'If you rode HARD enough, you got your CHANCE' - RON HASLAM
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ส.ค. 2024
- Last week it was the Pocket Rocket but this week it’s the Rocket himself, Ron Haslam! We sat down with Ron at his farm as he tells stories from his illustrious career and the people that were instrumental in his rise to Grand Prix racing and beyond. When you visit the farm the first thing you realise is that Ron’s still as involved as ever and doesn’t stand still for long so to get him for two hours was a real privilege and a big thank you to Ann Haslam for her help with that.
Enjoy!
This episode was sponsored by Zerofit - King of Baselayers® - who have BSB riders Glenn Irwin, Lee Jackson and Andrew Irwin wearing their products for the 2024 season. Off Track Podcast listeners and viewers can now receive a FREE ZEROFIT THERMAL BEANIE worth £20 when they purchase any baselayer from www.zerofit.co.uk - use code OT24 when you’re checking out!
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Ron Haslam and Barry Sheene two of my favourite riders growing up. When Barry retired, I loved watching Ron ride always cheering him on. I remember watching him ride the Elf bike at Donnington , and ride the JPS Norton at Donnington as well. The Haslam family are a credit to british riders for putting time into making young people better riders. Whether on the road or on the track. Great podcast.👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
What a nice man, Great racer and humble with it. I was luck enough to do a day with Ron and his family at Donnington His wife did the food Ron the bikes and Leon made us all look like we were going backwards . Had the time to sit and chat and a day i will never forget Brilliant
Rocket Ron our racing royalty superb interview so good hearing from a legend from the Pharo days to present how can Off Track get any better to watch than this . Keep up the fantastic work guys an absolute must watch every time 👌👍
I always liked Ron Haslam, but after watching this I like him even more now. Nice one Ron all the best.😉👍
Was fortunate enough to ride the Haslam Race School through the levels and briefly meet Ron, Ann and Leon. I shall never forget getting a pillion ride round Donington Park GP on his Fireblade on Bridgestone S22. He wheelied out of most corners and stoppied on the way in too. Amazing demo of what a stock bike can do. We both got knee down, but it was hard to hold on the tank handles.
Brilliant people, the Haslams.
Thanks for sharing the story, much appreciated - I can only imagine how much ‘fun’ it was on the back of Ron 😁
@OffTrack_Podcast Ron didn't use tyre warmers but went for two warmup laps first. Hot!
He said 'we will take it steady and build up to a speed I'm happy with. If you don't want to go faster just give we a squeeze and we won't'
Obviously, I didn't give him a squeeze! Kind man. Fast man.
Despite holding the tank handles and pushing back hard into corners, I was so far up his back under braking that I could see the apex over his lid!
He didn't seem to mind. Strong man.
I miss the Haslam Race School.
One of my all time favourite riders. I had the privilege of seeing him on a Pharaoh TZ 750 in Mondello in 1980 ish.
He absolutely annihilated the opposition.
Brilliant podcast Dave! Legend, icon, it’s all been said, but when Ron Haslam talks, it’s an honour to be able to listen to him…..and what a museum of memorabilia to! Epic….thank you 🥃
Absolutely my pleasure, Neil, so glad you enjoyed it ✊🏼
Brilliant, the guy was and still is amazing!
Thank you, Paul 🙌🏼
Wow! As a long time fan of Rocket Ron, this was a great interview! 👍
So down to earth & just like Joey, probably doesn't realise how big he was /is to his fans, speaks so much sense & intriguing to listen to. 👍
That was probably the best 2 hours I have ever watched on TH-cam! Thank you. 👍👍
Gareth thank you so much, so glad you’ve enjoyed the show with Ron and that enjoyed it as much as you did 🙏🏼
True grit. The only sport that has it.
Rocket Ron..absolute gem and legend.
fantastic video, one of my heroes for sure and from my neck of the woods. Remember as a young child meeting him, Roger Marshall and Barry Sheene on a grid at Donington , lucky enough to get his autograph and I was hooked on the sport from that moment. True legend of the sport always remember his fast starts on the Elf 500- great memories Ron
I'm have to work 2hrs later today, no way was I watching this in bit's, my favourite show so far, what a story Ron has to tell, and still so much more yet to come, breakfast dinner and tea, broken handle bar and still winning, and you just knew the hire car story would include someone up his chuff 😂 priceless Dave, thanks 😊
Absolutely no idea how this went live straight away! Glad you enjoyed tho, Ian - worth delaying your day for :-)
What a gent my hero from some time ago but still a hero and so so honest !!
Remember mal carter and phil haslam Great days of racing Sad loss losing phil
Very sad, Terry 🙏🏼
It’s so lovely to hear his story it’s probably first time I’ve heard him speak on his own normally Leon is usually with him no disrespect but always nice to hear each person story.
But when you got talking about taking a standard bike with standard tires engine a lot, it reminded me very much of the match races at Donnington Park. I think it was 1986 or 7 when Ron up against the night of Kevin Fred Merkel and at the time they’re superbikes and run had a standard VFR with tires and standard engine it was admittedly wet very and he took it to them. It was brilliant to watch and that’s the one of them for me.
I keep saying it, but thank you for that Dav and look forward to the next one 👍
Much appreciated Nick, and absolutely my pleasure 🙂 the match races were brilliant as you know and some of action was just superb, Ron particularly 🙌🏼
I'm so glad I got to actually see lots of these guys racing...Ron was always a class act, and with the likes of , Mez Mellors, Steve Henshaw and John Newbold ( i lived couple miles away) it was great racing....and mallory was always hard fought
What a legend Rocket Ron is. I remember watching him at the British Superbike races at Caldwell Park in the late 1970’s early 1980’s.
Mal carter absolute legend…..had is garage 100 yards from my house.
Used to see Kenny and Alan flying around the streets on their bikes
This is a great interview
Great memories for you! Thank you so much, that means a lot :-)
Ron.... Top class ❤️ British racing hero, thanks for this episode.
Agreed on all counts and you’re very welcome Mark, my pleasure entirely 🙌🏼
Superb interview. Thanks. Met Ron in 1996 for the first time. Really nice guy.
Cheers, kind of you to say and really glad you enjoyed it 🙏🏼
Literally a legendary icon of motorcycle racing, great to hear him chat about the old days! Can't recall the exact year but it was probably 90 or 91, I'd bought the first Ducati 851 limited edition customer race bike, the so called kit version, 1 of only 25 if memory serves, still have it actually. Either the supplying dealer, Moto Vecchia of Dorking or Ducati GB, organised a customer day at Donnington with Ron's race school. So obviously I wasn't going to miss that, and van'd my 851 Kit upto Donny. It was the first time I'd ridden on a track so it all felt a bit daunting! When I arrived I was trying to assimilate what was going on, so was having a walk about. Ron was there, kitted up and Ducati had either given him an 851 Kit or given it to ride for the day, and he was already stripping it to prep and adjust! Front mudguard was off, he was all over the suspension, moving the forks on the yolks, checking wheel alignment, etc, etc. I put myself in the novice group when the track time started, and we went out behind Ron! He would lead for a few laps, then signal the first behind him to pass, so he could watch them, and so on. The Kits were delivered on slicks and I was just not familiar with the feel of them, compared to road tyres they just didn't move around, not at the speeds we were doing anyway. Road tyres back then gave plenty of warning when they were close to limit, slicks obviously needed to be worked allot harder. So, after Ron had followed me to observe and he saw me 50 pencing around the faster corners, we came in for a debrief. He said "were you having some trouble in the corners then"! I told him I was struggling to trust the tyres, his response was, "you're at least 50% away from the limit on those tyres but lets check a few things on the bike"
First, tyre pressures, way too high, I was going by the manual but he said thats just a rough guide, cant recall what the pressure was but we dropped it at least 6 psi from memory. Time was tight so we couldn't do too much but the rear preload was too high, so we did a static sag and wound out quite a bit of preload. The forks were too hard so we took some preload out, damping wasn't adjustable and I think we dropped the forks in the yolks by 10mm.
Next session, he said follow him for 2 laps to warm the tyres, then he'd gradually up the pace to a totally manageable rate and to just accept that the tyres won't let go at that pace unless I did something silly! It was a massive improvement and I suddenly had some trust in the bike and tyres, Ron still left me though, which was a stark demonstration of just how fast he was! Back in the pits I was amazed to see both tyres were used right to the edge with lots of rubber bobbles!! Great day and a real eye opener, it completely changed the way I rode from that day on! Also, Superbike mag were there and I blagged my way onto their ride around for pix with Ron, Superbike staffers and some of the faster riders of the day. And I have the issue with the feature of the day, which I must dig out for the time line which I've forgotten, and some master prints featuring your truly just in shot! I seem to recall one of the Ducati factory riders was in the group, but I don't remember who.
Great stuff, and thanks Ron for your advice and guidance.
What a fabulous story, thank you so much for sharing it and really glad you enjoyed the show 🙏🏼
This is one of best so far,, Shows the real struggles people have to go through to make it Happen,
Thank you, it was a genuine privilege to sit with Ron to hear his story 🙂
I always remember Ron in one of his first ever races in the early '70's. It was at Croft he was well in the lead and came off on the long back straight ! He remounted and still won the race ! He was well named 'Rocket Ron', one of the best without a doubt. !
Another brilliant podcast Dave.What a legend Ron is.Early in the interview Ron mentioned John Cooper,now there's an idea.😀
That’s a great idea… 👀
Absolutely the best pods with the "older"legends of the sport, Ron Haslam is a legend and you brought out the best Dave, thank you 🙏....and Jennifer 😊
Brilliant interview Dave. I could listen to Rocket Ron’s stories all day. Total Legend 👍🏻
Cheers, Jon! The time justy flew by, plenty to cover but we got most of it :-) Hope you and Teresa and the family are doing grand, mate
Brilliant Dave, I was at Caldwell with friends on our first visit there up from Kent & watched Ron on the Pharaoh Yam beat Phil Read on the works MV as well as the other stars of the time, proper David vs Goliath job with Phil back wheel in the air under braking for the mountain doing a toprak but Ron did the business, what a weekend
Cheers Ray, thanks so much for sharing this 🙌🏼
Brilliant! Been biking since I was 16.. 66 now! Still enjoy it. Respect for Rons commitment to the sport! Respect! Martyn.
Thank you, Martyn 🙏🏼 keep on rolling 🙌🏼
Followed Ron from very early days. Been to his race school and meet him on the day great bloke. Loved watching him on the Honda elf moto gp bike with single sided swinging arm.
Really enjoyed the interview, Thanks
You’re welcome, Richard 😊
Never asked about the one thing that always intrigued me. How was Ron always the quickest off the line right through from national level to GP’s?
Actually had that in my head at one point, Paul, then got sidetracked to something else 🤦🏼♂️
1@@OffTrack_Podcast
Except on the Norton where he always had to play catch up.
Incredible to think what Ron's achieved but he's never changed from just being someone who loves bikes, no attitude just a working class bloke who did very well. If you knew nothing about bikes and passed the time of day with him in the street you wouldn't have a clue. Proper decent chap. The Norton years were the best for me, following the British championship around and watching Ron on that fascinating machine. Oh the sound ❤.
Thanks Andrew and absolutely true, the man is as true to his roots today as he ever was. The most humble and unassuming man you could ever meet. As for the Norton’s, I agree wholeheartedly ✊🏼
When i was 17 i worked at Granby motors Ilkeston as an apprentice motorcycle mechanic i remember him coming in the shop i also raced him a few times on the road around the Ripley area he had a yam 400 coffin tank i had the ,250 coffin tank i also remember Austin hockly those were the days
Ps well done for what you achieved Ron 👍
I've been a fan since the 70s.
What a really nice man is Ron and a great rider!
Great interview with Ron, an absolute legend in his own lifetime.
Thanks so much, David 🙌🏼
Rocket Ron what a great rider
What a brilliant podcast, had the pleasure of bumping into Ron in the paddock at WSBK Donington, he was so lovely and was kind enough to sign my program, he hasn’t changed since I used to watch him race at Mallory Park in Transatlantic Trophy meetings
Brilliant really enjoyed that 👍
Much appreciated, Gary 🙏🏼 glad you did 😁
@@OffTrack_Podcast I was looking forward to it Dave waited till I had some spare to sit down and listen Leon was good as well 🥃👍
@@garywilliams6684 Kind of you mate, thank you - he’s an incredible fella and so pleased you waited til it was the right time for tub to watch properly and enjoy it 🙂
Legend
Well Dave&jen that was top drawer absolutely brilliant loved every second of it what a man what a family. 👍👍👍
Cheers, Rod! Glad you enjoyed it 🙏🏼
What a brilliant interview with Rocket Ron..I use to ride to Jarama Madrid from Gibraltar every year in the 80's to see Ron Race the HONDA NSR 500 triple and then later in Jerez on the ELF. Great Guy great racer. 👍👍🏍🏍🏍🏍🏍
What a great story and thanks so much for watching 🙏🏼
Another absolutely brilliant interview. It’s good when you have Ben along , but to be honest I much prefer it when it’s just yourself doing the interviews. Keep up the good work 👏
You’re very welcome, John - fair enough on your thoughts about Ben, his input as a rider is far beyond my knowledge and was certainly welcome but yeah, going forward it’s just me now apart from the occasional live show with Kyle Campbell (Monday 7.30 😉)
@@OffTrack_Podcast Have you thought about or tried to get an interview with Chaz Davies ? That would be a cracking one to get , especially what he went through when he was younger . I live not far from his parents , and use the kart track a fair bit 👍
Rocket Ron is a very nice man with a lot of experience, there is nothing to be said about that.
He always will be remembered as the fastest starter of them all.
But that is the only true “title” he has earned in his very long career.
He never managed to win a 500 GP world title.
He even never managed to win a single ( home ) 500 GP victory,while riding the exact same factory
Suzuki as Schwantz !
If Ron already gets Legend status for everything he hasn't accomplished, who will follow....... Eddie the Eagle?
He had more than enough chances,but was not fast enough.
Do you need a hug? Did you actually watch the show? Ron’s career isn’t all about GPs, they were only part of the story. Macau wins, TT wins, F1 World Championships, Ulster GP, British Championships not to mention his race school and all the work he’s done for young riders.
He was a true racer - a superb racer.
And we recall those days with happiness.
A mile stone in British bike racing was the Norton coming back in to the big bike class, in 1989 it re lit the interest for the sport, numbers at mettings went up as a British bike was winning, Ron came back.... And basically bsb was born, supercup and British superbike championship ended up as BSB as we now know it, Ron played his part in that.
Legend! Great interview
Thanks, Sue 😊
After listening to the all the podcast. All the names of racers from this past remember seeing all those years ago
Depends what you spray into the carbs on the grid.
Vfr 750 stock in the wet on the podium…he d man
Wow! The inbetweeners and now this! 👌
😂
Just a bit before my time was Ron.
yo ron for fook seak , put sed elmut on lad, gorrah hide thaaaat mankee aircout
🤣
R h legend
Please please stop asking folk to hit buttons if you are good there will never be a reason to ask its boaring to hear those words !!
Allan, it’s the first time I’ve ever asked publicly on the show, so please give me some credit. It’s called a call to action, most people who watch don’t subscribe no matter how much they enjoy what we do so they need reminding - there’s a reason people ask for subscribers all the time. I’m guilty of it, I watch and enjoy plenty of videos on TH-cam without subscribing. It’s part of the job to remind viewers to become subscribers because it REALLY does help. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the show 🙌🏼
@@OffTrack_Podcast Whoops sorry just a grumpy old git I guess Appols no harm meant !!
@@allanhughes7859 No worries at all, Allan 😊 if I did it every episode I’d happily take it on board, truth is I almost always forget to do it 😂
I'm old enough to remember Ron from back in the day when he was on the Elf. I got to the late 80's, early 90's and I had sort of had a lay off from bikes and watching races. In the mid 90's me and the Mrs went up to the peak district for a week of fell walking and stuff so we come through this field which led into a very narrow bridge across a canal (I think). What was the first thing that caught my eye on this 10 feet high wall along the bridge?
"RON HASLAM IS GOD" in great big white paint lettering and believe me this was in the middle of nowhere, made my day and always makes me grin whenever I remember it.
Always admired Ron Haslam, very humble, very talented rider and a great character.
What a fabulous story! Thanks for sharing it Martyn 🙌🏼