Competitors in this year’s Aberdare Park Road Races on July 21-22 would have been the first to benefit from a recent resurfacing of the historic track, which stands just half a mile from the centre of the South Wales town, thanks to funding secured by the organising Aberaman Motorcycle Club.
The circuit first hosted motorcycle racing in 1950 and has since welcomed many of the greatest names in the sport. The late John Surtees took his first-ever motorcycle win there in 1952, when he was just 18.
In 1955 the first motorcycle race meeting to be televised live took place at Aberdare Park and among other legends to race there have been Mike Hailwood, Bob McIntyre and Phil Read. In 1988 Carl Fogarty set a new outright lap record for the 1.45km circuit.
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This year, 23-time TT winner John McGuinness was on hand on the Saturday to meet the public and talk about his remarkable racing career.
Race director Derek Smith said: “The resurfacing was important if we were to continue hosting an event that continues to attract an entry that is growing in both numbers and quality, and we are very grateful to Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, its leader Coun Andrew Morgan and the Welsh Government for their support.”
Read more News and Features in the August 2018 issue of OBM – on sale now!
