Pridmore Goes To Australia, Leads Bathurst Three-Hour
PRIDMORE GOES TO AUSTRALIA, LEADS BATHURST THREE-HOUR
Superbike racing is getting bigger in Australia, and this year AMA champion Reg Pridmore was invited to a three-hour Superbike event held on the Mount Panorama track at Bathurst, a small farming center 140 mi. inland from Sydney. The circuit is used only twice a year, in October for a 1000-km. production-sedan race, and at Easter for the bikes. In between times, it’s a public road, a scenic drive to a picnic/camping area and nature reserve some 600 ft. above the surrounding farmland.
Back in 1937, the Bathurst town council of the time was keen to have the racers around, getting a cash grant from the Federal government to build a “scenic® road” w hich just happened to lend itself to motorcycle racing. Since then the Easter meeting has been an annual tradition. treated by Aussie fans with the same reverence as the British view the Isle of Man. Spectators think nothing of riding 1000 miles across the continent to join in the yearly three-day happening of w hich the racing is only a part.
The 3.8-mi. track is fast and demanding. From the pit straight, a 90° lefthander leads to a tough 1000-yard flog up the hill to an 80 mph right, then a steep ( 1 in 6 grade) pitch to a tight left through a cutting. Still rising, the track twists through a series of sweepers, finally flattening out 600 ft. above the pits on a long 100 mph left. At Skyline, the high point, it drops suddenly away, through a chain of right, left, right, left, right, right, one after the other. A final left is followed by a mile and a half of dow nhill straight, a 90° left at the end leading back to the start/finish.
The outright lap record stands at 102.3 mph, w hile the fastest Superbikes circulate at 95-96 mph. Yamaha TZ750s pull close to 180 mph down the hill, lofting front wheels (occasionally both wheels) in the air as they crest a flattened-off hump 500 yards out from the corner. Braking duels from 300 yards out offer a stern test for riders’ nerves. The Superbikes aren't much slower, reaching 160 mph.
It’s a demanding circuit, critical of jetting and gearing, and quite dangerous. In common with most Australian tracks, concrete walls and armco fences abound close to the pavement. However, after his first shake-down laps, Pridmore quickly settled into competitive 2:28 lap times
Pridmore had only one problem w ith his Vetter Kawasaki—the lack of a suitable front tire. Before leaving California, tuner Pierre des Roches had arranged for a stack of 19-in. Dunlop KR95s to be sent from England to Australia, but they didn’t arrive in time.
By the time the practice sessions wound up, the 996cc, 370-lb. RSC-built CB900FZ Hondas of Michael Cole and Tony Hatton
and Pridmore’s Kawasaki were on or just under the lap record. So too was Roy ‘The Boy’ Denison, an extrovert giant who rides his self-prepped Yoshimura Kawasaki 1000 with cavalier dash. Roy is an everpresent shadow to dominating force Graeme Crosby’s Russ Hannan/Yoshimura 1 100ccZl-R in Australian Superbike events, and he spent a long practice session running hard in close company with Pridmore.
Gremlins struck Crosby on race day. seconds before flag-fall. A rotor on his bike's Krober ignition worked loose midway through the warm-up lap. Pridmore saw his problem, asked if the start could be held up. but the clocks were already ticking. So, as the field blasted off'. Crosby coasted down into the pits, and lost six laps while repairs were made. Back in action. Crosby turned eight screamer laps in the 2:23 range before the same problem —finally diagnosed as a rotor bolt being a shade too long—sidelined him for good.
Pridmore wasn't missing him one bit for he was sharing a knock-down, drag-out slug for the lead with Denison. Hatton and Cole.
After half an hour, the Hondas had dropped off' the pace a little, but were still within 10 seconds of the leading pair, w ho were still finding it very hard to work out who had the advantage.
Pridmore had one main trouble area, under brakes at the end of the straight. Des Roches had wandered over to the last hump 300 yards out to take some photos of the w heelie action and later said, “Hey. he was really workin' hard on those anchors. He'd come past me. arms braced on the bars, the most incredible look on his face. Looked as if he was on the point of digging his boot-heels into the asphalt for a little more stopping power.”
The Hondas couldn't make 45 minutes on a tank of fuel, and were the first scheduled to pit. Cole had already retired with a fried clutch, but Hatton’s pit was fast and snappy. The other two were slower, Denison slightly, Pridmore significantly. When the fuel stops were over. Pridmore was 15 seconds down on the lead, this time being contested by the locals. Pushing hard to make up ground, he fired deeper into the braking area at the end of the straight thair his bike’s M45 PZ2 Michelin could handle and crashed the bike. Reg was no more than bruised, but the Kawasaki had tried to ingest the sand trap in the run-off area.
For the third of his four legs between fuel stops. Denison handed over to corider Jeff Parkin, who w hile no slouch, is not as quick. Parkin lost ground steadily to Hatton, and when Denison regained the saddle with 45 minutes remaining, he was 50 seconds behind, but Hatton still had one fuel stop to make. A photo finish looked on the cards, since Denison had proved he was nearlv a second a lap quicker than Hatton.
However. Denison's chances were literallv dampened a couple of minutes later when steady rain started. Hatton was no happier than any other rider to be slithering around on slicks, but he's an acknowledged wet-weather expert, and was able to stretch the lead even further. Nobody was prepared to sacrifice the time needed to change to wet tires, so the field splashed gingerly on. the tread-equipped stock production machines making better work of the conditions than the Superbikes. The first production bike, a Honda CBX ridden by Dennis Neill, filled fourth, behind Hatton. Denison and another Yoshimura Kawasaki 1000 ridden by Alan Decker.
An overnight patch-up job on the Kawasaki saw Pridmore take the line for Sunday’s Unlimited GP. the bike nowequipped with a full fairing. Despite sounding quite ratty, the bike kept churning away with Pridmore finishing seventh behind three 750 Yamahas, two 500 Suzukis, and a 750 Kawasaki.
No way could anybody have seen off the leading trio of Ron Boulden (Yamaha), Crosby (Kawasaki) and New' Zealander John Woodley (Suzuki). Boulden had the 5 mph speed advantage of the TZ and a verv cool head for a 19-year-old having his fourth-only 750 race; Crosby had his talent and the abilities of the KR750; and Woodley? Well, he had the magic handling of the Mark IV RG500 plus something indefinable. You had to see him give away 15 mph to the 750s both up and dow n the hill, lose 200 yards every lap. only to pick it up in the twisty bits, to believe it was possible.
It was a classic race, 20 laps during which the margin from first to third was never more than two seconds, w hen 14 laps were at better than record speeds, w hen the lead changed an estimated 35 times in 75 miles, and when finally Boulden took the flag 0.4 sec. ahead of Crosby, himself 0.7 sec. ahead of Woodley. —Brian Cowan
