Continental Report

CONTINENTAL REPORT

B. R. NICHOLLS

JEERS, WHISTLES, CATCALLS AND ABUSE were hurled at officials of the 500cc Moto Cross des Nations team event held at the famous Hawkstone Park circuit where there were four false starts before the first race was allowed to proceed. The trouble arose because of a faulty starting gate, but to a jaundiced eye around the back of the course it seemed the race was not started until a British rider led. Broer Dirkx (Lito) of the Dutch team could be forgiven for thinking on those lines for he had led the pack on the first two starts.

This dreadful fiasco was all the more regrettable as the event was scheduled to be broadcast to Europe on the Eurovision television link up. No doubt there will be an enquiry to ensure that such a thing cannot happen again but that will be shutting the door after the horse has gone, for it should never have been allowed to happen in the first place. This team event is the classic moto-cross meeting of the year and is fought out over two races between teams of five riders with the best placed three in each race to count. Highlight this year was the appearance of a team from Canada that fought hard and gallantly against seven other countries but was utterly outclassed by the opposition who spend most weekends in the hurlyburly of fighting for points in the solo world championship title meetings.

When the first race eventually got going, set off by a flag. Don Rickman (Matchless Metisse) was in the lead backed up by Jeff Smith (BSA). At half distance Rolf Tibblin (Hcdlund) took over the lead and Smith moved up to challenge, taking the lead when Tibblin retired with a broken rear brake rod. But although Smith and Don Rickman were first and second it was not until the last lap that Don's brother Derek passed Gunnar Johansson (Lito) of Sweden and Hubert Scai I let (Triumph Metisse) of Belgium to gain third place and give the British team a very strong position for the second race.

There was another false start at the be ginning of the second race and when the pack did get away. two riders were left facing the wrong way. After four laps in the lead Smith was passed by Broer Dirkx who rode magnificently to stay in front until a broken gearbox put him out. The crowd recognized his spirit after the chaos of the first race and applauded him all the way back to the paddock. Then the nail biting started. Holland was down to three men. Sweden was out of the con test with only two men left in and the British team was also down to the mini mum permissible of three. It looked as if Belgium might pull it off, for her latest ace. nineteen-year-old Sylvain Gehoers (Matchless Metisse) was secure in second spot. hut Vic F~istwood (Matchless) and Derek Rickman came home fifth and sixth so the British team won by a mar gin of sixteen points.

A week later at the 250cc Trophee des Nations, which is the lightweight equiva lent of the Moto Cross des Nations. Swe den came out top dog with Torsten Hallman (Husqvarna) leading them brilliantly in a much more open contest. This meet ing too was cursed with false starts, five happening before the first race got away led by Russian Victor Arbekov (CZ) who was headed after four laps by Hallman: third was Dutchman Frits Selling (Greeves). fourth Dave Bickers (Greeves) and fifth Belgium's Joel Robert (CZ). Five different nationalities in the first five places. By the end of the first race Bickers had taken second spot and the brilliant ew Swedish rider Ake Johnsson (Husqvarna) third ahead of Arhekov. Belgium's new world champion. Robert, had a chain break so did not figure in the first result but in the second race shot into an unassailable lead with Bickers well down the field and Haliman taking second spot. Bickers rode fantastically to gain second place by the end hut behind him the British team were in trouble so with the Czechs' Vlastimil Valek (Jawa) and Karel Pilar (CZ) in fourth and fifth spots backed up by Petr Dobry (CZ) in tenth place, Czechoslovakia took a well earned second place by two points.

So much for moto-cross. what about the road racing front? Well, three more world titles have been decided and that leaves only the 250 to be fought and the pacemakers there are Phil Read and Jim Redman, with Read having a slender two point advantage now that the news has come through that there is to be no Argentine Grand Prix this year. With only the Italian and Japanese events to come there must he some frantic work going on at the Honda and Yamaha camps to clinch the all-important two-fifty title.

That open handicap win of Tony Woodman’s in the 350 class of the Ulster is worthy of further mention. The handicap times are worked out on the rider’s practice times and the winner of the award is the one who most improves on that time. Handicappers are pretty shrewd men so a deliberate "go slow” in practice will be noticed. It follows, therefore, that practice must be taken seriously and then one’s lap times must get progressively better during the race to stand the best chance of winning the handicap. This is how Tony won it and he looked a far better rider than he had done the previous week at Oulton Park.

Another point about the Ulster was Phil Read’s switch over to the Dearden Norton. Reg Dearden was at one time probably the most extensive sponsor in the game and his riders have won more T.T. replicas than anyone would care to polish, but over the past couple of years has almost dropped out of the game. Now he intends to enter the fray again next year. Early to say yet who his runners will he but this year John Cooper rode his machines in the Isle of Man and at the Ulster. Talking of the Isle of Man brings us to the Manx Grand Prix races which have just finished. Held this year again for the first time since 1948. the 250 class was won by Rhodesian Gordon Keith on a Greeves. Keith is one of the few in recent years who has taken a visit to the Island, really seriously putting in well over thirty laps on a road machine before attempting race vpeeds in official practice. Before his suc cess he was virtually unknown but has now taken over the entries of his friend and fellow Rhodesian Alan Harris who crashed badly at Aherdare. so he will have the opportunity to prove himself in about half a dozen meetings before the end of the season.

Dave Williams. who has been trying hard to win a Manx. was successful in the 35() class whilst Selwyn Griffiths was the Senior winner. But reading down the results one can not help feeling that the halcyon days of the Manx are past for it used to be the breeding ground for works aces of the following season — there were none to he noticed this year. On the short circuits Dave Simmonds caused a surprise at Brands Hatch when he whistled his 50cc Tohatsu round to break lap and race records set by Hugh Anderson on his works Suzuki. Another highlight was Chris Vincent’s ride in the sidecar handicap race which he won from the scratch mark on his works prepared A65 engined outfit.

So the .season enters into the fall and the classic climax in Europe at Monza where once again we are promised a Calderella vs. Hailwood duel which will he renewed two weeks later at Mallory Park in the Race of the Year meeting where the winner of the 500cc race notches $2.800. For Jack Ahearn. though, the Finnish Grand Prix will ever live in his memory for it was there that the popular Aussie finally got a classic win when he won the 500 race. Poor G villa Marsovsky was leading but his fairing broke loose, dropping him to third place. This rider must he on the short list for anyone looking to next season, and casting eves in that direction through the crystal ball I think Honda may well enter the 500cc field. Jim Redman take to cars and Alan Shepherd move on from the two-stroke field, which has not been kind to this brilliant rider, to a much more reliable four-stroke. Could be that the Japanese Grand Prix will answer the question of where. •