Continental Report

CONTINENTAL REPORT

B.R. NICHOLLS

DECOSTER WINS CHAMPIONSHIP

Salute Suzuki! Salute especially Roger DeCoster, who fought a lone battle for them in the 500cc world motocross title fight. He won the championship at the final round of competition in a season when the Japanese concern was said to be just finding its feet against the opposition. Suzuki eclipsed the Maicos, Husqvarnas and CZs that have been so successful in the past, not only in the 500 class but even more so in the 250, where Joel Robert has powered his way to the title. Sylvain Geboers, now fully recovered from his cartilage operation, followed in close attendance during the closing stages of the championship. The third Suzuki teamster in the 250 class is Olle Pettersson, the 33-year-old Swedish rider who painstakingly laid the foundations for the Suzuki success by developing the motocross model that is now a world beater.

THE 500 CLASS BATTLE

The pressure really has been on in the 500 class, especially in the final two rounds where all attention was focused on Ake Jonsson (Maico) and DeCoster (Suzuki). They went to Luxembourg for the penultimate round where it was dry and the circuit dusty. In the. first leg former champion Bengt Aberg (Husq varna) took the lead, but DeCoster fought his way ahead. Jonsson, in hot pursuit, was never able to catch the Belgian, who built up a lead of some 12 sec. by the end of the race. Meanwhile, Aberg collided with Weil, but the latter still managed to finish 3rd. It was essential for Jonsson to get a good start in the second leg and then try to build up a big time gap to overcome the 12-sec. lead that DeCoster had gained in the first race. But, with the Belgian gaining the lead very early in the race, all seemed lost for the Swedish rider until his teammate Adolf Weil returned to the race after a stop to replace a broken handlebar. He started immedi ately in front of DeCoster and then indulged in typical motocross games manship of riding in the ruts and kick ing up as much dust as possible to make it difficult for the following rider to get past. Naturally it annoyed the Belgian spectators, who started to throw things at Weil. The tactics were nothing new, though; they'd just become spotlighted by the exciting pitch the championship had reached. It was successful, for Jons son closed the gap and took the lead as DeCoster tired. Then Jonsson showed just how fit he is with a telling burst of speed over the final couple of laps to gain victory on time by some 10 sec. from DeCoster, who took 2nd place. Paul Friedrichs (CZ) was 3rd which, with a 6th in the first leg, was good enough to give him 3rd place overall.

Spectator participation in the battle between DeCoster and the Maico team had shown itself at the previous round in Belgium. With everything depending on the final round in Holland, it looked as if the Dutch venue of St. Anthonis would be no place for the weak-hearted. Then the authority stepped in. Henry Bunk, the Dutch member of the FIM Sporting Committee, warned the crowd over the public address system that if the spectators interfered with the racing, the meeting would be scrubbed, which would have given the title to Jonsson, who led the championship at that stage by a single point from De Coster. It was no idle threat; extra police were on duty and more course marshalls were employed than usual. It was a wise move, for there were a great number of Belgians in the estimated 40,000 crowd. Motocross is to Belgium what bullfighting is to Spain. The crowd was ready for the sweet smell of success, for if DeCoster won the title he would be the first Belgian to take the 500 crown since Rene Baeten did in 1958.

The tension in the pits equalled the anticipation in the crowd packed hard against the fences. Everything was set for the final act which lasted just one lap of the first race-the reserve spark plug unscrewed itself and fell out of Jonsson's Maico. He lost a lap fixing the problem, then, riding like a man pos sessed, he fought back to 10th place in a race that DeCoster won. Weil followed 2nd and the Dutch champion Gerrit Wolsink (Husqvarna), 3rd. Still refusing to concede defeat, Jonsson stormed ahead in the second race. But the unruffled DeCoster moved up from a bad start to 2nd place after seven laps. He was content to stay there, knowing that overall victory and the title would be his. Jonsson's only hope was that the Suzuki would break down. DeCoster's only worry was that he finished the first race with an empty gas tank, so was taking it a little easier to ensure that he finished without running dry.

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So in 1971, as in 1970, Ake Jonsson saw the world title slip from his grasp in the final round of the championship. The cheers and champagne were for the new 27-year-old champion Roger De Coster. For the Belgians, who have both the 250 and 500 world championships, nothing seems to be able to stop them from completely sweeping the board by adding the Trophee and Motocross des Nations events and making 1971 Bel gium's finest motocross year in history.

ROBERT TAKES 250 CLASS

A couple of weeks before DeCoster took his first world crown, Joel Robert added number five in the 250 class to his total, firmly establishing himself as Mr. Motocross of all time. The ironic part of it was that he took the title with 2nd place overall, behind teammate Sylvain Geboers at the tenth round of the 12-round series in Finland. Geboers won both races, and although Robert was 2nd in the first leg, Hakan Anders son (Husqvarna) was lying 2nd in the second race ahead of Robert. Robert had made a bad start, but when the Swedish rider missed a gear and stalled, Robert moved ahead to his 2nd place and ensured himself of the world title.

It looks as if Andersson is the man who will spoii a Suzuki 1-2-3 in the 250 championship, although we shall not know that until the final round in Austria. He was not able to stop the Suzuki trio sweeping the board at the British round of the championship when Joel Robert showed just why he is the champion. With a ride that looked so easy he powered his way to victory in both legs, giving Geboers no chance of catching him. Behind this pair Olle Pettersson was having a harder time of it in getting the better of Miroslav Halm (CZ), a Czech rider who seems to have a brilliant future ahead of him. On the fast hilly circuit the Husqvarnas were outclassed with Heikki Mikkola, the luckless Finnish rider, out with engine troubles for the fourth championship meeting in succession. Nevertheless, Andersson took 5th in the first leg and went one better in the 2nd when he beat Halm, ensuring 4th place overall behind the Suzukis. Halm was 5th overall, and Vladimir Kavinov of Russia, riding a CZ, 6th. One of four at the meeting, he showed that the Russians are once again taking motocross seriously. They should do well at the Trophée des Nations team event, where the chances of the British team seem poor to say the least. On their home ground, the best British rider was Badger Goss (Maico), who finished 6th overall but was not placed under the F1M spoiler rule. No longer do our riders and machines seem capable of completing two 45-min. races. It is a fact that will probably be cured only when our national events are made more tough and riders get used to long races and are better able to pace themselves. As it is at present, our two senior citizen motocross men, Jeff Smith and Dave Bickers, can still give the youngsters a run for their money in the longer races. While this is a great credit to them and reflects their fitness and skill, it is a sad indictment of those following in their tracks.

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HAILWOOD AT SILVERSTONE

Fortunately, it is not the same story in road racing, where we have some excellent young stars. And the crowds still flock to see Mike Hailwood when he makes one of his rare appearances. Twenty-seven thousand of them flocked to Silverstone for the first motorcycle race meeting in six years where Mike was down to ride a Yamaha against Agostini. It was the first international meeting on the mainland that really had international stars for many a long day. Of course Ago won the 350 and 500cc races but the 250 race provided one of the most exciting battles ever witnessed on a British short circuit. Six Yamahamounted rivals were involved in a titanic struggle, from which first Paul Smart disappeared with broken piston rings. Then John Cooper's pace slackened, leaving Rod Gould, Barry Sheene, Gyula Marsovsky and Jarno Saarinen to battle it out with the lead constantly changing. Sheene timed his effort to perfection by swooping past Marsovsky on the final bend to snatch victory. Both had the same race time, although Sheene took the lap record on that final circuit at 100.16 mph. He had another record in the 125 event which he won, setting the fastest lap at 93.75 mph on his Suzuki.

In the 350 race, Hailwood made a bad start but delighted his fans as he fought back through the field to reach 4th place, where he eventually finished. Ahead of him, Ago was 1st, but the Flying Finn Saarinen held John Cooper at bay to take 2nd. The brilliant Finnish rider is currently holding 2nd place in the 350 world championship. Few of the riders had ridden Silverstone before, putting them all on equal terms; on this basis, Saarinen showed he is one of the world's best.

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THE 500 RACE

Main interest in the 500 race, apart from Sheene on the big Suzuki staying with Ago for a while, was the appear ance of Phil Read and Bruno Spaggiari on the new works Ducati V-Twins. Both made poor starts but fought up through the field. Then, when Read had reached 3rd place, he was sidelined with clank ing big ends. So Spaggiari took 3rd spot, only to retire when the Twin became a very uncompetitive 250 Single.

SMART WINS FORMULA 750

The Formula 750 race provided the fastest lap of the meeting when Paul Smart, the winner on a Triumph Three, hurtled round at 104.95 mph, beating similarly mounted Percy Tait and Ray Pickrell on BSA Threes. Hailwood was to have had a big Ducati, but the handling was not to his liking. So he rode the Yamaha into 4th place, just ahead of John Cooper (Yamaha) with whom he fought most of the race.

THE SIDECAR RACES

The two sidecar races both went to the new world champion Horst Owesle, riding the four-cylinder Munch passen gered by Londoner Peter Rutterford. Owesle is more than just a racer; the 33-year-old West German knows the Munch engine inside out, having worked on it for nearly a decade. He joined Helmut Fath when he first started on the four-cylinder engine back in 1962. His real interest in racing came when Fath retired in 1969 following an acci dent, and his natural ability is obvious from the fact that he has taken the title in only his second season of interna tional racing. Whether he races again next season remains to be seen, but his skill with engines may take preference over racing, particularly if the Munch concern decides to contest the 500cc world solo title.

They have a revamped 746-cc solo racer giving around 100 bhp. It weighs only 350 lb. complete with oil and battery. The oversquare engine (68 by 51.5) revs up to 11,000, though 12 will not burst it (the 500cc model will rev to 13,000). Front brake is a double Dunstall disc on a Ceriani fork, and a Munch rear disc brake employs the Lockheed unit. One gallon of oil is carried in the sump. The fairing is copied from the Honda Six racer and shows well the narrow width of the transverse four cylinders. i~}