Dear Motorcycle Road Racing Fans,
I’m a thirtyseven years old and I ‘ve been always interested in motorcycle road racings especially for the fifties era .
As many others nostalgic Italian fans I’m very interested in Les Graham’s careers an incomparable but forgotten British Champion .
My interest has started reading an old book written by Ezio Pirazzini an old Italian motorcycle racing reporter , where there is a short but intriguing Leslie Graham’s biography .
During the last four years I’ve made an hard research improving my knowledge not only in his important pre-war and post-war racing career ,but also in his thrilling military career : I read a lot of interesting books speaking about the R.A.F.’s tasks during the WWII and I contacted a lot of people and finally I got to those men who shared with Les the same hard and thrilling times .From their evidences I was able to trace his fascinating real life .
Les Graham in my point of view represent the history of Motorcycle Road Racing in the U.K. as he lived two separated motorcycle racing era : the pre-war era with a lot of local events and post-war era with the most important International events . Les Graham left a good memory of him in England and in Italy and many old reporters were very attracted from his personality and his intelligence ,other than his reckless drive (despite his not early age).
I really think that he could be the most representative motorcycle rider of that time and actually I don’t understand why not enough credit has been given to him : some elderly riders I’ve contacted confessed that Les Graham stands out above all other riders of his era but strangely nobody has ever written a biography on the man who was after all the very first ever Motorcycle World Champion with the British A.J.S. Porcupine 500cc .
I think it could be a wonderful idea to commemorate fifty years from his tragic death,that happened in june ’53 during the senior Tourist Trophy ,and I’m sure to find a lot of fans like me who want to recall his memory .
Please let me know your opinion .

Happy New Year .

Gerardo Bellia