Continetal Report
CONTINETAL REPORT
B.R. NICHOLLS
LONGER ROAD RACE SEASON
The European road race season gets longer each year. The last important international meeting of 1970 was held in France on the brand new Paul Ricard circuit near Marseille. It meant a happy season’s end for Dave Simmonds (Kawasaki) whose bad luck most of the year cost him the world title. For this final race, the opposition came from Swedish rider Borje Jansson, riding the very fast and light works Maico. A race-long scrap ended with Simmonds getting the judges' decision of victory by a tire’s width.
Another British rider, Chris Vincent, won the sidecar race on his 654 BSA, but the official verdict went to Georg Auerbacher (BMW) when the organizers decided the capacity should only have been 500cc. This, however, was not apparent from the regulations.
The first of two French successes came when Patrick Lebievre (Yamaha) won the 3 50 event from Silvio Grassetti, who was also 2nd in the 250 race. Italian Guido Mandracci (Yamaha) won that event.
In the 500 class, Christian Ravel underlined the current trend of twostroke domination by winning on his Kawasaki Three. The H1R Kawasaki three-cylinder, two-stroke machine is certainly causing a headache for the more conservative four-stroke 500 class competitors. As a matter of fact, Ginger Molloy (Kawasaki) would have been world 500 champion had it not been for a guy called Agostini, riding works MVs.
British 500 champion Peter Williams has not let the two-stroke rise go unnoticed, and is seriously considering both the Kawasaki unit and the 500 Suzuki for next season. The Suzuki Twin is without doubt the easier to house in a motorcycle frame since it is a narrower unit. Also the Kawasaki is a thirstier engine, which seems to be characteristically a two-stroke problem. In the 1970 Isle of Man TT, Bill Smith, who finished 3rd, had an 8-gal. gas tank. He was also timed at over 143 mph at the famous Highlander speed trap.
There is little doubt that 1971 will see the further progress of two-strokes in the 500 class internationally. And they are comparing more and more favorably to the performance of bigger 750 four-strokes.
Sidecar racing, however, will still provide the spectacle and sound of a good throaty four-stroke, with BSAs ruling the roost in national events and BMWs virtually unbeatable in the international classic meetings.
SEELEY MARKETS SINGLE
If you are one of those that yearn for the sound of a good 500 Single and mourn the passing of such machines as the Velocette and Gold Star, take heart, for Colin Seeley is producing just the machine for the American market. Very briefly, it is his famous 500 Seeley power unit slightly detuned. Housed in the highly successful Seeley frame with no downtube, it is capable of about 1 20 mph. It will be equipped with full lighting, a large gas tank, dual seat, a 3 8-mm Amal Concentric carburetor, and computer designed exhaust. The exhaust is an extension of the partnership that has built up between Colin Seeley and Dr. Gordon Blair of Belfast University who designed a 500-cc
stroker.
That f irst engine was a 250, hut since then a 500 has been produced. The unit weighs 5 2 lb. and produces 60 blip at the crankshaft. Colin hopes to develop it into a production racer by 1972. The 1971 season will he used for testing under race conditions.
ISLE OF MAN TT
The 1971 Isle of Man TT race program has been truly shuffled with the production race now established in race week proper. Saturday evening prior to race week will be used for the three-lap 750-cc sidecar race and will be followed on Monday by a five-lap junior race in the morning. Three laps for 500-cc sidecars will follow in the afternoon.
Senior day on Friday stays the same with three laps for the 125s, followed by six for the 500s. The ACU must accommodate both the 250 and production races on Wednesday. An FIM rule which states that the maximum mileage for competitors racing in any one day is 310 eliminates the possibility of two six-lap races, because a number of competitors contest both events. To solve the problem, both races will be of four laps only. While this will improve the chances of gaining an award, in view of the high mortality rate of 250-cc machinery, most people felt that the production race should have been held over a full six laps.
The one-lap reduction in the 350 event means that four-strokes with big tanks could do a non-stop race. This gives them a slight advantage over two-
strokes, which must stop for gas. The new arrangements are a compromise that fails to agree with the majority belief that the production race is second only to the senior race in importance, and should therefore have been six laps.
AIRFOIL BANNED
One thing we shall not be seeing at the TT or any other FIM road race is the Colin Lyster airfoil device that made a brief appearance in 1970 practice. The use of such things has been banned by a recent decision o f the FIM technical committee.
When it first appeared at the TT, it gave rise to much discussion. It was obvious from the standard of workmanship it exhibited that it was not just thrown together, but was the result of very careful thought on the problem of stability at high speeds. Presumably, the committee felt that the disadvantages far outweighed the advantages of the idea. Will it be long before the inventive genius of Lyster produces something else?
MOTOCROSS TEAM RACE
What should have been the classic motocross meeting of the month developed into a big wrangle as to who really won. The event was the 100-mile team race and the provisional winners were Malcolm Davis (AJS) and Bryan Wade (Husqvarna). You may well ask, what the hell are the guys doing on different bikes? Regulations allow it, so it happens. Each team consists of two riders who do not have to use the same machine, but it is in their own interest to use the same marque because of advertising and subsequent bonuses for the winners.
WADE WINS TV MOTO
Bryan Wade made no mistake, though, when riding in the first televised motocross meeting of the winter series. He took the World of Sport Allcomers championship final, riding a 400-cc Husqvarna. Admittedly, he did not have the Beesa and Ajay works teams to contend with, as they were Stateside contesting the Inter-Am series.
All the glory was stolen by the youngsters in a World of Sport under-21 championship, however. Stuart Nunn (CZ) and the 400 Husqvarna trio of Mike Jones, Roger Harvey and Martin
Lampkin fought with rare zest. Nunn led from start to finish but was under pressure in the first race from those three behind him, who constantly swapped places until the last lap, when Jones snatched 2nd place.
PERCE SIMON TRIAL
With two rounds to go in the British trial riders championship, Sammy Miller (Bultaco) and Gordon Farley (Montesa) were level on points. But, unlike FIM championships, every round counts for the British title, so the chips were really down when these two started the Perce Simon trial.
The dice were loaded against Miller. He ran out of sparks near the start and nothing that he did would get the bike going again. He had to retire while level
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pegging with Farley, Paul Dunkley and Geoff Chandler. They eventually finished the trial in that order.
Alan Morewood made sure of the sidecar title on his Ariel by winning his class and taking an unbeatable lead in the championship. Miller, with 1 1 wins on the trot, must win the final round with Farley lower than 10th for the Belfast ace to take title number 1 2.
OSSA WINS FIRST TWO ROUNDS
A week later the second round of the European trials championship was held in England. The title hunt will take competitors to Belgium, Ireland, France, Spain, Switzerland, Finland and Sweden, but it is doubtful if they will have weather as bad as that which bedeviled the English round on the Yorkshire moors outside Sheffield. It rained solidly all day, but the organization was faultless, the sections good and at the finish there was a hot shower for all the competitors.
Mick Andrews (Ossa) was the winner of the first round in West Germany and with a late number was anxious to repeat his win, but he was beaten by his teammate Dave Thorpe. Thorpe had his share of troubles with a disastrous five on the first section and another later in the trial when his chain jumped the sprocket. But, he rode brilliantly and won with a loss of 34 marks to the 38 of Andrews and 44 of Farley and Malcolm Rathmell (Bultaco). Third place went to Farley by virtue of cleaning more sections. It was another unhappy day for Miller. He finished 7th with 49, one mark ahead of the best foreign rider Benny Sellman (Bultaco).
Farley claimed he had never ridden in a trial so wet, but all praised the excellent natural sections. Ossa took the team prize with three riders, Thorpe, Andrews and Bill Wilkinson. The total entry was 75 and there was only one all British machine competing, an outdated Greeves Anglian ridden for the fun of it by one-time British Expert Arthur Lampkin.
INJURED RATHMELL WINS
The 1970 British Expert solo trials rider is Malcolm Rathmell (Bultaco) who scored one of the most amazing victories ever in this annual classic. He had his left wrist in plaster because of a broken bone sustained in the Scott trial. He was lucky in one respect: he had a late number. But there was no fluke about the courage or brilliance of his riding as he swept to a six-mark win over Rob Edwards (Montesa), with Farley 3rd.
With the British trials sidecar championship already his, Alan Morewood (Ariel) took the Experts title as well, for a brilliant double. He said he would concentrate on solo riding in the future, but many who retire return to the scene of their past successes.
FARLEY NEW BRITISH CHAMP
Now bang on press time comes the result of the final round in the British trials championship. Sammy Miller was back on form and really putting the pressure on Farley, who had an acute attack of nerves on the first section. Farley finished 7th, ensuring himself of the title. Miller’s run of 1 1 titles in a row came to an end. [Ö]
