Continental Report
CONTINENTAL REPORT
B.R. NICHOLLS
SILVERSTONE IN
Hard on the heels of the Hutchinson 100 meeting reported last month came the big international meeting at Silverstone, the circuit that came back to motorcycle racing last year and was such a success when Hailwood, Agostini and the then-rising star Jarno Saarinen rode.
It is the circuit that many favor for a British Grand Prix meeting instead of the Isle of Man, for it must be one of the safest circuits in the world with the amount of run-off space that is available to riders getting into trouble.
This year the crowds came along as before (over 25,000 of them), but there was no Hailwood as he is fully committed to cars only during 1972 and there was no Agostini, either, as he had to ride back home in Italy.
But there was the new world 250cc road racing champion dubbed by the press as the “Flying Finn” and that, of course, means Jarno Saarinen. Paul Smart and Bruno Spaggiari were there with works Ducatis lined up against the works Triumphs and BSA Threes, as was the John Player Norton team specially strengthened for the occasion by the inclusion of CW’s own Jody Nicholas. To add to the solo stars there was the prospect of a battle between Klaus Enders with the works BMW and Chris Vincent on the four-cylinder Munch outfit.
Fortunately for Nicholas, there was an official practice session on the Thursday before the weekend racing and during that period he was able to sort out the brand new John Player Norton that had been built for him. Bright red leathers with the John Player Norton motif emblazoned on the back together with the rider’s name underlined the professional attitude that goes with that team and makes the guy feel good before he even gets on the bike.
The immaculate presentation has not been rewarded with the success in racing that it deserves, but Norton made it perfectly clear at the outset of the season that it was finding its feet this year and will be looking for results in 1973. With company chairman Dennis Poore, an ex-works Aston Martin driver, and team manager Frank Perris, with something like 15 years experience racing bikes including three years with Suzuki, the support behind the team knows what it is all about. They are doing a tremendous job in creating the right image for racing in this country and abroad wherever they race.
There was more official practice on the Saturday before the main day of racing on Sunday but there was one race late Saturday afternoon and that was for the 750cc sidecar class. By holding it on that day it gave the sidecar boys plenty of time to change engines for the 500 class event on Sunday.
The 2.9-mile circuit at Silverstone is an old airfield, so the course is widewide enough, in fact, to allow 42 sidecar outfits to start in a race and that is exactly how many started in the 750 event on Saturday. But, by the end, the circuit looked more like a breakers yard than a race track as crashes and machine failure sidelined 26 of the entry.
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The race was won by Chris Vincent, on the 750 Munch outfit, who led from start to finish and never gave Enders a chance to catch him. The German got a bad start and just missed a pile-up at the first corner but he fought back from 8th on the first lap to 2nd by the end of lap two. But, there was no chance of catching the leader, Vincent, who set a new lap record at 95.79 mph and in so doing lapped every other competitor with the exception of Enders.
Racing on Sunday started with the 125 event, which was won by Charles Mortimer on the works Yamaha. He made a bad start and half of the 10 laps had passed before he eventually took the lead. The most distinguishing feature of the event was that it was the only one where no record was set.
But the record breaking started in the next race, which was for the 350s, and the line-up included names like Read, Gould, Sheene, Saarinen, Cooper, Rutter, Grant and Jefferies.
At the end of the first lap Mick Grant was leading with Saarinen 2nd and apparently happy to stay there, handily placed behind the leader and in no danger from the pursuers who were led by Rutter, Cooper and Saarinen’s countryman Tevo Lansivouri.
As the last lap began the confident Finn tweaked it that little bit harder and powered past Grant to take 1st place and set a record lap at 104.33 mph.
The production machine race that followed ran pretty well to form with John Williams (Honda) taking the 250 class, Bill Smith (Honda) the 500, and after the customary scrap between Peter Williams (Norton) and Ray Pickrell (Triumph) the 750 division went to the Triumph rider.
The 500 event that followed was interesting as it brought into contention Phil Read, riding one of Agostini’s MVs, and the “big” Yamahas in the hands of Gould, Sheene and Mortimer. For a while it looked as if Gould might pull off a win, but Read slowly mastered the situation and took great satisfaction in breaking Ago’s 500 lap record. In putting it up to 104.53 he knocked almost two seconds off the old figure. Although purely academic, one wonders what MV would have done if Gould had won—it is doubtful if Read would have received another ride.
Then came the battle of the 250s and Read and Gould were joined by Saarinen in a terrific scrap for the lead that had the race speed running higher than the 350s and only 0.02 mph slower than the 500s. On the last lap it looked as if Gould might get the better of Saarinen but the Finn tasted victory and held off the challenge with Read finishing 3rd.
Then Saarinen proceeded to wheel out his 350 to do battle against the big guns in the Allcomers lOOOcc event. He was pitted against the factory 750s of Triumph, BSA, Ducati and John Player Norton.
It was a clutch start and from it Paul Smart led into the first corner but by the third it was already Saarinen out front and on the hangar straight he could be seen to pull away from the bikes twice his capacity. He consistently smashed the absolute motorcycle lap record set by Smart last year on the works Trident and finished by setting a new figure of 106.65 mph compared with 104.95.
Behind him came the old firm of Tait, Cooper and Smart. This was the race that Jody Nicholas came over to ride in, along with the Formula 750 event, but it was not his day. His best ride was in the 750 race where he was having a great scrap with Dave Croxford, Tony Jefferies and Dave Potter, but he retired with a persistent misfire when lying 7th.
The Formula 750 developed into a scrap similar to that for 2nd in the lOOOcc class as Smart, Tait and Cooper fought it out until Smart retired, leaving Tait to get the better of Cooper by four-fifths of a second.
In the sidecar race Klaus Enders gained revenge for his defeat the previous day when he won the 500 class by a street from Chris Vincent (Munch). Enders hurtled round to knock 3.4 sec. off the old record and set a new figure of 96.50 mph. At the finish only three riders escaped being lapped by the winner.
Mortimer, who won the 125cc race on the works Yamaha, has been testing the works Morbidelli whose rider, Gilberto Parlotti, lost his life at the TT this year. The Italian factory is very keen to sign him. There is also a new 350 Morbidelli four-cylinder model on its way and Mortimer’s 4th place in the Silverstone 500 race on a 352 Yamaha shows that he is perfectly capable of riding that, as well. However, he has not signed yet and this is probably due to disagreement over the contract details of what other machinery he would be allowed to ride beside the Morbidelli. If he is not allowed to ride his own Yamahas in the 250 class then his racing would be very much restricted, especial ly as there is no guarantee that the new 350 will be available next season.
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BRITISH MX ROUND
When practicing for the British round of the 250 world championship motocross ended without Joel Robert being present, it was assumed that his teammate, Sylvain Geboers, would win and show that when the world champion was not around then he was the logical successor. After all, who was there to challenge him in his bid to finish runner-up after the setback of early season injury?
The only man likely to stop Geboers from taking that 2nd spot was Hakan Andersson, riding for the rival Yamaha factory, who had himself suffered a broken arm at the beginning of the season to spoil his chances.
At the fall of the starting gate, the field hurtled 400 yards uphill to the first corner, led by Geboers ahead of the Russian Pavel Rulev, riding the Austrian KTM machine, which could become quite a threat if made reliable.
Third and 4th at the end of the first lap were the Czech CZ teammates Jiri Churavy and Jaroslav Falta.
The course was fast and very hard as had been proved in practice when Kalevi Vehkonen on the works Montesa broke the frame and had to get the welding torch working hard. So, too, did Vic Eastwood on the works AJS and many riders were having problems with broken spokes and suspension troubles.
Those troubles were soon asserting themselves again as the Russian Moiseev (CZ) retired with suspension problems and Bultaco-mounted Vic Allan found his spokes loosening, then was further troubled when his exhaust started dragging on the ground.
Rulev’s challenge petered as his back wheel slowly collapsed and sidelined him and the works Kawasaki of Olle Pettersson developed a rear tire puncture. Malcom Davis on the works Bultaco slowed when the steering head bearings started to seize when he was 5th and Geboers was losing his lead, due to suspension problems.
Riding high on the wave of reliability. Falta took the lead from Geboers, and then to add to the Suzuki problems another CZ man, Miroslav Halm, snatched 2nd place on the last lap, relegating Geboers to 3rd. It was beginning to look like a CZ benefit when Churavy finished 4th with Andersson 5th and Vehkonen 6th ahead of Davis, the first British rider home.
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As the Bultaco mechanics busily changed the front end of his machine, Davis must have been pondering whether at long last he was going to finish a British grand prix. Machine problems have always sidelined him on previous occasions.
It was half an hour into the second 40-minute race that he found the answer in a really terrifying manner as he raced down the jumps at the back of course. He had almost reached the bottom when the front wheel collapsed and he took a flier over the bars—out of the race yet again.
Long before that, Geboers had retired with suspension troubles that seem almost unbelievable on a factory mount with so much motocross experience, but it just goes to show how racing can bring out the faults and “improve the breed” as the advertisements used to tell us.
With Falta way out front, seemingly invincible Andersson and Vehkonen were having a hectic “Scandinavians only” dice for 2nd with first one then the other leading the duo. Such was the intensity of their battle that when Andersson eventually pulled clear he was getting close to Falta.
Once he caught the young Czech there were only a couple of laps left to the finish and so he harassed the CZ rider, possibly in the hope that he might make a mistake. But Falta knew that he was assured of overall victory even with 2nd place so refused to get involved with Andersson, who went on to win and so get 2nd place with Vehkonen 3rd. Halm followed in 4th place with the best British rider, Andy Roberton (Husqvarna), coming in 5th.
SWISS MX FINAL
So the young Czech gained his first ever grand prix victory in a most impressive manner, but failed to figure in the final round a week later in Switzerland. That was a disastrous day for Sylvain Geboers, as on the opening lap of the first race he crashed in a pile-up involving several riders, from which he emerged with a broken leg and collarbone.
Joel Robert, back riding after a leg injury, won the first race from KTM-mounted Rulev, with Andersson 3rd. Then, in the second race, Robert retired when the machine started to vibrate badly, but he was not in the lead at the time, as the start-to-finish leader was Russian Gennady Moiseev, mounted on an Austrian KTM. His first place together with 6th in the first leg gave him 3rd overall behind Andersson, who had a 3rd and 2nd to gain his win from Arne Kring (Husqvarna), who had a 4th and 3rd.
Andersson’s win ensured 2nd place in the world championship table ahead of Geboers, while the Montesa concern must have been pleased with the performance of its Finnish works rider Kalevi Vehkonen, who was 4th in the title. Oh, yes, it was so long ago that Joel Robert grabbed the title he almost escaped mention.
At the British motocross meeting, Les Davis, the father of competitor Malcolm, ran a noise meter to see how the international competitors compared with the works machinery they were riding to the official limit allowed at British national meetings which is 100 decibels.
A raucous 114 decibels were recorded against the Suzuki of Geboers, Vehkonen’s Montesa, Pettersson’s Kawasaki and the Husqvarna of Gunnar Lindstrom riding under the Stars and Stripes. Best of all was the AJS of Vic Eastwood at 98, although perhaps the biggest surprise was the KTM that Rulev rode that was very fast and competitive, hitting 104 on the meter.
The motocross news this month is tinged with sadness as Paul Friedrichs has announced his retirement from the world motocross championship scene.
The East German who carved his name in the record books with three title wins on the trot from 1966 to 1968 has proved this season that he is still capable of winning a grand prix, but anno domini has ensured that a championship is now beyond his reach. Having
said that, it seems ridiculous to point out that in the final 500 round of 1972 in a very muddy Luxembourg GP Friedrichs finished runner-up to Jaak Van Velthoven, who grabbed his and Yamaha’s first ever grand prix victory.
But the crux of the matter was that the 12 points he gained for that 2nd place shot him into runner-up position behind Roger DeCoster, the champion. DeCoster, of course, took the title with a maximum 90 points, but the battle for 2nd place was very close with Friedrichs 62, Mikkola 61, Jonsson 60 and Velthoven 57. Now, if DeCoster had not been around, it would have been a real nail-biting finish.
That Yamaha win will have given them great encouragement, especially as on the same day in Sweden Hakan Andersson was doing the same thing for them in the 250 category, then went one better by winning again in Switzerland. That does not mean that Suzuki is all set to lose its supremacy. Far from it, in fact, as it has that little extra something in those very special aces from Belgium, Robert and DeCoster. But things are livening up, particularly in the 250 class where KTM, Montesa, Kawasaki, Bultaco and Yamaha are in contention.
IRON MEN OF MX
The iron men of motocross, those that thunder round in sidecars, have just finished another round in their own European title fight. This time they battled it out in Austria and the winner was the Swiss ace Robert Grogg (Norton Wasp).
His victory gave him the title lead from Dutchman Ton van Heugten by 57 points to 54 and it is a lead that will more than likely give him the championship. The runner-up in Austria was Englishman Mike Guildford, having his best ever championship ride. Next month we shall know just who the champion is.
NINTH TRIALS ROUND
On the trials front, Martin Lampkin won the 9th round of the European trial championship held in Finland. Riding his works Bultaco, he finished two marks in front of his teammate, Malcolm Rathmell. In 3rd place came reigning champion Mick Andrews (Ossa), riding with a poisoned hand but already the winner of the 1972 title.
A week after the Finnish round the riders met again in Sweden to do battle and there came the biggest upset of the series. Andrews was not riding, as he had broken his machine during a teachin a few days earlier, but the other English riders got the shock of their lives when beaten by Tore Vesterinen (Bultaco) from Finland. He lost 21 marks and Hans Bengtsson, also Bultaco mounted, from Sweden, lost 24. It was the first time during the series that an Englishman had failed to win, our best rider being Rathmell in 3rd place with 27.
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Statesiders who met Rob Edwards during his trials teaching trip to the States will be sorry to hear that Rob stripped some teeth from his gearbox sprocket on the first section and the handicap of a jumping chain kept him well out of the running.
CRYSTAL PALACE
The Crystal Palace has been a world famous landmark in London since the original building was erected in Hyde Park for the Great Exhibition of 1851. It was subsequently moved to a site in south London but then destroyed by fire. All that was left was one tall tower and that was blown up during the war to prevent it being used as a landmark for enemy bombers.
But the grounds are still a public park and motorcycle racing has taken place there since the late 1920s. It staged speedway and road racing since the war, but there has never been the right promotion to draw the crowds. The last big name to really mean anything was John Surtees, and he rode the MV Four there when he brought it to England for the first time.
Lack of spectators and complaints from the local populous about noise have led to the closure of the circuit and now the last meeting has been held. The track, only five miles from the center of London, is lost forever and part of the blame must surely lie in the noise problem.
Almost half a century of racing has disappeared into oblivion with the names of the winners of no consequence really because all the big names including Agostini were racing at Oulton Park. It was fitting that there should be a parade of vintage bikes, though only enthusiasts and historians will have been able to recognize all of them and name some of the riders enjoying past glory with a final trip round the 1.39-mile circuit.
Yes, a healthy minority has lost an outlet for their enthusiasm in a public park built for the benefit of all, but restricted by public pressure and perhaps our own stupidity in not doing something about noise pollution. m
