The All-American Eagle back on the racetrack

Astoundingly, Gurney's All American Racer Eagle race cars endured until recently, winning countless American championships and pushing the forefront of race design all the way to 2000 when Gurney decided to "escape from motor racing" and took on new adventures.

In 2000, Gurney retired from race car building and diverted his attentions to a project he'd been wanting to finish for two decades. In 1980, Gurney had conceived and built a prototype of a radical new motorcycle design and over the years had built a series of development prototypes, each built on the experience of the last.

The design involves a rethink of the traditional motorcycle layout and has the rider feet first and much lower than a traditional motorcycle layout. One of Dan's assets in building the Alligator was the existence of his own elite level race constructor factory and staff, so it's not surprising that the Alligator is fabricated with some rare composites and is a featherweight by motorcycle standards.

Let's put this in perspective. Gizmo recently tested the Buell, which we felt was one of the lightest roadgoing motorcycles ever built.

The Alligator weighs 30kg less than a Buell, coming in at MotoGP weight minimum levels. The Alligator also has a very small frontal area and a very efficient aerodynamic shape, so it has optimised all those aspects to achieve excellent performance. Watch for an upcoming interview with Dan, and if you're within driving distance of Phillip Island this coming weekend, be sure to make the journey.

For more details on the meeting, visit the Victorian Historic Racing Register site.