Classic Racing Motorcycle Club Championships 

Cadwell Park

Report by David Gowshall

3rd - 4th July 2021

The Classic Racing Motorcycle Club (CRMC) is one of the largest and most respected racing motorcycle clubs in the UK.



Close racing and full grids of classic post war racing machines on both two and three wheels provide spectators a memorable taste of racing from the past.

This weekend the CRMC were in action at Cadwell Park, in what is probably my favourite meeting of the year on a circuit that still retains much of the character of days gone by.

After two days of taking in World Superbike and World Sidecar action at Donington Park I arrived bright and early at the mini-Nurburgring, tucked away in the scenic Lincolnshire Wolds.

Things were soon underway with two races held over from the previous day, meaning a total of twenty two races would be squeezed into one day of non-stop action.

The weather forecast was a bit “iffy”, and after having got soaking wet by sitting through an hour of torrential rain the previous day at Donington, I was hoping the sun would shine.

In the opening 1300, PC750, S.Mono Race, Peter Boast (#154) triumphed over Tony Hart (#39), by just over 2 seconds in a thrilling race which saw the lead change several times.  Andrew Widdowson completed the podium, albeit only just, beating Andy Pike by less than a second to a well- deserved third place.

The keen competition continued throughout the day, with victories being hard fought over, often won by very small margins.



Dominating their respective classes on completely different motorcycles were Jamie O’Brien (#74) in the Post Classic 125’s, winning both Sunday races, after a third and second on Saturday, and Kieran Clarke and passenger (#9), who won all four races contested in the Sidecar class over the weekend. 

Another big points scorer over the weekend was Joe Barton (#106), with a series of top three performances in the large capacity classes, including five wins.

Dominating the 250 and 350 categories were Ant Hart (#75) and Dominic Herbertson (#9), who also notched up four victories each in their respective classes.

The weather played ball throughout the day, and with the excellent light available I took the opportunity to capture far more shots than I would normally in a day’s shooting.

Right down the field there was competition for places, and with perfect dry racing conditions the riders were clearly enjoying themselves on this circuit that is a pleasure both to ride and spectate at.

Making a return to his home track, Pistonclick’s adopted “grass roots” rider Mick Pennell, having gained an extra wheel on his bike, was competing, along with passenger Della Bufton, who lives just down the road from Cadwell, on their BMW sidecar outfit.



In only their third outing of the season on three wheels (#12), the pair were happy with their weekend’s work, recording a highest position of 13^th in the third of their four outings. 

With the CRMC season well underway now, the competitors can next be seen at the Classic Festival at Donington Park at the end of July, and :DEEGEE: Motorsport Photography will be there to record the action. 

Photographic Post Script 

Now that the restrictions on Covid-19 are starting to lift, motorsports events are starting to come thick and fast and we didn’t think we would be able to cover the CRMC meeting.

The World Super Bikes were in town at Donington and that was going to be the main focus for the PistonClick team. But as it turned out, with only 4000 tickets on offer each day, some of us couldn’t get in for the full weekend’s racing. 

I had no intention of going to this event but like David I was sort of free on Sunday, so when my shooting buddy suggested going up to Cadwell for a few hours I thought “why not?” On arrival it was sidecars.

The first shots I took were of a quite nasty crash where the driver and passenger needed medical attention. Both were fine and managed to drive the car back to the pits.

We stayed at the same location and another crash! Again, both riders were fine after being checked out.

After moving locations a few times, we managed to grab a few nice shots and enjoyed the classic bikes racing around Cadwell. 

The final image is of Dom Herbertson taken by RPW Photography. This is one of those “right place, right time” shots with a big dollop of years of photographic experience.

Dom is a great racer, competing in Thundersport, BSB support races and hopefully we will see him race again at the IoM TT next year.

But what you want to know is did he crash or save the Davies Motorsport 350 Honda K4? It was a save and he went on to win the two Classic 350 races on Sunday and set a and a new lap record!

You can see more of David Gowshall's work here.