Fierce again!
RACING CLASSICS IN IRELAND
Jon Ekerold
THE PRIVATEER WHO TOOK ON THE WORLD AND A MOUNTAIN
classicracer.com where legends live on...
#194
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McGuinness is BACK! THE 2018 CLASSIC TT PACKS A PUNCH
Sito’s bikes
THE TWOSTROKE 250s THAT SET THE PONS ICON FOREVER
WHAT’S INSIDE
006 Archive
028 Sito’s bikes
Selections of photographic excellence this issue from Don Morley, Mark Wernham and Nick Nicholls. Each one, exceptional.
The quarter-litre class of GP racing in the late 1980s was a hotbed of development that sat underneath some of the most exceptional riders of all time – Sito being one of them. These are his two most amazing bikes in close detail.
012 Letters It’s been a long time since your last set of thoughts, motivations and vocal outpourings about the world in which classic racing happens.
015 Paddock Gossip Malcolm reports on the main points from the wider world over the past couple of months.
038 Jon Ekerold The privateer who grabbed the factories by the scruff of their collective necks and showed them just what a privateer can do.
ISSUE 194 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 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 Malc Wheeler, John Bourke, Alan Cathcart, Paddy Condron, Paul Dromm, Jon Ekerold, Big Joe, Graham Lawlor, Russ Lee, Mark McCloskey, John McComisky, Don Morley, Mick Ofield, Michael Scott, Phillip Wain, John Watterson, Mike Yiend.
MARKETING MANAGER Charlotte Park
PRODUCTION EDITOR Sarah Wilkinson SENIOR DESIGNER Kelvin Clements DESIGNERS Michael Baumber Libby Fincham PICTURE DESK Paul Fincham Jonathan Schofield DIVISIONAL ADVERTISING MANAGER Billy Manning
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
ADVERTISING Kieron Deekens 01507 529576 kdeekens@mortons.co.uk Matt Hansom 01507 529413 mhansom@mortons.co.uk
046 Alex Criville At one meeting in particular, the Spaniard was simply incredible.
050 Michael Scott Joining the ranks of Classic Racer, Michael starts off his time on these pages with a look back at a slice of 1987. What a season that was.
060 Proddie Part Two Phillip Wain continues his account of the big bikes on the Island.
066 Classic TT John Watterson files his report from the biggest classic TT event ever. And John McGuinness makes his racing comeback.
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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.
076 Fierce 3 The Irish season has been packed with close racing, incident and shenanigans. Our man Mark McCloskey has been there all season to watch it close up. Here's what happened...
084 On track Races from the season closers with CRMC and BHR.
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Crisp. Clear. Concise. YEAR: 1972 // LOCATION: SILVERSTONE Jarno Saarinen winds the 250 Yamaha on whilst the clear visor allows Nick Nicholls to tell the story of the rider’s concentration via crystal clear eyes. What a delicious moment of motorcycle racing history
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Photograph: Nick Nicholls Collection at Mortons Archive
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CLASSIC RACER ARCHIVE
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Photograph: Mark Wernham Collection at Mortons Archive
Into the dark YEAR: 1995 // LOCATION: BRANDS HATCH Carl Fogarty is at the height of his powers. The Ducati is a weapon in World Superbike and (as the number one displayed proudly on the back of his leathers suggests) Foggy was king. Not even the inky blackness of Dingle Dell could slow him up on a bright day. MagniďŹ cent.
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CLASSIC RACER ARCHIVE
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Photograph: Don Morley
Off in the distance. But not for long.
// YEAR: 1990 // TRACK: THE MOUNTAIN COURSE, ISLE OF MAN Riding around the Mountain Course really focuses the mind. Doing it with three others in close-quarter reach is on another level. Dave Leach, Dave Jefferies, Steve Cull and Carl Fogarty are playing seriously in the run up to Parliament Square, Ramsey. Boy, was this a good race. Those 400s really screamed.
Classic Racer, Mortons Media Group, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs, LN9 6JR.
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If you want to get in touch…
Then please do. We read every letter, email and comment sent to us and we enjoy hearing from you if you’ve an event coming up, a motorcycle you own or just want to let us know about something you find interesting in Classic Racer’s world.
VERY DISAPPOINTED Dear CR I was very disappointed in your choice of cover picture for issue 193. It did not convey a good message to the average browser at WHSmith – Classic Racer is not only about crashes and bad stuff, although we all know shit happens. Why didn’t you use the brilliant photo of William Dunlop in the obituary on p20, which suggests such hope and anticipation of success – which is why we go racing, isn’t it? Roy (no surname given) Email Hello Roy Okay, it was my call what went on that cover and I stand by my decision. I am, of course, sorry that you didn’t think it was the sort of cover that conveys a good message. I value your feedback and I’ll certainly take your consideration of #193’s cover into account when I’m making future selections. However, I will have to disagree with you on your reasoning as to why the cover wasn’t a good one. The incident featured – those absolute five seconds of racing history – was an extreme moment where one of the most iconic championships ever could have been turned on its head. And the moment was captured in all its glory by our wonderful Don Morley. Nobody was hurt in the crash but it did illustrate perfectly just how thin the thread that a legendary year-long result hangs on, can be. I agree that CR isn’t about crashes, but it is about moments and legends – and by that very definition, the moments in which legends are made. I think this moment perfectly summed up a
A REQUEST FOR BARNETT snapshot of racing that most people wouldn’t be aware of. As such, I felt that the photograph was worthy of its position on the cover, and the subsequent story told by Don inside the magazine. It’s a great series of photographs Roy, some of the very best I’ve ever seen from that era and I wanted to bring them to the front of our collective. As for your suggestion of Stephen’s photo of William, it would have made a fine cover. However, the restrictions of publishing meant that William’s unfortunate passing came too late for us in our schedule to be able to make the change on the cover this time. Roy, thanks for your feedback, please keep it coming. Tony
STAR LETTER PRIZE
This issue we’re offering the chance to win two fantastic DVDs courtesy of Duke Video – Narrow edge and Racing Champions. Get writing in to be in with a chance of winning these fantastic prizes.
That Dave Simmonds photo identification Dear CR With regards to the question from Brian Halford on the photo of Dave Simmonds, I believe the bike to be a 250 Greeves, Silverstone early 1960s. On The Grid photo the best I can do is: Mick Grant, (standing) Barry Sheene, Dave Potter, Gregg Hansford?, Ron Haslam, Steve Parrish, Pat Hennan and the rest I have no idea. Great magazine by the way, I’m a 73-year-old ex-club racer in the 1960s and have followed the magazine from day one. Many thanks. Ian Turner Email
12 ClassicRacer
Hello Ian Thanks for the help with the identification – hopefully Brian is helped by your eyes on the matter. Well done for the stab at identifying the grid too. A lot of names there but you’re a few shy I’m afraid. Very best wishes and thank you very much for continuing to support CR. Tony
Dear CR I noticed that on the front cover of the latest issue of CR (#193) there was a small picture of Alan Barnett (No 10) riding what I think is a Kirby Metisse circa 1965. Alan was one of the most stylish, unassuming and consistent riders of that era. As a long term subscriber to CR I can’t however recall the magazine ever penning a deserved feature on his impressive career. Did I miss it or is there perhaps one in the pipeline? John O’Connell Rudgwick Hello John I’ve checked the records – as far as we have them here at CR – and I can’t find a feature archived on Alan Barnett. I’ll look into this and see how we would go about putting one together for some point in the future. It’s not a promise that we will, but in this instance your suggestion is one that Malc and I will certainly have a conversation about. Thanks for getting in touch. Tony
INFORMATION PLEASE: HELMET AND FAIRING
Ooops. Oh crikey... Dear CR Great mag, as always, but you might like to correct the caption on page 6 (CR #193) There’s no way that photo is from 1961, and I strongly suspect it’s not Monza either. The van is a Mk.1 Ford Transit (introduced 1965), the bike Nobby is working on looks like the RC181 and the other is probably a six. And the ‘local lads’ look more like northern Europeans rather than Italians. If I was to have a guess I’d say Imatra, 1967. Andy Bufton Email Hello Andy Thanks for your email. As you might
expect, CR has had more than a couple of letters along the exact same subject. I could go into all sorts of labelling reasons and archive ‘tags’ that led to the poor captioning in this instance, but I won't. The buck stops with me and I'd just like to say sorry for this – and a couple of other photo mis-idents that happened in the last issue. All my fault. Rest assured that Malc’s size eight has been firmly missing any sunshine of late, given where it’s been living after he spotted the same as you... Tony
Dear CR I have a couple of questions that I hope can be answered by somebody with a better memory or better references than me. The first concerns the crash helmet of Fumio Ito during his brief 1963 season. My memory is that the main colour was a light blue, but there was some sort of design in a white oval at the front. The photographs I hold are not clear enough to see this, but it doesn’t appear to be the crossed tuning forks of Yamaha or Japanese flag that might be expected. My second question is about the fairing colours of Jawa during the 1964 and 1965 seasons. My drawing at the time is of grey above purple, but I suspect this owes more to childish imagination than reality. I know they later moved to red and white, so maybe the lower colour in the above years was red, but it is clear from black and white photos that the upper colour is not white. Maybe a pale blue to match the Czech flag or silver/grey? Any additional information would be very welcome. G Shimmin Taunton Somerset Hello G Thank you for your letter. It is now open and on the identifying floor of CR’s letters page where upon thousands of people, many of whom are experts in their field, will no doubt answer your queries in full. Tony
From Pedant’s Corner (received with thanks) Dear CR I enjoyed the article on the Yamaha 350-3 (CR#193), but I’m sure I won’t be the first to send a submission to Pedant’s Corner. Just to make it clear that the Kurth 3-cylinder shown is a Crescent outboard engine (complete with diaphragm carbs). Kurth used this engine – Crescent and Monark were badge engineered versions of the same stuff – for several years in his forked outfit. I hesitate to call any Kurth creation conventional, but I think his 2+1 Yam was only used in the monocoque chassis he built with car suspension. Anyway, I wasn’t aware just how much the Yam depended on Rudi’s bits, so your article was a really interesting reminder of the great two-stroke years. Paul Heath Northants
years continued and, if so, into what era they included? How about the later 1980s beasts? Do you feel that they were on par in terms of draw and somewhat fearful reputation? Tony
Hello Paul Thank you for the note. Much appreciated. I wonder if you feel that the great two-stroke
ClassicRacer 13
PaddockGossip Compiled by Malc Wheeler // Send your classic racing news to:
mwheeler@mortons.co.uk
Moddey Dhoo Money
The Moddey Dhoo Motor Cycle Club held its annual Denis Barlow Memorial Rock ‘n’ Roll Night at the Manx Legion Club in August, and, as a result raised an amazing £1300 by auctioning a traditional white Manx police officer’s helmet, signed by TT and Southern 100 riders. The money raised was donated to the Southern 100 Supporters’ Club which provides safety equipment for the three road races held on the Colas Billown Course and assists injured riders and their families.
Southern 100 Official Review
Photograph: Mortons Archive
Fast Freddie stars at Newark Freddie Spencer, universally known as ‘Fast Freddie’, will be the guest of honour at the Carole Nash Classic Bike Guide Winter Classic, bringing a real international flavour to the season starter. After a hugely successful career in his native USA (the 1978 AMA 250cc Championship being his first big series win), Freddie progressed through AMA Superbike and got his first taste of international racing as part of the USA team in the 1980 Transatlantic Trophy Match Races, winning two races at Brands Hatch and beating world champions Kenny Roberts and Barry Sheene in the process. By 1982, Freddie was a full-time Honda Grand Prix rider and in just one year in Europe he won his first 500cc world championship, at that time giving him the distinction of being the youngest ever rider to secure the title, aged just 21. The following year produced a battle royal
between fellow American Kenny Roberts and Spencer, with the latter snatching the title by just two points. However it was the 1985 season that cemented Freddie’s name in the history books when he did the unthinkable and won both the 250cc and 500cc titles, becoming the only rider in Grand Prix history to pull off such a feat. The show, which takes place over the weekend of January 5/6, 2019 at Newark Showground in Nottinghamshire, features a huge autojumble, trade stands, packed scooter halls, and new for 2019 an indoor Classic Racer Grand Prix Paddock and start up area. Freddie will be on stage twice a day and will be on hand all weekend to meet fans and sign memorabilia. For more information and to buy advance tickets go to www.classicbikeshows.com or call 01507 529529.
In the South of the Isle of Man, the Colas Billown Course is a short but fast 4.25-mile race, allowing riders to show the extreme power of their two-wheeled machines, and their talent riding them. With solo and sidecar competitions, the Southern 100, also known as the friendly races, has seen records repeatedly broken since first taking place in 1955. 2018 was yet another year of nail-biting, close competition. This year’s review allows you to get close to the action with impressive on board footage and from points around the course. You can relive the 2018 Southern 100 by ordering your copy of the 123-minute long DVD, costing just £16.99 postage free from Duke Video or via the Southern 100 website www.southern100.com
Bob Smith Trophy
Not to be denied by the current situation at Scarborough, Bob Smith’s widow, Lynda Smith, awarded the trophy she had created in the popular rider’s memory at the recent Aintree meeting. Appropriately it was won by Mike Hose, pictured with Lynda and sponsor Gary Bryan, aboard the Bryan Weslake which Bob campaigned during his own successful career. Photograph: Colin Port
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