Continental Report
CONTINENTAL REPORT
ROAD RACE PROMOTERS choked spectators with a feast of meetings at Easter and Whitsun, and now enthusiasts have virtually nothing for a couple of months. Our next big meeting will be the Hutchinson 100, to be featured in next month’s issue. There have been some small meetings, the most important of which was held at Castle Coombe. The split between Derek Minter and Colin Seeley was proven to be more than a rumor, for Minter was out on his Nortons, and it has since been confirmed that Ray Petty will again be tuning the engines for Derek, while John Blanchard will be riding the Seeley A.J.S. and Matchless machines. Minter won the 350 race at the Castle Coombe meet, but was beaten all the way by Peter Williams Arter, Matchless, in the 500 class. Rod Scivyer, Honda, was the 125 winner with Reg Everett, Yamaha TD1, taking the 250 honors. The mini of Owen Greenwood in the three-wheeler class was beaten by Chris Vincent, who has the BSA going well again, in marked contrast to his BMW, which just does not respond to treatment. In fact, Chris has decided to miss the TT, as his regular passenger will not be available and the BMW (he admits frankly) just isn’t fast enough.
In a clubmen’s meeting on the short circuit at Brands Hatch, American Frank Scurria took fifth place on his Ducati, which, though fast on the straights, was not too keen on going around corners. Frank hopes to cure this problem at a later date with a new frame. In the 500 class, the scrutineers took one 'look at the tires of Frank’s Norton and would not let him ride it. As it poured with rain for the 500 race Frank was not too upset, except that he has to buy new tires somehow, soon. This was his fourth meeting. Riding a Ducati he also had a fifth spot at Lydden.
Main award of the Brands meeting was the “Ecurie Sportive” trophy donated by Stan Hailwood, and this year it was won by Roger Bowler, who borrowed an unfaired Velocette and in pouring rain won the 500 race. Feature of the meeting was a Vintage race, which, being held on a wet track, gave rise to some rare cornering. The winner was Chris Williams on a 1926 625cc Scott. At an earlier Brands short circuit meeting, another Yankee, Lance Weil, had his best ride ever when he finished second in the 350 race; then on the same bike was fifth in the 500 class. Lance had difficulty with an entry for the Southern 100 Isle of Man race, so spent the week checking out the TT course. He had hoped to ride in the Manx Grand Prix, but has since had his entry for that turned down also. His next big meeting will be the Hutchinson 100, to be raced at Brands. To ensure a fair ride for those new to the circuit, it has been decided to race anti-clockwise to the course, so it will be unknown to all.
American Marty Lunde was also due to ride at the Hutch, but after a second place at Lydden in the 350 race, he has been out of luck. Marty wrecked his van three days before a meeting at Silloth in the north of England, and, while racing, was thrown from his Ajay when braking on the bumpy approach to a corner. He sustained a broken collar bone. So, instead of riding in the Hutch and Manx Grand Prix, Marty will be back in the states by the time this is read, working hard in the hope of returning next year with a 500 and his 350 to make a bid on the Continental Circus.
Lunde, Scurria, and Weil are men dedicated enough to have a go in the tough hurly-burly of European road racing. But what surprises me is that there are no sponsors for these men. I cannot believe that in the whole of the United States, not one person is prepared to back a Yankee racer in Europe for two or three seasons, the time necessary to see whether or not a rider will make the grade. A thousand dollars would be “manna from heaven” to a rider doing a season’s racing in Europe and a dealer sponsor would surely benefit from the publicity. Seven different nationalities comprise the eight works riders of Honda and Suzuki. Whether or not an American ever makes the grade depends on the guts of men like Lunde, Scurria and Weil. For them, some form of sponsorship would be the added incentive that someone back home is showing interest.
On the classic scene, Honda go from strength to strength, their latest success being victory in all four classes of the Czech Grand Prix. Luigi Taveri won the 125 class on the Honda 5, though Bill Ivy snatched the lap record on a Yamaha. Taveri is now well-placed at the top of the 125cc table with 36 points out of a possible 40; second is Ivy with 24. Hailwood gained a hat trick winning the 250, 350 and 500 classes and in so doing, won the 250 title for 1966 with maximum points from seven rides. He leads the 350 with 32 points out of 40; Agostini, second with 26, has gained his first 500 win of the season, so that it is still possible for him to retain the crown, for there are nine qualifying races with a rider’s best five performances to count. There are four left and at the Ulster and Isle of Man Mike must be favorite to win. After five races, Agostini leads the table with 26 points and Redman has 16 in second place. Scheidegger is already sidecar champion and after three of the 50cc rounds, Taveri leads with 19 points out of 24 with Anscheidt, Suzuki, second with 17, one point ahead of Bryans, who was champion last year. Last month’s comments regarding young Stuart Graham were quickly realized, with Honda approaching the 24year-old privateer just before the East German Grand Prix in which he finished fourth in the 250 class on a Honda Six. No contract has yet been signed, the idea being that Stuart should first be allowed race experience to see how he gets on. He lost the chance of further experience at the Czech event when Hailwood blew up his own bike and had to take over the one Graham was to have ridden, so team spirit was exercised very early.
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BY B. R. NICHOLLS
The little publicized FIM Coupe d’Endurance is over for 1966. Three events comprised this championship which is for long distance production machine races and they were the Imola Six Hour, Brands 500 Mile and Barcelona 24 Hour. There are two classes — 250cc and 251750cc. Winners of the 250 award are Spaniards Carlos Roca Mora and Jose Carne, riding a Bultaco Metralla. Points scored are on the same basis as for other world championships, eight for first place, six for second, four for third, down to one for sixth. The Spaniards took their title with nine points from fourth at Imola, third at Brands, and fifth at Barcelona, while Dave Degens and Rex Butcher, who won the 750 class, were first at Brands and second in Barcelona.
Actual overall winners of the Spanish round were the Montesa team of Jose Busquéis and Francesco Villa, who covered nearly 1,500 miles of the twisty Montjuich circuit at almost 62 mph. John Cooper was at the meeting riding an Ossa which packed up very soon after the start. Then, following mechanics’ attention, Cooper dropped it and retired, but may well race a new single-cylinder disc-valve model on the British short circuits. Mick Andrews will be Ossa-mounted for trials and scrambles.
With Friedrichs now world 500cc motocross champion, the results of the remaining rounds are of interest only to see who finishes second and third. Rolf Tibblin, CZ, took second place after the Dutch meeting with 37 points, one in front of Jeff Smith, who did not score. Joint fourth are Bickers and Valek. There are three rounds left, but it is very doubtful if Smith will ride again this season, for in a tragic pile-up during the annual North vs South scramble, he broke a wrist and collarbone. Smith’s teammate, Jerry Scott died from injuries received in the crash. Scott, who was 27, had been riding for nine years and was best known for his rides on the Cheney BSA. He rode for the British team in last year’s Motocross des Nations and was one of the most popular riders in the game. Although a tough and exacting sport, scrambling, or motocross, as it is more often called, rarely gives rise to serious injury and this makes Scott’s death all the more tragic. It stunned spectators and riders alike and the meeting was abandoned.
With two rounds to go in the 250 battle Torsten Hallman, Husqvarna, has still not clinched the title as Joel Robert, CZ, could gain it by winning the two remaining rounds. A difficult task, this, for the Belgian, as he is not 100 percent fit, having sustained a shoulder injury. Hallman won in front of his home crowd at the Swedish round, but was then beaten in Finland by fellow countryman Olle Pettersson, Husqvarna, who scored his firstever grand prix win, with Hallman second.
Paul Friedrichs, whose non-appearance at the British motocross meeting had made him liable to suspension, had a very good tale told by his federation to prevent his being penalized in any way. While some may feel that politics had a big hand in it, one lesson can certainly be learned by the FIM, — that — no sporting calendar should require a rider to compete one weekend, 2,000 miles away from the next meeting, seven days later; the more so, when it involves crossing the Iron Curtain. British fans, however, have been promised that Friedrichs will attend a big international meeting to be held during the month of September.
The Vintage Motor Cycle Club regularly holds meetings for owners of veteran and vintage bikes to ride in regularity runs. They have now made a far-reaching move which will embrace many new
members and bring in a host of new machinery to their gatherings. In addition to the veteran (pre-1914) and vintage (1914-1930) classes, a post-vintage class including anything over 25 years old has been created. The first meeting under this rule was held recently at the Crystal Palace and present, with a borrowed 1918 Indian, was Ed Saczawa, president of the Antique Motor Cycle Club of America. Much of the interesting machinery present will be the subject of a separate article in a later issue.
The Güera rumor has come out for another airing with a report that Minier will have a 500cc model fot the Senior TT. If true, it should make a great battle between the three-cylinder MV of Agostini, Minter’s Güera Four and the two Honda fours of Redman (providing he’s fit) and Hailwood. ■
