Continental Report
CONTINENTAL REPORT
B.R. NICHOLLS
JEFF SMITH JOINS BOMBARDIER
Experience has to be bought and rarely, if ever, comes easily either to an individual or a business concern eager to market or develop a product.
Right now in the motorcycle game experience is at a premium in two particular spheres—namely trials and motocross—and the reason is simple: both are rapidly expanding markets and manufacturers are anxious to jump aboard the bandwagon. Jeff Smith represents the acme of experience in both fields and is, therefore, the richest prize to be gained by a manufacturer developing off-road machinery from which one would think that, by now, a Japanese factory had nipped in and signed him when the BSA/Triumph shakeout took place. Not a bit of it. Jeff right now is working in Canada, not far from Montreal, for Bombardier, the snowmobile people who have plans to enter the bike market. His job will be that of a senior development engineer which will later embrace competition work.
Smith is one of the all time “greats” in British motorcycling and goes to Canada with experience gained in winning the British 500cc motocross title nine times and the world title twice—the only Englishman to have won that crown. Twenty years ago he rode his first International Six Days trial and was a Norton works rider in the Scottish Days Trial, which he later won as a member of the BSA works team. He won the British Experts’ trial three times and was a consistent member of the British Motocross des Nations team. Can there be anyone with a greater practical knowledge and experience of off-road riding than “Smithy?”
It hardly seems possible that the familiar Number 4 will no longer be seen on our television screens or giving hot-headed youngsters more than a run for their money at international meetings on the Continent. Experience has to be bought and Bombardier knew what they wanted so sent their director of motorcycle development, Gary Robinson, to England to get it. “It was an offer I could not refuse,” said Smith and Bombardier got their man.
JAPANESE MARQUES SIGN RIDERS Back in 1965 an era came to an end when Sammy Miller stopped riding that Ariel four-stroke plonking special GOV 132 to assist Bultaco in achieving for Spain what the Armada had failed to do way back in 1588. It was a brilliant piece of strategy that led to the complete domination of the British trials scene by the Miller/Bultaco combination. With it went the inevitable steep climb of the sales graph for Bultaco, so justifying the move to go into the market and buy experience. It is experience jealously guarded by Bultaco, who has just signed Miller for an additional 3-year contract, the aim of which is to develop the 325cc trials machine into an even greater winner than the 250cc Sherpa has been.
Both Yamaha and Kawasaki are now interested in this branch of the sport and had been anxious to enroll Miller to spearhead their attack into the trials field. Yamaha wishes to make the 360 trail bike, already well-known in the States, a challenger in the trials game. Who will they try for next?
With Suzuki already firmly established at the top of the motocross tree Yamaha has now taken up the challenge (as reported last month by signing Jaak Van Veithoven and Haken Andersson). Attempts to gain the experience of Maico men Ake Jonsson and Adolf Weil have failed, primarily because Yamaha has not reached the position of being a reliable challenger and Jonsson puts the pinnacle of personal success in winning the 500cc motocross title above that of his bank balance—the ultimate in job satisfaction. Yamaha has, however, signed a third man in the person of Christer Hammargren, 1971 Swedish 500cc motocross champion, who has often shown great talent only to be let down by mechanical problems. With entries in the 500 world championship assured, it could be that a change of machines will bring a change of fortune.
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The third member of the Japanese triumvirate, Kawasaki, has not been idle, and with an obvious example of his capabilities reflected in the current Suzuki success, Kawasaki has moved in and signed Olle Pettersson in the hopes that his experience will do for them what it has already attained for their competitor. It must be the equivalent of a new lease on life for the 35-year-old Swedish ace whose first ride on the new machine will probably be the opening round of the 1972 250cc championships in Spain.
Next year Honda will move in on the scene and the fortunes that were once the prerogative of the road racer will be the birthright of the top motocross men.
JOHN PLAYER SPONSORS NORTON
In 1971 the English weekly newspaper Motor Cycle News sponsored a Superbike Championship which was duly won by Percy Tait on a Triumph Trident. It was a series marked by the way in which it was promoted on American lines with good prize money and primes for lap leaders in all races throughout the series.
It has been made bigger and better for 1972 and will be an international series for Formula 750 machines. Main contenders are expected to be the works BSA, Triumph and Norton machines.
The appointment of Frank Perris as Norton team manager, reported last month, is an indication of how serious they will be over racing in 1972. No one can deny that racing costs money but Norton has found a sponsor in the John Player cigarette manufacturers. Their interest in the sport is vital to racing on both sides of the pond, for they will also be the backers of the Easter AngloU.S. series, which will be known as the John Player Anglo-American Match Races.
The cash from this sponsor means it is virtually certain that the American team to race in the UK can be truly representative and not tied to one factory, as was the highly successful though one-sided 1971 series. When I mentioned this to some of the spectators at the Christmas Brands meeting one said “Blimey, I’ll start queuing now. You won’t be able to get near the place. The thought of works Harleys, that Kawasaki and those Yams—strewth.”
Phil Read is highly impressed with the new Norton setup and he is waiting to tie up final details for a works contract with them. You may well see the John Player Norton team at Daytona because results from that race really mean something to the sales graph.
Norton is already riding the crest of a wave over here, as the Commando has been voted the Machine of the Year for the fourth year in succession in a national poll run by Motor Cycle News. You may be surprised at such a result when the opposition includes Kawasaki, BSA and Triumph Threes, not to mention the four-cylinder Hondas and fabulous electric starting BMWs to mention but a few. Some may put it down to good old fashioned British conservatism, and in a way that could be true because I think the reason the Norton features so highly in the public’s mind over here is because it basically is a simple machine. Motorcyclists love to be able to work on their own machines and not get too much out of their depth when tinkering.
The Twin is a proven design, and the vibration has gone. It is fast—very fast, especially the new Interstate model, and is the cheapest machine available in the 750 class in this country. A front disc is now available too.
Perhaps the only setback that Norton has suffered is in the attempt they made to sign Doug Hele as development engineer, a job at which he has proved himself with his work on the BSA and Triumph three-cylinder racers. However, he has decided to remain with the BSA group, who no doubt realize just what an asset he is to them.
TELEVISED MOTOCROSS
Away from road racing, Norton Villiers is having a measure of success with the AJS scrambler being ridden by Arthur Browning. At the last televised meeting, though, he was unlucky and crashed at the first bend of the first race. This left the lead being disputed by Dick Clayton (Greeves) and Dave Nicoll (BSA). The two-stroke rider, however, seemed to have difficulty in getting away from a tricky hairpin, where the four-stroke BSA got better traction. This gave Nicoll the edge. He went on to win, giving the now-closed BSA competition department a belated farewell victory in 1971.
The two televised races were only of five laps in duration, which makes for good presentation on the screen but gives no chance to the rider who makes a poor start, as Bryan Wade did in both races. There was simply no chance of him repeating his previous double victory.
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The second race was a humdinger from the start. Five riders, Jimmy Aird (Husqvarna); Browning, Clayton, Nicoll, and Wade (Husqvarna) were all in contention. Browning was the early leader. The pack was then joined by New Zealander Ivan Miller (Husqvarna), but with just over a lap to go Aird made his big effort and forced ahead to win by a few lengths from Browning.
Aird is a Scot and it looks like he’s filling the gap left when his fellow countryman Vic Allan crashed early in 1971 at the Italian Grand Prix. The resultant leg break has still not healed properly and Allan’s plans for a limited grand prix season have already been shelved.
With motocross appearing on the British television screens half a dozen times during winter it will be interesting to see how long it is before one of the Japanese companies signs a rider for our home events just to get the publicity that goes with having the name mentioned during the Saturday afternoon peak viewing time.
The whole secret of television motocross is short races that hold the viewer’s interest at most for 10 minutes. Cadwell Park is the venue, the course is short and passing is not easy, so racing gets close and a good start is essential. At the last “telly meet” honors were evenly spread around with a win each for Husqvarna, CZ and AJS. It marked the first appearance in England of John Banks on his works CZ, but it was hardly a dream debut. He crashed in his first outing when contesting the lead. He followed that with a third place and then in his final ride had to give second best to wily Dave Bickers, almost a senior citizen where motocross is concerned.
Gating superbly in the first of the three finals was New Zealand’s young ace Ivan Miller, riding a Comerfords Husqvarna, who at 22 could turn into a world beater. Arthur Browning (AJS) hurtled after Miller after Banks had crashed, but just could not make up the difference, failing by a couple of lengths to catch the flying Kiwi.
Next time out the order was reversed as Browning got his revenge with a well-judged win in the World of Sport trophy race, with Banks third.
Maico man Badger Goss could manage no better than a third and fifth whilst star of the previous meeting Jimmy Aird (Husqvarna) would have gained a consistency award with fourth in all three races. Finally came that Bickers win to show that experience can mean a lot, especially when racing on the slippery surface caused by a little mud on frozen ground—not the conditions that Wild Wade is fond of, so his discretion meant only a third place all afternoon.
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The form of Browning on the 410cc works AJS has surprised some people, but winning is a great incentive so the acid test will come when the season proper starts and he is up against the top class opposition in longer races. Then we may see better things from Greeves works rider Dick Clayton on the latest factory 380cc Griffon that has not figured much in the television series.
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EUROPEAN TRIALS CHAMPIONSHIP
It was to Belgium that competitors went for the first round of the 1972 European trials championship organized by the Dison Club in the frozen Ardennes. With riders adorned in large numbered bibs and all wearing helmets it made trials riding look like lost competitors from the nearby Belgian Grand Prix circuit of Francorchamps.
It is doubtful if riders will lose as many marks again this year in a championship trial, for icy conditions played havoc with the score sheets as competitors tackled the well-organized trial run over tough terrain. But there were no real shocks when the results came out and reigning champion Mick Andrews (Ossa) was the winner with a total of 107 marks lost to the 115 of Rathmell, with Farley down in third place, losing 119, as did Martin Lampkin, who came off second best in the tie break, as he had done earlier in the month at the Vic Brittain trial.
Remember how World Champion Agostini suffered defeats at the end of the 1971 season when John Cooper beat him on the BSA 750-3? Well Ago was still unable to get those threes out of his hair when he went to South Africa for a short racing trip. But although he was dawn in third place and unable to do anything about it himself, fate took a hand to provide him with a win when the two race leaders Paul Smart and Ray Pickrell on BSA/Triumph Threes both came off on an oil slick and Pickrell broke his collar bone whilst the machinery was too bent to continue. Next time around Ago also fell on the same oil patch, but was able to remount and go on to win the race. Such is the way of racing.
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LESS SOUND, MORE GROUND
“Less sound, more ground” is a slogan and movement that started in the United States but it did not take long for it to become a catch phrase over here as well. Noise pollution is very much with us and has been for some years as we have what might paradoxically be called a very vociferous Noise Abatement Society.
It seems that the majority of people over here concerned with motorcycling realize that something has to be done about noise but do not want to do much themselves. However, the ACU has at last brought out rules regarding noise levels and impose penalties on riders whose machines exceed the permitted level. As always, there is criticism of the mechanics of the operation, but usually it comes from those with the noisiest bikes.
The first national of 1972, the Vic Brittain Trial, was nearly lost by Malcolm Rathmell (Bultaco) because he was penalized ten marks on the noise test. It narrowed his margin over Gordon Farley (Montesa) to one mark—the scores being 56 and 57. Third place after a tie went to Malcolm Davis (Bultaco) on the result of the special test from Martin Lampkin (Bultaco).
Deciding factor on the noise test was 95 decibels, with the device set at a spot where to succeed on the ensuing section meant going past on full throttle. It was found that almost two-thirds of the entry failed the test. But the tragic aspect of it is that some competitors are already considering it another hazard to be beaten by gamesmanship instead of getting a good silencer. It is obvious that the main responsibility lies with the manufacturer to produce a satisfactory silencer and the rider to ensure it is not tampered with; then the final test will come during events where competitors should be excluded from the results if their system is more than a certain percentage above the permitted maximum.
Sooner or later it could become the subject of import regulations, a sanction that would ensure quieter bikes. It is surprising that the Belgians have not attached more importance to this aspect of trials riding, although at the moment they are concerned only that a trials machine should have lights, which has been the cause of no little amount of friction between their organizers and British riders as our legal requirements do not make it compulsory for lights on a trials bike because trials take place during the day. It is a protracted argument carried out in a petty manner by officious officials who could spoil the wonderful atmosphere of events in that country.
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500 MX TITLE CHASERS
John Banks will be title chasing in 1972 on the works CZ which he has signed to ride after his outings on the machine in the States. It could be some time, though, before he is a real force to be reckoned with on the grand prix circuits.
Also after the 500 title will be two other Englishmen—Bryan Wade and Andy Roberton—riding works Husqvarna machinery. The Swedish factory had a bad time of it in 1971 and have shelved the lightweight frame used during that luckless season. For 1972, models nearer to the standard production machines will be used by the factory riders.
JONSSON SIGNS WITH MAICO
Despite rumors that Ake Jonsson, so nearly the world champion in 1971, was going to change his allegiance, he has signed with Maico again and, with just that little extra luck needed to become a champion, could win his first title in 1972. No one could deserve it more and a win for him would be a popular one. He decided to stay with the proven German machine rather than move to Yamaha, whose machine he tried but decided against.
Yamaha, though, seems to have the ideal answer in their first full season of 500 racing. They have signed the young Belgian Jaak van Velthoven. Just 21 years old, he is the ideal man to develop the machine for them on a long-term basis. Yamaha has Hakan Andersson for the 250 class.
Already Honda is showing interest in the motocross field so this time next year there should be no shortage of works rides available to the top men who prove themselves in 1972.
Of the Spanish factories, Bultaco has shown the most interest in the motocross scene, but now Montesa is making a determined bid for the 250 championship, and to that end has signed the Finnish rider Kalevi Vehkonen who rode Husqvarna in 1971. As the only Montesa rider, he will have full factory backing and will work on developing the machine.
It is going to be a long hard summer for the motocross men in 1972 and sooner or later Joel Robert has got to lose his winning form, but I don’t think it will be this year. Even if it is it will have to be something good to beat Sylvain Geboers and the 250 Suzuki, whereas I expect Jonsson on the Maico to take the 500 title.
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ANNUAL MOTORCYCLE SHOW
The halcyon days of British motorcycling, like Clementine, are lost and gone forever and with them the days of the annual motorcycle show at Earls Court. We were faced with the doubtful privilege of no annual show at all until the monthly magazine Motorcycle Mechanics stepped in three years ago and organized and sponsored the Racing Motorcycle Show. From a small beginning it has become the only annual show in London.
One is currently running in London as this report is being written. There is nothing startling in the way of new machinery, for gone are the days when a manufacturer produced a brand new model for a London show. Everything we have has already been seen in the States and most of Europe as well, though Continental visitors have been more than attentive regarding the 250cc Kawasaki Three and also the Suzuki 380cc ram air-cooled Three. Big bike lovers have also been drooling over the Norton Interstate model.
The accent is on the sporting side, and with this in mind it is perhaps fair to say that the Boyers of Bromley, Seeley framed, Trident racer is the most beautiful bike to be seen.
Another show slant depicts individuals getting away from standard machines supplied by manufacturers—a frame kit to knock 100 lb. off the weight of a Laverda, a chopper based on the Russian Ural flat Twin and the usual cutaway engines with MZ going one better with a transparent barrel and crankcase for their Trophy roadster model.
The surprising thing is the number of riders that come over from Europe to see the show, creating a kingsize headache for exhibitors with no knowledge of French or German. Most of them seemed intent on getting extra gears from Rod Quaife, who was amazed by the number of BMW owners wanting a five-speed cluster for the big Munich Twins. The Quaife six-speed box for TD2s is all the rage. Now time will have to be found to examine the possibility of five speeds for BMs and also for the big Harleys.
Yes, the Racing and Sporting Show is that sort of gathering where enthusiasts meet enthusiasts and birds take 2nd place to bikes.
