Mr. Francis Ooi, the Singapore-based artist behind Ugly Moto, is an ad agency creative director by day and digital artist by night. Each of his prints are meticulously made, and this time-consuming process is time well spent: we can see Mr. Ooi’s enthusiasm for motorcycles in each of his offset lithographic prints.
This particular print is our favorite of the six. It features a Harley-Davidson XR750—the one Cal Rayborn rode in his 1972 Transatlantic Match Race.
“In the spring of 1972, he was invited to race in England at the Trans-Atlantic Match Race, which was dominated by European riders. Against the wishes of his employee Harley Davidson, he rode the unreliable and seriously outdated iron-head XR750 which belonged to a Harley-Davidson employee, Walt Faulk, who was also his tuner. The XR750s were prone to over heating but Cal thought the cooler weather in England would help.
The Trans-Atlantic Race was more of a competition between the British and the Americans. The English invented the short circuit race, so they naturally expected an advantage. Rayborn, with no experience at the British track, took on Brands Hatch, Mallory and Oulton Park. He won 3 of the 6 races and blew the minds of 60,000 British fans, changing their perception of American riders forever.”
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