Continental Report

CONTINENTAL REPORT

B. R. NICHOLLS

POSTPONED FROM earlier in the year because the course was snowbound, the national trade supported Bemrose Trial held in the wilds of Derbyshire with its wonderful rocky sections, was a limberup exercise for the forthcoming Scottish Six Days Trial. The winners were the old firm of Miller and Langston with their Ariels but both were narrow victories. Ron Langston and Doug Cooper had but three marks in hand over Peter Roydhouse and Colin Pinder with an elderly 490cc single Norton outfit. The solo side was even closer with Sammy Miller heating veteran Johnny Brittain by only one mark. Brittain was riding a 246cc Royal Enfield four-stroke and with the two Peters. Fletcher and Gaunt, won the Manufacturers Team prize. Four marks behind Miller came both Arthur Lampkin (Cotton) and Johnny's brother Pat Brittain on a 246cc Dot. This was Lampkin’s fitst outing on the trials model and in the face of such stiff opposition it was a cracking ride.

As a try-out for the Scottish it is interesting to note that of the first four. Pat Brittain is the only one without a win in the famous Highland event. So on Bemrose form the Six Days is virtually wide open and it will be as much a battle of nerves as skill with only one thing certain; the winner will surely deserve his success. Alas, the sidecar boys mourn the passing of their class from this the classic of the trials year. And incidentally this event should he a must as a qualifying round for the Henry Groutars Trophy if the true trials champion of Europe is to be found.

Last month in the stop press of the Hutchinson Hundred report you will remember that Torsten Hallman started the 250cc moto cross year in fine style with a win in the Spanish Grand Prix but it was Don Rickman who was the darling of the Spanish crowd, for he gunned his Bultaco into second place in both races to finish second overall in front of John Griffiths and teammate Dave Bickers, both on the new Greeves Challenger machines. Vlastimil Valek broke the Jawa in practice, experiencing much difficulty with the new five-speed gearboxes, so rode a CZ in both races. He failed to finish in the first leg but gained third in the second race and must have wondered why he left CZ last year, but the season is young yet and there is time to make amends. Perhaps by the third round of the competition, for at the second (held in Belgium).

Valek was again out on a CZ to take fifth place overall.

It was definitely CZ's day for the young local ace, twenty-year-old Joel Robert, won both races with consummate ease on his works machine, gaining an overall win from Hallman with Sweden's Jan Johansson ( I.indstrom ) third and the Russian Igor Grigoriev (CZ) fourth. Derek Rickman kept the Bultaco flag flying in sixth spot, his brother Don being sidelined with an injured finger. So after two meetings the three leaders in the 250 world moto cross battle are Hallman 14 points, Robert X and Don Rickman 6.

In the 500cc battle last year's champion Rolf Tibblin has asserted himself on the Nils Hedlund special to win the first two rounds held in Switzerland and Australia. In both instances Jeff Smith (BSA) was runner-up and third place was taken by veteran Sten Kundin (lito). Those are the cold facts but behind them lies a story that foretells this year's championship as possibly the most grim, hardest and close fought yet to he held. Both meetings were decided on the two race basis and at the Swiss round Tibblin won the first leg by less than twelve seconds and then because of the tough going, just Smith's cup of tea. the second leg was shortened and although Smith won he had not sufficient time in hand over second man Tibblin to gain an overall victory.

Then in Australia in the first race Smith was hut one second behind Tibblin when the finishing flag was hunc out one lap early just when it seemed Smithy must win. In the second race different lines around a hunch of slow men gave Tibblin a narrow lead which carried him to victory. Where lesser men would have been disheartened by such a sequence of events it could be that Smithy has gained a psychological advantage for he was fitter after the second race in Switzerland than his opponents and could have protested about that shortened race in Austria, so a battle of nerves seems to have started very early in the 1964 season.

Vic F.astwood (Matchless) is tackling the championship round this year but has not really asserted himself yet due in the main to minor machine troubles which when sorted out may give him his first grand prix win. But at the moment it is painfully obvious that Smith and Tibblin arc in the superman class in senior world moto-cross.

So to the road racing front where ill fortune has again laid low John Harle. When in a secure third spot in the 350 race at Imola it would appear that the engine seized and put John out for three or four weeks hut he hopes to he okay by the T.T. for which he is hotly tipped to ride a Güera, to be entered privatek by Geoff Duke. But who else could ride the four if Hartle is not fit'.’ Fortunately oil contracts will not enter into it but. even so, the field is extremely limited as the rider would have to be fully experienced over the thirty-seven mile T.T. course. At the moment there is only one man who fully fits the role and that is Alan Shepherd. contracted only for the 125 and 250 classes with works M.Z. machines, and in the 350 race on a 254 M.Z. All the other big names have mounts in the Senior class and of them the only other two with experience on a four are Phil Read and Derek Minter. Minter has publiclv stated he would rather ride a Norton than finish second on a Güera to Hailwood's MV. and Phil Read is hardly likely to lessen Tom Kirby's chances of getting his Matchless into second place in the World Championship for the second Year by switching hikes just for the T.T. Two outsiders who could be considered are Mike Duff and Jack Ahearn. The most interesting point however that arose in the course of a conversation with Shepherd on the subject was that he thought the Bianchi twin stood the best chance of beating the M.V. as it is just as quick and weighs less. This is certainly borne out by recent results in Italy where Remo Venturi has been giving both Hailwood and Caldarella a run for their money.

Remember how Alan Shepherd's M.Z. was "missing" and down on speed at Daytona? Well, the trouble was tracked down to the magneto so on Alan's own 125 and 250 models l ucas arc fitting an ignition system anti if successful it will be employed on the works machines. Fatly tests in this direction have proved encouraging. Fven more encouraging is the fact that visas have been granted for Walter Karden, the M.Z. race chief, and a mechanic for the Spanish Grand Prix and the isle of Man T.T. De calling (!) thing is that the French have so far refused similar facilities, so Alan will collect the works van at Frankfurt and drive it to Spain while the M.Z. men fly direct. After the Spanish G.P. the works mechanic will prepare the hikes for the meeting at Clermont Ferrand and then fly hack to Germany while Alan drives to the French Grand Prix. At last the “world" part of these championship titles is beginning to have some meaning.

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Well, here we are well into the month's report and no mention of the weather which was so dominant last month. The fact that it poured rain at the big sidecar's only meeting at Mallory Park for a prize of $1400 was the biggest stroke of luck Pip Harris and Ray Campbell could have had. Water in the works put out such favorites as Chris Vincent and Florian Camathias and then the throttle cable broke on Peter Russell's big Vincent twin so Harris swept his BMW into the lead anti stayed there for the richest sidecar prize ever offered in Britain and probably the world. Fritz Scheidegger (BMW) took second place w'hile third spot went to Chalie Freeman on a 647cc Norton. Harris further proved his liking for the wet a week later at Brands Hatch with a handicap race win in the rain after Vincent had won the scratch race in the dry. This meeting was a Tom Phillips benefit for he vvon the 250,000 and lOOOcc races and was second to Derek Mintcr in the 350 race, Joe Dunphy having fallen without serious injury when challenging Minter for the lead. The following weekend at Snetterton Tom again put it across “the Mint" in the 250 and 350 races but had to give him best in the big race of the day despite being on a 650 Norton twin to Derek's 500 single. Chris Vincent caused a stir in the 125 race for not only did he win (he has made a habit of doing this as well in the sidecar class), he also broke the lap record previously held by Mike Hailwood on a Ducati. Chris hides a Hannah Honda and is also going to ride 250 and 350 Aermacchi machines for Syd I.awton in the T.T. and on short circuits. For international events there will be a strong Acrmacchi team of Vincent, Tom Phillips and Othmar Drixl. A feature of the short circuit racing so far this season has been the tremendous fights going on for minor places and names obviously to keep an eye on in the future are Dave Williams. Chris Conn, Dennis Ainsworth. Bill Ivy. Tom Dickie. Reg Pickrell and Dave Degens. Tom Phillips has “arrived" this season already and his performances on the pushrod Acrmacchis have to be seen to be believed but the real test will be six laps of the Isle erf Man and if they survive there then the skeptics will be hard put to find excuses for the more exotic designs which they are beating.

Charles Williams who complained in last month's correspondence columns about the prize gold at Daytona no doubt wonders how the organization can get another license to hold a meeting next year. If Jim Redman has his way this year's event may even be declared invalid but I doubt if this will happen. Jim has. however, protested to the F.I.M. though the A-C.U. complete with $70 protest fee on the question of expenses for the Daytona meeting. The matter will be discussed at the F.I.M. spring congress so we shall know the result in due course. But it does seem that promoters fail to realize that racers are professional men earning a living and just paying a fare is not sufficient to keep the w'olf from the door. The question of start money has always been a sore point and in fact there was a riders' strike over the same subject at the Dutch T.T. some years ago. It resulted in several riders being suspended by the F.I.M.. including Geoff Duke and Jack Ahcarn. But the rider is still the poor relation in the whole set up. Sooner or later the F.I.M. will have to make a serious attempt to sort out the financial side of racing and the sooner the better.