Mallory Park had a very special guest for the Festival of Motorcycling
Randy Mamola was reunited with his Race of the Year factory Suzuki as he joined the fans on track for a parade.
The Festival of Motorcycling at Mallory Park is always a treat for fans of classic machinery, but this year’s event on 16–17 August delivered something extra special.
Fans at the event not only got up close to some of the most iconic race bikes in history, they also saw Randy Mamola reunited with his factory Suzuki RG500 — the very machine he rode to victory at Mallory’s 1980 Race of the Year.
Mamola didn’t just pose with the RG500 either. The MotoGP legend and Two Wheels for Life co-founder fired up the square-four Suzuki and led a parade lap around the circuit, with participants of the charity’s fundraising ride, The Big Ride, following him out onto the Leicestershire track.
The Festival of Motorcycling, run by Classic Bike Track Days, is known for packing Mallory Park with two-stroke smoke, booming exhausts, and the kind of bikes that make grown men go misty-eyed. Even in that company, the RG500 stood out, not just as a race winner, but as a rolling reminder of an era when Grand Prix racing was raw, wild, and brutally fast.
Mamola’s appearance capped off The Big Ride, a new fundraising initiative for Two Wheels for Life, which see riders set off from anywhere in the country, ticking off as many challenges as possible along the way before finishing at Mallory Park.
The tasks the participants have to complete come courtesy of some pretty big names in motorcycling: TT lap record holder Peter Hickman, Two Wheels ambassador Vanessa Ruck (aka The Girl on a Bike), plus MCN, Yamaha UK, Alpinestars, and a couple of legends, in the form of Niall Mackenzie and Mamola himself.
Challenges ranged from dares to location-based photo ops, giving riders a bit of adventure before rolling into the festival and joining Mamola on track.
Between The Big Ride and other fundraising activities across the weekend, more than £5,000 was raised for Two Wheels for Life. That will now be put to work by the charity, which uses motorcycles to deliver healthcare to some of the most remote communities in Africa, ensuring vital services reach people who would otherwise be cut off.
Two Wheels for Life CEO and co-founder Andrea Coleman said:
“We are delighted that The Big Ride was such a success, raising vital funds for our charity work while offering such special moments to everyone at the festival, especially Randy riding his 1980 race-winning Suzuki RG500 being a particular highlight!
"A big thank you goes to all the riders who took part, the people and organisations who set the challenges, and of course our partners for the event, Bike Shed Moto Co., Yamaha Motor UK, Beeline, and Alpinestars, as well as the festival organisers Classic Bike Track Days and Mallory Park.”
For the fans lining the fences at Mallory Park, seeing a factory Suzuki RG500 howl down the straights with Randy Mamola behind the bars was a reminder of just how special racing’s past can be. For Two Wheels for Life, it was also proof that motorcycles, whether old GP bikes or everyday commuters, can change lives far beyond the track.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
