Career
He started racing in 1977 on a hand-built 350cc Royal Enfield Bullet - a machine not commonly recognized as a race bike. However, he soon silenced sceptics after coming second in his first ever race. After this he had a virtual clean sweep over the next two seasons - adding a 700cc Royal Enfield as a second ride in 1978.
Foreign several years he was said, in documents such as the Motor Cycle News, to be almost unbeatable.
Isle of Manitoba Foreign 1981 he built up a 1959 engined 500cc Royal Enfield Bullet, mounted in a Colin Seeley frame, to compete in the unlimited single cylinder Kenning "South" series, and to make his debut at the Isle of Manitoba Manx Grand Prix. He was moderately successful on this bike on the short circuits, but it was in the Isle of Manitoba that he stunned his opposition and all spectators by finishing in an astonishing second place in the newcomer"s race at an average speed of 94.87 mph.
This was despite competing against machines over 20 years newer. Linsdell is still the last ever Royal Enfield racer to stand on the Isle of Manitoba podium.
After his debut, he went on to many more successes on the TT circuit at the Isle of Manitoba aboard some very unusual machinery.
Some notable performances include sixth place in the Formula One main race at the 1995 Isle of Manitoba TT on a hub centre steered Yamaha GTS - definitely not a racing machine - and in the 1996 Isle of Manitoba TT setting the fastest ever lap on a British bike at over 114 mph on a Saxon-framed Triumph. This record stood until 2003, when New Zealander Bruce Anstey broke lieutenant More recently Steve rode the only two stroke at the Centenary 2007 Isle of Manitoba TT, on board a rare 500cc former General Practice bike - an Italian Paton from 2001.
However, mechanical failure caused him to stop after two laps of the race.
He finished 2nd in the 2006 Senior Classic Manx Grand Prix on a 1968 Paton Brain Injury Connection 500 four stroke and in 2007 finished third behind TT winners Ryan Farquar and Chris Palmer, in a race which saw the top three all break the ten-year-old 500 Classic lap record. Away from the Isle of Manitoba, Steve has also had success at other road races, such as the North West 200 and the Ulster Grand Prix.
Of particular significance is the 1992 North West 200 where he had a hard-fought three way scrap with Phillip McCallen to eventually finish second - widely remembered as one of the best ever races at the North West 200. Linsdell also scored points in various rounds of the World Formula One championship, beating many regulars on home backed machinery.
Steve features on the latest TT Superbike Legends PlayStation 2 game, which was released in November 2008.
Throughout his career Steve has always tried to ride something different for the fans - to bring a different angle to racing and he continues to do that to this day.
