INTERVIEW
NORTON MOTORCYCLES OWNER STUART GARNER
P84
Doing so has entailed shifting
from a compact 8000-square-foot
factory housing a dozen employ-
ees into a six-times-larger modern
annex to a 226-year-old stately
home nestling in the middle of a
26-acre estate in the heart of Eng-
land. Workforce is now numbering
75. It's involved returning to the
Isle of Man five years running to
race in the TT, with new rider Da-
vid Johnson confirming his status
as the TT's fastest Australian in lap-
ping the Isle of Man's 37¾-mile TT
Course at over 130 mph en route
to seventh place in the Superbike
TT on the Norton SG5 race bike
using a factory-supported ver-
sion of Aprilia's three-time World
Superbike Champion RSV4 motor.
Norton's new 45,000-square-foot
factory formerly housed up to 500
employees of BMI (British Midland
International), BMI/British Midland
International, which was head-
quartered at the palatial Donington
Hall estate until it was acquired by
its British Airways rival in October
2012. Garner purchased Doning-
ton Hall from BA in March 2014,
and moved Norton in there later
that summer. He's now in the
process of converting the mansion
built in 1790 into a 14-room bou-
tique hotel and 200-person ban-
queting facility, and has just pur-
WE'VE MANAGED TO AVOID ALL
THE INEVITABLE BANANA SKINS
IN NAVIGATING FROM A STARTUP
COMPANY INTO AN ESTABLISHED
MOTORCYCLE MANUFACTURER…
(Left) Norton Motorcycles owner Stuart Garner
is taking it one step at a time when it comes to
rebuilding the iconic British motorcycle company.
(Right) With David Johnson at the controls,
Norton had a great showing in the Superbike TT
class at the Isle of Man.
