Guy Martin Ulster Crash

Dirt Quake hero, long time ally of Sideburn and total one-off, Guy Martin had an horrendous crash at the Dundrod 150 last week. This race is part of the Ulster GP race festival and held on the fastest racetrack in the world (with a faster average speed than even the Isle of Man TT, with a lap record speed of 133.997mph). Guy was leading the race, ahead of outright lap record holder Bruce Anstey, when he was viciously highsided.

He suffered multiple broken bones: five vertebrae; hand; sternum and is very badly beaten up. He's had his spine pinned. It means his Triumph-supported attempt at the land speed record is now postponed until further notice.

It seems a little bit mercenary, but I'll say it anyway... Guy fans might like the Sideburn x Guy Martin T-shirt we have a few of. Every order gets a Chris Watson-designed Guy sticker too (while stocks last). G

Guy in happier times, 2014. 

Go North West, Young Man

Today, Saturday, is the main race day at the North West 200 in Northern Ireland, with Supersport, Supertwins, Superstock and Superbike races. Michael Dunlop, having switched to BMW this year from Honda, has put himself on pole for the Superstock and showcase Superbike races. Here's Dunlop in 2012, pootling around on a practice lap on a Fireblade. MP

Under The Skin - Johansson & McWilliams

Under The Skin stars Scarlett Johansson as a seductive alien who preys on and kills Scotsmen. It's directed by British filmmaker Jonathan Glazer - who made the brilliant Sexy Beast.

Scarlett's character has a superbike-riding accomplice played by former GP star Jeremy McWilliams. In an exclusive interview with me, for one of my regular day job clients, Performance Bikes, McWill told me this...

‘There’s some running, stabbing, some killing, bit of everything. There are some really weird scenes in it. It’s not a talking part, I’m just murdering people and clearing up after [Johansson].'

In one scene, McWilliams is riding at 150mph down a Glasgow motorway, in another he is fighting a naked actor who has a real, almost Elephant Man-like disfigurement. Sex and the City it is not.

Jeremy McWilliams (#99), now 50 years old, will be trying to win one of the NorthWest 200 Supertwin races tonight and another on Saturday, on the Ryan Farquhar-prepared KMR Kawasaki 650. G

Road Racers by Stephen Davison

Very few photographers can be credited with influencing a sport, but Irish photographer Davison has. His images turned British motorcyclists onto real road racing like never before and he helped make stars of riders like Guy Martin and Ryan Farquhar. This isn't some PR blurb sent out with this new 140-odd page hardback book, it's an eyewitness opinion from a me, a journalist who was working for the biggest British magazines when Stephen's photos started coming through. It's a bold statement, but I stand by it.

Very few British riders knew anything about road racing beyond the NW200 and the TT, and the latter was on its arse. Once British magazines started printing the stories, foreign mags followed. I first worked with Stephen in 2004 and have regularly been on assignments with him since.

Stephen's photos; Paul Phillips taking over the TT; affordable on-board cameras, that led to improved TV coverage and new, free digital channels that allowed for more space for quality footage have transformed the TT and road racing in general. But, I truly believe, Stephen helped get the ball rolling by showing the world not all racers had become sponsor-thanking athletes. Road racing has long had its characters and mavericks and Stephen has benefitted from a rich seam including McGuinness, all the Dunlops, Martin, Hutchinson, Finnegan, and the fans that line the courses, both day-trippers and the hardcore.

The book includes photos dating back to 2000 right up to the present. They are from Ireland, England, Isle of Man, Macau, Spain and the Czech Republic. They include race footage and intimate moments, including an incredible shot of Stephen's friend Ryan Farquhar under-going surgery and at the funeral of Farquhar's uncle.

The RRP is £17.99.

Grease, hair and the craic

With the Classic TT running this weekend, it reminded me of this precious piece of documentary-making by David Wallace, who followed Joey Dunlop, Frank Kennedy and Mervyn Robinson through the 1977 season of real road racing at such as the North West 200, Cookstown and Carrowdore. It's all Transit vans and country music, flat-out test runs on quiet Irish back lanes, filthy fingernails and scraping together the pennies to go racing. Beautifully filmed and a snapshot of another world. MP

Foxtrot

A few weeks ago I went riding around Northern Ireland with Kar Lee (who does loads for Sideburn when we need him most). It was a great trip, but when I got home I realised I'd only taken one photo. This one, on the bottom deck of the ferry from Stranraer. G

Indoor Short Track in Dublin

I think this is a first for Ireland... Some of the best UK Short Trackers will be racing at the Irish Motorcycle Show, at the Royal Dublin Showground, this weekend - March 4-6.
TT, BSB and World Endurance winner Steve Plater will also be competing on the tight indoor oval. You're in for a treat if you've never seen it. G

Rising Sun Kustom Klothing

Stuka, over in Northern Ireland, has set up a webshop selling custom bike T-shirts and stuff he imports from all over the world. Good Luck Stuka!. Check out Rising Sun. He's looking out for a proper shop too. GI

This Saturday in Belfast

Highly recommended. This is our mate Guy Martin, one of the fastest TT riders of all time (and the fella in the Red Torpedo ads in Sideburn).
Check out one of his 129mph laps of the Isle of Man TT here and the second half of the lap here. His laidback commentary is at odds with the slamdance the Fireblade is doing at 190mph.
They're 18-minute laps and he does six in a race. Get yourself a cuppa and enjoy. GI

Shelbourne Tigers

These photos are beautiful. Stuka tuned us into them. Thanks.

'In the summer of 1950, Speedway Racing came to Dublin. The showman and promoter Ronnie Green brought members of his Wimbledon Dons team to Shelbourne Park each Sunday where they raced as the The Shelbourne
Tigers against other English teams.
In 1951, a group of the non-Wimbledon riders set up a midweek rival attraction on a new track at Chapelizod where they raced as the Dublin Eagles. The popularity of the sport was short lived and Speedway racing in Ireland was finished by the middle of the decade.'
Photos and caption by Fionnbar Callahan a photographer in Ireland, who has been in the business since 1950.

The bottom fella is Tommy Price (Wembley Lion & 1949 World Speedway Champion) Chapelizod, 1951. What an amazing looking bloke. A couple of these shots remind me of the style of Nick Clements, the in-demand fashion photographer and bike fiend (who has kindly supplied some shots for the next Sideburn). You really should check his portfolio, even if fashion isn't your thing.

Stuka also points out that speedway might be making a comeback to Ireland. We dug up this story from UK tabloid, The Daily Star.
'Businessman Stuart Cosgrave is bidding to re-launch weekly speedway in Ireland – after a 38-year gap!
And his ambitious plans to re-establish the sport across the Irish Sea include staging a Grand Prix on a temporary circuit at the Royal Dublin Showground.'