous bumps on the 37 and ¾ miles worth of race track.

He made no mistakes, and was in a perfect position to take over the running should anything happen to Skene; and of course he did just that. He is also now the second fastest Manx Grand Prix rider ever, which is no mean feat for a bloke that until recently was a sidecar trials passenger!

3 - Davy Morgan
To some, Davy Morgan's form at this year's Manx Grand Prix will come as no surprise, as it highlighted just how far the thirty one year old has come in two years since his Manx debut. His form in Ireland this year has been brilliant and he brought that form and perhaps a bit extra to the Island this time round scoring two rostrum finishes, to go to the one he already had from 2000. Three Manx Grand Prix rostrum appearances in four starts is no mean feat.

His second in the Junior event behind Skene was certainly the best of his two rides, lapping the circuit at over 117mph on his 'Regal' spec Yamaha. In the Lightweight Race, perhaps he might have been expected to pose more of a challenge to winner Nigel Beattie, but Beattie wanted it more on the day, that coupled with his Manx experience, proved too much for Morgan.

But what it did show, is a point that many people in Ireland will tell you, and that is that Davy Morgan is a very intelligent rider, who rides his own race at his own pace and if someone wants to go faster on the day, he lets them, rather than sticking his own neck out, and that is a method which should see the Saintfield rider go to score many more consistent results at home and when at the TT or Manx Grand prix in the future.

4 - Nigel Beattie
Laxey's Nigel Beattie realised a life's ambition by winning the Lightweight Race at this years Manx, which was the third time he had appeared on the rostrum in three years.

Beattie's super smooth style won through on the day, with a fast standing start lap of over 113mph, proving enough to give him a good cushion over Davy Morgan. Nigel has a lot of Mountain Circuit experience for a rider who is still only twenty four years old, and hopefully he will be able to put that into good use as he begins his TT career, starting next year.

As well as his Lightweight success, Nigel also did well in the Junior race where he rode a four stroke in the Manx Grand Prix for the first time, and coped admirably, taking sixth place at the flag.

Hopefully he will be able to continue with his learning curve on four stroke machinery, which he will have to do to succeed at the TT, and we will have another Manx born rider to cheer on along on the way to success with the likes of Milky Quayle at future TT's.

=5 - Ray Porter
Ray Porter would perhaps have been in fifth position on our run down by himself, had he have scored two further finishes to back up his brilliant ride in the Newcomers Race. However, a mechanical break down early on ruled him out of the Junior Race and he had to leave on the Friday evening and miss the Senior event which was held on Saturday.

Nevertheless, Poter was a Manx Grand Prix revelation, under the guidance of Uel Duncan, proving that he has boundless ability, which will only be helped with more experience.

Porter dominated practise and took that pace onto the race where he led from start to finish, breaking fellow Donegal man Seamus Greene's Race Record in the process. Only a slight hiccup at the Bungalow during that race blotted the amiable Porter's copy book, and at twenty six years of age, looks like a good bet for future success.

Next year will see Porter taking his challenge to the national classes in Ireland against the established stars. I'm sure he will perform well, and should be close to the front by the end of the season. As for the Mountain Circuit, the temptation is to go straight to the TT now, but it would be good to see him come back for one more go at the Manx proper where he would certainly feature at the front in the main classes, if not as the pre race favourite… and it's still a year away!

=5 - Tom Clucas
Peel rider Tom Clucas had a great Manx Grand Prix, but the competitive former Isle of Man National Football player probably wanted more. He followed up a solid second position to Ray Porter in the Newcomers event, with a seventh in the Junior, which was probably a better ride still, considering the heavy traffic he had to come through.

In the Senior he retired with mechanical trouble, but he was holing onto a leader board position again, which proved how well he was riding.

Confidence is not a problem for Tom, and he has good machinery at his disposal, but if you take all that away, he still has talent which he proved during the last fortnight. You can have the best bikes in the world, but you have to have a good and at the TT or Manx, brave rider, to make them go fast.

Tom is already in his thirties, and it would have been interesting to see where he would be in the sport had he started racing earlier. If he stays at the Manx, he will become one of the main threats for honours, probably as early as next year, and a win in one of the main classes isn't outside of his capabilities. However, should he decided to go to the TT, he won't disgrace himself either.

7 - Bill Swallow
Bill Swallow is a Classic Racing phenomenon. Swallow has won eight Classic Races at the Manx Grand Prix after chalking up another win this year and was only denied a ninth by an electrical fault which put him out of the Senior Classic, when in a commanding position.

Only the great Bob Heath has more wins with eleven, and after that comes Bill's late brother Richard with five. An amazing family!

Swallow is always immaculate and instantly recognisable with his black leathers, and red fairings, not to mention the open face helmet, and is very much part of the Manx Grand Prix.

If we where to compile a similar list to this for the last ten Manx Grand Prix's you can guarantee that the name of Bill Swallow would appear in just about all of them at some point, which emphasises the amazing consistency of one of Classic racings all time great riders.

8 - Ian Pattinson
The saying 'Always the bridesmaid, never the bride' is one used regularly when talking about Ian Pattinson, who this year enjoyed his best Manx Grand Prix to date.

Pattinson had never before reached the rostrum at the Manx, but had finished fourth place on numerous occasions. In the Junior Race he was holding onto third for much of the race, before losing out to Mark Parrett in the final stages. Denied again! However he finally got it right in the Senior Race, where he rode Martin Bullock's ageing, but superbly fast ZXR Kawasaki to third behind Parrett and team mate Mick Skene.

Pattinson is virtually a once a year racer now, building his season around the Manx, and therefore will almost certainly be back to challenge for honours again next year, flying the flag for loyal sponsor Bullock. Should that be the case, he will be confident of taking a few more rostrum finishes away with him, if not a visit to the top step as well.

9 - Barry Davidson
Riding the ex Gary Dynes machinery, under the Royal Hotel banner, likeable Ulsterman, Barry Davidson, must find himself under a fair bit of pressure to do well at times, not necessarily from his sponsors, but from the expectant public, looking for a new Gary Dynes. Davidson isn't Gary Dynes, and he does well to keep his sights set on what he wants to achieve and not what other people want or expect from him.

His laid back and patient approach worked well at the Manx Grand Prix, where he won the Newcomers Class B Race, and had two other good finishes in the Junior and Lightweight Races. With TT regular Shaun Brown assisting him, Davidson, slowly improved his lap times over the fortnight, winning the Newcomers race at an average of over 106mph.

A steady ride in the Junior Race on his 600cc mount was followed up by a good ninth in the Lightweight on Saturday, leaving Barry to walk away from the event feeling totally satisfied with a job well done.

Barry is a two stoke fanatic, and thus would make sense for him to return for another go at the Lightweight Manx Grand Prix again next year, rather than go to the TT where, there is no separate 250cc race anymore. At twenty five, time is on his side, and he should develop into a good Manx Grand prix and/or TT rider for the future.

10 - Richard Quayle
Richard Quayle is known for his stunning similarity to the Milky Bar Kid, almost as much as his for riding a motorcycle. But boy can he ride a bike, as he continues to prove, and at this years Manx Grand Prix, he showed by winning the Classic Race, that he is adaptable, experienced and sympathetic to the most fragile of engines.

Admittedly, Quayle was handed the win in the Senior Manx Grand Prix by Swallow's early retirement, however, as always this race was one of attrition, and Quayle was fully aware of this fact, riding the Molnar Manx Norton just hard enough to get it home in a rostrum position.

But in what was his first Manx Grand Prix on a Classic machine, he impressed many with the ease in which he adapted his style to suit the Manx Norton, and not forgetting the fact that he also became the fifth fastest ever Classic rider around the Mountain Circuit.

As we all know, Quayle will be looking for further success at the TT and beyond next year, after enjoying a great year on more modern machinery, but it would be good to see him back at the Manx on a Classic machine in the future, where he adds some personality to the side of the sport, that often keeps itself to itself, as well as attracting a lot of good publicity for Classic racing.

Others worthy of a mention…
This years Manx was a very strong yet open affair, which is a point highlighted here with three winners not being mentioned in the top ten. Graham Burden won Class C of the Newcomers race with a smooth and stylish display on his 400cc Honda. Burden is a man of few words, but obviously loves his racing, and the Manx win finishes off a good year for him on the roads, and hopefully next year we will see him moving onto larger capacity machinery also.

Alan Bennie won the Ultra Lightweight Race by less than a second from Paul Corrin. Both riders deserve a mention, with Bennie coming from behind to take a dramatic win on his 400cc Yamaha ahead of Kawasaki mounted Corrin, who had to settle for the lap record and second place on the day. Both riders also had good rides earlier in the week in the Junior race.

Roy Richardson won the Ultra Lightweight Classic race by some distance this time, after suffering from plenty of misfortune in the same race in the past. Richardson's pace was so hot that he would have finished third on corrected time in the concurrently run Junior Classic event.

Another Classic man that deserves a mention in Bob Price who, it has to be said was a bit of an underdog before the fortnight, but went onto take two rostrum finishes on his Honda machines. Other Classic men to go well included Chris McGahn, Derek Whalley, Bud Jackson, Barry Wood and Alan Oversby amongst others.

In the Newcomers classes, several good riders emerged, which bodes well, for the future of this event, and the future of the sport in general. In the larger capacity class, Englishmen David Bell and Craig Atkinson impressed, along with Irishmen Maurice Hogg, Ian Forristal, Ken McCrea and Liam Quinn.

Their fellow Ulster ace James McCullagh rode well all fortnight, taking second in the Newcomers race setting the fastest lap at over 109mph, but unfortunately broke down in the Lightweight.

In C Class, Mark Castle, Dave Corlett and Scott Shimmin where all impressive, but suffered their fair share of bad luck, with Classic regular Phil Sharp also a hit, taking second in the Newcomer's Race.

Back in the man classes, riders like Howard Taylor, Simon Perkin, Julian Bull, Ian Watson, Andy and Alan Jackson and Norman Kneen all deserve a mention as does the fastest lady competitor at the Manx ever, Maria Costello who lapped at over 110mph in the Senior Race on her 600cc Honda.

But what happened to…
It all went wrong for Phil Gilder who perhaps showed his hand too early in practise and by the race week, had no more speed to give, finishing a good fourth in the Senior, but being black flagged from the Junior when off the rostrum. Perhaps that wouldn't be considered a bad effort for some, but Gilder would have wanted and expected more.

Steve Rathbone was looking good in practise week, and was holding onto a good position in the Junior Race before he collided with a backmarker at Pinfold Cottage, breaking his ankle in the ensuing accident, forcing him out of the rest of the event.

Foxdale's Paul Duckett was expected to do well on the Investasure Suzuki after his great ride to third in the 2000 Senior event but it turned out to be a disastrous week for the big man. Mechanical problems held him back in the Junior Race, finishing well off the pace, and matters where made worse in the Senior, when he ran out of fuel on his way into the pit stops on lap two.

Former Outright Manx Grand Prix lap record holder, Colin Breeze was back on the island to contest the Senior Manx Classic event, but it went wrong early on for the Classic racing regular, retiring on the first lap of the race at Kirk Michael.

So that's it from the 2002 Manx Grand Prix. We hope you enjoyed our coverage of the event, including this last piece, and we look forward to the Manx coming around on the calendar again next year.

Words - Paul Phillips
paul@realroadracing.com