Continental Report
CONTINENTAL REPORT
B.R. NICHOLLS
500 CHAMPIONSHIP WRAP-UP
It’s motocross month. Taking pride of place are two team events occurring soon after the 500 world title was decided. The 500 winner is Sweden’s Bengt Aberg, the Husqvarna works rider who clinched the title in the mud of the Swiss round held at the Wohlen circuit. It was the round John Banks (BSA) had to win to stand a chance for the title in the last round, but such a grandstand finish virtually disappeared with a practice mishap. His hand hit a post, and he needed pain killing injections to start the race. Then, halfway through the first leg, his rear tire punctured and he retired.
Worse was to come. Not only did Aberg win the first race from Adolf Weil (Maico) and Roger de Coster (CZ), but 4th place went to 1968 champion Paul Friedrichs (CZ). Weil’s scrambling to within a couple of seconds of Aberg was wasted, as he did not figure in the second race. Ake Jonsson (Maico) won from Aberg and de Coster, with Friedrichs once again 4th, gaining sufficient points to take 2nd place in the title fight.
The last round in East Germany was a formality for champion Aberg, but the runner-up spot was contended by Friedrichs, Banks, de Coster and Arne Kring (Husqvarna). Banks, still suffering from his hand injury, failed to score in the first race, which Friedrichs won from Kring and de Coster, with Aberg 4th and Banks 5th. But Friedrichs’ chances disappeared when engine trouble sidelined him in the second race, which de Coster went on to win from Kring. The two tied on points, but time decided in favor of Kring. However, a lowly 5th gave Banks the six points necessary to ensure 2nd in the championship. Kring and de Coster finished equal on points, but Kring’s three wins to the one of de Coster gave him 4th in the table.
De Coster doubtless would have done better had he not been hampered by a knee injury early in the season. Friedrichs started off in most demoralizing fashion, not scoring until the sixth round of the series. Kring, after early brilliance, faded until the final round.
Aberg is the rightful champion, and this is proved by the scoring system. There are 12 meetings in the series and a rider’s best seven scores count. Aberg scored in nine, de Coster in seven and Banks, Friedrichs, Kring and Nicoll in six only. The final table reads:
1. B. Aberg, Sweden .......Husqvarna, 94 2. J. Banks, England ............BSA, 72 3. P. Friedrichs, E. Germany .......CZ, 67 4. A. Kring, Sweden .......Husqvarna, 66 5. R. de Coster, Belgium ..........CZ, 66 6. D. Nicoll, England ............BSA, 40
MOTO CROSS DES NATIONS
A week later came the classic of all motocross events, the Moto Cross des Nations team event for 500-cc machines. Five-man teams represent their countries. Points scored are for finishing position. With inverted scoring, the team with the least points after two races is the winner.
Main contenders were Great Britain, trying for seven wins in a row; Sweden, led by champion Aberg; and Belgium, who last won in 1951, with the Czechs as the outsiders. Other teams entered represented Denmark, France, Holland, Switzerland and Ireland.
Forty-five riders hurtled into the first bend, and first out was Aberg. At the end of the first lap he still led, followed by Kring and Torsten Hallman. All rode Husqvarnas. The best British riders were Dave Bickers (CZ) 5th and Banks 7th. For Belgium, things looked black with de Coster best in 9th spot. But 40minute races sort the men from the boys and find all possible faults in machinery.
Banks fought up to 3rd, then dropped out with a dud condenser. His teammate, Keith Hickman, had fallen right back after losing his gas tank filler cap.
Dust was a problem. Nevertheless, de Coster was riding brilliantly and had moved into 3rd spot by half distance. His teammates, Jef Teuwissen (Husqvarna) and Joel Robert (CZ), had fought up to 6th and 8th from poor starts.
Sweden held 1-2-4 until a few laps later, when Kring crashed and de Coster moved into 2nd place. Kring fought back to 3rd by the finish, but Teuwissen and Robert had stormed past a tiring Hallman. At the end of the first race the score was Sweden 10, Belgium 11, Britain, with 28, looked set for a tanning in front of a home crowd for the first time ever. The home fans’ one consolation came in the second race, which Banks won after an early duel with Aberg. Belgian Robert was last away. The 250 champion fought back magnificently to finish 9th, but there already were three Belgians in front of him, crushing the Swedish effort.
At the halfway point of the second leg, Sweden, Britain and Belgium were all equal. But the Belgians hammered home their attack on the Swedes with de Coster and Teuwissen moving into 3rd and 4th places and Sylvain Geboers (CZ) 6th after retiring in the first race. Hallman tired and Ake Jonsson (Maico) could do no better than 10th. So the brilliant Belgians were victorious with 24 points to the 27 of Sweden, with Britain trailing at 44 and the Czechs with 82.
YUGOSLAVIAN GP DECIDES CHAMPS
Road racing, too, had its close racing to please the fans at the final classic meeting of the season in Y ugoslavia where the 50 and 250 championships were decided. Spanish ace Angelo Nieto, on a factory Derbi machine, took the 50-cc title by one point from Aalt Toersen (Kreidler). In the 250 class, Australian Kel Carruthers on the fourcylinder Benelli took top honors for the Italian factory. This machine will not be allowed in 1970 as the class will be restricted to singleor twin-cylinder machinery.
ENGLIGH CIRCUIT SCRATCHING
The past month has seen the usual crop of international short circuit meetings, the first of which was held at Snetterton. Rod Gould’s performance there on his 350 Yamaha can only be described as fantastic. He carved 3.4 sec. from Mike Hailwood’s lap record, set on the Honda Six, and two tenths of a second off the absolute record Mike set on the 500 Honda. Ironically, the 500 Honda four-cylinder had been lent to John Cooper to ride for the meeting, but it proved a bit of a handful and never looked a winner. His best effort was in the 500 final. But, when challenging Percy Tait (Triumph) for the lead on the last lap, injudicious use of the throttle produced an absolutely spleen curdling slide that made him content to settle for 4th place.
Pip Harris (BMW) was another record breaker. He took Fath’s sidecar record with a speed of 85.73 mph while winning the 500-cc sidecar race. But he was pushed into 2nd place in the 1000-cc event by Peter Brown (654 BSA). Other winners were: 125-cc, Charles Mortimer (Villa); 250-cc, Phil Read, after a hectic battle with Gould; 350-cc, Cliff Carr (Yamaha) after Gould had retired with condenser trouble. In the 1000-cc Race of the Aces, Gould won as he pleased on his 350 Yamaha from similarly mounted Tony Rutter.
The Oulton Park holiday meeting had prospects of sparks really flying; Agostini, on his MV, was there to challenge Read and Gould in the 350 race. Racing started with Stuart Graham (Suzuki) winning the 125 race and showing that the ex-works Suzuki is still capable of beating this year’s champion, Dave Simmonds (Kawasaki). Gould won the Les Graham Memorial Trophy, then joined in a grand scrap with Phil Read in the 250 event. It ended with one brief spot of gear trouble for Gould that gave Read the break he wanted and certain victory.
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It was then a complete anticlimax as Gould led Agostini at the start of the 350 race only to spill halfway around on the first lap, leaving Ago unchallenged in 1st place. Read had a lonely 2nd place ride but Pride of the Yankees Marty Lunde (Yamaha) had his best ever ride in England, fighting through from a poor start to take 3rd place. Agostini was way ahead in the 500 race, and the greatly improved Nigel Palmer (Matchless Metisse) took 2nd place ahead of Peter Williams (Arter Matchless) and Malcolm Uphill (Norton). Georg Auerbacher took the sidecar prize.
Scorning the Yugoslav GP, Agostini raced again in England two weeks later at Cadwell Park, his first time there. Stuart Graham (Suzuki) again took 125 honors and Gould took the 250 race on his Yamaha. But, still troubled by his Oulton crash, he took no further part in the meeting. It was left to Read (Yamaha) to challenge Agostini in the 350 and this he did, beating the Italian after a bad start. In 3rd place was Ken Redfern (Aermacchi H-D) who, on a 750 Norton, chased Agostini home in the big race of the day. Norman Hanks (670 BSA) and passenger Rose Arnold took the sidecar event.
The Mallory Park annual Race of the Year, worth $2500 to the winner, brought over 50,000 spectators to the little 1.35-mile Leicester circuit to see Agostini, Read, Gould and Mike Hailwood, tempted out of retirement for yet another last race on a motorcycle. Mike, riding a 500-cc Seeley, was never really in the hunt. Nevertheless the class was still there; he was easily the best 500-cc rider and better than most on bigger machinery.
In the 125 race, Graham again was invincible on the Suzuki, winning easily from Simmonds, but the 250 final was a different story. Read was last away and Gould retired after two laps, leaving a Yamaha-mounted trio to fight it out— Paul Smart, Brian Kemp and Dave Browning, who finished in that order. Agostini suffered his only defeat in a five-lap 350 heat when Gould scorched away to win. Read took a second heat from Redfern.
The final was the best race of the day. Ago, Read and Gould hurtled into the first corner in that order. But at the next turn, Read took the Italian and at the end of the second lap he had been pushed down to 3rd by Gould. The order stayed the same for eight of the 15 laps; then Ago struck back and overtook Gould. Whether he would have taken Read if his Yamaha had not gone off song with a lost tailpipe will never be known, but the edge had gone off the motor and Gould also passed Read into 2nd. Win No. 1 for Ago.
Away went Ago at the start of the 1000-cc final in pursuit of win No. 2. Behind him, Hailwood was involved in a scrap with Dave Croxford (Commando) and Percy Tait, riding a 700 Rickman Metisse (his works Triumphs were in a van broken down in Italy). Croxford went out to the elementary lesson that chains should be riveted and not held with a spring link, and the power of the Rickman eight-valve job gave Tait the edge over Hailwood.
Any challenge that might have been disappeared on the first lap of the Race of the Year. Read was rammed at the start and then Gould crashed in spectacular fashion when his engine seized. With Ago way out in front, Redfern (750 Norton) took a clear-cut 2nd place, leaving Croxford (Commando) and Uphill (Rickman Metisse) to fight for 3rd. Hailwood took 5th after Tait dropped out with a misfire.
The finale of the day was a great sidecar scrap between Chris Vincent and Peter Brown, both mounted on 654 BSAs. Vincent was the winner.
Vincent is British sidecar champion. Other 1969 British championship winners are: 125-cc, Charles Mortimer (Villa); 250, Dave Browning (Yamaha); 350, Pat Mahoney (Aermacchi H-D); 500, Dave Croxford (Seeley). John Banks if the 500 motocross champion and Bryan Wade the 250 title winner.
Alan Barnett had been a top contender for the 500-cc British title and a likely 2nd to Agostini in the world title chase. He was sidelined when he crashed on the Rickman Metisse eight-valve while testing at Snetterton a few days before the international event. A nut fell out of the gearbox, and oil on the rear tire brought him down heavily, breaking his right arm in two places. Several operations were necessary, so it will be no more racing until 1970.
