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#203
ww ww.classicracer.com where legends live on...
JO OEY THE REALL STORY... BY THOSE WHO KNEW TH HE GREAT DUNLOP BEST
BEAUTIFUL BEAST
WAYNE’S WORLD! Awesome Yamaha YZR500
S raight-talking Gardner St tel t ls it like it really was
WHAT’SINSIDE
006 Classic Racer Archive
017 Paddock Gossip
Benefits to social isolation?... There aren’t too many, but it did give us time to look through the archive here at Classic Racer and come up with these great images from Nick Nicholls and Mark Wernham’s collections. Old ‘pals’ Sheene and Read, the ‘new wave’ of Superbike stars in 2000, and a blast from a past master, the Mighty Mike, are this edition’s pictorial delights.
There’s news, there’s gossip, it’s about racing and it’s from the paddock... and there’s bits on Covid-19.
Another lovely piece of penmanship from Mick Ofield – the Velocette KTT is a thing of beauty and was a ‘positive step’ forward, not just for the motor, but for the gear change.
012 Crossword
026 SUBSCRIBE
Some like it across, some like it down, we like it in small boxes and always about racing. Try this edition’s crossword... Go on, you have the time.
014 Readers Write Your thoughts, missives and moans, brickbats and bouquets, memories and corrections where we perhaps (probably) didn’t know something. You’re right, it’s the page you write.
024 Line Art
Seriously, why wouldn’t you do this? It’s a great deal whereby you can stay indoors and avoid all those viruses and people with face masks, you get money off the price of Classic Racer – which you already know is one damn fine magazine, it’s delivered to your door and you get it a bit earlier than it comes out in the shops – which you might not be allowed in anyway! It’s win, win... You know it makes sense.
NEXT ISSUE
Hard rid er – Mighty m Dave Croxford etal – Bu ltaco TSF 125... an d much, much more. Or der your s now. On sale J une 18
ISSUE203 MAY/JUNE 2020 EDITOR Tony Carter jclements@mortons.co.uk
SUBSCRIPTION MANAGER Paul Deacon
PUBLISHER Tim Hartley thartley@mortons.co.uk
CIRCULATION MANAGER Steven O’Hara
CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Don Morley, Nick Nicholls Collection, JonoYardley, Alan Cathcart, Mick Ofield, Phil Aynsley, Fred Pidcock, Jeffrey Zani, Stuart Barker, Norm DeWitt, Hamish Cooper
MARKETING MANAGER Charlotte Park
PRODUCTION EDITOR Sarah Wilkinson DESIGNER Michael Baumber GROUP ADVERTISING MANAGER Sue Keily
028 Who was Joey Dunlop?
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
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ARCHIVE ENQUIRIES Jane Skayman 01507 529423 jskayman@mortons.co.uk
We all know Joey, right? The greatest road racer of all time was adored by millions, but very few got to see the real Joey. We hear from some of those who did – friends, family, colleagues – and who could understand what he was saying too!
038 Kim’s Konig 680 In tribute to Kiwi ace Kim Newcombe, it’s a replica more accurate than any, which a man who should know best, has ever seen.
048 David Aldana Quiet, unassuming... Oh, hang on, no, this is Californian race ace David Aldana, and as people say, they were ‘different times’. Kick back, grab your coffee, be happy to be isolated, this is one heck of a read and one heck of a ride.
058 Happy hand-me-down Oh my word, this Yamaha is just gorgeous...
066 Gardner – the racer’s racer Racers want to win, right? Well, Wayne Gardner was the Australian who in an era of huge personalities, ‘unrideable’ bikes and an explosion of media interest, was a true superstar... And helped bring us Phillip Island too!
073 Whatever happened to? Eric Hinton Aussie star Eric Hinton – maybe you’ve heard of him?... If not, you have now, and you’ll enjoy this profile.
076 Track action – racing from the Phillip Island Classic Classic action from Down Under – could the Yanks take the International Challenge honours on the Aussies’ home tarmac?
SUBSCRIPTION Full subscription rates (but see page 26 for offer): (12 months 6 issues, inc post and packing) – UK £27. Export rates are also available – see page 26 for more details. UK subscriptions are zero-rated for the purposes of Value AddedTax. DISTRIBUTION Marketforce UK Ltd, 5 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HU. 0203 787 9001. USA SUBSCRIPTIONS
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 Printed by William Gibbons & Sons, Wolverhampton ISSN No 1470-4463 © 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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CLASSIC RACER ARCHIVE
6 ClassicRacer
Photo: Nick Nicholls Collection at Mortons Archive
Ready to do battle.
Once good friends, Barry Sheene and Phil Read fell out in a big way in 1975 – but they retained their respect for each other as riders. Read wanted MV to recruit Sheene as his team-mate in 1974 but switched to campaigning a private RG500 Suzuki himself in 1976.
ClassicRacer 7
CLASSIC RACER ARCHIVE
8 ClassicRacer
Photo: Mark Wernham Collection at Mortons Archive
The new wave The year 2000 saw a changing of the guard in World Superbikes. An injury at round two in Phillip Island saw the reigning champ Carl Fogarty retire – eventually for good – while the rest of the chasing pack tried to make the new millennium’s title theirs. Two would rise to the surface: Colin Edwards on the new Honda VTR1000 SP1/W and Noriyuki Haga on theYamahaYZF-R7. By this time of the season you see here (Oschersleben, the penultimate round) the controversy over Haga’s drug test was almost done. The Japanese rider had tested positive for ephedrine after the first round, which had been in a herbal slimming aid. He and Edwards had been fighting the likes ofTroy Corser (3) on the Aprilia RSV
Mille, Pier-Francesco Chilli (7) on the Suzuki GSX-R750 – with team-mate Katsuaki Fujiwara (9), as well as Foggy’s Ducati replacement,Troy Bayliss (21), all year. Edwards’ title would be confirmed at the final round. Edwards would also win the 2002 WSB championship in startling fashion in a ‘game of two halves’ season versus Bayliss who would take the 2001 title. Both would head to MotoGP for 2003. For the bike itself, 2000 was an impressive year for the Honda VTR1000 SP1/W. It won first time out in World Superbike (Kyalami), its first 24 hour race (Le Mans) its first eight hour race (Suzuka) and its first WSB championship… some debut.
ClassicRacer 9
CLASSIC RACER ARCHIVE
10 ClassicRacer
Photograph: Nick Nicholls Collection at Mortons Archive
Mighty Mike Mike Hailwood pushes off on his MV Agusta 500-4 at the start of the SeniorTT on the Isle of Man, June 8, 1962. The race wasn’t going to be his finest on Mona’s Isle, as he finished 12th, after gearbox and clutch trouble. Instead, the win went to his team-mate Gary Hocking, the then-reigning 500cc Grand Prix world champion. The Rhodesian was riding following the death of Australian Tom Phillis in the JuniorTT race where he and Hailwood’s MVs were battling the slower Honda of Phillis. Phillis would die in a crash at Laurel Bank. Hocking was badly affected by this and would leave bike racing almost immediately, sadly dying within six months while at the wheel of a V8 Lotus Climax car he was testing. Hailwood – Hocking’s natural successor at MV Agusta – would go on to win that year’s 500cc championship and become the first rider to win four back-to-back titles: 1962-65.
ClassicRacer 11
WIN
Compiled by: Ben Rumbold, MotoXwords
8
#
THESE AMAZING DUCHINNI CANYON BOOTS WORTH £139.99! Put your racing knowledge to the test and complete the puzzle to be in with a chance of winning this great prize. Good luck!
T
he great prize on offer this time is a retro style pair of tough, hi-top boots that look good and are comfy away from your bike – yet incorporate a waterproof outer and full impact protection. Find out more at thekeycollection.co.uk
Across 1 & 5:
9:
First rider ever to win himself a second world 500cc title. (7,7) Monsieur Espie, French GP points scorer and podium man for Motobecane & Chevallier. (7)
11:
Broadcast a handful of bike GPs with Murray Walker as commentator. (3)
12:
Milan factory which makes very pretty green bikes. (5)
14:
The Count who presided over an Italian racing empire. (6)
17:
19:
20:
Former base of Triumph, set up after the bombing of the Coventry factory. (7) Belgian manufacturers of one of the first ever four-cylinder motorcycles. (2) Staying in Belgium, this is the slowest corner on the fastest GP circuit of all time. (2,6)
21:
See 40 Across.
24:
Spaniard who took the last ever world 80cc title, despite not winning a GP that year. (8)
25:
Mr Aldana’s famous leathers bore this design. (8)
26:
The initials displayed on sumptuous Dutch suspension. (2)
27:
Successful American whose career in GPs was sadly cut short after three races for Cabin Honda. (7)
29:
30:
What Leon’s old man wore on the front of his crash hat. (2) Herr Reiner, 1980s German GP man whose single podium came on a 350 Bimota-Yamaha. (6)
featured in Classic Racer last year. (8) 3:
Flat track racers have been known to use metal sliders here. (3)
4:
A shorter course used in the 1950s for 1 Down and for sidecars. (6)
5:
Mr Llewellyn, winner of the 1995 Shell International Superbike made-for-tv series. (4)
6:
Fast final corner that leads you onto 40 Across. (4)
18:
Bravest, or most questionable, moves that can result in a 22 Down. (7)
20:
See 1 Down.
22:
A common way to exit a race. (5)
23:
The original hometown for the Gilera factory. (6)
28:
French 250 man famous for becoming one of the first to slide his elbow in corners. (6)
29:
Continental sidecars have the passenger on this side. (5)
31:
Messrs Schwantz and Edwards would call themselves one. (5)
32:
_-__ Victory, legendary 1980s video with on board footage of Yer Maun in action. (1,4)
33:
Hans ____ Anscheidt, German triple 50cc world champion. (5)
7:
36:
Werner, Swiss Yamaha man whose promising career was tragically cut short in 1974. (5)
Mr Moody, long-serving Eurosport MotoGP commentator. (4)
8:
The lean angle that affects performance in multicylinder engines. (8)
37:
A smaller engine makes a rider use this a bit more to find the power. (7)
10:
Whether a 30 or a 45, Joey won regularly on this model Honda. (2)
39:
Mr Harada, Yamaha’s last Japanese world champion. (7)
13:
On the grid you come under these from the starter. (6)
33:
15:
Adjustment of this screw in a carburettor can seriously affect performance. (3)
Benjamin, 1970s Spanish GP racer in the smaller classes who took a single home 125cc win. (4)
34:
Spanish motorcycle maker with a green logo. (4)
35:
German who became one of the oldest ever world champions in 1987. (4)
38:
Something a bike rider needs to handle, and a nice place to relax afterwards! (3)
40 & 21 Across: Where you’ll find the finish line at Phillip Island. (7,8)
Down 1 & 20 Down: The smallest capacity TT won by Yer Maun in his final year at the Island. (5,11) 2:
Iconic Australian venue
16:
Very clever people responsible for creating all this lovely machinery in the first place! (9)
17:
Oxfordshire frame specialists famously used by Steve McQueen. (7)
Don’t forget!
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If you don’t want to cut up your issue of Classic Racer, then we will accept a photocopy of the completed crossword and the completed form.You can keep your CR pristine and intact. We will print the answers to this issue’s puzzle in the next edition of Classic Racer – you can find the answers to the last one below.
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The answers to last issue’s Classic Racer crossword:
Across 1 & 5 Cathedral Of Speed, 8 Replica, 9 Cornu, 12 Dorna, 13 Scout, 14 Noyes, 16 Pajic, 19 Amaroo Park, 20 Rally, 23 ML, 24 Beltoise, 26 & 20 Down Eau Rouge, 28 GM, 29 Average, 31 Rotax, 33 Okada, 34 Mondial, 35 Nannini, 36 Armstrong
Down 1 & 27 Down Christian Sarron, 2 Helmut Bradl, 4 Lucky Strike Yamaha, 6 Estrosi, 7 & 3 Down Donald Duck, 10 Rose, 11 Udo, 15 Fior, 17 Julian Ryder, 18 CZ, 21 Black Flag, 22 Liberati, 25 & 30 Across Eastern Creek, 29 Axo, 32 Pons
ClassicRacer 13
Classic Racer, Mortons Media Group, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs, LN9 6JR.
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If you want to get in touch…
... please do. We read every letter, email and comment sent to us and we enjoy hearing from you whether you’ve an event coming up, a motorcycle you own or you just want to let us know about something you find interesting in Classic Racer’s world.
STAR LETTER PRIZE BIG NOISE IN THE CRMC… Dear CR It was good to see the recent feature on Alan and Stella Cathcart and Dick Linton and their tireless work in getting the CRMC off the ground. I well remember the first event at Snetterton where I was entered in the Kennings FourStroke series. I was approached by Alan and asked if I would like to enter other races for which my Ray Cowles G50 would be eligible and was happy to oblige. I had a very successful day by winning two
Naming those prewar greats Dear CR I really enjoyed reading the article on the North West 200 in issue 201, and I thought that perhaps some readers would like to know who all the riders were in the photograph of the start of the race in 1938. They are as follows: 1 3 5 7 8 9 11 14 16
Freddie Frith (Norton) Stanley Woods (Velocette) Jack Moore (Norton) John McCredie (Rudge) Edwin Lambert (VincentHRD) N Waiinwriigh ht (Nortton)) H Tomlinson (Norton) H Benson Myers (Norton) L W Parsons (Norton)
The race was won by Jack Moore from Ernie Lyons. So where is Ernie Lyons in the photograph, you may ask? Well, he is number 12 and you can just see the rear of his Triumph at the back of number 14. Norman Windrum Belfast
races and finishing second in the Kennings and included in one of the winds by coming first overall in the unlimited Classic Race of the Year on my 500, and having the fastest lap of the day. I would also like to set the record straight by confessing to one of the riders refusing to noise meter my machine after the finish of the Kennings race. I was approached by a group of fellow riders in the morning proposing that we make a stand on the proposed noise meter test
Remember to keep sending in your letters. Now, more than ever, as we deal with the coronavirus situation, we want to hear your stories and find out what you think of the magazine. Each issue we’ll pick a star letter, the writer of which will win a superb package courtesy of Duke Video! and that the first three in each class would make an excuse (i.e. machine failure) so as not to be tested. I finished second to the late Robin Riley and coasted around Coram curve with a dead engine and explained that the machine had failed, but was then confronted with the riders that had hatched this plan having their bikes tested. One of which was the leader of the
group who had approached me in the morning and had won the 350 class, Malc Wheeler. I was then excluded from second in the Kennings, so losing precious points and prize money in my quest to win the Kennings series. I have now set the record straight. Clive Watts S Glamorgan (by email)
Legends deserve a parade lap and a memorial Dear CR I was looking forward to issue 201, unsuccessfully finishing the crossword in issue 200, which if I admit, was a rather difficult one. I used your mag and its archives to complete my book titled The Alan Shepherd Experience, which came out in 2015. However, I have always been a supporter of the three-wheeler fraternity and enjoyed your article on Nigel Rollason some years ago. While at the MGP, I got talking to Nigel at Ramsey Sprint. He still has the Barton Phoenix and aims to do a parade lap in 2023, which I believe is the centenary of the Manx Grand Prix. Nigel commented that he could still get into his leathers; that should be one to see. What a nice chap to talk to. b Dickk I saw in issue 201 thatt the superb
Hawes had passed away. I have been leafing through my various programmes, mostly 1970s, as these guys are legends and deserve a parade lap and a memorial to remember these boys; not forgetting the solos either. I have just been scanning a race of the year (1975) programme at Mallory Park where Dick Greasley led the championship at 42 points, two ahead of Mac Hobson, Steve Sinnot and the flying George O’Dell. Your magazine is brilliant. Would it be possible to do a few pages on the sidecar scene of the 1950s, 60s and 70s? I am sure it would draw a lot of attention. Keep up the good work and all the best for 2020. M W Cross, Penriith (by emaiil)
ClassicRacer 15
16 ClassicRacer
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Forty-eight Autumn 2018
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