100 YEARS AFTER THE 'INDIAN SUMMER': ARTHUR MOORHOUSE

PART 2 of our exploration of the Indian 'invasion' of the 1911 Isle of Man TT, in anticipation of Dave Roper's lap of the Island.  brought to you by the authors of 'Franklin's Indians' and Chris Smith of Motorsport."Arthur J Moorhouse, who finished 3rd in the 1911 TT on his Indian, hailed from Prestwich, Lancashire and died April 20, 1912 at Brooklands Racing Track. Unforunately we know a lot more about his death than we do about his life, for his death was tragic, spectacular and very public.Moorhouse had entered every TT race since the second event held in 1908 when he rode a Rex twin-cylinder machine and came 7th. In 1909 he was 9th, again on a Rex, but in 1910 he became one of several converts to the Indian cause after witnessing the...

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100 YEARS AFTER THE 'INDIAN SUMMER': BILLY WELLS

As part of the general celebration of racing and history at the Isle of Man TT this June, Dave Roper will ride a replica of the Indian motorcycles which dominated the 1911 TT, in a Centenary parade lap.  As no actual 1911 TT machines exist as far as we know, Pete Gagan constructed this 'TT Replica' from a correct type racing engine he found in Ireland, faithfully copying details from period photographs and searching for correct bits at autojumbles.  Billy Wells and the Indian with which Guy Lee Evans set records at Brooklands in 1909, after the Isle of Man TTAs part of this Centenary of the only win of an American motorcycle at the Isle of Man TT for nearly 100 years (the next win was an electric bike at the TTXGP in 2009!), the authors...

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CONCORSO VILLA D'ESTE

Henrik von Kuenheim, General Director of BMW Motorrad, riding the 1934 R7 prototypeThe Concorso d'Eleganze di Villa d'Este is well known, and well loved, as perhaps the most elegant automotive celebration anywhere, a rare combination of the perfect landscape (lake Como), the perfect Villa, and a curated selection of 50 truly exceptional vehicles.  With entry to Saturday's Concorso strictly limited to entrants and invited guests, seeing the show at the Villa remains a rose-hued dream to millions of car enthusiasts.  Put bluntly, this is a private party for elite swells, some regularly in the press, some obscure, all on their best behavior and most beautiful attire at Lago di Como.The Villa d'Este terrace, after the crowds had gone,...

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