- From a Garage to a Racing Community
- “Where Are All the Friggin’ British Bikes?”
- A Full Weekend at the Track
- Meet the Riders and Motorcycles
- Download the Loudon Race Program
- Sunday Night Grill Fest
- Looking Toward Season Two
Well, here we are. The final event of the USCRA season.
CBE Works Racing Team is heading to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Granite State Championships on Sunday and Monday of Labor Day weekend. It promises to be quite a finale, with five riders, four motorcycles, 11 races, a sidecar appearance, and a two-hour endurance race on Monday afternoon.
And we are happy to begin with some very good news: Brenden is cleared and ready to race at Loudon.
From a Garage to a Racing Community
I was asked recently what the best part of CBE has been over the years, and I found it difficult to answer immediately.
Then I realized that it has been the slow, steady joy of watching a vision turn into reality.
Classic Bike Experience began in my garage with Nick Woodbury in 2005. It was a way to spend time wrenching on British motorcycles with like-minded friends. What we really wanted, whether we fully understood it at the time or not, was community.
Twenty years later, we have that in spades.
The motorcycles brought us together, but it has been the friendships, shared knowledge, stories, and willingness to help one another that made CBE what it is today. Our vintage racing program is the latest expression of that same spirit.
“Where Are All the Friggin’ British Bikes?”
That was the quip heard at Canaan in August last year, and it became the spark that launched CBE Race Works.
We began imagining a vintage racing team that would bring British motorcycles back to the track while creating opportunities for riders, mechanics, supporters, and younger enthusiasts to become involved.
Pretty much everything envisioned in our original promotional video has now started to come true.
The motorcycles have been built. The riders have taken to the track. The team has come together, and a growing group of contributors has stepped forward to support the mission.
This weekend at Loudon represents both the culmination of our first season and another important step toward what comes next.
A Full Weekend at the Track
The team will arrive Saturday evening to set up in the paddock, while Brenden attends race school in preparation for the weekend.
Racing takes place throughout Sunday and Monday. The tentative schedule includes several back-to-back races, so assignments may change as the weekend unfolds, but the paddock will be busy.
We will have five riders for four motorcycles, with Griff also serving as the monkey aboard a racing sidecar. Steve has been beavering away on the latest version of his Moto Guzzi while still finding time to help us fabricate a fiberglass belly pan.
As Jack put it, there will be “lots of our Vermont dogs in the fight.”
The weekend culminates Monday afternoon with the two-hour Team Endurance Race. Chris, Griffin, Brenden, and Steve will team up aboard the Ninja, while Peter competes with another endurance team.
Meet the Riders and Motorcycles
Peter Booth of Team Skippy will join us in the paddock with his Suzuki T500, along with Steve Harry and his Moto Guzzi 850.
Admission is $25 and includes full access to the paddock. You can see the motorcycles up close, meet the riders and crew, and experience vintage motorcycle racing from behind the scenes.
If you have never attended this kind of event, your first reaction may be, “Wow, how can I get involved?”
Be careful what you ask.
Download the Loudon Race Program
Our new CBE Race Works program brings the entire weekend together in one place, including the complete Sunday and Monday race schedules, rider profiles, motorcycles, team information, and the people helping make this season possible.
Click the cover image to download the complete race program.
You can also learn more about the team and how the racing program began on the CBE Race Works page.
Sunday Night Grill Fest
Jim B has volunteered to organize a Sunday evening grill fest, complete with corn on the cob, following the racing and awards presentation.
If you are coming to Loudon, plan to stick around and join us. Friends, supporters, and fellow racing enthusiasts are welcome. An RSVP would be helpful so that we know how many people to expect.
Looking Toward Season Two
Our vision for season two is broader, more ambitious, and even more inclusive. There will be many ways to become part of it, whether you want to race, work on motorcycles, support the team, or simply join the community gathered around the paddock.
First, however, we have a full weekend of racing ahead of us at Loudon.
We hope you will come experience the final event of the season with us.
Hope to see you there.