After a record breaking and very enjoyable weekend at the 36thCarol Nash International Classic Motorcycle Show in April 2016, we are eagerly looking forward to the next big show to be held at the Stafford County Showground in October 2016, this will be:-
The 23rd Carole Nash Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show on the weekend of Sat 15th& Sun 16th Oct2016, and it is not one to be missed. 
No doubt our good friend, John Young (of Iron Butt fame) will be there to meet some of the celebrities and guys that he knowspersonally that will be jetting in from the USA for this special occasion.
Special Guests of Honour
In October 2016 this show will not just have one guest star, but FOUR of the cast from the iconic motorcycle documentary On Any Sunday, whose original full title for this well known 1971 film was actually “Motorcycle Sport and the men who ride on any Sunday”
The film was directed by Bruce Brown and featured Steve McQueen, who also part financed it, central roles were also given to former racers, Dave Aldana, Don Emde, Mert Lawwill and Gene Romero all of whom will be at Stafford to share their stories about the movie.
As well as featuring in the film,several VIP’s took part in the 1971 BSA/Triumph launched Anglo-American Match Races (later called the Trans-Atlantic Match Races), which were held in the UK at famous circuits such as Brands Hatch, Mallory Park and Oulton Park.
Posters from the era record the USA team captain as Gary Nixon (who never actually raced, because he crashed in practice and broke his wrist),the other five were Jim Rice, Dave Aldana, Dick Mann, Don Castro and Don Emde. The GB team captain was Percy Tait, backed up by
John Cooper, Paul Smart, Ray Pickrell and Tony Jeffries
For one of this year’s celebrities, Mert Lawwill, appearing at Stafford will be rather unique, as it is believed to be his first visit back to the UK since the 1970’s!
It is reported that the Americans claimed that they were somewhat disadvantaged as the GB team of short circuit veterans were riding on race circuits that they had all grown up on and they all had the new “Low Boy” BSA & Triumph triples, whilst apart from Dick Mann and Gary Nixon (who was riding Romero’s Daytona) the Americans were riding taller, heavier and slightly older machines.
The most important change to the triples concerned the frame of the motorcycles, four of them, originally intended for Romero, Smart, Mann and Hailwoodbene fitted from a new double cradle frame designed by Rob North. Upon instructions from Percy Tait, North altered the frame, increasing the steering angle by two degrees to 28° and shortened the fork legs, the engine was moved forward and upward by about 40 mm to increase the load on the front axle. This change reduced the wheelbase of the bike that North restored by simply lengthening the swinging arm, hence the frames were baptised“Low Boy”.
No doubt visitors to the October show will be able to hear very interesting“first hand” accounts from the visiting American celebrities and listen to their particular versions of events.
The Suzuki Section
There will be a dedicated Suzuki area at the October 2016 Stafford Show with the Suzuki Owners Club, Kettle Club, Air Cooled Suzuki (including Katana), Team Classic Suzuki and the GT/X7 Owners Club all in attendance. 
Robinsons Foundry will be selling parts and clothing; Crooks Suzuki and Redcar Motorcycles will also be on hand to help with any customer enquiries.
In the Suzuki GB area, Barry Sheene’s 1976 and 1977 world championship-winning bikes will be brought over from his family home in Australia and will be displayed alongside the GSX-R750F and TL1000S which have been refurbished and rebuilt.
Again, something not to be missed.
Live Action at Stafford
As usual the Classic Racer GP Paddock will roar to the sound of famous race bikes with hopefully a display of Rob North Triumph and B.S.A Triples organised by Joe Johnson, whilst just across from them the Classic Dirt Bike Experience will host Trials demonstrations. Inside the Live Restoration Theatre will, once again, show you how to restore your machine and there will be a Cavalcade session in the showground’s main ring, where rumour has it that some of this year’s American guests may actually be taking part!
As usual there will be plenty of static displays of some really beautiful motorcycles from both private and club entries for you to feast your eyes upon and drool over! With enthusiastic owners, many of these motorcycles will be looking far better than the ever did when they left the factory as brand new bikes.
Trade and Auto Jumble
Stafford is the place to be if you are looking for advice and spare parts, both new and old, here is where you will find a tremendous collection of Traders and Auto Jumble stalls, that should be able to fulfil all of your needs for parts, spares, tools, accessories, cleaning products, memorabilia and much, much more.
The driving force
The driving force behind the successful Stafford Shows (and many more) is the ever-expanding Mortons Media Group, who announced this year (2016) their acquisition of the Kempton Park Bike Jumbles and Motorcycle Shows, which will be headed up by Andy Kitchen of Mortons events division. Thereby adding another seven one-day events to their packed calendar, which already includes both of the Stafford Shows, the Telford Off-Road Show and the “Normous Neward Autojumbles”.
The 23rd Carol Nash Eurojumble
Why not head off to Netley Marsh in early September (2nd& 3rd) to seek out all of those desperately needed parts for your project?
Never been personally, but we have heard that its great!
Do you think they will rename the show in future (after the events of 2016), we’ll wait and see!
Further information on all these shows can be found at www.classicbikeshows.com and on other Mortons publications at www.mortonsmediagroup.com
To book tickets please call the Ticket Hotline on 01507 529529
Michael W George (& John Abram)