1956 AJS 350cc

The first race at the VSCC's meeting at Donington Park in May 2001 was a round of the Lansdowne Classic Series for motorcycles. This is one of the machines that took part in the race.

Number 2 for this race is shown in the programme of the event as the 1962 500cc Manx Norton of David May, but this looks like the number 22 of Roger Ashby, a 1956 AJS 7R which the blue numberplate shows is a 350cc model. The 350cc AJS 7R was produced by Associated Motor Cycles from 1948 to 1963 and had a Phil Walker designed single-cylinder four stroke 348cc engine with a single overhead camshaft.

Motorcycles

Here in the paddock are three motorcycles that took part in the Lansdowne Classic Series race at the VSCC's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Donington Park in June 2003.

The Auto Cycle Union Road Racing standing regulations stipulate specific colours for the number plate of each class of motorcycle, white numbers on a blue background for the 350cc class and black numbers on a yellow background for 500cc. Number 20 in the programme of the event is Roger Ashby's 500cc 1955 Matchless G45, which is obviously the machine in the middle of the three. The number 20 on the left isn't shown in the programme and is an AJS 7R which the number plate shows to be a 350cc model, possibly also belonging to Roger Ashby. On the right is David Beckett's 500cc 1958 Manx Norton.

On 21 January 2017 I showed a photograph at the first corner of the first lap of the Lansdowne Classic Series race at the Donington Park meeting in 2007. Roger Ashby is riding a 1956 350cc AJS 7R in that photograph.