Innehållsförteckning för September - October 2019 från Classic Racer

There comes a moment in every racer’s life when he’s sure he’s passed the slippery stuff – when he’s seen the obstacle in front of him, identified the course of action needed to avoid it and ridden the correct line. In the F750 event at Brands, Jeff Sayle (Yamaha) had manfully avoided the cement powder-covered oil slick going into Druids – the white-clouded evidence of a previous race mishap by another rider. With that bit of focus-pulling race decision-making aside, Jeff could really concentrate on getting out of the corner as fast as possible – full lean angle, fix the stare, nice dollop of throttle. Dammit. A fraction too much lean or a fraction too much gas? Either way, the result was the same. At least it didn’t happen on…

It is with great sadness that I write this tribute to a long-time Japanese Suzuki Team icon who was one of Suzuki’s flagship riders and my friend of 59 years. When we first met each other at the 1960 TT, whilst sharing the same hotel, I was riding as a member of the Geoff Monty Team. His name (unknown way back then) was Mitsuo Itoh, a 22-year-old employee of the Suzuki Motorcycle Company in Japan. His lifelong career was spent with Suzuki, working up through the ranks as an engineer and then joining the factory racing team to ride alongside his world champion team-mate Hugh Anderson. He supported him in the 50cc, 125cc and occasionally the 250 class on board the rather frightening 250 four, which in those days was…

One of the highlights of The Cadwell Park Sidecar Festival, held in June, (and there were many), was the sponsored passenger rides in the sidecars, raising money for charity. One of the first to hold her hand up was the landlady of the Wheatsheaf, in Louth, Lincs, Linda Proctor. Local sidecar team, Andy and Joanne Thomas kindly donated the outfit, with Andy doing the driving. The look on Linda’s face when she returned to the paddock, after a couple of spirited laps, was a picture. Thanks to the generosity of Wheatsheaf customers, and Linda’s family and friends she raised £700, which will be split between the Lincolnshire and Nottingham Air Ambulance and the TT Riders’ Association. In the opinion of many regulars at Cadwell Park, this is the best meeting…

Back to the racing and the season started in the worst possible fashion at the Daytona 200, when a high speed spill, due to a brake fault, left John with a fractured skull and injured ankle, forcing him to miss the opening round of the Formula 750cc world championship in Venezuela. His toughness and determination meant he was back racing much quicker than the specialists and doctors thought though and by the French GP at Le Mans, late in April, he was back in the saddle and beginning to learn how to ride the new, four-cylinder 500cc Suzuki. Having qualified in sixth, a great start saw John tuck into second spot behind Johnny Cecotto, although he continued to suffer a problem with the location of the lower pair of exhaust…

YEAR: 1969 // LOCATION: ISLE OF MAN On a day much like any other, one rider gracefully gets out of the way for another coming through on a faster lap. On this particular day though it wasWT Lindsay doing the honourable thing as Hailwood, M, made haste during the 1959 250TT. Bet a lesson or two was learned during these fleeting moments – from how to get to the apex to when to apply the power. Every day is a school day, after all.…

The October/November issue of Classic Racer is on sale in all good newsagents from October 17, 2019. It’s definitely going to be on sale in a few iffy newsagents from that date too. We don’t know what type of newsagent you have near you (our observation cameras don’t reach as far as your living room) but we’re sure that you will be able to find the next issue of this lovely magazine. If you can’t though (imagine if it sells out, again...) and you’d like to have the issue as part of a great subscription deal delivered to your door, then call us on 01507 529529 and we’ll take care of the rest. CLIVE WALL From Saarinen to Sheene and most things in-between I HAVE A DREAM How the Silver…

When Don Morley sent us this image for our Fausto feature on page 28 of this very issue, we had a problem.We desperately wanted to show you this photo, but we had no room in which to do it.The solution: put it into the Archive slot for this episode of Classic Racer. So here we are then, an additional bit of racing goodness on the subject of the small bikes in 1980s GP racing. We give you the pole position man, Fausto Gressini on bike number 2 (far left of the grid) with a handy bottle of Coca-Cola on the floor next to him should the Italian need a caffeinated, sugary glug before the off. Anyone out there fancy having a go at identifying the rest of the grid? It’s…

Genius engineer Allen Millyard, will be showcasing many of his wild and wacky creations at The Carole Nash Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show in October when he is a guest of honour. Allen is renowned for creating mind-boggling bikes, having built more than 30 multi-cylinder machines ranging from four and five-pot, two-stroke Kawasaki machines, to a V12 based on a Z1300. Over more than two decades he’s produced dozens of Kawasaki fours, fives, little Honda V-twins, V8 and V12 Kawasakis, the Viper V10, the Flying Millyard five-litre V-twin and the six-cylinder RC374 Hailwood Tribute. His Viper V10 is by far his most ambitious project to date. Not only was 90% of it hand-made by Millyard himself in the single garage at his home in Thatcham, Berkshire, but the machine is fully…

To win at Goodwood, BMW are entering one of their most recent acquisitions, the legendary RS500 OL Special built in the US in the 1960s by German ex-pat Oscar Liebmann and raced to copious success in the US and Canada by his son Kurt. It was an honour to be the first person outside the Liebmann family to ride the Daytona-winning BMW. Kurt trucked the bike up to Pocono Speedway in the Pennsylvania mountains and it wasn’t until we started chatting about the OL Special that I realised just how much endeavour Oscar expended in creating the motorcycle bearing his initials. It might look like a BMW Rennsport externally but the engine owed more to OL’s talents as engineer and machinist than to the race shop of the Bavarian company.…

THE 500’S PURPOSE WAS TO CONFIRM THE V-TWIN CONCEPT TO THE CONTEMPORARY (AND HOPEFULLY 750GT BUYING) PUBLIC, RATHER THAN TO BE A FULLY FLEDGED CONTENDER IN GRAND PRIX RACING. WHILE BASICALLY SIMILAR TO THE 750’S MOTOR THE 500’S WAS QUITE DIFFERENT IN DETAIL.…

A luckless Alan Oversby pushed Coward hard in both the 350cc and 500cc races before being forced to retire, while Coward could also argue that he was on for even more possible successes in two other races when he was beset by mechanical issues. Enjoying some of the best conditions of the TT festival, the seven solo races in the Blackfords Financial Services-sponsored meeting all took place on the Bank Holiday Monday. Jeff Ward, of Sandbach, finally won the 250cc Lightweight on Jeff Carbutt’s Suzuki twin after finishing third in the previous three editions. Pole-setter and the first away, he was initially pressed hard by 2017 and 2018 winner Mike Hose on the Ariel Arrow, but the Suzuki was more than three seconds clear after the first lap. He later…

The man behind Louigi Moto is Richard Llewellin. Known as ‘Louigi’ to his friends because of his love of Italian bikes, Richard’s been spannering since he was a young lad. After training as a master mechanic in Keynsham, Richard made a name for himself in the custom car and hotrod scene, fixing, building and racing vehicles during the 1980s. He started RL Motor Services in 1986 which eventually evolved into Louigi Moto. Richard noticed that many Ducati owners weren't satisfied with the cost and quality of work they were getting from their local dealer and that’s how Louigi Moto was born. He’s since gone on to build a company with an enviable reputation, Richard’s experience and passion is well recognised throughout the Ducati community both in the UK and abroad.…

Now back to its roots, the VMCC Festival of 1000 Bikes proved hugely popular with those on track and spectators alike. Always a favourite with the crowd is the John Cooper and Giacomo Agostini reenactment of the famous Race of theYear dice they had, and both legends returned to the paddock to provide the fun and games. The combination of an open paddock, stunning race bikes, live music in the evening and great British summer weather made for a successful event at Mallory Park.…

The response to editor Tony’s competition, (which, typical of him comes with no prize), has certainly achieved his aim, filling my email inbox to capacity. The last issue of Classic Racer hit your doormats while I was on an extended Isle of Man TT break, which meant I hadn’t looked over the proof pages. So you can imagine my surprise when I did my daily email check and found all the answers – when I didn’t know what the question was! When I finally picked up a copy of Classic Racer it took me a little time to name the riders, while the circuit, Mallory Park, was fairly easy, and by the mix of riders it had to be a Post TT meeting. But I’ll be honest and say the…

The distinctive Repsol Honda had been fastest in the morning’s free practice. The afternoon counted for grid positions, but lunchtime rain had dampened proceedings. Now the first 500 qualifying session was almost half done, with the puddles drying and the lap times dropping. Doohan spent the first 23 minutes “just monitoring what the other guys were doing. No point just burning fuel. If the guys started to go a bit quicker, then I’d go out and see,” he told me from his Gold Coast home in Australia, recalling the incident in every detail. The five-times champion was getting up to speed as he started his third flying lap. Orange and blue big-bang Honda NSR growling, he flew past and disappeared out of sight into the first corner. About 30sec later,…

Michael was born on April 11,1931 in Plumstead London and the family later moved to Camberwell. His father Bill was a butcher by trade, but he was also a grasstrack rider so as a boy, Mike inevitably spent most of his weekends at grass meetings. He eventually made his racing debut at Leatherhead grasstrack in August 1947 on a KSS Velocette. By 1949 he had inherited his dad’s JAP special, which he modified and renamed the OM Special. With the OM fitted with racing tyres he started racing at the Haddenham circuit, where he recorded several second and third places. This led to the offer from Tom Arter of a 7R for the September 1949 meeting at Scarborough, where he finished a respectable eighth. In 1950 his uncle Jim Oliver…

INTERVIEW CR: HOW DIDYOU GET INTO BIKES? RL: As a boy I had a fascination for motorcycles and aeroplanes and I was the most excited kid in the street when I got my first bike – an FS1E – in the spring of 1976 when I was 16. Man, that summer was the best. I had freedom, a proper job and it was hot. Life was good. By the time I turned 17, I wanted more speed so I went out and bought a SuzukiTS185 and discovered the local green lanes (which were still in abundance back then). I then progressed to more serious competition machinery and started to compete in local off-road events, working my way up to Enduro racing. It was much to the dismay of my father,…

The Bob Mac meeting gives fans and riders alike a true sense of what classic racing is meant to be, with plenty to hear, smell and vibrate through the feet over the course of two days. This year proved to be a very special occasion as Bob’s daughter Eleanor was in attendance to present the prizes; also in his honour a clutch of his bikes took part in the parades, including a delicious four-cylinder 500cc Gilera which Eleanor had sourced from Remo Venturi. With riders assembled from all over the UK and Ireland as well as a healthy smattering of Continental charioteers participating in the International Florian Camathias Cup races, the Scottish Classic Racing Club should be very proud that it can attract such depth and variety to the East…

British Historic Racing’s third racing weekend of the year was held at the lovely one-mile-long Kent circuit of Lydden, just a few miles outside of Dover. It’s always good to see when circuit owners invest in their facility, and that’s certainly true here – money has been spent on new toilet and shower blocks and the control tower/timekeepers/ commentary building is excellent. In the world of Classic Racing these things mean a lot. Practice started promptly on Saturday morning, but shortly after the on-track excitement was stopped, apparently due to concerns about excessive noise. After a delay, this was sorted thanks to the efforts of the circuit management, which came to an agreement with locals and the racing programme got underway. A packed programme of 34 races and four parades…