Magpie swoops to earn Donington record!

Jug mechanic and tipple Gordon Thorpe hit the headlines at the weekend (13-15 August, 2010) when he roared into the record books as the first rider to crash at the re-opening of Donington Park.

   Gordie, nicknamed 'The Magpie', came off his machine while racing his original 350cc K4 (CB350) which he bought for scrap and rebuilt himself to compete on the classic racing circuit.

   The moment hit the headlines in the Derby Telegraph. Here's how the newspaper reported it within a page feature on the re-opening of the Donington Park circuit.

GORDON Thorpe gained an unwanted record yesterday when racing roared back to life at Donington Park Ð he was the first rider to crash at the reopened circuit.

   The 43-year-old, of Holloway, slid off the track and into the grass bank on just his second practice lap, at the start of this weekend's Classic Racing Motorcycle Club meeting.

   It is the first event at the circuit for a year. And it is the first since the aborted attempt to host Formula One racing, which saw the previous management team go under. Despite his crash, on what was a wet start to the park's new life, garage owner Gordon said it was great to be back on the fabled tarmac.

   He said: "I was speaking to my wife before and said 'I wonder who will be the first person to fall off' and it was me Ð in my brand new leathers too.

   "It's absolutely brilliant that racing is back again at Donington Park. In such a short time the new owners have done a fantastic job."

   Gordon, who runs Norman Thorpe Garage, just outside Matlock, was riding a bike he rescued from the scrap heap and rebuilt when he crashed. He escaped injury Ð the bike was not so lucky.

The full feature can be found on the Derby Telegrpah web site.

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