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#206
DOUBLE DOU OU UBLE FAST FREDDIE’S 1985 DOUBLE
IAN SIMPSON’S BRIT BRACE!
HONDA RC30
MONDIAL 250 GP
Delectable dustbin!
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WHAT’SINSIDE
006 Archive
Three very different archive images this issue look at the first (and only) Japanese winner of an Isle of Man TT race, as well as a much-missed Japanese racer in World Superbikes, and a machine which was much-maligned.
012 Crossword
Our regular crossword is another mix of classic racing clues with the carrot on a stick being the chance to win a pair of Weise Montana gloves! Go for it!
014 Readers write
We are told to answer – so we do! Mackenzie is applauded and much, much more…
016 Paddock Gossip
CRMC’s event at Pembrey falls foul of the Covid-19 crisis, Manx Norton beats modern machines and champions are celebrated.
022 SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE
In these traumatic times, the best way to buy your favourite racing magazine is to do it this way – SUBSCRIBE! Not only do you get it delivered to your door BEFORE it hits the shelves, you won’t need to venture out of your shed/garage so you get more ‘you’ time with the bike/s.
024 Ted Mellors
The almost secret story of the legendary Ted T Mellors looked at in this ‘whatever happened to’. h
026 0 NSU Sportmax 251RS
A 1955 machine that helped the legend hat would become Mike Hailwood to th ome early wins. Here, Alan Cathcart so des both the ‘bird-beak’ and the ‘fullrid nclosure’ models of this machine. en
036 Polished Privateer!
We celebrate both the beauty and power of Honda’s VFR750R RC30 and the genius of the underrated Steve Ward – a truly talented road-race privateer. This bike has been restored as an homage to Steve himself.
042 Line Art: 1995 Honda NSR500
We feel we’ve wasted Mick Ofield’s beautiful line-art over a single page – so here we go… From this issue, have a spread of this amazing artwork. This issue, we look at the 1995 Honda NSR500 Grand Prix race machine.
044 A family affair
Families often go race… and – as a result – the various non-related hangers-on, helpers and friends become part of the ‘larger family’ in the race paddocks. Here’s a heartfelt story from Neil Morris, of his time with his family’s team – Chrysalis Racing.
052 Iconic Metal: FB Mondial 250 Bialbe
Check out this delectable 1957 dustbinfaired machine which was the mount of the legendary Tarquinio Provini. This is the actual bike that the great man himself came second on in the 1957 title chase.
ISSUE206 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER2020 ACTING EDITOR Bertie Simmonds bsimmonds@mortons.co.uk PUBLISHER Tim Hartley thartley@mortons.co.uk CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Neil Morris, Stuart Barker, Gary D Chapman, Alan Cathcart, Phil Aynsley, Jeff Ware, James Robinson, Mick Ofield, Fred Pidcock, Pete Morris PRODUCTION EDITOR Sarah Wilkinson DESIGNERS Michael Baumber, Charlotte Fairman DIVISIONAL ADVERTISING MANAGER Tom Lee ADVERTISING Kieron Deekens 01507 529413 kdeekens@mortons.co.uk
060 Freddie Spencer’s double
Thirty-five long years ago, Freddie Spencer and his amazing Honda team did what many thought would be impossible: the 250cc and 500cc double. Here – in his own words and that of his team – is the story of this stupendous achievement.
SALES AND DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Carl Smith MARKETING MANAGER Charlotte Park PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Dan Savage COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Nigel Hole EDITORIAL ADDRESS Mortons Media Group, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR UK WEBSITE www.classicracer.com GENERAL QUERIES AND BACK ISSUES 01507 529529 24hr answerphone help@classicmagazines.co.uk www.classicmagazines.co.uk ARCHIVE ENQUIRIES Jane Skayman 01507 529423 jskayman@mortons.co.uk
SUBSCRIPTION Full subscription rates (but see page 22 for offer): (12 months, six issues, inc post and packing) – UK £27. Export rates are also available – see page 22 for more details. UK subscriptions are zero-rated for the purposes of Value AddedTax. DISTRIBUTION Marketforce (UK) Ltd, 3rd Floor, 161 Marsh Wall, London E14 9AP USA SUBSCRIPTIONS
066 Ian Simpson double
CLASSIC RACER (USPS:706-150) is published bi-monthly by Mortons Media Group Ltd, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6LZ UK. USA subscriptions are $30 per year from Motorsport Publications LLC, 7164 Cty Rd N #441, Bancroft WI 54921. Periodical Postage is paid at Bancroft, WI and additional entries. Postmaster: Send address changes to CLASSIC RACER, c/o Motorsport Publications LLC, 7164 Cty Rd N #441, Bancroft WI 54921. 715-572-4595 chris@ classicbikebooks.com
072 Hated Hailwood!
Printed by William Gibbons & Sons, Wolverhampton ISSN No 1470-4463
Not to be outdone is our own Ian Simpson. Back in 1994 he accidentally took on the demands of the double when he joined Duckhams Norton, but then had to take on the supersport 600 title to help pay the bills. How and why did he manage to take both titles? Read on... Mike ‘The Bike’ Hailwood became one of the most loved motorcycle racers of all time – but it wasn’t always so. With massive financial backing from dad Stan, and his talent, many in those first paddocks he went into didn’t think much of the soon-to-be greatest rider ever…
080 Green Meanie
From our friends down under, read the story of a rare road-going homologation special that was ridden, crashed, track-dayed and then turned into an homage of Australia’s greatest racing wild-child – Anthony Gobert.
© Mortons Media Group Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage retrieval system without prior permission in writing from the publisher.
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// 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 presen nt – 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 from motorcycle racing, Ito’s career at Suzuki blossomed as did the legend of the man himself. Moving on to four wheels, Ito was team-mate to the late, great Sir Stirling Moss for a 1968 one-off high-speed run along Italy’s 450 mile Autostrada del Sole (The Sun Motorway) and raced a Suzuki Fronte RF single-seat car in the Junior Seven Challenge Cup Race at Fuji International Speedway in 1970 – an event which he won. In later years Ito-san would be instrumental in the careers of many Suzuki factory riders, including that of Kevin Schwantz, who took the 1993 500cc world title for the factory. Ito himself would return to the Isle of Man in 2008 as a spectator and guest of Suzuki GB, was inducted into Japan’s Motorcycle Sport Hall of Fame in late 2018 and sadly passed away in 2019.
6 ClassicRacer
Photograph: Nick Nicholls Collection at Mortons Archive
Inspirational Ito!
ClassicRacer 7
CLASSIC RACER ARCHIVE
// 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 ‘mooneyes’ 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 took three podiums in his all-too-short WSB career. When this shot was taken – at Brands Hatch – Nagai had taken third in race two, but was deemed to have overtaken under a yellow flag, thus promoting Reynolds into third. TheYZF750SP when it appeared in factory form in World Superbikes was a real screamer. Edwards said: “Yasu and me wanted a bike that would have power from about 8000rpm, but the YZF only really started making power from around 11,000! It really was like the old-style 500cc GP bikes. We were in trouble when we got to tight tracks with corners, but places like Hockenheim (where weirdly we ran EXUP valves in the exhausts) we did well. We needed more torque but only ran EXUP at that race, so the power was either on or off!” Sadly Nagai was to lose his life at Assen in 1995, just as Carl Fogarty wrapped up his second World Superbike championship. The 29-year-old Japanese rider crashed hisYZF on oil left by Fabrizio Pirovano’s Ducati. This was the first fatality in the championship’s history and the Yamaha World Superbike team pulled out of the final two rounds of the series as a mark of respect. He posthumously finished fifth in the overall standings that year.
Photograph: Nick Nicholls Collection at Mortons Archive
Yasutomo Nagai
ClassicRacer 9
CLASSIC RACER ARCHIVE
Aprilia RS Cube
// 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 by the reigning World Superbike Champion Colin Edwards and fellow WSB refugee Noriyuki Haga seen here – complete with a factory Michelin tyre contract after a year on Dunlops. Edwards had a baptism of fire (literally) on the Cube. As a rider, he’d never had a high-side since 1996… but during Jerez tests in early 2003 he was exiting Curva Sito Pons when the rear began to slide. “I shut the throttle but the rear continued to slide – I told her to back down but she told me to f*ck off! I was in the air and came
down with a thump.That’s what comes of a rideby-wire throttle, I guess…” His later incident was when – at the Sachsenring – a loose fuel cap popped out spraying him with fuel which ignited when he was doing 120mph. He decided to bail out of the fireball that was his Aprilia triple… Edwards’ best finish that year was a 6th and Haga’s a 7th. For 2004 the bikes were ridden by Jeremy McWilliams and Shane Byrne who finished the year in 19th and 20th places in the MotoGP championship respectively. It was to be the last year for the RS3. Aprilia would not return to MotoGP until 2015.
Photograph: Nick Nicholls Collection at Mortons Archive
ClassicRacer 11
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Across 1 & 4: The answer to a Roger Burnett question “Who’s that w*nker on the Bimota?” (9,7) 7:Two legendary initials that went on a two-wheeled racing Proton. (2) 8: Soviet-made GP bikes of the 1960s, nothing to do withYuri Gagarin, despite the name. (6) 10 & 18 Across: Weapons from Birmingham that formed a legendary biking brand. (5,4) 11: Monsieur Poncharal, team owner for years who has finally won at the highest level. (5) 12: See 30 Down 13: BigTerry, famous Loctite Yamaha man. (5) 16: Senor Kissling, winner of the last GP of 1961, at his home circuit of Buenos Aires. (5) 17 & 20 Down: A popular part within the intake track of a twostroke engine barrel. (4,5) 18: See 10 Across 19: ___ -__ Voddy, popular viewing
section abou ut 10 miles into theTT Mountain Course. (5,1) 22: Senor Molina, midfield 125cc & 250cc GP man around the turn of the century. (6) 23: Spaniard who only took a single 500cc win in the 1990s but influenced the careers of many of his countrymen. (4)
35 & 24 Across: Raffaele, former 250cc rookie of the year who switched to the Superbike paddock. (2,4) 36 & 21 Down: Italian who took a single 125cc world title and two 50cc titles for MBA and Kreidler. (7,9)
24: See 35 Across
37: Varese factory whose name came from their aircraft-making origins. (9)
26: Silverstone corner added before Club in the mid-1990s. (4)
Down
28: Coventry-made British Manufacturer who wonTTs in the 1930s with Graham Walker, amongst others. (5) 31: Their first 500cc GP win was also Eddie Lawson’s last. (6) 32: Jean-Marc, French 80cc GP racer in the 1980s (of course!). (5) 33: British champion on two wheels and world champion on three, his son is also doing well on two. (5) 34: Swiss legend who is the only competitor to have scored points in 6 different Grand Prix categories, from 50cc to 500cc and even sidecars! (6)
1 & 25 Down: Slow downhill hairpin, before a dip, towards the end of the Isle of ManTT Course lap. (9,6) 2: Double AMA champion who beat future world champions but never went chasing that title. (6) 3: Dr. Evil’s helmet brand? As worn by Fogarty at the start of his WSB career. (5) 4: The first on-track excursion at most race meetings. (4,8) 5: 16 Down was part of the Armada from this village in County Antrim, where they now hold races as tribute to the Legends of Road Racing. (5)
6: Fast and long first corner at Thruxton. (5) 9: Country that hasn’t hosted a motorcycle race since a major car racing accident in 1954. (11) 13: Signor Venturi, Italian 500cc man who was overshadowed by his MV Agusta team-mate John Surtees. (4) 14: Kidderminster’s finest sidecar racer. (4,7) 15: South American double world champ with the best moustache in the history of motorcycle racing. (6,6) 16:Yer Maun’s real middle name. (6) 20: See 17 Across 21: See 36 Across 25: See 1 Down 27: This ‘circuito’ has hosted GPs of Spain, Portugal, FIM, Europe, and more aptly, the Community of Madrid. (6) 29: A vital hand protector. (5) 30 & 12 Across: Outdid his rival #34 in world titles, but not GP wins. (5,6)
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