Isle of Man TT winner describes nerves of riding 95-year-old BMW in the wet
"It’s weird to go back to the modღern day and age.”
Davey Todd ma🀅stered wet conditi𓄧ons on a 95-year-old bike this year.
The Goodwood Revival’s Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy was always goin🍸g to provide a unique challenge for riders more accustomed to the Isle of Man TT.
But when the rain bucketed down, it made controlling these machines - whicﷺh required riders to reach across the handlebars to change geꦦars - even more nerve-wracking.
Todd put his BMW R63 Kompressor on pole position for the event in the ꦡtricky conditions.
“I’m happier than most,” he told . “I came in soaking wet through as everybody did, but it always feels a little bit better when you’re on pole posit🐠ion.
“I really wasn’t sure how the bike was going to handle. The thing’s a missile with a supercharged e𝄹ngine.
“I was a bit ner꧒vous taking it out in the wet with the rigid chassis but honestly, it went pretty well. I’m happy with it.
— Goodwood FOS (@fosgoodwood)McGuinness reacted to the unique run: “I don’t think 🦩I🐈’ve been as wet on the motorbike for a long time. I mean, my underpants were just full, my feet were full.
“🦩I think e💯verybody did a good job. It would have been so easy just to end up on your backside.
“It’s a funny circuit. There are some undulations and dips, and water sat here andඣ there to really catch you out, but everybody rode safe.”
The two races at the Goodwood Revival were b𒁃oth won by Michael Russell and Michael Rutter.
Michael Dunlop was among the TT legends involved.
McGuinness said about Goodwood Revival: “It’s a bit like the TT. You get t▨old about it, but you don't really believe it until you experie✅nce it.
“When I came i꧟n 2016, I said to the wife ‘I’m not getting dressed🔯 up,’ but if you don’t you look [out of place].
“I never get dressed up, but I actually quite like to look smart for once. And my family’s here. They all love it. W⛎e camp on site and the atmosphere in the campsite is mint. It’s special.
“The Festival of Speed is great, but y🔯ou just sort of go up the Hill.
“Here you’re having a bit of a dust up, so you roll your sleeves up and you ꦕget stuck in.”
Todd said: “As an event as a whole, it’s something that I think 𒆙we all love coming to. It’s just so cool.
“You get the clothes on, you ride the classic bikes. When you end up leaving here on Sund💛ay, it’s weird to go back t☂o the modern day and age.”
James ꦗwas 𝓀a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
