Isle of Man Tt
ISLE OF MAN TT
Ago Dominates Solitarily, As Usual, But Benelli Fours, 750-cc Sidecars, Dunstall Triumphs and Prince Phillip Dress Up The Great Old Race Week.
B.R. NICHOLLS
THE LURE OF THE Isle of Man classic Tourist Trophy races is inexplicable. At a time when costs of racing are spiraling, the 1969 entry reached a record total and the lack of works machinery did nothing to keep the crowds away.
The backbone of the TT is the private owner whose aim is that “silver” which he will get if he can finish the race within 3/16ths of the average time of the first six finishers. Finishing between 3/16 and 1/5 will earn a bronze replica, and that too can be worth its weight in gold to the rider, dogged by ill fortune, who finally manages to finish.
Manxland 1969 will be known as the vintage year for broken collar bones. Out before practice even started with this injury were John Cooper, Jim Curry and Renzo Pasolini. No sooner had the first practice session begun than Percy Tait was thrown at Ginger Hall. A tooth had broken off second gear and locked the rear wheel, pitching him off, and bang went a clavicle. Ray Pickrell was given the works 500 Triumph on Tuesday, and the following day was brought to earth at Quarter Bridge when a sticking oil return valve (missing its cap) sprayed the rear end. Bang went a clavicle and, at the same time, Paul Dunstall’s chance of winning the 750 class of the Production TT; Pickrell was his rider.
Dave Browning and the Swiss Gilbert Argo joined the clavicle club on Thursday. Then, on Friday, MZ ace Heinz Rosner threw away his 250 at Ballacraine. Not to be outdone by the racers, manufacturer Bert Greeves had an incident on the way to Monday’s racing that ended with a broken clavicle and three cracked ribs.
Giacomo Agostini dominated the 350 and 500 class practices. Rosner was one of the fastest in the 125s. Santiago Herrero (Ossa), best of the 250s in early practice, was intent on making the most of the absence of world title points leader Kent Andersson.
In the first sidecar session, Georg Auerbacher (BMW) topped the 500s with 85.78 mph and Mac Hobson (BSA) the 750 class with 84.33.
In further practice, Dave Simmonds (Kawasaki) demolished the 125s with a lap at 88.97 and Phil Read took the 250 Benelli to the top of the leaderboard at 96.06. Auerbacher improved to 87.87. In the 750 class, Peter Brown (BSA) could manage only 82.02.
Works Benelli rider Renzo Pasolini was not allowed to ride, so Read had one bike. Another 250 Benelli was offered to Kel Carruthers, who took it out Thursday morning and set fastest 250 time to date at 96.14 mph, just 1.2 sec. better than Read. Meanwhile Ago was happily reeling off 100-mph plus laps on both 350 and 500 MVs, and Rosner caused a raised eyebrow or two with a 98.06 lap on the 300 MZ.
The week of practice was marred by the death of one competitor, Arthur Lavington, who died from injuries received from a crash after being touched by another rider. During practice 1906 laps had been completed, representing over 71,900 miles at racing speed. The leaderboard was completely dominated by Agostini, who led the 500 class at 104 mph and the 350 with a lap at 103.15. There was little consolation for Rosner, nursing a broken clavicle, in leading the 250s at 96.80, but Dave Simmonds’ 88.97 on the Kawasaki made him a racing cert for the 125 class.
There was no doubt about BMW dominance of the sidecars, with Enders the best 500 at 90.40, and Schauzu (89.53) leading the 750s. Most misleading of all were the production classes headed as follows: 250, Barry Smith (Suzuki), 85.19 mph; 500, Neil Kelly (Velocette), 90.49; and 750, Tony Smith (654 BSA), 96.81 mph.
750 SIDECARS
First race on the program was the 750 sidecar race, run separately this year to enable the charioteers to get more than one ride. Previously open to national license holders only, it was given international standing this year, and so attracted the 560-cc BMW entries of Schauzu, Enders and Auerbacher, who were expected to dominate the event. And they did. Fath did not compete. Starting in pairs at 10-sec. intervals is a unique feature of the TT and a very necessary one from the safety aspect, as 69 outfits hurtling down Bray Hill just after the start would create quite a problem if the first one spun.
Schauzu and Vincent were first away, with the BMW gaining an immediate advantage over the BSA of Vincent. During Lap 1, Enders dropped out with magneto trouble and Auerbacher, more expensively, broke a crankshaft. Neither had at any time headed their fellow countryman; Schauzu fairly murdered the lap record from a standing start knocking no less than 49.6 sec. off the figure set by Vincent last year. At the end of that scorching first lap, Vincent ran 2nd some 28 sec. behind, with Brown 3rd. There was no stopping Schauzu as he hurtled into Lap 2. But he was troubled by flies which were so bad that, at the end of the lap, he stopped at the pits to change goggles. He was away again before Vincent could catch him, blissfully unaware of the fever in the pits and grandstand as the word went around that he had not stopped his engine, the penalty for which was exclusion. On that second lap, Brown had narrowed the gap between himself and Vincent to 10 sec. Then, 10 miles out on Lap 3, Vincent broke his primary chain. The drama did not end there, for Mick Boddice (BSA), who moved into 3rd place with Vincent’s misfortune, was challenged by an “unknown,” Bill Currie (Triumph). Currie had lost a couple of minutes just after the start changing plugs, but was still 6th at the end of Lap 1 and 5th after the second. With no signaling station arranged anywhere around the course, he was delighted to find himself ushered into the winners’ enclosure as 3rd finisher, albeit it 7.5 min. behind the winner. Some idea of the machine mortality rate can be gained from the fact that just 33 of 69 starters finished.
And what of the pit stop incident? The ACU had to disqualify Schauzu, as the regulations stated quite clearly that failure to stop the engine at the pits would mean disqualification. The German immediately appealed and the jury decided there was insufficient evidence that the motor had not been stopped. Disqualification was obviously intended to minimize fire risk by making drivers stop engines when taking on fuel.
750-CC SIDECAR INTERNA TIONAL **
1. S. Schauzü/H. Schneider, BMW . . . *89.83
2. P. Brown/M. Casey, BSA .........85.65
3. B. Currie/F. Kay, Triumph .......81.72
Record lap: Schauzu/Schneider, 92.06 mph * Record
** (not a world title race)
500-CC SIDECARS
There was no doubt that a German would win the world championship round 500-cc sidecar race—it was just a question of which one. Would it be Enders, sidelined the previous two years with mechanical troubles when leading the race; Schauzu, who had won the previous two years and taken the 750 event two days earlier; current world champion Helmut Fath on his URS or the brilliant newcomer, Franz Linnarz, currently leading the title table?
From the start, Enders stamped his authority on the race, his BMW sounding crisp and perfect. Schauzu, by comparison, was having trouble with carburetion; at the end of Lap 1 he was in 4th spot behind Enders, Fath and Auerbacher. Linnarz was in 10th spot. As this was his first ride in the Island, he was No. 63 and consequently had to fight his way through a large number of slower machines. He improved to 6th on Lap 2, during which Enders held his lead, and Schauzu moved into 3rd place behind Fath when Auerbacher retired.
Enders stormed ahead to win at a record race speed of 92.48 mph, though he got nowhere near his lap record of 94.32, set in 1968.
Schauzu’s trouble had cleared. With peak revs he went ahead of Fath to gain just over a minute on him during the last lap. The bumpy parts of the course were a particular handicap to Fath, who had to beware of over-revving and contend with wheel spin induced by oil on the rear tire.
With his “third-time-lucky” win, Enders takes the lead in the world championship with 30 points to the 26 of Schauzu and Linnarz.
500-CC SIDECARS
1. K. Enders/R. Engelhardt, BMW .... 92.48
2. S. Schauzu/H. Schneider, BMW .... 90.99
3. H. Fath/W. Kalauch, URS ........90.56
4. A. Butscher/J. Huber, BMW ......83.55
5. F. Linnarz/R. Keuhnemund, BMW . 81.96
6. R.J. Hawes/J.P. Mann, Seeley .....81.73
Fast lap: Enders/Engelhardt, 92.54 mph
250-CC RACE
As Heinz Rosner was sidelined, exMZ teamster Derek Woodman took over the East German mount. The stewards gave him permission to ride because of his past experience with the machine. He need hardly have bothered, for after spending the first lap familiarizing himself with things, he retired on his second lap at Ramsey after the engine seized. The popular little Australian, Kel Carruthers (Benelli), led from start to finish. His mount was the two-valve design. Read had the more sophisticated four-valver. Rod Gould, on the Daytona Yamaha, got ahead of Carruthers in the early stages of the first lap. But by the halfway stage the Aussie had established a lead and stayed in front all the way with a fastest lap of 99.01 mph and a race average of 95.95 mph.
For the first two laps, Gould held 2nd spot ahead of Read, then loused his chances with a serious gasoline calculation error. He ran out of fuel some five miles from the end of his third lap. It is the old problem of the rider going so much harder in the actual race that the consumption figure bears no relation to that gained in practice. Rod refueled and set off again but was black flagged. When coasting in down the mountain, he had failed to negotiate the infamous dip at Governors Bridge.
So at the end of Lap 3 Read had moved up to 2nd. Into 3rd came Frank Perris (Suzuki), who had almost a minute in hand over Santiago Herrero’s Ossa. Already the pace had told, and such names as Dave Simmonds, Jack Findlay, Angelo Bergamonti, Billie Nelson and Terry Grotefeld were out.
For the fourth and fifth laps, the leaders remained the same. But on Lap 5, Read seemed to be having trouble with his gears, which may have led to over-revving. He retired at the end of the lap covered in oil but still 2nd! Up moved Perris to 2nd. Herrero’s 3rd place gave him the world title lead.
For Carruthers it was his first TT win and only the second scored by an Australian. The first was earned by Ken Kavanagh in the 350 race of 1956 on a works Guzzi. Dario Ambrosini gave Benelli their last TT win in 1950.
250-CC RE SUL TS
1. K. Carruthers, Benelli ...........95.95
2. F. Perris, Suzuki ...............93.69
3. S. Herrero, Ossa................92.82
4. M. Chatterton, Yamaha ..........91.16
5. F. Whiteway, Suzuki ............90.13
6. D. Chatterton, Yamaha ..........89.51
Fast lap: Carruthers, 99.01 mph
PRODUCTION RACES
An added attraction to this day’s racing was the visit of Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh, acting as Patron of the races. He talked to many riders in both the Production and Junior races, acted as starter, and between races was whistled round, con brio, in an open sports car. (They must figure that the Prince is expendable, because they’d never drive President Nixon around like that. —Ed.)
He spent a lap watching at Braddan Bridge during the production race, coached in the finer points of racing by Geoff Duke. Never one for strictly observing protocol, Prince Phillip showed a keen interest and closely questioned Phil Read about the nonappearance of the Read-Weslake. Perhaps his visit was just the fillip (pardon me this indiscretion) the races needed.
The Le Mans type start of the 750 class of the production races saw the Norton Commandos first away. But Malcolm Uphill (649 Triumph) soon took the lead from similarly mounted Rod Gould. Paul Smart (Commando) ran 3rd. That was how they finished Lap 1, with Uphill having fairly hurtled around to lap from a standing start at 100.09 mph-a fantastic achievement. Apart from Agostini, the only other man to lap at the ton during the week was Alan Barnett, riding a Kirby Metisse in the Senior race.
Five miles out on Lap 2 Gould came to a halt at Crosby. Smart motored the big Commando to put the pressure on Uphill with a lap at just over 99 mph. But the Triumph, like Uphill, was faultless and his second lap put the record at 100.37. It was enough to assure him of victory. He eased slightly on the last lap to set a race record speed of 99.99 mph, with Smart some 25 sec. behind him. Third man Darryl Pendlebury (649 Triumph) was almost two and a half minutes behind them.
Five minutes after the 750 class started the 500s went on their way, followed after a similar time interval by the 250s. With a quick jab on the starter button Graham Penny (Honda) led the 500s from the line. It did not take long for the Kawasaki Three, ridden by Tony Dunnell, to take over, and by the halfway mark he had 13 sec. in hand over Penny. Last year’s class winner, Ray Knight (Triumph), was 3rd. Leader Dunnell motored on to disaster on Lap 2, running wide on the 33rd milestone. His tumble resulted in a broken arm. Penny took the lead and held it to the end, with Knight 2nd and Ron Baylie (Triumph), 3rd.
The 250 class had a different leader at the end of each lap. First time ’round it was Charles Mortimer (Ducati) setting the pace from the Ossa of Trevor Burgess, last year’s disputed winner. John Williams (Honda), who was 3rd, took over the lead next time around, as the Ossa had retired and Mortimer had pitted to fix a loose footrest and investigate ignition troubles.
On the final lap, not three miles from the flag, Williams was reported to be pushing in. So Mike Rogers, on a fiveyear-old Ducati, gained the laurels. Frank Whiteway, on an ailing Suzuki, came in 2nd, ahead of the determined young Mortimer, who had fought back to 3rd. The winner’s ton-up figures were set on a 649-cc Triumph Bonneville that finished in perfect condition, with the lights and horn working. It had used Dunlop standard Roadmaster K81 tires. The production event was, without doubt, the race of the week.
PRODUCTION RACE RESULTS 750-CC
1. M. Uphill, Triumph ............*99.99 2. P. Smart, Norton ...............99.37 3. D. Pendlebury, Triumph .........96.66
* Record
Fast lap: Uphill, 100.37 mph (record)
500-CC
1. W.G. Penny, Honda .............88.18 2. R.L. Knight, Triumph ...........87.64 3. R.W. Baylie, Triumph ...........85.90 Fast lap: A. Dunnell (Kawasaki), 90.84 mph
250-CC
1. A.M. Rogers, Ducati ............83.79 2. F. Whiteway, Suzuki ............83.29 3. C.S. Mortimer, Ducati ...........82.01 Fast lap: Mortimer, 85.31 mph
350-CC JUNIOR
The Junior was almost an anticlimax. Nobody was going to beat Agostini, so the battle was for 2nd place. At the end of Lap 1, the Italian pulled into his pit and for a moment everyone thought, almost hoped, the race was going to be left to the turtles. But no. He later explained that, with 5.5 gallons of gasoline aboard and a lap at 104 mph, he thought a suspension unit had broken. Allowing himself the luxury of another 20 sec. per lap cured the problem, and he went on to win with consummate ease. Rod Gould retired with a holed piston in his Yamaha, one of what was to be a long list of retirements. Phil Read (Yamaha) survived the first lap in 2nd place ahead of Kel Carruthers, who was only 2.5 sec. behind him on a works Aermacchi. Kel’s teammate, Angelo Bergamonti, was 4th. Derek Woodman, on the 300 MZ, had retired with no sparks. Up on the mountain the second time around, Read did in a big end. Carruthers took over 2nd spot. Uphill, despite a first lap spill on his Yamaha, moved into 3rd, so that Bergamonti was still 4th. Alan Barnett (Kirby Metisse) dropped out with plug trouble and Perris’s Yamaha also was sidelined.
Uphill’s oil tank split on the third lap, so Ago led from the four Aermacchis of Carruthers, Bergamonti, Jack Findlay and Brian Steenson. Bergamonti crashed at Laurel Bank on the last lap.
It was a drama-packed last lap. Carruthers went out with a flat battery, and Findlay lost a rear suspension unit bolt, but battled on to finish 3rd behind Steenson. Tom Dickie (Seeley), who had edged onto the leaderboard in 6th place on Lap 5, moved up to 4th, and the first two-stroke, a Yamaha ridden by Terry Grotefeld, was 5th.
350-CC RESUL TS
1. G. Agostini, MV ..............101.81 2. B. Steenson, Aermacchi H-D ......94.60 3. J. Findlay, Aermacchi H-D .......93.89 4. T. Dickie, Seeley ...............92.90 5. T. Grotefeld, Yamaha ...........92.58 6. S. Griffiths, AJS ...............90.89 Fast lap: Agostini, 104 mph
125-CC RACE
By comparison with the previous year, the 125 event was the slowest of the week. In 1968, Ivy and Read had battled to lap and race records of 100.32 and 99.12 mph, respectively. This time there were no Yamahas, and Japanese hopes lay in the hands of Dave Simmonds (Kawasaki), who had set the
fastest practice lap. They were well founded. Although he made a sluggish start and had to stop to replace a plug lead, Simmonds took 1st place by the end of Lap 1 and extended it to win by almost 6 min.
Kel Carruthers, on the 10-speed Aermacchi H-D two-stroke, took 2nd place, having fought up from 6th at the end of Lap 1. Third man home at the winner’s ceremony was Fred Launchbury (Bultaco), but when his engine was measured (standard procedure for the first three home), it was found to be 126.2 cc and therefore he was excluded. Reboring the barrel 0.01 in. oversize after seizure was enough to increase the volume out of the capacity limit. Gary Dickinson (Honda) was then declared 3rd man home. This four-foot-seven Liverpool rider has to have 35 lb. of lead fixed to his crankcase to bring his weight up to the FIM limit.
125-CC RESUL TS
1. D. Simmonds, Kawasaki .........91.08 2. K. Carruthers, Aermacchi H-D.....84.43 3. G. Dickinson, Honda ............83.67 4. S. Murray, Honda ..............83.24 5. J. Kiddie, Honda ...............81.05 6. C. Ward, Bultaco ...............80.58 Fast lap: Simmonds, 92.46 mph
500-CC SENIOR
Romping to an 8.5-minute win in the Senior TT at an average speed of 104.75 mph, and a fastest lap of 106.25, Italian heart-throb Giacomo Agostini joined the very select band of those that have achieved a 350 and 500 race double two years in succession. Not even Hailwood can claim that distinction, first achieved by the legendary Stanley Woods on Nortons in 1932-3 at a time when the opposition was really fierce. It was equalled in 1958-9 by John Surtees on the old MV four-cylinder fire engines.
Non-starters through injury were Percy Tait and John Cooper, and another two who had already lapped the course at over 100 mph—John Blanchard and Peter Williams. So four favorites for the leaderboard were out before the flag fell. Only 31 finished of 97 starters. Still, the outdated but reliable old British Singles keep the race alive. Norton, Matchless and Seeley comprised all the mounts except for solitary finishers on BMW, Suzuki, Triumph and the all-conquering MV.
Everything sorted out quickly in the first two laps. Ago was streets ahead. Alan Barnett (Kirby Metisse), with a lap at 100.03, gained a 24-sec. advantage over Derek Woodman (Seeley). Woodman, however, was far from secure and got involved in a race-long scrap with Tom Dickie (Seeley). Only 1.2 sec. separated them at the end of Lap 1. By Lap 3, Dickie was in front. Woodman was running out of front brake and could do nothing about the adjustment, as it had been wired up to prevent slackening.
Jack Findlay (382 Aermacchi H-D)
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lost fourth gear on Lap 2 and retired. Similarly mounted Carruthers had disappeared on Lap 1 with big end failure. Uphill, too, had gone out with a seized engine. Alberto Pagani was 6th on Lap 1, but the primary drive failed once again on the Linto and he retired on the second lap.
The elimination of Pagani and Jack Findlay let in last year’s double Manx Grand Prix winner John Findlay (Norton) and Selwyn Griffiths (Matchless). But Griffiths lost valuable time. He could not restart after his pit stop. Steenson took his Seeley to 5th place, but on the next lap did it all wrong braking for the Creg and promptly joined the clavicle club. Findlay maintained his 5th place and Ron Chandler (Seeley) completed the first six. That was the order at the finish.
500-CC RESULTS
1. G. Agostini, MV ........ 104.75
2. A.J. Barnett, Kirby Metisse . 98.28
3. T. Dickie, Seeley ........ . 97.92
4. D. Woodman, Seeley ..... . 97.69
5. J.T. Findlay, Norton ..... . 96.17
6. R. Chandler, Seeley ...... . 95.87
Fast lap: Agostini, 106.25 mph
What of the American competitors this year? For the most part, it was a question of heartbreak. The solitary U.S. replica, a silver, went to John Weed, who rode a Honda in the 125 race. But his share of misfortune came with the Kawasaki he was going to use in the 250 and 350 classes, changing barrels and pistons for the two races. He broke two crankshafts before giving up the struggle. Also competing in the 125 class was Duane McDaniels of Detroit, riding a little Yamaha prepared and built by Sol Kulaga from Utica. Based on a YL1 it has YDS2 22-mm carburetors and a special close ratio four-speed box. A promised six-speed gearbox had not arrived by the time they left for the Island. Sol built his own frame, tank, seat and fairing. Exhaust pipes also are homemade, but the energy transfer ignition system is standard as are the pistons. If you look back among his relations, you will find the Irish somewhere for the cylinder head is “standard modified,” to use his own words.
It has a useful 9-12,000-rpm power band, and stopping is accomplished with a standard rear brake and a 305 Yamaha Big Bear scrambler front brake. Downhill with a following wind it is geared for 120 mph! It is fast, very fast, but unfortunately it holed a piston on the second lap up on the mountain.
Jacques du Pont was also in trouble with his machinery and never made the start. Lance Weil left with the sort of repair bills that could have bought the Island—three major blowups on his Nortons during practice and a prang on the 350 for good measure. His production race Norton Atlas went onto one cylinder at the bottom of Bray Hill. Then, in the Senior, he ran well for three laps, but the throttle stuck open at Glen Helen next time around and the tach went off the dial—more expense. Philosophically, Lance takes heart in being the fastest Yank around the Island at just over 90 mph—any challengers next year?
In the sidecar class, Maurice Candy and Ed Fletcher of Philadelphia retired in the 750 race. In the 500, they were well down on power with Maurice’s own modified 500-cc BSA unit. They did finish, though outside bronze replica time.
One of the main attractions of the TT is that many riders compete with specialized one-off machinery seldom seen elsewhere, and certainly not in such profusion. Where, for example, would you see a 500-cc J.A.P. in a world championship road race but at the Isle of Man. It was raced by Steve Woods. Unfortunately an oil leak sidelined it on the second lap.
John Kidson is a racer who races for the fun of it and more as an exercise in engineering skill than that of racing. This year he had a 250-cc NSU Renmax, possibly the only one left of its kind. He purchased it only six weeks before the TT, so despite all his efforts, it was used in training but not for the race.
Most impressive of all the specials were the Crescent three-cylinder watercooled two-stroke machines. There was one in solo form, built by Swedish racer Billy Andersson, and also two C.A.T. sidecar outfits. All had troubles and failed to finish. Andersson’s was the most successful, eventually retiring at a pit stop when the top engine bracket was found to have fractured.
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS
50-CC *
1. A. Toersen, Flolland ..............45
2. A. Nieto, Spain ..................24
3. J. de Vries, Holland ...............22
4. G. Parlotti, Italy .................22
125-CC **
1. D. Simmonds, Gt. Britain ..........42
2. K. Carruthers, Australia............18
3. C. van Dongen, Holland............15
4. J. Auereal, France ................15
250-CC **
1. S. Herrero, Spain .......
2. K. Andersson, Sweden . . .
3. F. Perris, Gt. Britain
350-CC *
1. G. Agostini, Italy.......
2. J. Findlay, France ......
3. K. Carruthers, Australia . .
500-CC **
1. G. Agostini, Italy.......
2. G. Marsovsky, Switzerland
3. G. Nash, Gt. Britain.....
SIDECAR *
1. K. Enders, W. Germany
2. S. Schauzu, W. Germany
3. F. Linnarz, W. Germany * After three events
** After four events
