Neil & Sylvia Hallett
Team owners Hallett aviation racing
Road Bikes: -
MV Agusta F4
RD250 LC
Suzuki GSXR 1000 K7 (which is the superstock bike)
I’ve been into bike racing since watching my all time hero Barry Sheene
in the transatlantic trophy meetings etc in the 1970′s, our parents used
to take us to all the races at Oulton park and watching club racing at our
local circuit at Longridge Preston.
I raced RD250 LC’s in the early 1980′s very badly as my old school
friend Roy Richardson will tell you; I still have the bike, which is in mint
condition and is kept away from all my riders despite their numerous
requests to ride it.
Hallett aviation racing was first introduced to the world at the TT in 2004 with Swedish rider Martin Hamburg. I’d known Martin from my time living in Sweden, Sylvia is Swedish for anyone who didn’t know, Martin is also an aircraft engineer anyone who has met Martin will know what a character he is I suppose the easiest way to describe him would be a 6′ 4″ goofy who doesn’t really care what he says or who is listening. My brother Colin and I helped Martin on his own bike at his debut TT in 2003. Martin had crashed in practice during the 2003 TT at Bedstead corner and wrecked the front wheel Stephen Oates had kindly loaned us a replacement for the races and showed Martin around the course which is how we come to know “Oatesy”.
In 2004 we bought Martin a Kawasaki ZX6RR and a Gixer 1000 which where both production bikes so easy to keep going for the fortnight. Directly after the TT Oatesy had his first ride for us on the Kawasaki at the Steam packet races together with two stroke guru & 125cc ace Matt Jackson who rode the Gixer 1000 which was probably one of the funniest things I’ve seen, the sight of Matt trying to hang on to the 1000 and riding it like a 125cc. Roy took the Kawasaki to Macau at the end of the year and had a good ride finishing second in class.
In 2005 we teamed up with Raceways Yamaha for the TT, Martin was joined by Roy Richardson and Oatesy was signed to ride the 600′s at the Manx. Martin had the Kawasaki 600 and a new R1 and Roy had a new full supersport R6 together with a new R1, we had a huge problems with tyres at this TT and all I can remember is a fortnight of suspension adjustments trying to counter the tyre problems you learn from weeks like these that even if something is free there is a price to pay somewhere along the line, the R1′s where difficult/ impossible to handle and the R6 had a cam chain that became a chain saw which stopped it eventually but after a lot of damage. The Manx I didn’t get to due to work but the R6 dropped a valve in practice and had to have an engine rebuild Oatesy had the Kawasaki as back up which he crashed at the bungalow in practice the first one to crash that bike in 3 seasons but he rode the rebuilt R6 in the races finishing 8th in the Junior and 12th in the senior, Oatesy also had a good ride at the Anglesey grand at the end of the season.
In 2006 Martin was back again for the TT with the R6 and an R1 SP and Oatsey again rode the Steam packet, Southern 100 & Manx as well as the IOM championship on the R6 and we teamed up with Road and Racing when they supplied us with the Gixer 750 K6 for the senior Manx engine builder Frank Wrathell managed to get an amazing 155 BHP from the 750 which Oatesy got on the podium in 3rd place, I again missed the Manx for work.
2007 we brought Oatesy to the NW200 & the TT and Martin again just rode the R1 SP at the TT, Road and Racing provided a Gixer 1000 K7 and the 750 engine was swapped for a 600 supersport engine for Oatesy but the 1000 only arrived just in time for the NW200 and we where still getting race parts during the TT, but Oatesy showed his true colours bringing home 4 top 20 finishes and chased big H at Jurby road which is now his favourite circuit. Adam Barclay rode the Manx for us and finished just off the podium on the 600 as was gutted when the senior was cancelled after we had been up the top of the leader board for many of the practice sessions, both Adam and Oatesy had a great dual at the end of season at the Anglesey grand.
2008 was a good year for us Oatesy had a great TT finishing all the races in the top 20, 3rd again at the Steam packet races, top 10′s at the Southern 100, winning at Jurby road to be crowned king of the roads for the Andreas club and 2 great meetings at Scarborough winning the Ian Watson trophy. Adam achieved his dream and won the Senior Manx we had a great year with the Suzuki’s with hardly any problems all season.
2009 we moved up to superbikes with the 1000 making close to 200bhp, unfortunately the valves let go on the mountain and blew the engine to pieces so all the TT was done on the superstock bike, the 600 stopped for stupid things in the supersport races, a broken battery lead in the first and a slipping clutch in the second, Oatesy continued to go faster all season and had a great 6th place at the Southern 100 and great races at Scarborough. Ian Whitlow joined us for the NW200 but crashed JM130′s superbike in the famous inferno so didn’t get to race our bike but he was fit by the Manx which was his main goal this year, I really enjoyed the Manx despite the rain I was happy with Ian’s progress and he’ll be up there with the best next year I’m sure.
2010 will see us teamed with Road and Racing with the Gixer 1000′s Superbike and Superstock, Ian will have the 600 and 750 Gixers all season to ride them whenever he wants with the main goals being Scarborough, the NW200 where he’ll have the Superstock bike and two 600′s, and his main goal is the Manx GP. Oatesy will have his Superbike and a Raceways R6 that is being built now for the roads, his main events will be Scarborough, Jurby road, the TT off course and both meeting on the Southern 100 course.
We are a small team and cannot function without our helpers who give up their time week after week, Robbie, Jimmy, James & Brian who help Oatesy. Vernon, Mark, Steve, Steve etc who help Ian and both of their families whose support is invaluable. Suzuki engine’s are built by Frank Wrathell and Ian Park at FW Developments, Yamaha’s are built by Jonny at Raceways, Special thanks to Mark and Roger at Road and Racing M/C in Hyde for their continued support and to my mate Steve Rogers at Raceways for his help with the R6 for the 2010 season.
I like to think we are always approachable as a team and if anyone wants a chat we have Mr. Whitlow who is a world class chatter, but anyone is welcome at our set-ups where ever we are, we are all genuine race fans who just happen to be in a team.
Roll on 2010
The Boss.
The Riders
Name: Ian Whitlow
Birthday: 31st July
Hometown: Heysham
Bike history: Motocross / Roads / Sort Circuit / Pure Roads
Interests: Most things with an engine
Favourite Food: Indian
Marital status: Engaged to Lindy
Occupation: Mechanic / driver
Ambition: 117+mph lap I.O.M.
Main Sponsor: Neil Hallett, HALLETT AVIATION SERVICES
Hi guys and girls, my name is Ian Whitlow and I thought I would give you a bit of background as to my racing / bike history.
I started out at 10yrs old with an YZ80 racing motocross, it’s a great grounding whatever you age and ability and certainly gives you confidence when it comes to a machine sliding or moving around underneath you! I raced off road for most of my teenage years and competed at club and national level, I had a break from racing as most do when I reached school leaving age when work / girls / beer become the main focus.
After a break for a few years I started again as an adult and had a fantastic time, at the time my close friends Glyn Ormerod and John McGuinness were riding too and it was a great time. Shortly afterwards John and I passed our bike tests and took to the roads, after a few short weeks John’s talents were completely apparent (we wouldn’t tell him though) and he started talking of short circuit racing. Glyn and I stuck to motocross and John’s career grew after a number of real dedicated years of hard work. Glyn and myself both fancied a go after helping John in the early years with Paul Bird Motorsport etc, it took a while (10yrs) but eventually we took the plunge. Glyn had a real successful club and BSS career and my club / national stuff started to fall into place. After 5yrs of 1000cc short circuit racing I decided to have a go at the “minitwin” class, mainly as the ever-increasing budget for the big bikes was getting out of my reach.
When I started on the minitwin I was immediately competitive, fastest lap / pole position at my first meeting (crashed leading the race!) showing that on equal machinery I was capable of running at the front. I have had a few fantastic seasons on the little twin and it re-kindled my passion for racing. In 2008 I decided I would have a go on the roads and headed off to the NW200, they can tune their twins there so I felt a little deflated at such a performance orientated circuit. Race day came and I managed to get the little SV home in 10th place, a real result as I was about the 3rd twin home against some much faster bikes. I was hooked! The MGP was next where I took 2nd in the newcomers and 13th (2nd newcomer) in the ultra lightweight race.
With this I was fortunate enough to land a dream ride for 2009 with HALLETT AVIATION RACING, team owner Neil is a fantastic guy with a real passion for racing. Sadly I had an accident at the NW200 when the superbike throttle stuck open at the Ballysally roundabout ending the days racing before getting to ride the HALLETT 600; I was really disappointed as I was 4th fastest through the speed trap on the 600 showing that the bike was real competitive.
Next big thing was to be the MGP but to keep things short the weather was horrendous for all of practice and race week, I was relatively pleased with the way that I rode but the results were not the best, I was not prepared to take the risks needed in those conditions. Neil had a great fortnight and has offered me the opportunity to ride for the team again in 2010 so fingers crossed I can sort out some sponsorship and we can have a great year.
I have had fantastic support from the people at RRS and the TT forum and met some great people this year; I will keep everyone posted as to our plans and results as they happen.
Thanks everyone. Ian
Stephen Oates
How I became interested in bikes.
Living on the Isle of Man only a mile away from the T.T. course and watching them from as long as I can remember running down to the QB at 5 in the morning this was going to me some day and ha ho here we are what more can a man ask for my dream came true…
Why I started racing
1. Ill health was the main one nearly dyeing changed my outlook on life live for today not tomorrow,
2. Time to get off the roads I was riding far too fast all the lads said go racing so we did.
MY First race bike & first race 2001
A 1992 CBR 600 bought with a good friend of mine Robbie Dooley we put a race fairing on it and that was it let go .my first race was at Jurby I finished 9th in the clubman’s race I thought to myself f??? their fast I won the best newcomer trophy that year which is the start of many to come.2002 was a matter of getting my national licence so I could do the Manx GP.
2003…my first win was at Pembery in Wales what a Buzz coming over that line first I wanted more of that and it came again at Darley Moore 2 more wins great can’t wait for the Manx for weeks later it was here first practise we were top in the newcomers with a lap of a 102-106mph on my road bike 2000 r6 the race went well finishing 5th from 38th on the grid guess who won HUTCHY now one knew him then look at him now one of the top man.
2004…. I bought an R1 had a big high side coming on to the back straight at Jurby I though think iv jump on the big bike to soon, got it fixed up for T.T. Production race as you could still do the Manx then this is where I first met Neil Hallett racing with the mad Swede Martin Hamburg. Neil asked if I wanted to ride the zx6r at the steam packet races we had a good finish and Neil was happy with the result our he was just happy to get his bike back in one peace. I didn’t do the Manx this year, as I was not very well again another month in hospital great. But never to be beaten.
2005…. started great a nice phone call from the Neil do you want to ride a bike for us this year at the Manx a fully tuned R6 I couldn’t believe it this is what I needed to compete at the top. I got the bike after T.T. Roy Richardson was riding it in the super sport 600.i had a couple of track days on it before the Manx we finished 8th in the junior and 12th in the senior. We also had a good win at Anglesey first time there in the 600 race.
2006…. the main aim was the Manx this year we had the tools just needed the rider lol no I was up for this, this was my year the dream being of on that podium, the year had gone well good results up Jurby we were ready practice went well the bikes were fast so it was down to me the junior was first this was my chance we set of a number 5 with Barry Davidson there was soothing wrong it wasn’t fast on the straight we were 3rd in the first lap we had to pull in on the 2nd that was it, it was over the bike over heated gutted. We had a day to get ready for the senior going off at 5 again we were leading at Ballacraine on the board court 3&4 up which held us up a bit lying 3rd at the end of the lap was good after the pit stop we were still 3rd I had settled for 3rd the podium was what I wanted after the 600 race and that’s were we finished my dream had came true on the podium at the Manx GP. I was BUZZZING Neil was well happy T.T. then next year.
2007… new bikes GSXR 1000 and supersport GSXR 600 T.T. was are main race this year time to go the gym now were going out with the big guns. We started the year up Jurby on the 600 just for a run out we didn’t get the gixer 1000 till the week before the northwest so I didn’t know how fast it was going to be think I shit myself coming out of the hairpin nearly came off the back we had a good week apart from the weather. Then back to the rock for Jurby road then T.T. we had some great results superbike 16th and superstock 16th not bad for our first T.T. the southern 100 was another good year top 10s. Then there was jury road nation races one of the best 600 racers I will ever have Big H was the man to beat lap after lap it changed he beat me by half a wheel but I set a new lap record no one had give H a race like that for years.
2008…started off with a trip to Scarborough for the first time I won the Ian Watson cup for best newcomer and finished 4th in the open race. Jurby was 4 weeks later were I was on a high after Scarborough winning the 2 superbike racers and 2nd in the 600 we were ready for T.T. we got off to a good start with 18th in the superbike race.21st superstock.19th super sport and 15th in the senior. Then we were of down the southern100 for the steam packet races where we finished 3rd in the 600 race great end to the 2 weeks. Back to Jurby road in July where we had more wins and we won the KING OF THE ROADS for the Andréa’s club. I was in the Manx team for the Celtic match racers at knock hill were the team finished 2nd as you can see 2008 was a very good year for me and the team roll on 2009.
2009…started off with some good results at the 6 nation’s cup at Donington Park riding for the Isle of Man team again. Back to Scarborough and another good day. Back home to the rock and up to Jurby the first race was going well till I slid off on the first corner after leading down the 1.8 mile state 190mph yeha. I felt a right plonker only cos the boss was over watching. On to the T.T. wasn’t a good start blown engine in the superbike put us on the back foot? We still had Neil’s road bike which was not slow for a stocker we finished a good 19th in the superbike and 18th in the super stock and 3 DNFs which wasn’t a good T.T. for us so of down the southern100 for the steam packet races where we would get the old 750 out for a blast id not been on for 2 years this was a superbike race with 1000cc bikes the race started think I was lying about 6th got up to 3rd but couldn’t pull the front 2 in so 3rd was a good result on a 750cc. I had a month off, then back to the Southern 100 national races. We had a great week with all top 10 finishes with a 6th in the big race of the week behind Guy Martin, Ryan Farquhar, Conner Cummins, Ian laugher and then me. What a race we had racing with the big guns. I’m 12th fastest ever down the s100 and can’t wait till next year.
Well that’s it for now who needs a sponsor when you’ve got a mates like Neil and Sylvia thanks couldn’t have done it without you let’s hope we can go from strength to strength next year.
Ste………..
Personal helpers…. friends and family. Ascot hotel.
Team. Robbie Dooley. Jimmy Dooley… James O’Boyle. Brain Moore.
Cook and tea lady. My wife Justine Oates
The BOSS Neil Hallett.
Paul Dobbs
Paul Dobbs is 38, married and has 2 children.
Paul is a well known motorcycle rider in both modern and classic racing circles.
He has competed regularly at the Isle of Man TT, Manx Grand Prix, Southern 100 and many Irish road race circuits since 1999.
Some of his best results to date are 1st in the Lightweight 400 (2006 Southern 100), 6th in the Lightweight 400 (2000 TT), 19th in the Senior (2006 TT) on a 4 year old Suzuki with a fastest lap average of 120.6 mph. In the 2005 Senior Classic at the Manx GP, despite two stops for adjustments due to a failing gearbox, he joined the exclusive list of 38 riders to have lapped the mountain circuit above 100mph on a classic bike. He ranks #23 in the riders with the fastest race averages at the Southern 100. He has been steadily moving up all race leader boards.
After completing an apprenticeship in New Zealand as an Automotive Engineer in 1992, Paul began work as a motorcycle mechanic for Murray DeLacy Motorcycles. He also started racing a self-prepared VFR400 Honda and by the end of the year he was winning races at club level. During 1993 he raced a self built 500cc 2-stroke single and won the New Zealand Singles class.
In 1993 Paul bought Murray DeLacy’s Honda RS125 and beat Joey Dunlop who was visiting New Zealand. He was invited to ride at the Isle of Man TT in 1994 but his boss (and mentor) decided he needed more experience before tackling the Mountain Course and arranged a job for him as a mechanic in Sydney. Within 6 months he was the service manager for Red Baron Motorcycles and racing in the highly competitive Australian 125GP Nationals. On a shoestring, self-generated budget he finished 7th.
Dobsy, as he became known, worked and raced in Australia until 1998, winning the NSW 400cc and Formula 3 championships and placing well in the “Formula Extreme” class.
In 1998 he was invited to be a reserve rider at the Suzuka 8 Hour. Despite good lap times in practice, which would have placed him in the midfield, a bike fault destroyed his opportunity to qualify. Nevertheless, it was a fantastic chance to ride at a world class event alongside household names.
In 1999 Dobsy came to the UK to marry Bridget and to race the Isle of Man TT at last. He was briefly a journalist for ‘Performance Bikes’ magazine before starting a job with Triumph Motorcycles as a development test rider which lasted for six years. Bridget was a design engineer at Triumph which meant they often worked together. Dobsy was responsible for a wide range of development and approval tests on most of the bikes in Triumph’s range including high speed endurance testing on the sports bikes. He had been riding the Daytona 675 for a year before it was launched.
2003 was to be a “farewell” season. However, Neville Wooderson asked him to build and race a BSA Goldstar and the opportunity arose to race the famous Roger Moss Scott Squirrel. Having previously ridden only modern bikes, over the next two years Dobsy built a substantial reputation for racing vintage and classic machines while continuing to race modern bikes.
In 2005 Peter Astell-Burt put Dobsy on a new Triumph TT600 for the Northwest 200 and Isle of Man TT. This successful partnership continues.
That year Dobsy won the UK Vintage Club Champion of Champions series on what is basically a 1937 2-stroke Scott and a 1967 BSA Goldstar, thus entitling him to run the number one plate throughout 2006.
In 2006 he was in the top 3 in the Open 1300, 750 National and 750 Club classes of the UK Classic championships on a Rob North BSA Rocket. He won the Open class at the Classic TT at Chimay in Belgium on the same bike. He also rode the Rocket at Silverstone at the BRDC Historic Festival to take home the John Surtees Trophy.
In the Isle of Man TT in 2007 he lapped at 119.77mph on the Triumph Daytona 675 triple in near stock trim.
In 2008 he raced the Barnes Racing 2003 Suzuki GSXR1000 in Superstock trim and lapped at over 121mph. He finished 18th in the Senior and earned a Replica in every race.
While back in New Zealand for the southern hemisphere summer he rides at the February Pukekohe Classic festival on a BSA Goldstar, BSA Empire Star, Norton Commando and 2 Manx Nortons. He has broken the lap record on the Empire Star (previously held by Hugh Anderson on the same bike) 5 times – finally reducing it by 4.5 seconds. On the Commando he set a new outright lap record for a classic bike at Pukekohe, beating Arron Slights record. Also while in NZ he had 3rd placings in the F2 class at the Battle of the Streets and was 2nd in the BEARs class on Peter Astell-Burt’s Triumph 675.
Dobsy’s daughters, Eadlin and Hillberry, are two of his smallest fans. Eadlin, born in 2001, rides a motorcycle and enjoys local trail rides. Hillberry was born 3 days after returning from the 2004 Isle of Man TT and was back on the island for the Manx GP 2 months later. She has started riding a motorcycle this year. The whole family enjoys offering active support at race meetings.
Resident in England for 7 years, Dobsy returned with his family to NZ at the end of 2005. However, the lure of the Isle of Man and other European racing continues to bring him back for each race season.
