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Heikki Mikkola
Few
people in this world are iconic but Heikki Mikkola is one of them! The flying Finn was one of the most popular and feared
motocross racers of the 1970’s. In an illustrious career he won 4 world titles - two on Husqvarna
and two on Yamaha. “Mighty Mikkola” was rock hard - a fearsome competitor to
race against who simply gave no ground to his rivals with his “win at all costs” mentality.
His dices with Roger De Coster on the prototype lightweight factory Suzuki’s are simply legend in the annals
of 1970’s grand prix. Put bluntly, no one else could ride the 1974 5-speed Husqvarna, which, though fast as it
undoubtedly was, had a vicious power band that made it difficult to control. But what Heikki lost in machine comparability
he more than made up for in fitness. His rivals were so demoralised by his strength and staying power, they wouldn’t
actually train in his company. One brief story amply demonstrates. On
the Sunday evening after the German Grand Prix Heikki drove back home to Finland on his own, to eventually arrive without
any sleep at 11am on Monday morning. Three quarters of an hour later he was knocking at the door of his regular training partner
- a long distance athlete - to go on their regular 15 mile cross country run! Even today Heikki is an ultra keen long distance
cyclist before he goes on his daily quest of shooting Moose in the wilds, north of his Hyvinka home.Both of his titles in 1974 and 1976 were on Huskies and made him the first man ever to win both 500cc and 250cc crowns.
In 1977, after 3 years of increasingly lucrative offers from Yamaha, he finally forsook his great loyalty to Husqvarna. It
was one of the most lucrative in motocross history and was repaid immediately with 500cc world titles in 1977 and ‘78
before injuries in ‘79 saw him lose it to Graham Noyce and retire at the end of that
year . His visit to the UK is his first since his race at Farleigh Castle in that year’s Grand Prix Series.Show organiser Alan Wright commented, “it’s been a pleasure to deal with Heikki and his wife and he will
be on stage both days. He will also say a few words at the Saturday evening dinner in honour of John Giles
at the Holiday Inn Hotel. I’m also trying to arrange daily sessions where he can talk to his old fans and sign pictures”.
John
Giles
John was a quite brilliant
all rounder whose career spanned over 50 years. He started in 15 ISDTs and gained 12 gold medals and 3 silvers- a 100% finishing
record that says a lot for his brilliant mechanical abilities. He always rode Triumphs and, though a factory teamster for
many years, never signed a single contract. “It was all word of mouth in those days”, recalls John who, though
he is the wrong side of 80, still has a brilliant memory of the events of yesteryear. Amazingly he still gets his 650 Triumph
scrambler out in the Kent hills around his home every week. His first ISDT was at Bad Aussie in Austria back in 1952 and he
will tell many tales of incidents that occurred between that year and his last event in Spain in 1970. Wait for his hilarious
tales of riding in the 1964 event with Steve McQueen who was in the USA trophy team on a similar factory Triumph twin! He won many major scrambles and got top 5 finishes in the Grand Prixs of his day. His best ever result was winning
the Experts Grand National at Rollswood Farm in 1961 from Dave Curtis and John Draper. Trials successes
were also numerous and included wins in the West of England (The Bemrose), the Tatra trial in Poland and the Lamborelle in
France. He thought he had won the famous Scott trial one year and indeed would have when time and observation scores were
calculated before the organisers found he had missed a single section and thus gifted the win to Johnny Brittain! In later years he graced the pre-65 classic scene on beautifully prepared Triumphs and only actually retired from
riding regularly in such meetings when he hit his mid seventies! His 1958 Gold medal winning
650 Triumph on which he won gold at Garmisch Partenkirchen will be on display at Telford. His Triumph team mates Roy Peplow
and Gordon Blakeway will also have factory ISDT bikes on display at the show and will recreate history when a presentation
is made to them to celebrate their ISDT achievements by the great Arthur Browning.
Greg Hanson
One of a family of motocross enthusiasts who at 47 years of age is still notching
up regular race wins on a Kawasaki 450. His aggressive dices with Phil Mercer at this year’s Farleigh Castle Des Nations
were undoubtedly the most thrilling spectacle of a great day. Greg came to fame in 1985 when again on a Kawasaki he won the
New Zealand championship title before returning to the UK to win the British 125 crown in 1986. The following year
he returned to New Zealand and duly won their 500cc title. By 1989 he was campaigning in the world 500cc Grand Prix on a Rotax
CCM but in the 3rd round in Italy badly broke his leg. The following year he was back and on top form, beating
Lee King to the British 4 stroke championship title. Since then he has run “Hanson Racing”, a tuition school for
budding racers, and currently looks after sponsorship and publicity for Golden Tyres.
Tony and Michael Rutter
8 times a TT winner “hard man” Tony was the king of the
road circuits. Amongst his innumerable successes were 9 wins at the North West 200 and a Grand Prix win at the Ulster.
President of the TT Riders Association in 2004 Tony still does demonstration parades on his title winning Ducati. Son
Tony, also a 2 times TT winner, is still at the very top of the racing tree after a long career. Likeable and charismatic,
Michael’s paddock area is always where the crowds gather. Born and bred in the “Black Country”,this father and son duo bounce comments off each other on their stage appearances.
Sammy
Miller
Though best known for his
1000+ trials wins, Sam was a highly successful road racer in the fifties on factory Mondial and NSU machines
and finished 3rd in the 250cc 1957 world championship. After the Italian factories dropped out of the sport at
the end of that year Sam concentrated on trials and became the most successful trials rider ever. He won 11 British crowns
and was twice European champion on his famous 500cc Ariel GOV 132. Sam received an MBE in the 2009 honours
list and will talk about his fabulous museum and his early road racing. Now in his late seventies he is still heavily involved
with the sport and continues to be a regular visitor to the sporting scene.
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