Tuesday, August 21, 2018

72nd running of the Peoria TT


In 1931, brothers Bob and Bruce Walters, with Bruce’s wife Gladys, moved to Peoria, Illinois, and took over an existing motorcycle dealership in the city. They had just come from Galesburg, Illinois, where they owned and ran a successful dealership and were active members of the Galesburg Motorcycle Club. When they arrived in Peoria and had established themselves, they helped form the Peoria Motorcycle Club. The Peoria Motorcycle Club, along with leadership from Bruce Walters, who was not a chartered member, started organizing their own local TT races.
In 1940, the club purchased an 80-acre plot of land south of Peoria proper which captivated Walter’s imagination. “Just looking at the land, I could visualize its potential,” Walters said in a 1978 magazine interview. “It was just a valley full of willow trees then, but I could see that if we cleared the trees we’d have a natural amphitheater with a race track for a stage.” 
 The track is still there, largely unchanged and we caught the race there last weekend. Great event! The reprint poster was $5, I had to buy it. The entry price has gone up somewhat...
 It was good to see two Hondas RS750s from the 1980s being used in anger.

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