Outright Course Lap Record Holders at Oliver’s Mount

 

The first course lap record was created in September 1946, by Syd Barnett riding a 490cc Norton, in a time of 2 minutes 33 seconds at an average speed of 57.49 mph. In September 1947, the Coventry butcher reduced his time by 0.6 seconds, setting a new record average speed of 57.70 mph.

Ted Andrew was the first rider to push the course record over 60 mph in July 1950, on lap eight of ‘The Tesseyman Trophy’ 500cc race, whilst involved in a battle for fourth place with Triumph mounted Harry Bostock, Andrew circulated the course in a time of 2 minutes, 252/5 seconds, to set a new standard of 60.48 mph.

 

Date	Rider	Machine	Time	Speed
1946 Sept	Syd Barnett	490 Norton	2 min, 33.0 sec	57.49 mph
1947 Sept	Syd Barnett	496 Norton	2 min, 32.4 sec	57.70 mph
1948 July	George Brown	998 Vincent	2 min, 31.8 sec	57.94 mph
1949 Sept	Geoff Duke	499 Norton	2 min, 31.6 sec	58.02 mph
1950 July	Ted Andrew	499 Norton	2 min, 25.4 sec	60.48 mph
1950 Sept	Geoff Duke	499 Norton	2 min, 20.8 sec	62.46 mph
1951 Sept	Bill Doran	500 AJS	2 min, 17.4 sec	64.31 mph

 

As part of the continuous course improvements the ‘Esses’ were re-profiled ready for the July 1954 meeting, which reduced the circuit length by 72 yards from 2 miles 800 yards to 2 miles 728 yards.

In September 1965, John Cooper did what many riders had tried and failed to achieve. The record course record had stood at 69.21 mph for three years and there were those who had begun to doubt if the ‘70’ was attainable, but Cooper in one superb lap registered 70.18 mph.

A special mention should be made of Finland’s Jarno Saarinen, who on his first ever visit to the circuit in September 1972, delighted the 24,000 crowd as he smashed record after record and became the first man ever to lap the tortuous 2.4 mile Scarborough course in under two minutes. Riding a TZ 350 Yamaha he knocked no less than three and a half seconds off the existing outright lap record, pushing the speed up to 72.53 mph.

At the 1977 September International meeting, in front of a 40,000 plus crowd, reigning ‘double’ 500cc World Champion Barry Sheene became the first man to break the 80 mph barrier. During the Forward Trust 1000cc final, in one of his famous duels with the works 750 Kawasaki of Mick Grant, 27-year-old Sheene powered his works 653 Suzuki around in a lap of 1 minute 48.4 seconds, 80.16 mph.

Prior to the introduction of ‘Farm Bends’ the outright circuit lap record was held by Carl Fogarty, which he set on his way to winning the first leg of the ‘International King of the Roads’ (400cc-1000cc) race, during the September 1989 International Gold Cup meeting. Riding a 748cc Honda RC30, ‘Flying Foggy’ tore around the circuit in a time of 1m 45.1s, a speed of 82.67 mph.

 

Date	Rider	Machine	Time	Speed
1954 July	Phil Carter	499 Norton	2 min, 14.6 sec	64.55 mph
1954 Sept	Geoff Duke	500 Gilera	2min, 09.8 sec	66.94 mph
1955 Sept	Geoff Duke	500 Gilera	2min, 05.4 sec	69.29 mph
1960 May	Alan Shepherd	500 Matchless	2min, 05.4 sec	69.29 mph
1962 Sept	Peter Middleton	500 Norton	2 min, 05.0 sec	69.51 mph
1965 Sept	John Cooper	500 Norton	2min, 03.8 sec	70.18 mph
1971 July	Steve Machin	350 Yamaha	2 min, 03.4 sec	70.41 mph
1972 Sept	Jarno Saarinen	350 Yamaha	1 min, 59.8 sec	72.53 mph
1973 Sept	Mick Grant	750 Norton	1 min, 58.0 sec	73.64 mph
1974 July	Mick Grant	350 Yamaha	1 min, 57.2 sec	74.14 mph
1975 Sept	Phil Read	500 MV Agusta	1 min, 55.6 sec	75.16 mph
1976 July	Steve Manship	499 Yamaha	1 min, 54.8 sec	75.69 mph
1976 Sept	Mick Grant	750 Kawasaki	1 min, 50.8 sec	78.42 mph
1976 Sept	Barry Sheene	542 Suzuki	1 min, 50.8 sec	78.42 mph
1977 Sept	Barry Sheene	653 Suzuki	1 min, 48.4 sec	80.16 mph
1979 Sept	Barry Sheene	680 Suzuki	1 min, 47.2 sec	81.05 mph
1980 Sept	Barry Sheene	750 Yamaha	1 min, 47.2 sec	81.05 mph
1981 Sept	Barry Sheene	498 Yamaha	1 min, 46.2 sec	81.82 mph
1986 July	Trevor Nation	500 Suzuki	1 min, 46.0 sec	81.97 mph
1987 Sept	Roger Marshall	1080 Suzuki	1 min, 45.5 sec	82.36 mph
1988 Sept	James Whitham	750 Suzuki	1 min, 45.3 sec	82.52 mph
1989 Sept	Carl Fogarty	750 Honda	1 min, 45.1 sec	82.67 mph

 

The Farm Bends complex was introduced to the circuit for the start of the 1991 season, with its roller coaster combination of right-left-right bends increasing the circuit length from 2.4136 to 2.43 miles, resulting in greater times and slower speeds. Dean Ashton set the benchmark for the altered track on his 750 Yamaha lapping at over 77 mph, on his way to winning the Spring National Trophy.

During a spectacular Gold Cup race in September 1994, Ulsterman Phillip McCallen fought hammer and tong with Yorkshire-man David Jefferies, on this occasion Jefferies took the victory but McCallen riding the Honda Britain 750 RC45 shattered the lap record by almost two seconds, his lap time of 1 minute 47.488 seconds, a speed of 81.386 mph stood for an unprecedented 10 years.

At the 54th International Gold Cup meeting in September 2004, Guy Martin dominated the weekend, taking the chequered flag an incredible eight times and retained the Gold Cup Trophy. In the first leg of the National Superbikes Guy “Carrot Muncher” Martin emphatically scorched around the third lap of the 2.43 mile circuit on his Uel Duncan Racing 1000 Suzuki GSXR, in a time of 1 minute, 46.241 seconds, hacking over 1.2 seconds off McCallen’s long-standing record and setting a new absolute lap of 82.341 mph.

Guy Martin’s mastery of the Mount circuit continued at the 2009 September Gold Cup meeting, when he added the Steve Henshaw Gold Cup Trophy to his cabinet for a record successive seventh time. On the fifth lap of the feature Gold Cup race, Guy lapped in 1m 45.299, to dip under his existing outright circuit record. Then to fend off of a determined challenge from Ian Hutchinson, Guy put in a blistering sixth lap, powering his 1000 Hydrex Honda around the circuit in a time of 1m 45.036, setting a new outright best of 83.286 mph.

After being presented with the Gold Cup Trophy, circuit commentator Tony Coupland asked Guy Martin the question: “Did you know you broke the lap record twice during the race ?”

Martin responded: “ Yeah, I know, we're nearly down into the 1m 44 bracket now, which is fair tramping is that !.”

 

Date	Rider	Machine	Time	Speed
1991 May	Dean Ashton	750 Yamaha	1 min, 53.20 sec	77.28 mph
1991 July	Dean Ashton	750 Yamaha	1 min, 51.90 sec	78.18 mph
1991 Sept	Mark Linscott	750 Yamaha	1 min, 51.20 sec	78.67 mph
1992 Sept	James Whitham	750 Yamaha	1 min, 49.40 sec	79.96 mph
1994 Sept	Phillip McCallen	750 Honda	1 min, 47.500 sec	81.380 mph
2004 Sept	Guy Martin	1000 Suzuki	1 min, 46.241 sec	82.341 mph
2007 Sept	Guy Martin	1000 Honda	1 min, 45.543 sec	82.886 mph
2008 Sept	Guy Martin	1000 Honda	1 min, 45.332 sec	83.052 mph
2009 Sept	Guy Martin	1000 Honda	1 min, 45.036 sec	83.286 mph

 

 

 

Unofficially, these are the twenty five fastest solo riders around the Oliver’s Mount circuit since the introduction of Farm Bends in 1991, up to and including the July 2010 Cock o' the North Road Races :

 

Pos	Date	Rider	Machine	Time	Speed
1	2009 Sept	Guy Martin	1000 Honda	1 min, 45.036 sec	83.286 mph
2	2009 Sept	Ian Hutchinson	1000 Honda	1 min, 45.101 sec	83.234 mph
3	2009 Sept	Ryan Farquhar	1000 Kawasaki	1 min, 45.498 sec	82.921 mph
4	2009 Sept	Michael Pearson	1000 Yamaha	1 min, 46.271 sec	82.318 mph
5	2009 Sept	Ian Lougher	1000 Yamaha	1 min, 46.349 sec	82.257 mph
6	2009 July	Kiaran Hankin	1000 Honda	1 min, 46.747 sec	81.951 mph
7	2004 Sept	John McGuinness	1000 Kawasaki	1 min, 46.789 sec	81.918 mph
8	2008 Sept	Michael Dunlop	1000 Suzuki	1 min, 47.241 sec	81.573 mph
9	1994 Sept	Phillip McCallen	750 Honda	1 min, 47.500 sec	81.380 mph
10	2009 Sept	Stephen Mercer	1000 Yamaha	1 min, 47.573 sec	81.322 mph
11	2009 Sept	Gary Johnson	1000 Honda	1 min, 47.590 sec	81.309 mph
12	2008 Sept	William Dunlop	600 Yamaha	1 min, 47.672 sec	81.247 mph
13	1997 Sept	David Jefferies	955 Ducati	1 min, 48.000 sec	81.000 mph
14	2007 May	Marc Ramsbotham	1000 Suzuki	1min 48.034 sec	80.974 mph
15	2009 July	Daniel Frear	600 Yamaha	1min 48.093 sec	80.930 mph
16	2009 July	Keith Pringle	1000 Yamaha	1min 48.111 sec	80.917 mph
17	2010 July	Derek Sheils	1000 Honda	1min 48.514 sec	80.616 mph
18	2009 Sept	Adrian Archibald	1000 Suzuki	1min 48.661 sec	80.507 mph
19	2006 Sept	Martin Finnegan	1000 Honda	1 min, 49.131 sec	80.161 mph
20	2010 July	Ivan Lintin	750 Suzuki	1 min, 49.167 sec	80.134 mph
21	2010 July	Ian Mackman	1000 Suzuki	1 min, 49.236 sec	80.083 mph
22	2007 Sept	Ian Armstrong	1000 Yamaha	1 min, 49.273 sec	80.056 mph
23	2010 July	Dave Hewson	1000 Kawasaki	1 min, 49.321 sec	80.021 mph
24	1992 Sept	James Whitham	750 Suzuki	1 min, 49.400 sec	79.960 mph
25	2005 Sept	Jason Griffiths	1000 Yamaha	1 min, 49.543 sec	79.859 mph

 

Unofficially, these are the ten fastest sidecar crews around the Oliver’s Mount circuit since the introduction of Farm Bends in 1991, up to and including the September 2009 Steve Henshaw Gold Cup Road Races :

Pos	Date	Driver/Passenger	Machine	Time	Speed
1	2008 Sept	Nick Crowe/Mark Cox	600 Honda	1 min, 53.495 sec	77.078 mph
2	2002 Sept	Dave Molyneux/Craig Hallam	600 Honda	1 min, 55.900 sec	75.480 mph
3	2008 Sept	Conrad Harrison/Lee Patterson	600 Honda	1 min, 56.836 sec	74.874 mph
4	2009 Sept	Tony Elmer/Darren Marshall	600 Yamaha	1 min, 56.684 sec	74.972 mph
5	2009 Sept	Tony Reeves/Dipash Chauhan	600 Suzuki	1 min, 56.982 sec	74.781 mph
6	1999 July	Ian Bell/Neil Carpenter	600 Yamaha	1 min, 57.000 sec	74.770 mph
7	2008 Sept	Dave Wallis/Phil Iremonger	600 Honda	1 min, 57.964 sec	74.158 mph
8	2007 May	Nigel Connole/Jamie Winn	600 Honda	1 min, 58.596 sec	73.763 mph
9	1997 Sept	Eddy Wright/Rod Pearce	600 Triumph	1 min, 58.800 sec	73.637 mph
10	1998 April	Greg Lambert/Mark Ross	600 Yamaha	1 min, 59.500 sec	73.206 mph
11	2007 May	Simon Neary/Craig Hallam	600 Yamaha	1min 59.939 sec	72.938 mph