Will the underdog Matchless G50 reign at Revival?

“These were built as basically the MotoGP bike of the 1960s,” Jackson told us, when we caught up with him during Revival testing. Compared to the lap times posted at Members’ Meeting with a Yamaha TZ350, Jackson reported the G50 had “only about four or five seconds a lap difference” to the bike built 20 years later. “Where they were in the 1960s compared to where we've come to, it's actually embarrassingly not that far off.”

With an engine producing 51PS (37kW), an original twin-leading-shoe front brake and 19 inch treaded tyres, Jackson’s assessment of the G50 is that “it’s just a rider’s bike”. Where it can’t match the Manx Nortons for power it compensates with its speed around bends, ideal when faced with the high-speed corners of the Goodwood Motor Circuit.  

This particular Matchless G50 was first recommissioned in the 2000s by classic race tuner Fred Walmsley and retains around 80 per cent of its originality. Any part that isn’t original is made as an exact replica thanks to Andy Molnar of Molnar Precision, who Jackson explained has all of the original drawings and has recast parts for the engine.

“We're so lucky that we've got fantastic engineering services in the UK that allow us to keep the bikes going and” — Jackson emphasised — “race them competitively, because it'd be such a shame to tuck these away in a museum, which a lot of them are unfortunately.”

Not this one, though. Jackson won the Lansdowne British Championship in 2024 with this G50, a contest for pre-1964 500cc Grand Prix bikes which have to meet exacting period specifications. Perfect preparation for the Revival, then.

“This gets raced probably six or seven times a year. It's extremely competitive racing, we give it everything, we're not easy on it. I feel a bit sorry for it, to be honest.”

All this hard racing means the bike does require a lot of maintenance, but that’s where Jackson is in his element. “I used to work for a couple of motorcycle manufacturers,” he revealed. “I'm experienced enough to be able to prepare the bike and rebuild it and maintain it myself. Between every meeting, it's not completely stripped down, but it is thoroughly gone through, and we'll do that after today, ready for the Revival.”

Jackson didn’t hesitate to express his love for this bike, after all he’s achieved on it. “It means a hell of a lot to me, mainly because of the [British Championship win]. When you win a Championship on a bike, it becomes part of you. I don't own it, but the owner of it is a very, very dear friend of mine. Maybe one day I can save up enough money or win the lottery to buy it from him!”

Between himself, Hillier and the owner, Jackson describes the group that run the bike as “a nice little tight knit family trio,” especially considering the owner has been a personal sponsor of Hillier for many years and that Jackson’s father also comes by “and helps me spanner it.”

For all of Jackson’s emphasis on being able to race a historic bike, and the success he’s achieved with it, he views this machine equally as “a piece of art”.

“I could talk about the handling; I could talk about the engine, but actually to stand back and look at the Matchless compared to a Norton, it's almost as if an artist designed it, a bit like you see some of the Ferraris and other cars that are at the Revival.

“There's not many that bring engineering for the purpose of competition and winning versus beautiful aesthetics, and honestly, the Matchless is absolutely gorgeous. I think it's the best-looking bike on the grid.”

Details, like Fred Walmsley’s Lancashire rose emblazoned on the front, and the fact he was the man who prepared the Manx Norton on which Barry Sheene himself won his last race, at Goodwood in 2002, add to the charm and heritage the G50 possesses.

To now race at Goodwood himself is “special”, says Jackson, who first came to the Revival in 2004 as a young child. “I watched this and thought ‘I've got to race there’, and I was very lucky that in 2023 I got the first opportunity and I've loved it ever since. I'm hooked.

“To be able to be out there racing and putting on a show, nothing compares to that. The looks you get as you walk through the paddock before you go out onto the track with the bike — I've raced in many areas and never experienced that.”

With sights set on the fast-approaching 2025 Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy, both Jackson and Hillier have a clear target in mind: “We want to win. Outright, we want to win. James amongst the superstars wants to be the fastest there.

“It's really a dream to ride. We really want to give the Matchless a good show but we're gonna be up against it. Hopefully me and James can go one better than we did last year.”

We’ll know whether they’ve done just that when the chequered flag waves at the end of Part 2 of the Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy. You can see Jackson and Hillier aboard their Matchless G50 in the first of the races on Saturday at 11:05, ahead of the concluding contest at 12:20 on Sunday at the 2025 Goodwood Revival.

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Photography by Joe Harding.