Well this really is shaping up to be a fantastic weekend. None other than the voice of motorsport himself, Jack Burnicle, is going to be commentating at the World Vets Motocross.
Having Jack on the mike not only supports this as a major event, but it just feels right, doesn’t it – having the voice we all know and love talking us through the weekend. We can’t wait! As you know, Jack has a rich and varied history behind the mike in motorsport – here’s a little bit about his story:
Born in Billingham-on-Tees, Jack was besotted with cars and motor racing as a lad, before the throwaway gift of a couple of old motorcycle racing books changed all that as he was turning 16, and he got a motorbike. This meant he could ride to local ‘scrambles’, which at that time took place almost every weekend around his native Durham and North Yorkshire, and he got to know many of his heroes, some of whom are still friends today.
Jack was smitten by the noise, the smell and the excitement and started taking photographs, initially on his Mam’s Kodak Brownie! Art College in Leeds expanded his horizons, then he moved to London and in 1976 was persuaded by grand prix racer and longstanding pal Roger Harvey to attend the French 125GP which, that famously red-hot summer, was only 40 miles from Calais, at Cassel. And that was where the grand prix bug bit; the huge crowd, the dust, heat and excitement made for an intoxicating mixture, plus he had found some work to photograph the action and write a story for weekly paper Motor Cycle News.
For the next 20 years he would travel Europe and the USA, often on road trips with the many riders and their families who kindly made it all possible, and had his work published worldwide. Also, in 1991, Jack was offered the opportunity to work broadcasting off-road motorcycle sport of all disciplines, including world motocross and trials and the iconic Bercy supercross, with fledgling Paris-based television station Eurosport.
This mushroomed in 1998 when he was invited to become lead commentator for their new road racing acquisition, World Superbikes, and he embarked on further adventures abroad until 2016, while still covering MXGPs when time allowed. British Superbikes had followed in 2007, initially on ITV before being moved to Eurosport.
Jack continued as lead commentator on both road racing series until also finishing BSB at the end of 2021. He has since returned to the dirt with a full season of MXGP on Eurosport in 2022 and is now celebrating almost 60 years of involvement in his favourite sport!