The Norton RCW588 is a Works Racing motorcycle, produced for the 1988 to 1994 racing seasons,[1] initially with an air-cooled version of the road-going twin-rotor Wankel engine used in the Classic soon followed by watercooled versions from 1989.[2]
Racing started in late 1987 with employee Malcolm Heath as development rider on a limited budget,[3] then with a six-man team from 1989 including riders Trevor Nation and Simon Buckmaster.[2] With major sponsor John Player & Sons, the Norton Rotary achieved significant racing success with riders Steve Spray, Robert Dunlop, and Ron Haslam, together with stand-in riders Andy McGladdery and Terry Rymer.[2] Steve Hislop achieved a win at the 1992 Senior TT race, the first time Norton had won the class since 1961,[4][5] and Ian Simpson won the 1994 British Superbike Championship. The unique Wankel engine configuration measured at a capacity of 588 cc was accepted by the FIM in 1990, allowing the Norton to enter the 500 cc Grand Prix premier racing class.[6]
- ^ "Norton Rotary Racing Development- Middle Years 1991-1992". Norton Motors Ltd. Archived from the original on 16 September 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
- ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference
MCS January 1989was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
MCS June 1988was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Meads, Neil. "JPS Norton - JPSNorton.com when the British rotary engined racers ruled UK superbikes". www.jpsnorton.com.
- ^ Racing Nostalgia: Steve Hislop and the 1992 Senior TT Bennetts, 27 December 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2019
- ^ Motor Cycle News (UK weekly newspaper) 12 September 1990, p.25. Go ahead for Norton GP attack, Mat Oxley. Accessed and added 26 October 2015