THE latest in the Duke Marketing library are two nostalgic road race DVDs from the early 1970s.

The first, called The Title Trail, covers the Ulster 350 Championship, and the second – Raining Champions – looks back at the 1976 North West, and the old and prestigious Embassy Final at Kirkistown, along with the 1975 Ulster Grand Prix. Both DVDs also have a few interesting extras.

In the 1970s there were not too many film made on the home scene, but there were two James brothers – Alwyn and Colin – who produced some great footage of the time, and to be fair to them I remember them coming to the Windmill in Skerries in the early days to show some of their films, and they went down extremely well.

The Title Trail is 75 minutes long, starts with 'Big D' introducing the DVD, and has coverage from both Road and Short Circuit races, and also has commentary from the greats of the mike – Davy McBride, Harold Crooks and Big D himself. There is also some rare onbike footage, and the 1974 Ulster 350 Championship.

This is definitely one for the nostalgic minded fan, but for those of you who would not know much about this era, it is great to see how riders at that time competed on both Road and Circuit to win a championship – riders of the calibre of Ian McGregor, Ray McCullough, Norman Dunn, Abe Alexander, Frank Kennedy, Mervyn Robinson and a young Joey Dunlop.

The season kicks off at Kirkistown on Easter Monday, in front of a massive crowd, and to see so many 350 Yamahas again, brought back great memories. Kirkistown at that time was a concrete track, and there was no chicane on the back of the course. The Tandragee was the first race of the season in, and there were only two laps of practice prior to your race, and that was it. Campbell Gorman was the winner, from Abe Alexander, with Mal Kirwin in third. A very wet North West was next on the agenda, and it was interesting to see the riders go out without question in terrible conditions, and not worry about what compound tyre to use – as they only had the one tyre for all conditions.

Here you see the likes of Mick Grant on the factory Kawasaki, and Tony Rutter on the Yamaha. The great John Williams was the man of the meeting, with three wins, and Ray McCullough won the 250.

The old Sherrygroom Cookstown course was next, and Tom Herron was the star there. A push start was the norm then, and the Killinchy 150 was a cracking race, with Abe Alexander winning his first road race. He was one of the first riders to wear white leathers, and therefore very easy to pick out.

The rest of the season races goes from Maghaberry on to the Temple, Mid-Antrim (the old course) and the Ulster, where the mass start of more than 70 350s was an awesome spectacle. There is an amazing sight of a big fire when a rider crashed and the riders rode through the fire. There was no red flag then!

The season finishes with Mervyn Robinson winning the prestigious Embassy Championship and the Irish Championship, with Alexander finishing runner-up.

The special feature at the end covers Bill Kennedy, brother of the late Frank, and organiser of the 1st Armoy Road Races, and there are interviews with Jim Dunlop, the last remaini n g member of the Armoy Armada – there are clips of the action on the day – and also an entertaining piece with Guy Martin who is quoted as saying: 'Armoy is as extreme as Road Racing gets'.

Raining Champions is again from the James stable, and covers the 1976 North West, The Ulster Grand Prix 1975 and the Embassy Final of the same year. At 95 minutes it is again nostalgia at its best, starting with Hector Neill setting the scene, with the 1976 North West introducing the Magic Roundabout for the first time, and this is also on the old long course going down to Shell Bridge, with no chicanes at the time.

Ray McCullough wins the 250, with Martin Sharp just pipping Frank Kennedy in the unlimited race, and the pair are riding the Welsh Spartons. The 350 race sees Ray McCullough crash at 130mph, and the win going to Ian Richards. The Superbike lap record set by Mick Grant on the factory Kawasaki of over 122mph was an amazing speed for the time, but the win went to Percy Tait.

The Embassy final gets more great coverage, and the 1975 Ulster has action from four races and covers the first ever Superbike race at Dundrod. Tommy Robb was the course race commentator that day, and the commentary on the film came from our own George Hamilton.

There is great coverage of the battles between the Dromara Destroyers and the Armoy Armada, and the special feature covers Trevor Steele, one of the Dromara Destroyers, and there is also coverage of Steven Watson interviewing John McGuinness, and James Toseland, among others.

The racing action is again very good, with the great Ray McCullough showing the way to ride around Dundrod. There are also clips of a young Joey Dunlop starting to show his skills, and also the Harley Davidson ridden by McCullough. With mass starts again to the fore, with over 60 starters in the 500 class, and 76 riders partaking in the first Superbike race, it is memory lane at its very best. There are wins from McCullough, Mervyn Robinson and Percy Tait, and a clip of Joey crashing breaking his collarbone.

There is no doubt those of you who were around to witness these great races will see the nostalgia flooding back, and for the newcomers it is also entertainment that you will enjoy. Both DVDs cost £19.99 each, and are available from Emma Watterson at Duke Marketing on 0044-1624640000. Just tell them you read about them in the Fingal Independent. Keep 'er lit. jackcorry45@gmail.com

- Jack CORRY