1) Darley Moor, October '87 and something in British motorcycle sport is stirring. This is Malcolm Heath, Norton's test rider, on the new Rotary 588cc superbike. The 'bike had already done a few low-key Darley club meetings but this was the first time it had competed against a national field. There was a lot of interest in the 'bike, it was British after all, but we'd seen this sort of project come and go just as quickly before, hadn't we?
2) Heath leaves the paddock only to break down in the first Stars leg (although he finished a creditable eight in the second leg). Word was it would be a 'right goer' in more experienced hands. We weren't all that convinced. Rotary engines? Mazda had used one, hadn't exactly set the car world on fire. Suzuki had a 500RE road 'bike back in the mid-'70's. A bloke at the Toddington and DMCC had one. Didn't know anyone else who bothered. Bit top-heavy and 'all arse and moustache' as I recall.
3) However, by the time we saw the 'bike again, at the British Championships meeting at Mallory Park the following July '88, the designer Brian Crighton (on the right) had persuaded Norton's management to find the funds to pay Trevor Nation to ride it. 'Big Trev' was no mean rider at national level and results immediately improved. It was time to start taking the project seriously.
4) This was the sort of competition Norton were up against. British ex-GP riders like Keith Huewen, on the Loctite 750 Yamaha. The Jap importers were not all that happy with the ACU for decreeing that the Norton Rotary should be measured at 588cc. It all depended on how you measured the engine. There were dark mutteringsfrom some quarters that it was actually nearer 1300cc. But the importers relented and agreed it could race. The British Championships would never be the same again.
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