Continental Report

CONTINENTAL REPORT

JULY IS A QUIET MONTH for the road racers that stay in England. There is no really big meeting where the stars can be seen, although there are numerous small events that do not warrant mention in this column. Man of the month is without doubt Alf Hagon, for at last he has achieved his ambition to become the first British rider to break into the nine-second class for the quarter-mile standing start sprint. He did it at Duxford in perfect conditions. Unfortunately, this took place the same day as the British round of the world 250cc motocross, so I missed it. But Charlie Rous, assistant editor of Motor Cycle News (and a world record holder himself in the 750cc class for the standing start kilometer) was there and writes of this little bit of history as follows:

Alf Hagon’s determination to become the first British rider (in Britain also) to break into the nine seconds bracket for the quarter-mile is shown clearly as he comes to the starting-line. His procedure and preparation is absolutely thorough and complete.

The engine of his single-gear machine is started by rollers driven from a truck. Because the transmission has no “neutral,” the machine is then lifted onto a trolley, which holds the spinning rear wheel clear of the ground, allowing the clutch to remain engaged.

The machine is then wheeled to the starting-line, and Hagon makes his move as quickly as possible, allowing no time for the clutch or engine to overheat.

His procedure is to rev the engine to maximum (7,000 rpm) and then, with everything really buzzing, he just drops the clutch!

Power is such that on a 3.8 to 1 gear ratio, the rear wheel spins instantly and the machine rockets from the line, leaving a trail of solid smoke from burning rubber all the way down the strip. Terminal speed is 145-150 mph.

Hagon’s self-built machine is fitted with a modified l,260cc vee-twin JAP engine (FIM maximum capacity is l,300cc). Bore and stroke are 90mm by 99mm. It has been converted from an original 80mm bore motor (l,000cc) by fitting pistons from a Matchless G50 racer. These now give a compression ratio of 7 to 1 and operate with a l,500cc Shorrock vane-type supercharger, which runs slightly faster than engine speed.

Prior to the successful 9.93 occasion, the compression ratio was higher with the blower running slower (less boost).

B. R. NICHOLLS

Fuel — methanol and 30 percent nitromethane was used for the 9.93 seconds run — is fed through a 2 & 5/32-inch bore Phillips injector.

Ready for action, the Hagon-JAP weighs 275 pounds.

To indicate the reliability and consistency of the machine, Hagon has run 17 times this year. Including a misfiring run of 11 seconds, the 17 run average time is 10.27 seconds.

The 250cc British motocross grand prix promised to be a great clash between joint championship leaders Torsten Hallman, Husqvarna, and Joel Robert, CZ, for both had 36 points after seven of the twelve rounds had been held. But, as so often happens with battles of this sort, it was all over half-way through the first race. Practice had confirmed that Hallman and Robert were way ahead of their rivals, but at the end of the first lap, it was the hammer and sickle-emblazoned red vest of Russia’s Victor Arbekov that led on his CZ, having made a great start on the fast and dusty course. Taking his dust were Husqvarna-mounted Jyrki Storm of Finland and home rider Badger Goss. Robert and Hallman were close at hand. Then, on lap five, things started to happen, for Robert swept into the lead a few

yards ahead of Hallman, and all eyes were on this struggle as the two riders played cat and mouse.

Then cruel luck struck the Swede on the 14th lap when his rear tire punctured. This gave the Belgian a comfortable lead and an easy ride to the finish. Behind him Goss had also gone out on lap 14 with a collapsed wheel. He had been having a great scrap with young Bryan Wade, or “Wild Wade” as the fans have dubbed him for the lurid style he has riding his works Greeves. With Hallman and Goss out, Wade moved into third place behind Arbekov with the two Swedes, Olle Pettersson and Hakan Andersson finishing fourth and fifth. After his initial burst, Storm rode steadily to finish sixth.

Wade’s ride had certainly set the crowd talking, and the surprising thing was that he did not appear unduly tired after his first 45-minute spell of international motocross. But luck robbed him of the chance of any world title points when on the first lap of the second leg he was involved in a multiple pileup that sidelined Goss and Don Rickman.

But it is an ill wind that blows nobody any good, and while the rest of the field swept wide of the disaster area, young Andy Robert on dived on the inside and came out fourth. The Norton Villiers star, riding a Cotton-framed works engined machine, had finished eighth in the first leg behind Alan Clough, Husqvarna.

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Despite his first race retirement, Hallman came out in the second leg and hurtled off in the lead with the obvious intention of trying to get Robert to chase him, for with luck the Belgian might have done something silly, so that neither of them got any points. But it was not to be, Robert rode with the utmost intelligence, content to stay ahead of Arbekov, so that the Husqvarna contingent then changed their plan to getting Olle Pettersson home ahead of Arbekov. By lap 15 the Swede had moved in front of the Russian, and Hallman had slowed, letting Robert into the lead.

On the last lap Pettersson took over second place, and his countryman Andersson just failed to pass Arbekov for fourth place. That meant that Robert was the obvious winner with two first places. But the second spot had to be decided on time, for both Pettersson and Arbekov had a second and fourth place to their credit, and on aggregate time, Arbekov was second, Pettersson third, with Andersson fourth. Wade crashed subsequently to the first lap affair but fought on in some pain to end up eleventh overall, while Andy Robertön was painfully aware that fitness counts in these 45-minute races. Nevertheless, he finished sixth gaining a world championship point and bags of experience that will carry this determined youngster to the top in the next few years. His efforts have not gone unrewarded for he has been chosen for the British team in the Trophée des Nations team contest in preference to teammate Freddie Mayes, the reigning British 250cc motocross champion. British 250cc motocross results

So that gave Robert a clear eight-point lead in the title race at a very crucial time, but Lady Luck decided in her fickle way that the Belgian had been given his share of her favors, and at the next round, on Hallman’s home ground, the Belgian injured a shoulder in practice, putting paid to his chances on race day. As Arbekov was not riding, Hallman walked away with eight points, followed home by Olle Pettersson. As a result, the championship points table with three rounds to go reads:

Freddie Mayes, the Norton Villiers works rider who has been contesting the championship series, failed to score in Sweden and has been having a poor season, for he has not gained a single championship point. On top of this, he seems set to lose his British title, for now, after three out of five meetings have been held, Alan Clough, Husqvarna, is way out front.

In the third round Bryan Goss took his Husqvarna to victory in front'of Clough, but this did not unduly perturb the canny Clough, for despite an injured knee and riding against doctor’s orders, he held a steady second place with Mayes third. With all scores counting, Clough leads with 22 to the 14 of Mayes and 10 of Arthur Browning. The eight points Goss gained in the last round put him in fourth place. The importance of this and the 500cc championship is that it is the passport to world championship grand prix meetings next year, with organizers obliged to accept the champion of a country before other riders of that nationality.

Sad news from the motocross scene is that the twenty-nine-year-old Swede, Rolf Tibblin, is to retire at the end of the season. He has been out of luck this year, having broken an arm at his first meeting at St. Anthonis, which took ten weeks to mend. Then, almost immediately, he got a poisoned arm, sidelining him for some weeks. Now he is to run his own hotel in Sweden, and if he makes as good a job of that as he has motocross in the past, he will no doubt be very happy, for in winning the 250cc European Championship and 500cc World title twice, he has won 27 grands prix, and shared another equally with Gunnar Johansson, in his racing career. He will be missed, but this is a game for younger men, and Sweden and Belgium at the moment seem particularly strong in reserve talent for this sport, which could well oust the popularity of road racing before long.

The lull in road racing has given Colin Seeley the chance to build a frame for the Fath four-cylinder engine that has been loaned to him for his rider, John Blanchard to race in solo form. As can be seen from the photograph, it is extremely neat and compact, and with something like 80 bhp on hand, should prove a very useful tool, once the bugs have been ironed out. Frame is built of Reynolds 531 tubing with detachable down tubes, an essential design feature for installing and removing the power unit. A six-speed Schafleitner gearbox is employed, but there is no oil tank, as lubricant is contained in a sump beneath the engine. This will enable a fuel tank to be designed that can utilize the space normally given over to the oil tank.

A typical “Seeley” item is the box section gusset supporting the rear swinging fork. A test run has already been made, and plans are to have the whole thing completed and racing at the Hutchinson 100 meeting, which will be fully reported next month. It should mean that at the same time Lance Weil will have his first big win on the Harley (for he is rarin’ to go and with white-sleeved leathers with red and blue hoops). My guess is that he will be a real favorite with the crowd. The CYCLE WORLD motivated and Elite Motors-sponsored big Harley has certainly captured the imagination of the British Press, and we have been assured that the capacity limit for the Mallory Park annual $3,000 classic Race of the Year will make the Harley eligible for scrapping with any of the works Honda, MV or Yamaha machines that might be entered.

The annual Barcelona 24-hour race for production machines was won this year by a 250cc Ossa ridden by Carlos Giro and Luis Yglesias, who covered a record breaking distance of over 1,500 miles at an average of almost 65 mph. It was a worksentered machine and another of the same marque came in third. Sandwiched between them was a 490cc Triumph ridden by Colin Dixon and Mick Andrews, who won the over 250cc class, albeit some 35 laps of the tortuous 2.3 mile circuit down on the winners.

With just over half the world championship road race meetings completed, three of the six titles have already been won. Klaus Enders has taken the sidecar title for BMW for the umpteenth time on the trot, while Katayama’s indiscretion in the Isle of Man appears to have loused his chance for the 50cc title, for Hans Georg Anscheidt nabbed that at the Belgian Grand Prix.

With all the talk of Hailwood’s bad luck and bad machinery in the 250 and 500cc classes, we almost lost sight of the fact that he has been murdering the opposition in the 350 class. With only five out of nine events held he has retained the title with maximum points. This will now give him the chance to concentrate on the other two titles. As a result of this we may well see another rider on board the 350 Honda at the Ulster Grand Prix (assuming the mechanics have time to get it ready) and the most likely candidate is John Cooper. What of John Hartle? No doubt he will be on the short list, so his turn could come later. It is unfortunate for Peter Williams that he crashed in the East German GP, for his broken ankle may well keep him out for the rest of the season.

It seems most likely that Honda will be back in all solo classes next year, so they will need to sign two riders to do the job properly and there the headache really starts for a 50 and 125 jockey is going to be difficult to find.

Reverting to the world championships — Suzuki have now gone home, so the 125 title will be a gift for Bill Ivy or Phil Read, with the odds on Ivy at the moment. But the 250 and 500 battles are such that Honda, Yamaha and MV may have to go to the Canadian GP to keep their chances alive. While the 500 is a straight Hailwood vs. Agostini battle, the 250 scrap is three-cornered, with Hailwood up against the Yamahas of Read and Ivy. Read is best placed at the moment; he has 42 points to 34 of Ivy. Then comes Ralph Bryans with 33 and Hailwood has 30.

It’s Paul Friedrichs again as 500cc motocross champion of the world. With a devastating display of physical fitness and superb riding ability he annihilated the opposition in the British round, winning the first race and then slowing in the second' so that Dave Bickers could finish in front of him and finish second overall. In the first race it was the Swede, Bengt Aberg, 360 Husqvarna, who shot into the lead, and he held it from Don Rickman, 440 BSA Métissé, for four laps. Rickman, in turn, led for four laps, but then Friedrichs took over and nobody came near catching him, though Vic Eastwood, 494 BSA, made a determined effort and finished second, with teammate Jeff Smith third. Bickers was fourth and Vlastimil Valek, 420 Jawa, fifth.

In the second race Arthur Lampkin, 494 BSA, led for the first two laps before Rickman took over; but it was not long before Friedrichs was on his tail and took over, with Rickman retiring with a broken chain. Smith took Valek for second. Then Bickers moved up, passing both the Czech and Smithy, so with Friedrichs assured of overall victory — even with second place — the pit signal went out for him to allow Bickers past to give CZ a 1-2 victory.

The blatant way in which it was done made Smith blow his top, and he refused to take part in the presentation ceremony that followed. While one can understand his feelings of being robbed of the runnerup position, it is not the first case of result rigging and certainly will not be the last.

Previous classic examples in motocross have been both the motocross des nations and trophée des nations team events in the first of which the Swedish team crossed the finishing line abreast and in the second, the British team employed the same tactics. In road racing we had another good example, when, at the TT, Anscheidt and Graham hung around for Katayama, who was delayed changing a plug. In 1966, if Ralph Bryans had let Taveri win the 50cc TT, Honda might well have won the world championship instead of Suzuki.

With the amount of money that factories are putting into racing, one feels there must be a certain amount of license. The whole unpleasant incident could have been avoided if Friedrichs had feigned trouble, instead of just about waiting on the last comer before the flag.

In one of the supporting races the new AJS 247cc two-stroke scrambler made its debut, but it was an ignominious one, as it retired before having a chance to be proved by Andy Roberton, who, later in the day, severed his connection with Norton-Villiers. Roberton intends to return to racing CZ machines privately. ■