Two fascinating competition motorcycles spanning very different eras of Aermacchi and Harley-Davidson racing history will be heading to Stafford this autumn – you’ll be able to see them, and hear them running!
Owned by Andy Webb, the 1969 Aermacchi-Harley Davidson 350cc Lawton Ala D’Oro and 1974 Harley Davidson-Aermacchi RR250 Grand Prix racer will be among the motorcycles appearing at The Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show sponsored by Carole Nash, at Staffordshire Showground on October 10-11.
And while both machines carry the Aermacchi name, they represent two distinctly different approaches to building a racing motorcycle.
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1969 Aermacchi-Harley Davidson 350cc Lawton Ala D’Oro
The older of Andy’s two machines is a factory-built 1969 350cc Ala D’Oro racer, originally tuned and prepared by renowned racing specialist Sid Lawton.
At its heart is a single-cylinder 350cc pushrod-operated long-stroke engine mounted in a spine frame. Ceriani front forks are matched to a formidable 230mm double-sided twin-leading-shoe Ceriani front brake, while the engine breathes through a 38mm Dellorto SS1 carburettor.
With an 11.5:1 compression ratio, the engine develops around 36bhp at 8,500rpm. Heavy-duty Linton and Lawton crankcases house a big-bearing crank and Arrow short con rod, with drive through a bronze racing clutch and close-ratio six-speed Schafleitner gearbox.
Weighing just 210lb dry, the Ala D’Oro is capable of around 125mph when suitably geared.
But it is the motorcycle’s competition history that makes it particularly special.
The bike was bought from Lawton and Wilson Ltd of Southampton on March 6, 1970, for £757 10s by the late Ronnie Niven of Ayr, Scotland.
Niven raced it throughout the 1970s and into the mid-1990s, competing predominantly in club events but also taking part in no fewer than 13 Manx Grands Prix and four Classic TTs.
His best Isle of Man result came in the 1982 Formula 3 TT, where he finished 10th in 1hr 48min 7.2sec at an average speed of 83.75mph. Niven last raced the motorcycle in 1996 at the Southern 100 on the Isle of Man.
The Ala D’Oro hasn’t spent its more recent life simply sitting on display either. It has continued to take part in classic motorcycle track days and has been raced regularly at National Sprint Association meetings.
It won the South of England classic up-to-500cc class in 2017 and again in 2021, before taking the national championship in both 2022 and 2023.
Its best recorded standing quarter-mile is 14.22 seconds, with a terminal speed of 95.91mph.
1974 Harley Davidson-Aermacchi RR250 Grand Prix racer
Sitting alongside it at Stafford will be a very different proposition.
Andy’s orange-and-black No.44 RR250 was built by the Harley-Davidson-owned Aermacchi company at its Varese factory in northern Italy.
It is the type of machine ridden by Walter Villa to victory in the 250cc World Championship in 1974, 1975 and 1976.
This particular motorcycle was owned and raced by Neapolitan rider Diego Montella, who competed in the Italian 250cc national championships during the 1970s.
It was brought to the UK in the mid-1990s and remained in a private collection until being acquired by its present owner.
Since then it has undergone a complete mechanical and cosmetic rebuild, returning it to its original colour scheme while retaining original components including, where possible, the fairing, tank and seat.
The restoration has already attracted plenty of attention. The RR250 won the Best Road Racer award at the Bristol Classic Motorcycle Show in February 2024 before being highly commended at the autumn Stafford show later that year. It received another highly commended award at Bristol in February 2025.
Like the Ala D’Oro, it remains an active machine.
The RR250 has been run at track days at Castle Combe, Mallory Park, Cadwell Park and Anglesey. In 2025 Andy was invited to run it at the prestigious Prescott Hill Climb, and in 2026 the machine took part in the parade of legendary motorcycles at the Festival of 1000 Bikes at Mallory Park.
It has also competed regularly at National Sprint Association meetings, recording a best standing quarter-mile of 13.83 seconds with a terminal speed of 99.49mph.
Its 246cc piston-ported, parallel-twin, liquid-cooled two-stroke engine uses a 56mm bore and 50mm stroke with a compression ratio of 12.8:1.
Dyno tested in February 2024, it produced 53bhp at a screaming 11,800rpm.
With a dry weight of only 105kg and suitable gearing, its quoted maximum speed is an impressive 235kph – around 147mph.
See them at Stafford
Together, the two motorcycles provide a fascinating illustration of just how dramatically racing machinery evolved: from the thumping single-cylinder, pushrod Ala D’Oro of the late 1960s to the highly developed liquid-cooled two-stroke Grand Prix machinery of the mid-1970s.
Visitors will be able to see Andy Webb’s machines at The Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show sponsored by Carole Nash, which returns to Staffordshire Showground on Saturday and Sunday, October 10-11, 2026.
The Stafford show is one of the biggest dates in the classic motorcycle calendar, bringing together hundreds of motorcycles, club stands, traders, autojumble, racing machinery and plenty more across the weekend.
Advance tickets are available now – and buying before the show saves more than 20% compared with the gate price.
For tickets and full show information visit HERE
