Fresh from the Isle of Man, Manx-beating Norton ES2 bound for Collie and 2026 national historic titles

Main pic: Mike Browne (in leathers) with the Norton ES2 at the Isle of Man last week. All photos courtesy of Mike Byrne, Team Kiwi Classic TT 2026

A NORTON race bike considered to be one of the fastest pushrod single-cylinder machines ever to race at the Isle of Man is headed for the West Australian town of Collie to compete in the 2026 Australian Historic Road Racing Championship at the end of September.

 The Peter Lodge Racing Norton ES2 is currently at the Isle of Man where it has just captured a podium finish. Ireland’s Mike Browne achieved a 110mph lap on the Norton on his way to the third-place finish behind famed Englishman John McGuiness and Browne’s countryman Shaun Anderson.

Now in his late 70s, New Zealander Pete Lodge originally built the ES2 for daily transport when he was an apprentice fitter. Over the next 40-plus years, Lodge converted the Norton to a race bike and gradually modified it to become a genuine Manx-beater.

New Zealander Scott Moir – a former back-to-back winner of New Zealand’s Suzuki Series Formula One Superbike title – will ride the bike at Collie.