Race Retro 2011 is scheduled to take place from 25 to 27 February at its usual location, Stoneleigh Park, Coventry, UK. The 2010 version celebrated 60 years of Norton Motorcycles, but 2011 will be a bit broader and will be all about machines produced in Italy.
In fact, both the motorcycle and the automobile portions of the annual show will be dedicated to marques from the southern European nation. The car show will feature Lancia, an Italian legend in rally racing. Over on the two-wheeled side, anything made by Italian manufacturers will be embraced and displayed to the large crowd of spectators attending.
Bikes from the likes of Benelli, Ducati, Gilera, MV Agusta and Moto Guzzi will fill the showground. A special selection of historic racing motorcycles from those marques will be shown as well. Bikes such as the Gilera 500-4, which wowed at the Isle of Man TT in 1957 at the hands of Bob McIntyre when he recorded the first official 100 mph lap of the course, will be present. MV Agusta’s ‘Gallarate fire engines’ will also be on hand.
These machines were used by MV to dominate the Grand Prix racing circuits for over a
decade beginning in 1958; world famous race pilots John Surtees, Mike Hailwood and Giacomo Agostini helped at that task. Ducati Desmodromic wonders from lightweight singles to the massive V-twin in the Desmosedici will also join these icons.
Given the incredible history of Italian bikes, the 2011 Race Retro is sure to attract a huge crowd over the February weekend. The motorcycles which have come from Italy over the last 80 or so years have consistently welcomed the best racers from around the world and together they have captured innumerable championships in local, national and international series.
The passion with which many of these machines are built comes through in the incredible beauty and performance of each of them. Fans of Italian machinery will not want to miss Race Retro 2011, and those who have never seen such amazing bikes up close should make plans to attend right now!
