Italian Grand Prix
Italian Grand Prix
CARLO PERELLI
MIKE HAILWOOD experienced one of his unluckiest days in the 45th Italian GP, contested Sept. 3 on the 5.75 km Monza track under an unusual and very cloudy sky which, fortunately, withheld rain until just after the meeting.
In fact, Mike was forced to retire from the 250 event in the fourth lap, when he had already built up a small lead over his most dangerous rivals, Read and Ivy, for a loss of vital points toward the world championship. However, he suffered an even more cruel fate in the 500 when, in the closing stages, he was struck again by mechanical trouble. Hailwood saw Agostini dash past to triumph, nearly sure now to again conquer the world crown.
The first race of the day, the 125, promised to be rather boring, at least for the leading position, because Ivy enjoyed an abundance of mechanical superiority on the fast Italian track with his Yamaha four-cylinder machine against the Suzuki twin of Anscheidt, while Hungarian Szabo, with an old, but well-preserved, aircooled MZ, was able to dominate the English EMC and a horde of privateers.
However, it developed into a dramatic race. As often happens, Ivy managed a very slow start so Anscheidt could take a 15-second advantage, but, in only three laps, the diminutive Englishman already had reached the Suzuki rider. From then on, it seemed only a walk for him; then, suddenly, the water temperature of his engine rose tremendously. Nearly all the water in the radiator had vanished! Ivy, like a thirsty traveler in the desert, stopped at the pits for water, but because there was no water on hand, he started again while mechanics rushed about, seeking the precious liquid. Unbelievable as it may seem, when Ivy stopped again after two laps, they had not found water! So Ivy decided to continue, risking destruction of everything. However, his mount proved resistant to heat, and he was able not only to finish, but to accelerate past Anscheidt at the finish line to win the race!
As forecast, Szabo maintained a comfortable 3rd throughout the race. However, a furious battle was fought between Burlando, Scheimann, Carruthers, Molloy, and Avery for 4th. On the very last lap, in the difficult Lesmo bend, trying the impossible, Carruthers, Molloy and Avery crashed — fortunately without injuries. Thus, Scheimann secured 4th with a slight advantage over Burlando. Carruthers and Avery finished 7th and 11th, but Molloy, with his machine badly damaged, was forced to retire.
In the following race, the 350-cc event, thanks to the mechanical superiority of his 297-cc Honda Six* Ralph Bryans experienced little difficulty in winning at record speeds.
Agostini and Pasolini engaged in a tremendous dice — not so much for second place, but for Italian rider supremacy. They treated their mounts so badly, however, that both were forced to stop on the 8th lap for suspected piston and valve
troubles. Shortly before being put out, Paso succeeded in overtaking Ago!
The Benelli second stringer, Grassetti, thus took 2nd, conserving it comfortably to the end.
The MZ duo, Rosner and Woodman, was strongly challenged by Pagani and Stevens; the Paton rider then was slowed by a slackened throttle twistgrip, which also cost him a pit stop. Nevertheless, he was able to finish 6th, just in front of Carruthers. The Italian, on the contrary, riding very well on a fast pushrod single, was successful in splitting the MZ duo, leaving Woodman well behind.
Read and Ivy versus Hailwood and Bryans in the 250 was a thrilling affair. The rider's super fast machines turned laps more quickly than this year's 350 and last year's 500! On the fourth lap, however, a crankcase oil leak (which nearly caused a crash at the "parabolic" bend) stopped Mike, and everyone thought that from then on it was an easy task for the Yamaha men. On the contrary, they were forced to work exceptionally hard for final success as Bryans attacked them furiously, sometimes taking the lead and widening the gap a bit.
At the end, the Yamaha riders pipped Bryans to win and set new race and lap records nearly 6 mph faster than the previous marks!
Here again, Pagani succeeded in splitting the MZ duo of Rosner and Woodman, but in the closing stages, struck by ignition troubles, he dropped to 7th, and was overtaken by Molloy on a new works Bultaco.
Both Agostini and Hailwood, in practice with 500-cc mounts, penetrated the fabulous 125-mph barrier. The Briton lapped at 126.2 mph, the Italian at 125.9 mph. The Honda Four, which after long tests on the Italian track seemed cured of evil roadholding habits, showed more power than the MZ Three. This made the difference, because both riders showed practically identical abilities. It is therefore rumored that Count Agusta, seeing there is very little remaining to squeeze from his Three, intends to build something new this winter.
As usual, Hailwood brought off a dashing start, while Agostini was not so quick and lost additional time in taking evasive action at Lesmo because of the crash of Conn and Dodds. To be honest, even with these handicaps, he could not stay with his rival.
Mike built a 17-second lead over Agostini, and set the absolute record over the lap at 126.5 mph. But with only four laps to go, he was forced to slow down with gearbox trouble and a cut in an exhaust pipe where the megaphone begins. The Italian dashed past Hailwood just before the entrance of the parabolic, much to Mike's surprise and the excitement of the crowd, and found himself in the lead, practically sure of the world crown. It was a dramatic finish to a race which had seemed but another Hailwood victory!
A major fire in the Paton pit, caused
by a battery spark when refueling, destroyed a machine and other material. The accident forced the English-Italian equipe to work every minute from Saturday to the start of races on Sunday to rebuild the machines. The Paton twins again were excellent in the 500 race. Ridden by Bergamonti and Stevens, they made yet another superb performance, always lapping the circuit together without missing a beat, and finishing 3rd and 4th. The Italian beat his teammate over the finish line by a scant margin.
Another magnificent show came from Mandolini, riding one of the famous works Moto Guzzi singles, of 1957 vintage. After a slow start, he advanced to finish 5th, after a grand scrap with Hartle and Marzowsky. Another fine battle was joined between Shorey and Findlay, the former having the best on the line. Another thrilling finish came from Hoppe, Butscher and Lee, placing in this order.
The last race of the day, started at 7 p.m., nearly in the dark, was the sidecar event. New world champion Enders never was in the picture, making just one or two laps before retiring with a misfiring engine.
Auerbacher led throughout, while Schauzu, after holding 2nd for nearly all the race, slowed as a result of ignition trouble in the closing stages to permit Lutringhauser to come home in second place. Also in this class, all records set in 1957 by Albino Milani with the powerful works Gilera Four were broken by wide margins. ■
