With the FIM World Team Long Track Championship Final set to take place at Swingfield in Kent this weekend (18th August), the family of the late great Don Godden have donated a new trophy to the FIM in memory of Don and his racing career.
The sport of motorcycle Grass Track and Long Track racing lost one of its greatest riders, and finest ambassadors, with the sad passing of Don Godden on the 28
th May 2011. Don started his racing career in 1953, and on the domestic scene was at the very top for a period of 20 years, amassing many victories including three British 500cc titles, three second places in the 350cc British Championship, and just to demonstrate his versatility, became the first British 250cc Champion when he raced to victory on a Greeves engine special. However it was on the continent that Don underpinned his racing talent and achieved his international reputation, finishing second in the European Championship in 1967, 1968 and 1970, and winning the title in 1969 – the first British riders to do so - and effectively making him number one in the world at the time. Don continued to finish in the top 10 in the event, which was then elevated to World Championship status in 1970.
Not only was Don a world class rider, but he was also a world class engineer who, after tuning his own engines for a number of years, turned his hand to producing his own range of Track Racing engines. Such was his skill as an engineer that, only 20 years after winning the European Championship as a rider, every European and World Track Racing Championship was being won by riders using ‘Godden’ engines.
The impressive new four handled FIM World Team Champions trophy - which stands at over 600mm in height - is a bespoke hand crafted “one off” production, created especially for the Final of the World Team Long Track Championship. The new trophy has been back dated with the names of all the previous winners of the World Championship since its conception in 2007, and a number of Don’s old racing trophies were melted down to obtain the silver for this stunning new trophy.
Interesting to note that this year’s ACU appointed England Team Manager is Mitch Godden – son of the late great Don Godden. Following a freak accident last weekend in Poland, involving one of the Team GB riders – David Howe – Mitch Godden has made a last minute change to the England line up by calling in former European and British Masters Champion Andrew Appleton. However in order to get to the World Team Long Track Final in Kent of Sunday, Andrew and his support team face a tough drive through the night across central Europe having competed in an race meeting on Saturday night deep in the south of Germany