Continental Report
CONTINENTAL REPORT
B. R. NICHOLLS
To START WITH a mention of plans for the 1966 season may seem a bit crackers when the first classic of 1965 has not yet been held, but if it is a question of wanting to know when we shall see a Gilera again then 1966 seems to be the answer. Certainly this is true as far as solo racing is concerned. There is a possibility that Camathias may get a Gilera engine and mechanic at his own expense to attack world sidecar records up to twelve hours at Daytona before the United States Grand Prix. If the plans for this or another multi-record attempt fall through, then he will have to fall back on the faithful old BMW. But the definite announcement that the Gilera factory will not race in 1965 has put paid to the pipe dream battles we were envisaging of Hailwood on the MV and Minter on the Gilera.
So it is Petty-tuned Nortons for Minier, whilst Hailwood has once again signed to ride for MV and no other manufacturer in 1965. This does leave him free to ride some machinery like Matchless, AJS and Norton in home meetings where the MV is not available. MV have also signed two ace Italian lightweight riders, Bruno Spaggiari and Giacomo Agostini, which seems to indicate that the Count is confident about the future of his 125cc rotary valve two-stroke for it is this that Spaggiari will ride whilst Agostini will be given a chance on the bigger MVs. Everything seems to indicate that we shall at last see the three-cylinder device that has been talked about for so long. Hailwood certainly hopes so and also told me he would like to see another manufacturer in the 500cc class to liven things up a bit. He might well find his dream answered for it seems logical for Honda to race in that class now that the 500cc road bike is a reality, and this is not the only pointer toward a 500cc Honda racer. After much talk about the Honda car racer during 1964 it seemed that Jim Redman was keen to race on four wheels this year, but now there is no mention of cars for Jim and this brings to mind a comment he made several years ago that “it must always be a rider’s ambition to win the 500cc world title more than anything else in racing.” If Honda are going for the car market in a big way, then 1965 could be the swan song for their motorcycle racing team, and what better farewell than to go out with all five solo titles. A difficult but not impossible task for the Honda concern and you can bet your bottom dollar that a 500 they built would be much lighter and narrower than the present MV. I suppose a four-cylinder device is the most likely but with the Honda knowledge of single and twincylinder fifties, 125cc, 250cc and 350cc fours, and 250cc sixes, it could be anything up to a “twenty”, but I’ll settle for an overgrown three-fifty, light and very fast with Jim Redman after that “racer’s ambition”. Daytona could provide the answer . . .
A four-cylinder 125cc Suzuki has been reported in the British press but no design details are known and it came as a bit of a surprise to team man Frank Perris. It seems reasonable to assume that it will be a square four as this is the design with which the factory is familiar. Ernst Degner, Hugh Anderson and Frank Perris are due to travel to Japan at the beginning of March for testing and then go direct to Daytona for the U.S.G.P. Frank will fight a lone battle in the 250 class, the present set-up being that only for the Isle of Man T.T., Dutch T.T. and Belgian G.P. will there be two Suzukis in the 250 class. The second rider has not been named but those with previous experience, Bert Schneider and Jack Ahearn, must be joint favourites.
Both Mike Duff and Phil Read have signed for Yamaha in the 125 and 250 classes but Tommy Robb, who rode for them at some meetings in 1964, has got works Bultacos for 1965. This is only for short circuits in England, the T.T. and Ulster Grand Prix, so if Yamaha again required Robb for any of the classics he would still be able to ride. This might assume some importance if they come out with a fifty, for Robb is the ideal build for that class.
Tom Kirby’s rider, Lewis Young, has been wintering in South Africa on a busman’s holiday with a Kirby Ajay and Matchless and had his best win recently in the Dickie Dale Memorial Race at Pietermaritzburg. He should be in cracking form at the beginning of the European season which, although it started recently with a meeting in Spain, does not really get going for another month or so. Tom Kirby will also sponsor a sidecar racer this season, Terry Vinnicombe, who had a good run last season and finished fifth in the T.T. on a Triumph-engined outfit. Another sidecar ace, Chris Vincent, will be getting a chance on Tom’s machines in solo trim. He will have two or three rides at the beginning of the season to see how he shapes up on the bigger bangers before making definite plans, but Chris is an ace soloist, having been a tester at the BSA factory as well as winning races on a 125 Honda.
At that first Spanish meeting held at Alicante, the Derbi concern showed once again that they are aces on home ground, for Jose Busquéis won the 50cc race easily. Luigi Taveri on a Honda won the 125 race after Ramon Torras had his Bultaco seize (but still took second), then Torras went on to win the 250 event, also on a Bultaco — one of the water-cooled models.
Stillborn. That in one word sums up the story of the 250cc Scorpion racer that we were to have seen in 1965. The financier who at one time appeared so keen has withdrawn his backing from the project so it is unlikely that any Scorpion motorcycles will be made.
That man Joel Robert has invaded England again and shown by his brilliant riding that the possibility of winning both the 250 and 500cc world moto-cross titles in one year is not just fantasy. Suffering from the effects of flu, he rode the brand new 360cc CZ two-stroke to victory over the best England could offer, including Jeff Smith, the Rickmans, Vic Eastwood, Chris Horsfield and Arthur Lampkin. He only met his match in the first race of the day where he met Dave Bickers' Greeves Challenger on equal terms, 250 vs. 250, and Dave won by little more than a length after twelve laps. Robert’s countryman, Sylvain Geboers, was not at all happy on his Matchless and did not figure in the results, but should do better when he gets his new works machine. The weight of the Plumstead bikes has been reduced to under 290 pounds, which shows what effect a little competition can have.
It can never be said that Greeves let the grass grow under their feet. They seem to have cured the transmission problem with a new more robust Albion four-speed gearbox, the ratios of which (according to Dave Bickers) are just right. They are also trying a new front fork which has proved satisfactory in the mud but now waits proving on a fast dry circuit. On the trials front, Sammy Miller has had his first big win on the Bultaco trials model but the real test comes soon at the trade supported Victory trial when he will be up against all the works teams and we shall also see the ex-AJS team riding their James two-stroke models — you will learn the result in next month’s column. •
