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Wairarapa Times Age - Saturday, February 9, 2013

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LIFFHANGER: DougFairbrother runsthroughhis paces at theGladstoneCliffhangerevent, ofwhichhewasa co-founder. PHOTO/HUGHBARLOW

Racersetshissights

AGreytownmans passion forthemostdangerous bikerace

intheworldcameafter a near-fatal bashing, reporterNathanCrombie learns

WINNER: DougFairbrother(centre)withJohnPlayerNortonownerNormanWhite (left)andformerBritishchampionandIsleofManwinnerPeterWilliams in2006whentheGreytownracerwonanopportunityto ride the1972WorksJohnPlayerNorton750ccGrandPrixmachine. PHOTO/FILEI Continued A23

ITWAS the growl ofa NortonCommandothat first rousedmotorcycleracer DougFairbrother froma six-day

maaftera near fatal bashing.Fairbrotherhad been

mbushed frombehindandruck on theheadwitha poolckwhilehelpinga friend inrly1987at thethenForestersrmsHotelin hishometown ofreytown.Hismatewasaboutto behitth a barstool andFairbrotherrenownedasmuch forhismaraderieas hisadventures on

wowheelshadstepped in tolp.Iwentto helpsomeoneandenextthing Imin hospitalghtingfor my life.The engine note ofaNortoninehospitalcarpark almost aeek after theattack draggedm fromhiscoma, hesaid.Heasdischargedseveralweeks

er.Hisattackerwas sentencedtonemonths inprisonwhileirbrothertook sixmonths tome right, he said, althoughforveralyears afterwards hewasmpelledto puthis back to theallwhenever ina grouporaowd.Therewasa cop at thetimeho saidthatllbe the end ofmyotorcycle racing. I justcouldntthat happen, hesaid.Anold boyof KuranuiCollegedmechanic by trade, hehadenracingbikes sincehewas aenagerandtoday ownsoneof

thefirst bikeshe rememberstheNortonuponwhichhisuncle,RussellFairbrother, hadhimselfraced to victory.

BackthenI was thewildboyfromGreytown to all theolder

racers. I was 16andhadan FJHolden utewithmymotorbike intheback. I didnt givea s**t aboutanythingelse.

Fairbrother racedsidecars,speedway, scrambles, hillclimbsandsealed circuits throughoutNewZealand, chalkingup anarray of regionalchampionshipwins inseveral codes andclassesandco-foundingtheGreytownRacingTeamand theGladstoneCliffhangerevent along theway.

However, thenearfatalbashingforcedhimto confronttheuncertainty of life,he said.Herealisedyourenot livingforever, soyouvegot todowhatyouwantto dobefore you get tooold todo it.

In 1989 hespenteverycenthehad ona brandnewDucatimotorcycle, travelling to Italyandpushingthe four-valvewater-cooledbeast off the factoryfloorhimself.

From there he journeyed tothe IsleofMan and for the firsttimeracedwhatmany considertobe themostdangeroustrack intheworld.

Asat August last year, 237peoplehadbeenkilledwhileracingon the60kmSnaefellMountainCourse.Track speeds

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Wairarapa Times Age - Saturday, February 9, 2013 23

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ISLE OFMAN:VeteranGreytownmotorcycleracerDougFairbrotherismountinghisfifthcompetitive bidattheIsle ofMan,wherehewill inAugustrace the1971BSARocket,capableofa topspeedof morethan250km/h.

PHOTO/

LYNDAFERINGA

on top place finishI ContinuedfromA22

Youve got toremember itsonly a fast roadrace and dontoverdo it.DougFairbrother

daycanexceed 300km/handoneragemore than twompetitors dieeachyear; sixere killedin 2011andninedied

2005.Amechanical fault kept himomfinishing hisfirsttime outd another fault thenext yearpthim from qualifying. Butin98 and1999he took finisherswards forcompleting the two-urrace.Fairbrother counts a couple ofderswhohaveexcelled on theack ashisidols, including-time winnerMikeHailwoodd GiacomoAgostini,who 10mestookthe crown.Hisgreatestadmirationough is reserved forthe lateeyDunlop, an Irish championoncemetwhowon 26timesateIsleof Man themostevernsat thetrack.

Fairbrotherwill celebratehisndbirthdayduring thepracticeund lead-up to theIsle ofMananxGrand Prix this year, a fewysbeforehe racesin theassic TTPre-1974up to 850ccass.Hehasonceagain pouredery last cent into thecomingce, spendingabout$50,000on a71 BSARocket andtwomotors,750cc and850cc, that hehaslly rebuilt.Hispit crewwill include hisenage apprenticeandracingotege, FinnHarman,andracingends fromChristchurch from

whomheboughttheBSA. Therewill bemates fromEnglandwhowillhelphimduring the bid aswell.

The straightson theIsle ofMan are that long youstart

driftingoff andsuddenlyyou

start thinkingabout whats goingonunderneathyou.

Thehardest thing is tokeepyour concentration upallthetime, he said.

Youvegotto remember itsonly a fast road race anddontoverdo it.Becauseyou runout ofroomandcant make amistake.Thenwhen thetreesopenup,youjust keep it nailed and dont backoff,he said.

ItslikeMtEverest to someridersbut otherswontrace therebecause itstoo dangerous. I wanttodo 100mile per hourlapsandIwant to finish.

IfI can dothat,I could endsomewherenear thefrontand Iwill bewalking onwater.

Todayhe is atHamptonDownsMotorsport Parknear

Hamilton, wherehe is racingtheBSAfor thefirsttime.Nextweekend hewillrun thePaeroaBattleof theStreets andsevendays laterwillraceat thePowerbuiltRaceway at Ruapuna

Parkat Christchurch.Also aspart of hisbuild-upto

the Isleof Man inAugust,he willcompete in theBarry SheeneMemorialRace at theSydneyMotorsport ParkfromMarch 15to 17.

Fairbrother said hehasjustrecoveredfroma serious footinjury he suffered during racinglast year buthis greatestproblemtoday is notthe risk of furtherinjury butthe funding of hisrunatthe Isle ofMan.

His teammateshavecommitted themselvestofundraising andsponsorship andhaveleft Fairbrother to calculatehiswinning strategyandengineer his ride.

Inmy racing careertheresbeen a broken pelvis, brokenvertebra,broken ribs,shoulder,collar bones.

But theworstinjury Ive hadwas nothing atall todo withmotorcycling,whichmakes itpretty safereally.

Out there Imin chargeof it. Istay in control, he said.

Ivepumpedmore intomy lifethanmost peoplebecause I wasalmostkilledat a pub one night.Icouldhave stayedbitter andtwisted butI learned youreluckyjust to be here. Practice is over.Its true, thatshow it is.

Teamhappy to

helpDougoutByNathanCrombienathan.crombie@age.co.nz

TheGreytownRacingTeamisopeningthethrottleonsponsorshipand fundraisingfor the 2013Isle ofManbidof teamco-founderDougFairbrother.

Fairbrotherwasa co-founder of thegroupin theearly 1970sand hisautomotive workshopandhomein GreytowndoublesasGRTheadquarters, teamcaptainBrett Harman said.

The teamhasclose to30paidmemberswiththeirownmotorcycles,he said, andanother 40to50supporterswhoattend regular weeklygatherings at the teamHQ.

Its somewhere togoonaFriday night tohave a fewbeerswithout beingstungatthe bar orbeaten upin thecarpark.Butweneedmoreactivemembers forourworking bees andforfundraising.

Theteamtogetherboastsa fleet ofmore than100

classicand latermodelmotorcycles,Harmansaid,mostofwhichareBritish,EuropeanorAmericanmakes.

However, thepresentfocusoftheteamis helpingfund Fairbrotherat theIsleofManManxGrandPrix2013.

Harman said at least$11,000 is needed foraccommodationand livingexpensesfor Fairbrother andhissupportcrew.

Sponsorshipdealsare to

besought withWairarapabusinesses andfundraisersrunin theregion, includingasite at theupcomingMartinboroughFair.

Dougis a provenracewinnerwho is still outthereracingat near retirement ageandrightthroughhis life heshelpeda lotof peopleandfamilies.We believe itstimesomeofthat helpwasgivenback.I Formoreinformation andmembership inquiriescall063049049.