Racing Review
RACING REVIEW
EUROPEAN GP RACING
None of the world championships are decided yet, with the exception of the two Agostini regulars, the 350- and 500-cc titles. With his win at Brno, Ago made sure of his 350-cc title, and he clinched the 500-cc one at Spa in Belgium. So far, there is no match for Ago and the Italian MV Threes, but the two-strokes are catching on fast, even in the largest class.
The central European GP season is over, however, with four meetings in four weeks. The Belgians hold their race on the ultra-fast road triangle in the Ardennen mountains. Lap speeds in the neighborhood of l 20 mph are the rule when the weather is good. Admittedly, the road is wide, but it is lined with trees, and there is the possibility of hitting a house every now and then. This year, through the efforts of the GP car drivers, the circuit has been lined with steel guard rails, which could cut a fallen rider to pieces.
Although generously padded with straw bales, these barriers provide an added hazard. Maybe GP riders will become as strong as their four-wheeled mates and refuse to race on a dangerous circuit. The car men did so at Spa last year and at the Nurburgring this year. If you will remember, they had a race at the Nurburgring this year and it was a disaster.
The Hast Germans do their best to make the Sachsenring circuit safe. It isa historic site of motor racing like Spa and the CSSR circuit at Brno. But there, like Brno, one finds lamp prists, curbs, houses and all the other hazards found in a fast road ride in central Europe. And what competitors do is called road racing. So. we wonder if road racing as we know it is dead, or if it should be, and if race track racing, on specially prepared circuits, is its successor. Circuits like Assen or Hockenheim, Zandvoort or Zolder, will never have the glamorous atmosphere of “men of steel on their steeds of iron" like the TT or the wintry Nurburgring does, but Assen draws its own crowd, and it draws the entries. Riders know they are going about a dangerous business even there, but they also know they can’t hit objects which should not be near a race track.
There was trouble before the race at Brno. Czechoslovakia, which is an 8.7-mile circuit on a fairly well kept road on the outskirts of the industrial town near the Austrian border. Some entrants ran into trouble with their visas, which cannot be blamed on the eager organizers, but more importantly, many of them had financial trouble. Start money had been cut when it should, in fact, have gone up. as the cost of racing is going up faster than the cost of living. As it now stands, riders are not earning any more than they did 10 years ago.
The GP Riders’ Association, brainstorm of ex-Honda team captain Jim Redman, was refounded in Hast Germany. But it was in separate talks that the riders succeeded and got at least what they were getting before, which wasn’t all that much: some $180 to $250 for two starts. That has to pay for the gas for traveling, food for a week or more, sometimes fuel for the race, and the upkeep of two hikes and a van. And some repair bills if the racer is not very lucky, as these modern two-strokes need more than their share of spares!
BRIDGEHAMPTON ROAD RACE
The powerful roar of racing engines reverberating over the sand dunes ot Bridgehampton, N.Y.. that playground for socially prominent summer guests, was a fitting finale for the two-day “Club GP." It was sponsored by the Nisonger Corp.. sanctioned by the Association of American Motorcycle road racers, and supported by such firms as Kensington Products Corp. (Koni), Castrol (Oils) and Halcón Bros.
The weekend warrior who captured most of the 1st place wins was diminutive Hddie Moran and his meticulously prepared Kawasakis. The event, staged over a hilly and twisting sports car road race circuit in the dune country on the westerly tip of Long Island, attracted a record number of entries.
Over 200 seasoned (and some not so seasoned) competition riders, many from the ranks of the American Motorcycle Association, saw action in the six-event race meet. An estimated attendance exceeded 3000, most of these clustered in groups at a number of the turns that make up the 2.85-mile circuit.
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In the “street” class, which differs from the production class in that the entries can be modified but must pass state tests to be street legal (e.g., mufflers, lights, horns, etc.), Lou Redden on a 500-cc Velocette defeated a field of 26 riders, many of whom were riding Honda, BSA, Triumph and Norton 750s. Honda dealer Jack Sartorious, of Accord, N.Y., drove a 100 percent “stock” production Honda Four into 3rd place. It was Jack’s first road race. In 2nd position, on a 650-cc Yamaha, was Jim Purdy.
Sunday's opener was for equipment having engines with a piston displacement ot 200cc or less. Robert Reehtenwald on a Bultaco was first across the finish line, followed by Art Brewer’s Bridgestone and Dick Chambers’ Yamaha, in that order.
In the combined 250cc category, for both Junior and Senior riders, 54 motorcycles lined up for the conventional European “push” start. A thunderous roar signaled the start as this mass cycle attack on the circuit passed the Nisonger-KLG starting tower above the grid. As the leaders came into view to complete the first lap, it was AAMRR class leader Jim Taylor (Yamaha) 1st. Jim held that lead for the entire race and was followed across the finish line by Bart Myers and Jim Metrando, both on Yamahas, to give this Japanese firm a “sweep” in the 250-cc race. One of the winner’s prizes was a pair of Dutchmade Koni shocks.
The third event of the day, the 350cc combined race for Junior and Senior riders, marked the beginning of a Moran-Kawasaki sweep. The young man from New Jersey streaked ahead of the field with his Kawasaki out in front. The battle for 2nd place saw Jim Taylor and Bart Myers swapping 2nd and 3rd spots for nine laps. Bart retired on the 9th lap; Jim took 2nd, with Joe Cerciello, third. Both rode Yamahas.
The 500 class brought the big machinery out on the grid. Early leader was “J.B.” Gunn (Yamaha), Bill Bloch ( Kawasaki) and Kurt Liebmann ( BMW). After a series of races within the 10-lap final, Eddie Moran (Kawasaki) was clocked at 2 min., 4 sec. (The big 7 liter Can-Am cars get around in 1 min.. 41 sec. Nine years ago when the USMC ran the circuit, one of the famous Hayes boys from Tennessee got around in 2 min., 15 sec., with a 250-cc Ducati “Desmo Twin.”) When the checkered flag dropped, it was Eddie Moran's Kawasaki 1st. Jim Purdy (Yamaha) 2nd. and Kurt Liebmann (BMW) 3rd.
In the final event of the day. the Open, the really big bikes lined up on the starting gr id — Harleys, 750-cc Hondas, BSAs, Triumphs and Nortons. Larry Shaeffer started in the middle of the front row, with Eddie Moran on the pole.
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The big bikes thundered off, with the roar of all that horsepower frightening visiting seagulls away from the scene of action. The crowd cheered, as one 750-cc rider after another challenged the lead of Moran’s 500 Kawasaki. Eddie allowed riders to get within striking distance, played cat and mouse with the best of them, but when it was all over, young Ed walked away with another 1st.
It was Ed’s third trip to the Nisonger KEG Starting Tower to accept the congratulations of fellow riders and have Ids photograph taken by the enthusiastic public. Second place in the Open c lass w as won by J i m T a y 1 o r (Kawasaki), with 3rd going to Kurt Liebmann on his opposed-cylinder BMW.
In addition to the cash prizes awarded by the Nisonger Corp., the winners of the 50()cc and Open races were awarded Smiths auto radio and Smiths automotive tachometer. Kensington Products Corp. awarded a pair of Koni shock absorbers to the winner of the 250 class. Castrol awarded cases of Castrol oil to the 2nd place finishers in all 5 events. Falcon Brothers presented special spark plug wrenches to all 3rd place finishers. Kensington Products Corp. also presented Koni racing jackets to the top rider in each class who used Kon i shocks.
24-HOUR MARATHON
A Triumph 750 Three, piloted by Dick White, Ken Schoville, Bruce Finlayson and Jim Cotherman, won a 24-hour marathon road race at Steel Cities International Raceway, Ohio. During that time, it covered 1614 miles in 807 laps and the crew reported that the ride was trouble-free, save for two chain adjustments. The bike was prepared by Cotherman, a Triumph dealer from Freeport, 111.
The Triumph team picked up the lead in the first 1 5 min. of the race and never lost it. They finished 20 laps ahead of 2nd place winners Dick Mankamyer and Dennis Coply (H-D Sportster). Third was a Norton Commando ridden by Skip Faken and Rowland Kanner. A Honda 450, ridden by Tom Ault/, and Brad Boesel. was 4th.
TRIUMPHS IN CANADA
The Triumph racing program has also been quite successful in recent meetings in Canada. Dan Sorensen (Triumph Trident) won the Canadian Open Production Championship, ahead of 2nd-place Jim Quirk (Honda Four) and Paul Higgins (Kawasaki Three). At the Canadian Unlimited championship road race, Sorensen scored again, winning the event this time on a 650 Triumph Twin. Second place went to Ivor Lloyd (Norton 750), followed by Mandy Rad Bord (Honda 750), in 3rd spot.
TERRE HAUTE
BSA-mounted Dave Aldana came in through the back door to win the AMA National at the Terre Haute, Ind. halfmile. After a so-so heat race, he had run the semi-main in order to qualify for the 20-lap National. Jim Rice, Dick Mann and Keith Mashburn had won their heats. Aldana won that semi, putting him on the second row in the main event.
Ken Pressgrove (BSA) initially led the big race, followed by Mann (BSA), Jim Maness (H-D), Mashburn (Yamaha), Don Castro (Triumph), Jim Rice (BSA) and Aldana. By the second lap. Rice had moved into 3rd, with Aldana following in 5th place, then moving up to 4th.
Rice took over the lead on the sixth lap, and Aldana moved into 2nd behind him on the 10th lap. Only two laps from the finish, Aldana took the lead to win the event, with a time of 9:02.74.
The Amateur final went to Rex Beauchamp (H-D), followed by John Hately (Triumph).
Rice’s 2nd in the feature race moved him to within 2 points of point leader Dick Mann, who, after Terre Haute, had 380 points. [O]
