Full Throttle 8

2015 Race Dates
British Superbike Championship
Apr 06 Donington Park
Apr 19 Brands Hatch Indy
May 04 Oulton Park International
Jun 21 Snetterton 300
Jul 05 Knockhill
Jul 19 Brands Hatch GP
Aug 02 Thruxton
Aug 23 Cadwell Park
Sep 06 Oulton Park International
Sep 20 TT Circuit Assen
Oct 04 Silverstone GP
Oct 18 Brands Hatch GP
World Superbike Championship
Feb 22 WSBK Phillip Island, Australia
Mar 22 WSBK Chang International, Thailand
Apr 12 WSBK Motorland Aragon, Spain
Apr 19 WSBK Assen, Netherlands
May 10 WSBK Imola, Italy
May 24 WSBK Donington, UK
Jun 07 WSBK Portimao, Portugal
Jun 21 WSBK Misano, Italy
Jul 19 WSBK Laguna Seca, USA
Aug 02 WSBK Sepang, Malaysia
Sep 20 WSBK Jerez, Spain
Oct 04 WSBK Magny-Cours, France
Oct 18 WSBK Losail, Qatar
Moto GP Championship
Mar 29 Qatar MotoGP
Apr 12 Austin MotoGP
Apr 19 Argentina MotoGP
May 03 Spain MotoGP
May 17 Le Mans MotoGP
May 31 Italy MotoGP
Jun 14 Catalunya MotoGP
Jun 27 Assen MotoGP
Jul 12 German MotoGP
Aug 09 Indianapolis MotoGP
Aug 16 Czech MotoGP
Aug 30 British MotoGP
Sep 13 San Marino MotoGP
Sep 27 Aragon MotoGP
Oct 11 Japanese MotoGP
Oct 18 Australian MotoGP
Oct 25 Malaysian MotoGP
Nov 08 Valencia MotoGP
Road Racing 2015
May 10-16 North West 200
May 29-Jun 1 Pre TT classic races
May 30-Jun 12 Isle of Man TT
Jun 13 Post TT races
Jun 20-21 Barry Sheene race & rally festival
Jul 3-4 Skerries road races
Jul 6-9 Southern 100
Jul 11-12 Walderstown road races
Jul 18-19 Cock of the north road races
Jul 24-25 Armoy road races
Aug 3-8 Ulster Grand Prix
Aug 22-23
Aug 22-Sep 4
Cork road races
Manx Grand Prix
Aug 29-31 Classic TT races
Sep 12-13 Scarborough gold cup
Nov 19-22 Macau Grand Prix
RIP John
Sad news has reached Full Throttle that
former double Southern 100 Sidecar
Champion John Watson passed away on
Thursday 16th April after a short illness.
From Leeds, John made his Southern 100
debut in 1970 with Melvyn Beanland as his
passenger, taking 12th place in the
Championship race in what was their second
race around the Billown Course, returning the
following year with similar successes. A change
of passenger in 1972 saw John Wright in the
‘hot seat’ and coming away from that year’s
Southern 100 not only as the Sidecar race
winners, but as Sidecar Champions having
taken the chequered flag in the feature race on
Championship Day on their Windle outfit.
The two John’s competed together at the July
races in 1973 and 1974, each year taking
podium places.
Taking a sabbatical in 1975, the
Yorkshireman once again entered the 1976
Southern with a new passenger, Brian Hoyle
and repeated his success of four years earlier,
taking the victors laurels in the opening sidecar
race and lifting the Sidecar Championship
Trophy for the second time on their Laverda
powered machine.
John and Brian were to stay together for
their annual trips to the Southern 100 in 1977
and 1978 where the pairing won the first
sidecar race and finished runner-up to Allen
Steele and Tony Barrow in 1978.
John Watson and Brian Hoyle made their
final Southern 100 appearance on a Yamaha
Sidecar in 1979 taking a third place in the
sidecar race and a fifth place in the
Championship race.
FullThrottle 21