Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1547449
Former World Superbike Champion Tom Sykes is just ahead of me, sparks shooting from the right-hand exhaust of his 1950 Vincent Black Light- ning as it touches down on the historic Goodwood racetrack. He is clearly struggling with ground clearance on right-hand corners; his V-twin's two beauti- ful exhausts, worth who knows how much, are being ground to atoms on the asphalt. His bike is rapid on the straights, wickedly so for a machine some seven decades old, but heading into the double- right at the back of the Good- wood circuit, I spot my chance. I brake as late as I dare on our beautifully prepared 1953 Matchless G80 and aim for the inside. But this is Tom Sykes I'm trying to outbrake. The door slams shut. I regroup and set up for the chicane. But just as I bend my G80 into the turn, a Norton ap- pears underneath me. It's Troy Bayliss. Yes, that Troy Bayliss, the multiple WSBK Champion. He's been stalking us, studying our lines. Now he dives for the inside and leaves me nowhere to go. It's breathtakingly close: hard, committed and millimeter perfect. No prisoners taken. Troy grabs the place on the way in, but he's compromised the exit. I get as close to the infamous Goodwood 'wall' as possible, clip the curb on the exit, tuck in and drive the Match- less hard. The Norton is right ahead, but I have the momen- tum, and my Matchless has more drive. Across the start- finish line, I pull alongside and give Troy a cheeky tap on the backside, just enough to remind him that my Matchless has the legs on his Norton. Turns out none of us won the drag into turn one. As we bumped and barged our price- less classics into each other, Isle of Man TT winner Davey Todd, enjoying supercharged power on his 1928 BMW R57 Kompressor, took that honor. But it's easy to see why, for so many, the Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy is the Revival's headline act. The fiercely competitive dou- ble-header features a mouthwa- tering collection of classic racing machinery piloted by an intrigu- ing mix of former world cham- pions, TT racers, classic racing specialists and passionate classic-bike owners. Qualifying takes place on Friday, followed by a 30-minute race on Saturday and another on Sunday. There is drinking in between. Both races begin with a Le Mans-style start, the riders sprinting across the track to their waiting bikes. Each machine is shared by two competitors, who swap at around half-distance. One is usually a star or profes- sional rider; the other is the bike's owner or an experienced classic-racing specialist. It is a race quite unlike anything else. RIDE REVIEW I GOODWOOD REVIVAL 2026 P100