THE son of a former motorcycle racer will compete in a national biking contest in honour of his late father.
Kevin Miller, of Orestan Lane, Effingham, has reached the finals of Built In Britain after completing a classic motorcycle restoration project that his father, Mick, started three years ago.
Following his father's death in a road accident, the 40-year-old decided to finish the restoration of his father's 1962 AJS 7R.
Mr Miller said: "Dad won a silver replica in the Manx Grand Prix in 1962 racing a 7R and he had always wanted to build another one.
"I guess it just took quite a long time for him to get the funds and the bits and pieces.
"When he died it was an absolute must for all the family that the bike be finished."
Mr Miller completed the restoration project last year, and took the motorbike over to the Isle of Man to put it through its paces, an experience he said he found "incredibly emotional".
He said: "I don't know that there are words to describe it.
"It was a massive honour. Sitting on the starting line the emotions were everything from the highest of the high to the lowest of the low."
Having rebuilt the machine, Mr Miller decided to enter it in Built In Britain, a national competition which recognises restored and refurbished classic motorcycles.
The AJS has been voted through to the finals of the competition, where it will be up against hundreds of other motorcycles during an event in London from February 15 to 17.
Mr Miller said: "It's been brilliant so far; the whole thing has just been like a fairytale.
"It would mean everything to win, just to see dad's name out there."
If the bike is chosen as the winner, Mr Miller said he would donate half of the £1,000 cash prize to the Surrey Air Ambulance, which airlifted his father to Kings College Hospital after his crash.
The winner of Built In Britain is decided by a public vote. To vote for Mr Miller's AJS 7R, go to www.mcnbuiltinbritain.co.uk
