Innehållsförteckning för November - December 2020 från Classic Racer

// DATE: JUNE 10, 1963 // LOCATION: ISLE OF MAN Mitsuo Ito, still the only Japanese rider to win an Isle of ManTT victory, was something of an industry legend and – according to the many Suzuki employees past and present – a real character… Ito-san was a dyed-in-the-wool Suzuki man, making his Grand Prix debut in 1961 in France and he skilfully took his Suzuki RK67 to the win in the 1963 Ultra-LightweightTT. If this win cemented his place in racing andTT history, it was his career at Suzuki that made him a company legend. With hisTT win and subsequent four, 5th place finishes in the 50cc World Championship between 1962 and 1965, his last Grand Prix win came at the Japanese Grand Prix in 1967. Following his retirement…

Classic racing enthusiasts will be pleased to hear that replica Rickman forks will once more be available soon. Originally introduced for the Rickman Metisse in the mid-1960s, these forks were popular on both race and road machines. With 41.3mm stanchions they offer superior handling characteristics when compared to everything else on the market – so it says in their ad blurb. E-N Products has made a lot of effort to produce the original fork that is dimensionally correct, though with the benefit of modern CNC machining and quality systems has improved the end product. E-N worked closely with Maxton Engineering on this project to ensure Maxton’s SD25 cartridge will fit the fork correctly with no modification required. The first batch should be available by the end of October. To get…

// DATE: AUGUST 6, 1995 // LOCATION: BRANDS HATCH Yamaha was groomingYasutomo Nagai for success on the world stage in the early 1990s. Yasu raced in the All-Japan championships and took a win in the 1994 Bol d’Or with Christian and Dominique Sarron before joining a young Colin Edwards in the new Yamaha World Superbike factory team for 1995. Nagai was the first regular Japanese star in WSB, paving the way for the likes of AkiraYanagawa, WataruYoshikawa and Noriyuki Haga. He added a welcome dash of colour to the series, with the trademark Japanese ‘moon-eyes’ Arai, but including his trademark ‘spiderweb’ design. His style was loose and aggressive (he earned the anger of Brits Carl Fogarty and John Reynolds that season) but he was always entertaining to watch and he…

Great article on Mack the master Dear CR Really enjoyed the Niall Mackenzie article in the latest issue of Classic Racer – it reminds me very much of my times following Grand Prix racing in the 1980s and 90s and latterly the British Superbike championship, of which Niall was champion three times. I spent a lot of my time on the road on both two wheels and four in a bid to take in as many foreign Grand Prix rounds as I could –when I could afford it and get around easier than I can now! On a few occasions I was lucky enough to get into the paddock itself – mainly at some Italian events (friends ‘knew’ the right people) and at a few Dutch TTs (a nice, laid-back…

Pembrey cancelled! Buoyed by the success of the CRMC’s Cadwell Park and Darley Moor meetings, everything was set for a brilliant weekend of racing at the Pembrey circuit in South Wales, over the weekend of September 26/27 – but it was not to be. Despite all the challenges that came with running a race meeting under the restrictions imposed by the Government and the sport’s governing body – the ACU – there had been no problems whatsoever and as a result all those who attended Cadwell Park and Darley Moor had an excellent weekend of classic racing. Because of Pembrey circuit’s efforts in liaising with the Government and local authority, it seemed that the CRMC would be able to finish the year in style. One of the late restrictions placed…

It’s nice to be able to recall two amazing double championship wins in this issue of Classic Racer. For many of a certain age, Freddie Spencer was their favourite 500cc champion ever: I know of three biker friends who named their children after the great man himself. We recall his 250cc and 500cc world title double in this issue. Not to be outdone, Scotland’s Ian Simpson talks to us about his legendary 1994 double – taking the Duckhams Norton rotary superbike to the national title as well as theYamaha FZR600R to the Supersport 600 crown. Both make for very interesting reading. We all know the importance of the ‘team’ when it comes to any form of racing and – often – this team is family-based. This issue, we look at…

IN DE TAIL: The NSR500 brought Honda to a period of total domination of the 500cc World Road Race Championship by the mid-1990s. In 1984, Honda wheeled out their first four-cylinder two-stroke race bike. Like the NR500, some radical ideas were incorporated – the fuel tank being under and the exhausts going over the engine to achieve a lower centre of gravity, thought to improve handling. Freddie Spencer’s initial impressions were negative, with the lack of ‘pitch’ not loading the front tyre enough under braking. For 1985, both the engine and chassis were redesigned, now looking more conventional. To reduce internal friction, all Honda NSR500 engines used a single crankshaft, saving the extra main bearings a twin crank design required. 1987 saw a major engine design change, the angle between…

// DATE: JUNE 8, 2003 // LOCATION: MUGELLO The Aprilia RS3 or ‘RS Cube’ was a problem child, at best. Launched at the Bologna Show at the end of 2001, ready for the new four-stroke MotoGP season the following year, it was to be ridden by former 500cc race winner Regis Laconi. He would take a best result of 8th (twice) with the team taking 33 points in the manufacturer’s championship. Designed by Cosworth Racing, it was thought that the three-cylinder motor was a sliver of a Formula 1 engine, complete with ride-by-wire throttle and pneumatically actuated valves. At times in its debut season, it would record the highest top speeds and was considered equal with the Honda RC211V’s power output of around 230bhp… For 2003 the bike was ridden…

After a shortened classic racing season, Richard Molnar decided to take his Molnar Manx to NG’s Cadwell Park meeting and entered the Open 500 race, just to get some track time. The Open 500 attracts an eclectic field of bikes, including Yamaha and Kawasaki 400s and a mix of high performance modern bikes from Aprilia and Honda. They also share the grid with the Mini-twins of 650cc – either Suzuki SVs or Kawasaki ER-6F/N. Richard was regularly lapping in the 1min 41sec bracket as he took two race wins and a second place finish. Richard said: “That wasn’t too bad at all really. I had a few people ask if I had disc brakes hidden in those drums; how much power the bike makes and how I can go fast…

The Dan Kneen Charitable Fund has handed over two sizeable cheques to organisations closely associated with motorsport. The Covid-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on fund-raising globally, and the Isle of Man is no exception. The Rob Vine Fund, set up following the death of a rider from Dover in the 1985 TT, gives invaluable support to many branches of motorsport in the island and beyond. In addition to supplying equipment and providing administrative services it is also directly linked to Hogg Motorsport (in memory of local rider Phil Hogg), which provides rescue ambulances and highly-trained personnel. Secretary and director of the Rob Vine Fund, Dr David Stevens MBE, a retired consultant radiologist at Noble’s Hospital, confirmed that the fund is down £150,000 in the year to date because…

Valentino Rossi – the definitive biography By Stuart Barker Price: £18.99 The latest biography by noted bikesport author Stuart Barker, this looks at the life and career of arguably the greatest motorcycle racer of all time – Valentino Rossi. Rossi’s Grand Prix career has spanned almost 25 years and nine world championships. Using exclusive new interviews with those who have been part of Rossi’s story from start to finish, Barker has produced the most in-depth book ever written about the Italian superstar – a tale of speed, love and loss, told in full for the very first time. Barker has worked with Niall Mackenzie and Steve Hislop on their biographies as well as doing books on David Jefferies and Evel Knievel. Available from: www.whsmith.co.uk…

“RACING FOR THE MORRIS CLAN WAS ALWAYS ABOUT FAMILY – EVEN IF SOME OF THE TEAM CREW WEREN’T ACTUALLY RELATED TO US! DAD WAS THE TALENTED ENGINEER AND RACER, WHILE MUM WAS THE REASON THAT CHRYSALIS RACING FLEW LIKE THE BUTTERFLY IT WAS.” ‘The paddock was our social life’, my mum used to say. After all, we were more likely to indulge in beans on toast in the pit garage than cordon bleu at the à la carte restaurant. Weekends away generally involved standing in the pouring rain, fingers and toes being bereft of all feeling. I would stand robust against the torrent, warmed by the sight of my dad extending a seven second lead around a sopping wet racetrack. I’d have my Auntie Dawn for company and my nan…

Don Morley was Rothmans Honda’s photographer during the 1985 double season, and he saw at first hand the pressure on Freddie to land the title and the way he dealt with it: or not! “Looking back on 1985, Freddie took his new GP bikes to Daytona where he won the Daytona 200 on the NSR500 and the Daytona 250 race on the new RS-W. From there it was on to Spain for a pre-season (and very private) test, as Honda had a new sponsor – Rothmans – so I had to do all the team pictures for posters, stickers and the like, as well as team portraits and action shots. “Freddie however failed to arrive, meaning about 50 of us were just kicking our heels, wondering where the hell he…

Such is the love for Mike Hailwood now, almost 40 years after his untimely death, it’s easy to forget things weren’t always that way. Hailwood had to earn that love the hard way, by his skills on a motorcycle and by the humility of his character because, for the first few years of his career, he was hated in UK race paddocks. Don Morley remembers the anti-Hailwood feeling well and saw, at first hand, how it came about. Morley is one of the most respected photographers in the world: he was friends with Muhammad Ali (and took some of the most iconic pictures of him), he photographed The Beatles on their first UK tour, was caught up in the murderous Munich Olympics in 1972, has been shot at in war…