Bob Burns to race Vincent

Press, 16 February 1978, Page 21

Bob Burns to race Vincent

By

ROD DEW

„ k Th * Christ-h R,,^ Ch u motor -cyclist, Bob' Bums, has accepted an invi-r ation to ride a 1000 cu. cmb mcent Black Shadow in then ■gn-sp ee d classic machine i' on during the Australian 1 prix road-racing meet- I mg on the demanding Mount? at n r ' Jrama circuit at Bathurst< Ims has forced him to post-I p P. ne Pi? second attempt to nae right around New Zea-,’ land on his three-cylinder 750; i amaha. The first attempt,' intended to mark his 50 years 1 as . an actlve motor-cyclist, ' ended disastrously when he crashed into a culvert near Murchison. , Now almost fully recovered ' from the extensive injuries he received m the accident, Mr Burns is to make a lecture tour of Australia next month l under the auspices of the;' Classic and Enthusiasts I Motor-cycle Club. He arrives!' Sydney on March 6 and ''■ill return to New Zealand; 1 J t .days later after visiting, Melbourne and Adelaide. I But the most appealing, part of the trip for him will 1 be the visit to Bathurst. He will ride a 1930 Ulster Rudgel' ,n a classic machine run on ' ordinary roads on Easterly -Saturday and ride the Vin-':

■ cent in the five-lap “run” on the racing circuit the next | day. I “This will be a race but they aren’t allowed to call it (one. People over 60 are not i permitted to race motorI cycles in Australia,” Mr | Burns said yesterday. “It will ;be no holds barred as far as J am concerned. Age idoesn't matter to me. I am i really looking forward to it.” Mr Bums is still “a bit stiff” as a result of his acci.dent but he has dispensed with the ill-fitting safety helmet which caused his blackout. He expects to be in top condition in time for the Easter meeting. “I am not a 100 per cent but in another couple of weeks I should be able to do it.” The Vincent Mr Burns will ride is owned by the secretary of the enthusiasts’ club, 'Mr Trevor Thomas, who is 'confined to a wheelchair as the result of a motor-cycle laccident. Mr Thomas main- , tains his interest in motori cycling by looking after the ,Vincent, although he can no longer ride. Vincent motor-cycles and IMr Burns are synonymous.! •He set a world sidecar speed I record with a Vincent streamliner on the Old Tram Road in 1955 and the following 'year took the machine to the

Bonneville Salt Flats in then United States. There he re-ji corded 176.5 m.p.h. which still!) stands as the world’s fastest h run by a motor-cycle sidecar.': Although the trip around I < New Zealand has been post-h

poned, it has not been for- | gotten. Mr Burns is determined to complete what he started. “When I get back 'spell of good weather foreleast, I will take off.” Ifrom Australia, if there is a