With the Aintree circuit looking as a non-starter for this year, I was discussing the sad demise of the Ponderosa circuit at Flookburgh recently with former Manx Grand Prix rider Steve Morris.

Steve regularly raced on the short but demanding Flookburgh track, which produced many top stars of the era.

Multiple TT winner the late Steve Hislop, and the late Alan 'Bud' Jackson from Kendal, who had several Manx GP wins and placings to his credit, along with 1989 Senior Manx GP winner Nigel Barton from nearby Bouth, Carl Fogarty, who went on to be a world champion, and Jamie Witham are to name just a few.

The sidecar crews too always provided the spectators with some spectacular racing. Dave Holden, who features in the TT results each year, learned his trade on the Ponderosa circuit.

Sadly, after racing had taken place there for over 12 years, attracting large crowds and boosting the village's economy throughout the summer months, the rapidly expanding caravan park objected to the noise, even though machines were silenced to 110 decibels (lower than the light aircraft that also used the airfield) and racing ceased in September 1985.

In the course of conversation, I suggested we should maybe have a reunion and chat about the good old days.

He took me at my word, posted the idea on social media the following night, and within 24 hours we'd been swamped with inquiries.

The date has been set for Saturday, August 15 at the Hope and Anchor in Flookburgh, where a 40-minute DVD of the races in1984 will be screened,and Steve is arranging a walk around what's left of the old circuit over the weekend.

If you rode there in those hectic days, or just spectated, everyone is welcome to come along.

Many of the former Formula 5 club champions have already confirmed they'll be attending.

I'll update the proceedings on this page a bit nearer the date.

* In March last year, Norton Motorcycles narrowly escaped closure after failing to get their tax returns submitted on time, blaming an administration error.

Last Thursday, they were faced with a winding up order, as they still owed over £300,000 but thankfully HM Revenue and Customs have given them a little more time to clear the debt.

CEO Stuart Garner, who rescued the group in 2008, insisted negotiations are still ongoing and has pointed out they have already paid £300 off the £600 owed.

With healthy order books, he's confident the debt can be cleared. He states the situation has arisen to due the delay in tax relief payments for Research & Development owed to the business from HMRC.

Lets hope they can soon get things sorted and keep this iconic motorcycle brand on the road.

* Morecambe's John McGuinness, who has 23 TT wins to his credit including seven Senior TT wins, is to race a Kawasaki this year.

He recently signed for the Quattro Plant Bournemouth Kawasaki team, who won the British Superbike title in 2018.

He's to contest the Superstock and Superbike classes at the TT and the North West 200 in Ireland, where he suffered that horrendous 160 mph crash two years ago when the throttle on his Honda stuck open.

His comeback ride at last year's TT with Norton was a disaster, as both his machines had technical problems.

It's still unsure if he's been released from his Norton contract to race the Senior and Lightweight classes

This will be John's 30th year of racing and I`m sure he he'll be out to prove there's still life in the old dog yet.

* Ireleth's schoolboy motocross champion Jamie Keith has just returned from a pre-season training session in Spain, where he's been honing his cornering and landing skills.

The plucky 11-year-old achieved a 70ft leap over two of the mounds during training.. The former Mini Bike world champion, who won a round of the British Championships this year on his MBR Racing-supported KTM, is certainly going to be a force to be reckoned with again this year .

* Please note the Westmorland and Cumbria MX clubs have revised their dates from the ones I published a couple of weeks ago.

The Westmorland Club, who run at Firbank just off the M6, have now set dates for May 30/31, June 20/21, July 18/19 and September 12/13.

The dates for Cumbria MX Club at Haverigg are now March 14/15, April 10/11, May 2/3, June 11/12 and August 29/30.