An exhibition profiling some of the Isle of Man’s best Manx Grand Prix riders of the last 100 years is on display at Rushen Heritage Centre.
‘Centenary of the Manx Grand Prix’ will be on show at the Heritage Centre in Bridson Street, Port Erin until Saturday, September 16th.
The exhibition tells the story of the MGP since 1923, when it started life as the Amateur Motor Cycle Championships, set up by the Manx Motor Racing Club.
The nine Isle of Man riders featured include Derek Kelly, Brian Kneale, Gary Carswell, and Tommy Clucas.
The exhibition has been curated by RHT Director Ali Graham, an avid motorsports fan.
She said: ‘Last year we did an exhibition to coincide with TT fortnight, which proved popular with visitors and locals alike, so this year we wanted to focus on the MGP to mark its centenary. The centrepiece for the exhibition is the fabulous Suzuki ridden to victory by Richard Fitzsimmons in the 1983 Lightweight Classic, for which we are grateful to Bob Simmons for the loan, with much-needed assistance from Dennis Cole and Richard Done. Barry Wood kindly loaned some of his personal memorabilia for display including a replica, a team medal, and 2nd and 3rd position caps, along with various MGP programmes.
‘The research showed just how many great riders the Isle of Man has produced over the years, so we certainly have more than enough content for future exhibitions to tell more MGP stories.’
Run by volunteers, Rushen Heritage Centre features a series of exhibitions each season, acts as a visitor information centre in collaboration with Visit Isle of Man, and sells Rushen Heritage Trust books, greetings cards, and merchandise. It also sells a selection of other maps and books about Rushen.
The Heritage Centre is open 10am-4pm Tuesday to Saturday. Entry is free, with donations always welcome.
For more about Rushen Heritage Centre, contact John Quirk at rushenht@gmail.com or on 464634.