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Team Bike to race again!
Following a rest period of some 18 years, the UK's best known and most successful 1980s privateer motorcycle endurance outfit is making a return to long-distance racing.
Howard Lees Racing has entered its 1983-season Team Bike Honda CB1000R into this year’s 4Hours of Spa Classic race, 19-20-21 June.
Riders will be Belgian Herwig Lemmens who, along with the late Howard Lees, raced this same bike at the 1983 Mugello 1,000kms, and ex team helper Ian Martin who completed a successful race season in '08, often aboard the big Honda. Pit and paddock support will be provided by very much the same multi prize-winning crew as in the 1980s.
Importantly, and for the first time since 1985, the team is officially entered as Team Bike, as Bike magazine – still the UK's leading motorcycle mag – is once again providing substantial editorial coverage of the team's exploits in 2009.
Other Howard Lees Racing endurance machines will also be present at Spa in June, including the 1984-season Team Bike Honda VF750F which hasn’t been seen in public for 24 years, the 1987-88 Team MCN/P&O Harris Yamaha FZR750 and the 1989-91 That’s Racing Honda RC30.
This year’s 4Hours of Spa will mark the 26th anniversary of Team Bike's very first Spa 24-hour race (Honda CB1000R, Lees/Oxley/Clifford), and the 25th anniversary of Team Bike’s 2nd place overall at the same event in 1984 (Honda VF750F, Lees/Oxley/Lemmens).
For more information on the team see www.howardleesracing.co.uk
