Caption:

In front of the packed banks around the atmospheric Assen

circuit Rob McElnea (Suzuki) and Joey Dunlop (Honda) do battle for the 1983 Formula 1 crown. Everyone knew that Dunlop was the man to beat on the roads, but few gave him the credit he deserved as a circuit racer. Although it made perfect sense to include historic Assen in the Formula 1 championship; the original circuit used public roads, by 1983 it couldn’t have been more different than the TT Mountain circuit or Dunlop’s local Dundrod. Come the race, Joey silenced his critics with a fine runner-up spot behind McElnea, but the icing on the cake was the fact that he led home Honda team-mates Roger Marshall and Wayne Gardner.