Racing legend and all-round bloke Mike Edwards won his first FIM European title at Almeria last weekend when he bagged the International Classic Grand Prix crown.

The Harrogate rider was campaigning a  1980 Yamaha TZ350 for Midlands based Team Beale Roberts, comprising George Beale and Eddie Roberts, the championship opened at Circuit Paul Ricard in the South of France, competing throughout Europe they racked up championship points at every round.

Meticulous preparation and mechanical support by Ally Grant ensured the team had a 100 per cent start / finish reliability rate for the delicate two-stroke race machine for every event in the championship.

Regardless of Edwards’ extensive motorcycle racing pedigree, the championship raced at two circuits where he’d never turned a wheel during his career – Sachsenring in Germany and Rijeka in Croatia. So, in order to do justice to the considerable time money and effort that the team had already invested in him, Edwards put in extra effort going and learning the circuits beforehand.

This advance recce paid dividends with Edwards ultimately rewarding the team’s efforts with double wins at both when returning to the tracks for the race events.

However, the racing year wasn’t all plain sailing, the whole season was momentarily put in doubt during the first race at the second round of the championship at Donington Park, when Mike stalled the bike on the start line.

As everyone in the pitlane looked on, there was a heart stopping moment while Mike was stationary on the front row of the grid, the entire field streamed on ‘full gas’ past him. Luckily he wasn’t struck from behind by any of the accelerating motorcycles racing to the first corner, eventually starting the bike, Mike wheelied on the way to the first corner and rode like a demon through the field, constantly lapping quicker and quicker overtaking all but two riders to get up in to third place as the chequered flag came out, having scored the fastest race lap on his way to the finish.