RACING

You have to turn the clock back to 1972 for the last time two MVs finished on the podium in the Isle of Man. On that occasion it was a one-two for Giacomo Agostini and Alberto Pagani in what was to be the last appearance of the factory Agustas on the Mountain Course. Four decades on, Dean Harrison and Lee Johnston rode the Kay family’s Black Eagle Racing triples in the 500cc Classic TT. A standing start lap of 110.463mph gave Harrison an initial advantage of almost 16s over Lougher, with Johnson another 2.5s back in third. All three lapped in under 21 minutes. Harrison powered down through Hillberry and Cronk-ny-Mona for the final time with plenty in hand. At the line he was 26.8s ahead of Lougher on corrected timing to claim his first 500cc Classic TT victory.

Next came the Okells Junior Classic. Dunlop lapped at 102.567mph to head Friday’s 350cc qualifying. He is known for is robust riding style, and clearly the team was pleased that their engineering proved equally rugged. But would the bike withstand a gruelling four laps of racing, under the guidance of someone, who by his own admission, was an imposing figure on the dimintive MV? Well, the outcome could not have been better for the team. Dunlop rode the classic MV sensitively and with remarkable expertise, given that he had come so late to the party, and especially since he was used to riding so much faster and bigger bikes. Near the end, his nearest rival, Michael Rutter had to be content to ride in Dunlop's wake, but for some time, they were neck and neck, much to the delight of the crowd. Dunlop’s winning time of 1hr 27min 51.735s beat Chris Palmer’s record from 2013 by almost a full minute,but was just short of Lee Johnston's record, set in 2014 on the same bike. After his first Classic TT win away from the Superbike class, Dunlop said how much he had enjoyed riding the little MV. “I didn’t think that anyone as fat as me could win a race like this. I’m delighted to do it for the Kay family. There are three generations here working on the bikes and they are a great team."

Taken from an article by Phil Wain. First published by Bikesport News on 29th August 2015 Dean Harrison won Saturday’s 500cc Classic TT, the opening race of the 2015 Festival of Motorcycling, with the Black Eagle Racing MV Agusta rider coming home ahead of last year’s winner Ian Lougher. Harrison’s team mate Lee Johnston took third as a number of expected front runners retired. “Apart from the last lap when I had a bit of an oil leak, the bike never missed a beat and if you don’t have an oil leak on a Classic bike, it’s not a classic bike is it! I was a bit wary at the beginning with the tyres but once got into the race, everything just flowed and it was a really fun race,” said Harrison. “I didn’t have any pit boards and when I saw John and Ryan parked up, I started to try and work out who else could be pushing at the front and who could be a rival. I never really saw anyone during the race and just kept it steady. Conditions were good apart from a bit of drizzle on the Mountain on the last lap between the Verandah and Brandywell. I’ve been told Ian (Lougher) would have won the race had he not been penalised for speeding in pit lane but it serves him right, he should know better at his age!” It was quickest in practice John McGuinness that led at Glen Helen on the opening lap by 1.1s from team-mate Ryan Farquhar, closely followed by Harrison, Lougher, Johnston and Michael Dunlop but by Ballaugh it was clear the Morecambe Missile was in trouble as he was down to fifth with Farquhar now leading by just over three seconds from Harrison. Michael Rutter and William Dunlop were also in trouble stopping at Sarah’s Cottage and Ballacraine respectively and McGuinness was soon posted as a retirement at Parliament Square. There was further drama when Farquhar was reported as having suffered a similar fate at the same corner. So, at the end of a dramatic opening lap, it was Harrison who led with a lap of 110.463mph, which gave him a 15.8s lead over Lougher who pitted for fuel. Johnston was in third on the second MV followed by Michael Dunlop, Dan Cooper and Danny Webb. Just like twelve months ago though, Lougher was penalised by 30s for speeding in pit lane, dropping him back to eighth. Dunlop was now leading on the road but Harrison was the man setting the pace and he was really pressing on, extending his lead throughout the second lap. Indeed, with another 110mph+ lap, his advantage over team-mate Johnston was now 18s, the duo both stopping to refuel. Dunlop was holding a good third from Lougher and Webb but Cooper was another retiree, coming to a halt along the Cronk y Voddy straight. The pit stops closed the field up and at Glen Helen on lap three, Harrison’s lead over Dunlop was only 3.2s with Johnston a further 14.3s adrift. Lougher was also charging, only four seconds behind the final podium place. However, for the remainder of the lap, Harrison reasserted his authority back on the race and heading into the fourth and final lap, his lead was back up to 25 seconds over new second place man Lougher, who lapped at 110.729mph. Dunlop was two tenths of a second behind Lougher in third as Johnston dropped back to fourth but Webb’s good run came to end at the pits, the British Supersport runner retiring from fifth There was no such trouble for Harrison though and he duly came home in first, the third different Classic TT winner in as many years. His gap over Lougher at the end was 26.8s as Johnston completed the podium in third. Dunlop went out at the Mountain Mile on the final lap and that allowed Jamie Coward and Chris Swallow to move up to fourth and fifth with Keith Amor’s persistence being rewarded in sixth. Wattie Brown, David Madsen-Mygdal, Ivan Lintin and Phil McGurk completed the top ten.

The plan was to enter two riders, Dean Harrison and Lee Johnston in the Bennetts Senior, and Lee Johnston in the Okells Junior 350cc race, which he had won in record time in 2014. But, as we know, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Lee was not available to ride after having broken his collarbone during the Ulster Grand Prix qualifying sessions earlier in the year. This left a vacancy, into which Michael Dunlop fitted very well. During the 500cc practice sessions, the team were disappointed when they had to withdraw Dunlop’s machine from the Senior battle after detonation problems caused a loss of compression on one cylinder. This left Harrison alone to fly the Black Eagle flag in the senior race. In a battle of attrition against the legendary John McGuinness, the early stages were nip and tuck, with fractions of a second between them. However, after a fuel stop, McGuinness forged ahead and Harrison was unable to catch him. Despite having set the fastest time in practice, Dean finished second, relinquishing his 2015 title to McGuinness. For the third year running, a Black Eagle MV was on the Classic TT podium. And.... there's always next year....

A report by Dave Kay.. Goodwood Revival - the classic event of the year! Three of the MV Meccanica Verghera's manufactured triples competed: The No 10 500cc MV, owned by John Chapman and ridden by Mick Grant and Gary Johnson. The No1 Black Eagle Racing Team's 500cc MV ridden by Alan Oversby and Phil Sharpe. The No3 420cc MV owned by Dave Kay ridden by Brian Richards and Gordon Russell All bikes were in adjacent pits so there was lots of friendly rivalry and banter. I think the Black Eagle Racing Team looked resplendent in their embroided blue overalls. Practice and qualifying was on Friday 13th September No10 mv pole position at 1.30.219 No1 4th on grid 1.33.389 No3 15th on grid with a time of 139.300 which was better than expected seeing that it has 25bhp less than the 500s. Saturday 14th September 12.30pm was Bike Race 1 It was won by no10 Grant/Johnson with a best lap of 129.111 The Black Eagles' no1 crashed out while leading on lap 5 and no3 finished 12th with a best lap of 138.539. However, the fastest time was recorded on lap 4 by no1 Alan Oversby at 1.28.497 - 97.63mph Sunday 15th September was Bike Race 2 No1 bike, after its inspection for wildlife in the gravel trap had only suffered minor damage which was repaired with duct tape and presented to chief scrutiner for inspection. All OK None of the MVs won the race but the no10 Grant/Johnson came second with a best time of 128.432 and no1 Oversby/Sharpe 3rd with best time of 128.195. Bike no3 Richards/Russell finished 16th. The lap record was again achieved by Alan Oversby at 128.195 - 97.96mph The combined classification of the two races gave no10 Grant/Johnson the win. Bike no3 Richards/Russell finished 12th which they were well pleased. Bike no1 after the disaster in the gravel trap archived fastest lap in both races and the lap record of 128.195 So to summarise, the 3 bikes built by MV Meccanica Verghera Ltd over the 2 races were 1st 2nd and a 3rd with bikes no10 and no1, two fastest laps with bike no1 and a lap record of 128.195. All 3 bikes had a successful weekend with no mechanical failures. Finally a sincere congratulations to John Chapman, Mick Grant and Gary Johnson for finally winning Goodwood on an MV - The first time Nortons have been beaten!

A report by Dave Kay.. At the request of the organisers we have attended and raced at the Goodwood revival since 2005 with little success. One of our client’s MV3 bikes, built by MV Meccanica Verghera, won the event in 2013. We achieved top six placing but the win was elusive. Having had 6 podiums in 4 years in the I.O.M Classic TT’s, which included 3 wins, 2 seconds and a third, for whatever reason the team was not invited to the 2018 or 2019 races, which amazingly helped win at Goodwood. In 2019 Black Eagle Racing rebuilt with great care the 2016 MV Triple just for this event. Usually the bike we entered had already been thrashed at the TT for 250 miles. In past years due to race dates, we had not had the time to rebuild the bike for the Revival, so it went as it left the TT to Goodwood. With a rebuilt motorcycle and two top riders Lee Johnston and Jon-Boy Lee, the latter who had not raced for 10 years entered the event. We won races 1 and 2, the win being the average placing of both races, so at least we were victorious. It took 14 years and proved the MV was more than competitive. All of the team was, to say the least, well pleased and well lubricated.