REACHING FOR THE STARS

Michael McEvoy had big plans. He wanted to attack the prestige sector of the market that was the domain of Brough Superior, which was coincidentally just up the road from his premises in Duffield, a small village near Derby in the English Midlands.

Jim Scaysbrook

Born in 1904 and educated at Eton, the debonair McEvoy found employment at Rolls-Royce, at that time also in Derby, where he gained a thirst for mechanical knowledge and began to dream of establishing his own business. From 1920 he had dabbled in motorcycle competition, mainly trials and hill climbs, initially on a 350 Douglas and later an AJS, but it was his marriage to Mona Simpson that really opened doors. Mona’s brother was none other than the great Jimmy Simpson, AJS works rider and one of the true stars of the biggest race in the world, the Isle of Man TT. Although perpetually unlucky at the TT, Simpson etched his name into the TT record books as the first man to establish lap records for 60, 70 and 80 mph,…

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Old Bike Australasia (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 118

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