bird's eye view by the hawk The full throttle hile
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some of us dream of living life in the fast lane, there are those lucky few with the readies to make their dream come true. Long time bike-racing fan and sponsor Darrell Healey—managing director of Groundwork South East, a building company based in Ashford—is the owner of Team GSE Ducati, which competes in Superbike championships throughout the UK. Star rider Australian Troy Bayliss has made a big impact on the Superbike scene over here. Riding his full factory-spec Ducati 916 he took the lead in the opening race of the season at Brands Hatch. Troy is not the only star in the team: a recently acquired pair of new Daf 95XF Spacecab tractive units with matching 45ft box trailers have also been turning heads. The tractive units were supplied by Channel Commercials of Ashford and the trailers were built to order by David Wilson Trailers of Peterborough. One Daf is the transporter and workshop for the race team, the other is devoted to hospitality purposes for GSE and its clients. Never one to think small, Healey has ambitions to find another sponsor so that his team can compete in the World Superbike Championships in two or three years' time. Will he do it? The Aussie saying "No worries!" springs to mind.
Atkinson calling ttention! Attention! If you have an Atkinson lorry hidden away under wraps in some forgotten corner, then the Classic Atkinson Club wants to touch base (an old phrase I found left lying around from the eighties) with you. The club is organising a rally for Sunday 17 May at Botany Bay Village, near Charley in Lancashire. They believe 400 examples have survived since the last one was built in 1975 and have sent invites to 230 known owners and are eager to trace the remaining 170. As well as the rally, a road run will also take place on the day. The route will take the Atkinsons past the place where they were built at Walton-le-Dale near Preston. So if you would like your lorry to get in touch with its roots, then give it a treat and take it for a spin along the M61 to Lancashire.
For details contact dub secretary Jill Honeybun on 01590 675701. Veterans at 40 Elave you noticed how the older you get the faster time goes? Why it seems only yesterday that the Hawk was filling his thermos, packing his fish paste sarnies and wending his merry way down to Beaulieu in Hampshire to attend the first official meeting of the Historic Commercial Vehicle Club. Now here it is celebrating its 40th anniversary which will take place over the weekend of 18-19 July at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu. Back in those halcyon days in the fifties CM was proud to feature on the very ' first Old Commercial Vehicle Rally programme for 14 July 1957. In fact the main feature, entitled "The Evolution of Mechanical Road Transport", was written by my old editor G Mackenzie Junner. Ah, many a happy lunchtime was spent by Mack and the Hawk, putting the world to rights in the snug of the Goat and Abacus. Back to the matter in hand—if any of you wish to take part in this weekend write to: Iden Grange, Cranbrook Road, Staplehurst, Kent TN12 OET enclosing your vehicle details and name and address.