Transatlantic Trophy, Part V
TRANSATLANTIC TROPHY, PART V
A Long Time Coming, But The Americans Finally Blow The British In The Weeds.
B. R. NICHOLLS
Easter weekend 1971 saw the birth
of the three-meet Match Races in which the best from the U.S. are pitted against the cream of the British crop. The competition has been resurrected every Easter since. On Good Friday Brands Hatch is the venue, with the action moving to Mallory Park on Sunday, and to Oulton Park for the final round on the following day. The first four meetings resulted in wins for the British team, although last year the United States lost out for want of a couple of pints of gasoline in Gary Nixon’s machine.
This year the rules were changed slightly so that points could be awarded only to riders who finished within twoand-a-half minutes of the winner. It was a change long overdue. If, in 1973, for example, only finishers had scored points, the U.S. would have won by 388 to 381 instead of losing 385-387, the narrowest margin yet.
But that is all in the past, clouded in the mist of spray left behind as the
1 97 5 nine-man American teamconsisting of Dave Aldana, Steve Baker, Don Castro, Randy Cleek, Pat Hennen, Phil McDonald, Steve McLaughlin, Kenny Roberts and Gene Romeropowered its way to victory in conditions so alien to them that it left the British team and spectators wondering what had happened.
Consider these circumstances. The Brands round had to be canceled because the circuit was covered with snow. The first race at Mallory found the whole Yankee team on slicks when the snow suddenly started to fall. Oulton Park provided an entire day of very wet racing. The American margin of victory,
35 points, would have been even greater if Roberts and Romero had not crashed in the final race while leading. Make no mistake about it, the American eagle sank its talons deep into the flabby flesh of the British bulldog, flew to undreamt of heights, and dropped its prey before alighting on the pinnacle of team racing’s mountain, the Transatlantic Trophy race.
It was a superb display of team strength, the backbone of which was the 147 points amassed by Aldana, Castro and Roberts. This out of a total of 278 to the home team’s 243.
it all should have started at Brands Hatch, but an hour after practice was to have begun, the track, which had been salted the night before, still had slush on it and all the runoffs were snowbound. Most members of the American team had been round the circuit a few times by then, enjoying themselves spinning off here and there —on four wheels, of course. Thus the meeting was canceled.
Practice at Mallory took place in brilliant sunshine, although it was bitterly cold. The sun merely lulled everyone into a false sense of security, for the race had barely started when the clouds rolled over. Before the first lap was complete, one rider from each team had been sidelined. Steve Baker lost his Yammie in the middle of the field at the esses; although unhurt, his bike caught fire, preventing him from continuing. Damage was kept to a minimum by the fast-acting fire crew, but some of the extinguisher found its way into the carbs.
While most of the crowd of 20,000 had its attention riveted on that incident, the pack hurtled into the notorious Devil’s Elbow with Romero in the lead, followed closely by Stan Woods, who dropped his Suzuki when the front wheel slid out. Miraculously the whole field got past without hitting man or machine. If things had continued at that rate, there would have been nobody left to go the 20-lap distance.
On the third lap, Roberts moved ahead of Romero to send American hopes soaring, although Mick Grant and Pat Mahoney were 3rd and 4th for the home team ahead of Aldana and Castro. Then, just before the halfway mark, Romero, too, crashed at the esses. “It was oil on the track, not rider malfunction,” he grinned after the race. He had held the bike as long as possible, thereby minimizing damage to himself and his bike, and in spite of a lost footpeg, he sorted things out and rejoined the race. Anyone keeping score at that point would have found the British out in front, but their lead was short-lived. Barry Ditchburn’s Kawasaki blew its head, and then at three-quarter distance it started to snow.
“The whole team is on slicks,” groaned AMA professional competition manager Mel Parkhurst as he gazed in disbelief at the soaking track. But any hope that such a situation might have nurtured in partisan hearts soon disappeared. Mick Grant frightened the life out of himself with the mother and father of all slides around the 180-degree Gerards righthander, and pulled in. Meanwhile the Americans stuck to the task in spite of their tires, with Roberts winning over Mahoney, and Aldana and Castro finishing 3rd and 4th. Although Romero was last after his spill, he gained a valuable five points by finishing within the two-and-a-halfminute limit. End of the first race. Americans, 71 ; British, 55.
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Conditions worsened before the second leg, and mechanics worked frantically during the interval to change tires and gearing as snow, sleet, rain and even a sunny spell swept the track. There was too much work to be done on Baker’s machine to get it ready for the second race, so reserve rider Randy Cleek got a ride on his Yamaha.
Team captain Kenny Roberts looked out at the track and muttered, “I can’t believe it.” He had never even raced in the rain before, let alone snow. Happygo-lucky Steve McLaughlin had quipped at the pre-race press meet: “I’ve raced seven times in the wet and crashed nine times.” The experience proved invaluable; he ruined his averages by finishing all four of his races and scoring 27 points for the team.
Roberts’ confidence of victory at the press conference proved justified. He said, “There are no guys on vacation this trip, they all want to race,” and the team certainly didn’t make a liar of him.
In the cold, wet and windy second race, shortened from 20 laps to 15, Roberts, Aldana, Romero and Castro finished an incredible 1-2-3-4.
Between races, Norton-rider Dave Croxford had been gloating in the Yankee camp. “Lovely, lovely,” he said as the rain fell. But it turned out to be a case of the biter being bit, for on the sixth lap he was yet another victim of the esses. “Roll on the rain. It rolled on and I rolled off,” was his explanation afterwards. He had been in 4th place when it happened, so bang went a possible 14 points for the home team.
At that time it was Roberts leading Aldana and Romero, followed by Grant and Ditchburn being chased by Donny Castro. It was fortuitous that when Castro finally managed to get by, it was the last lap. There wasn’t a thing the Limeys could do to prevent that moraleboosting sweep of the first four places. Reserve Randy Cleek took 10th place and seven points. He thought that racing > in the rain was not too bad once you got used to it.
So the American team made the overnight journey from Mallory to Oulton with a useful 24-point lead and a healthy respect from competitors and spectators alike for their aggressive riding in such dreadful conditions. “Can’t race in the bloody rain. Who’s been kidding who?” mumbled one spectator as he splashed his way out of the circuit.
At least it didn’t snow at Oulton; it was merely wet and miserable. “Hope it rains today,” quipped Roberts when Croxford put his head around the van door. And it sure did.
Dave Aldana was in great form in the pits before the racing. “Gonna outdrag the lot to the first turn,” he promised, and was as good as his word when the flag fell on the first race. The track was soaking, but he made it ahead of Roberts and Hennen. He stayed there until plug trouble dropped him back to 3rd behind Roberts and Romero, who were dicing as though the world title were at stake. For Gavin Tripp it must have been a team manager’s nightmare watching them in such treacherous conditions. They soon cooled it, which was just as well, because Randy Cleek lost it at Lodge Corner and the gas on the track brought Romero down. He somehow managed to stay with it, remount and get away without losing his 2nd place.
Cleek’s crash proved more disastrous for the British team. Grant and Mahoney, who had been 4th and 7th, respectively, crashed at the same point and could only tour around. Electrical problems had kept Croxford from going at all, and Cleek only happened to be riding because Phil McDonald had taken one look at the practice times and stood down.
Once again the spectators were treated to a resounding American victory as Roberts led Romero and Aldana to a 1-2-3. That gave the team a 17-point advantage on the race and a running score of 218-177.
And so to the last race with victory looking certain for America. Cleek had so damaged his machine that McDonald was back in the game; he took 10th place and seven points for his best ride.
It looked all set for another Yankee win, when on the 7th lap Roberts lost it on the first turn. Romero followed a few laps later and neither was able to continue. This still left Aldana in the lead, but his machine had lost its edge and Stan Woods (the highest-placing Britisher in the previous race with a 4th), overhauled him to win from Mahoney.
For the first time in four races British riders took 1st and 2nd places. Pat Hennen and Steve Baker had their best rides yet by placing 3rd and 5th, and Castro took his third 4th place. It was not enough, however, to gain them a whitewash of the British team; the Limeys took the last race 66-60. It’s doubtful that it really mattered to the Americans, though. Afterall, they had just captured the Transatlantic Trophy for the first time, with a score of 278-243. So much for the characterization of Americans as fair-weather racers.
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