Ozebook Classic Motorcycles
Editorial
Hi Time for a new slice of Classic Motorcycling. This issue we are featuring a series of photos taken by Jan Burgers. Jan has an extensive library of photos he has taken on the motorcycle racing scene over many years. Jan has generously shared a selection with us which give us the opportunity to remember a number of riders who are no longer with us. These riders are featured on our memoriam site at: http://www.ozebook.com/gpwin/documents/home.html It is a sad task to maintain a site which records the tragic side of our sport, but it is important not to forget our fallen riders, especially those who have given all to their sport. On another note, it is interesting to see the number of new bikes coming on the road. It is almost impossible to keep up with them. The choice is endless and they all look lovely enough to own. What would it be like to own a bike that actually stops when you put the brakes on and doesn’t squirrel around corners? I just don’t know. But then, where is all the fun gone. Who wants a bike where you need to look down at the speedo to know how fast you are going? An old cobber Ivor Evans has just set a fabulous looking adventure Farm Stay in new Zealand’s South Island. Check it out here... http://www.takakavalley.co.nz/ You can even take a CB750KO, or GT750J, or even a rare old Suzuki T500 Cobra for a ride. Save a room for me Ivor....I need a holiday in New Zealand! Cheers Muzza
Layout and original content copyright: 2010 Ex Libris www.ozebook.com Email: muzza@ozebook.com Cover Shot: : Jarno Saarinen - Photo copyright by Jan Burgers
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Classic Racing Photogallery Photos by Jan Burgers Jan has kindly provided a number of photos in memory of some great racing motorcyclists from the 70s
1972 Billie Nelson Billie Nelson (November 2, 1941 September 8, 1974) was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. His best season was in 1969 when he finished the year in fourth place in the 500cc world championship . Nelson was killed at the 1974 Yugoslavian Grand Prix held at the Opatija Circuit.
Dave Potter died on 18 September 1981 at hospital of Chester, UK , 18 days after he crashed during a British Superbike Championship race held at Oulton Park on Monday 31 August 1981. On the last lap of 2nd heat of the event, he lost control while approaching the Cascades bend and crashed at 95 mph (about 150 km/h) into a guard-rail, without straw bales. Dave had already been the winner of the first heat, riding his Yamaha TZ750 tuned by Ted Broad. Dave Potter started his racing career in 1970 riding a BSA Gold Star. Having been the 1972 British Champion, 750 cc class in a Norton, Potter was 2nd in 1978 and won two times in a row in 1979 and 1980, the British MCN Superbike Championship.
1972 Brands Hatch Dave Potter
Classic Racing Photogallery Photos by Jan Burgers Jarno Karl Keimo Saarinen (December 11, 1945 in Turku, Finland – May 20, 1973 in Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Italy) Saarinen began his Grand Prix career during the 1970 season. He would finish in a respectable fourth place in the 250cc class, despite missing the last three races to return to his engineering degree studies - before the DNF at the Finnish TT he was tied f or second. In 1971 Saarinen competed in both 250cc and 350cc classes. Saarinen won his first Grand Prix that year, claiming the 350cc class in Czechoslovakia. He finished third in 250cc World Championship and second in 350cc. His success didn't go unnoticed as Yamaha signed him to ride its TD3 and TR3 bikes, then pre-production TZs for the 1972 season. Saarinen delivered as expected, winning the 250cc World Championship. He finished second in 350cc World Championship, giving defending champion Giacomo Agostini a strong challenge. Yamaha developed a new, four cylinder, two-stroke 500cc bike for the 1973 season and chose Saarinen to ride it. Finally, Saarinen was ready to challenge Giacomo Agostini and Phil Read in the 500cc class with competitive equipment. Saarinen's 1973 season started amazingly well, as he became the first European rider to win the prestigious Daytona 200 race in the United States on a TZ350 against much larger-capacity opposition. Returning to Europe, he jumped to an early lead in the Grand Prix championships by winning his first 500cc race, then the premier racing, class. His win was also the first win for the new, four cylinder Yamaha. Saarinen went on to win the first three 250cc rounds and the first two of three 500cc rounds, but his bike suffered a broken chain in the third. It seemed he was on the brink of running away with these titles, with the opportunity to complete in the 350cc class if or when the 250cc title was certain. However, the 1973 season ended in tragedy. On May 20, 1973, the fourth Grand Prix of the season was held at Monza near Milan, Italy, a very fast track, with few strong chicanes. The race leader, Renzo Pasolini fell in front of Saarinen, who was in second place. He couldn't avoid the fallen rider and the resulting crash caused a multiple rider pile up. In all, 14 riders were embroiled in the mayhem that resulted. When the dust cleared, Jarno and Pasolini lay dead with many other riders seriously injured
1972 Jarno Saarinen
1973 Anderstorp F750 Sheene Suzuki
Classic Racing Photogallery Photos by Jan Burgers
Renzo Pasolini was born in Rimini, the son of a motorcyclist. He began his motocross career in 1958 , after having shown great interest in boxing as well. A smoker and incorrigible party-goer, he was an uncommon athlete, as was his approach to corners while racing—a dangerous combination of balance and speed which always made him seem about to fall off his bike. After performing well in motocross, Pasolini focussed on road racing while remaining active in other sports to keep physical form. In 1962, he debuted with the Aermacchi 175 cm3, when his two first-place finishes ahead of Giacomo Agostini spurred their long rivalry. Pasolini took a two-year break from racing to complete his military service and, while stationed in Sardinia, he met his future wife, Anna, with whom he would have two children, Sabrina and Renzo Stefano. Pasolini resumed his racing career in 1964, racing Aermacchi 250 cm3 and 350 cm3 bikes at the senior level. In the 1965 Italian championship, Pasolini, racing a Benelli, finished second to Tarquinio Provini in the 250 cm3 class and third in the 350 cm3 class behind Giacomo Agostini and Giuseppe Mandorlini. 1966 was a year of varying results both domestically and internationally; most notable was the final race of the Italian championship, which Pasolini won on the then-new four-cylinder Benelli 500. With a more competitive bike, Pasolini was able to rival the best, and this marked the start of a string of epic confrontations with Mike Hailwood, then riding a Honda, and the revival of his rivalry with Agostini, an MV Agusta rider. The 1968 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season saw him second to Agostini in the 350 cm3 championship, after having earned the 250 cm3 and 350 cm3 Italian titles. The 1969 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season brought mixed results, c ausing Pasolini to lose out to Benelli teammate Kel Carruthers in the 250 cm3 world championship. New regulations in the 250 cm3 classification for 1970 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season limited the category to two-cylinder bikes, which prompted the Benelli team to concentrate on the 350 cm3 class.
1973 Monza Renzo Pasolini last portrait
After a miserable season, Pasolini left Benelli and joined Aermacchi, fresh out of a merger with Harley-Davidson . Much of the 1971 season was lost to testing the Aermacchi/Harley-Davidson 250 cm3 bike, which took much longer in development than had been anticipated. The resulting bike was not superior to most, and a number of up-andcoming racers increased competition; among them was Jarno Saarinen, to whom Pasolini lost the 250 cm3 world championship in 1972 by a single point. Tragedy at Monza Pasolini lost his life at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza on May 20th, 1973. He was not able to finish the 350 cm3 race because of mechanical problems, withdrawing from competition with four laps to go, and fell during the first lap of the 250 cm3 race. Jarno Saarinen, immediately behind him, was unable to avoid him and fell as well, causing a chain reaction ultimately involving twelve riders and resulting in Pasolini's and Saarinen's deaths. Much debate has surrounded the probable causes of the accident, with the most common explanation suggesting that a spill left on the track during the 350 cm3 race (when Walter Villa's Benelli leaked on the penultimate lap, but the urge to collect championship points led the rider to continue racing despite the leak) likely caused the bike to slide. While it has been ascertained that race officials did neglect to order clean up of the track prior to the 250 cm3 race—one rider, John Dodds, made his concerns known to authorities, only to be met with threats—Pasolini's fall and the damage sustained by his vehicle are consistent with an engine problem, likely a seizure of the pistons. The Ducati Paso In 1986, Ducati Motor Holding, then under the ownership of Cagiva, introduced the Ducati Paso, named after the rider and designed by Massimo Tamburini, co-founder of Bimota.
Classic Racing Photogallery Photos by Jan Burgers
1973 Paul Ricard Saarinen Yamaha 500
1974 Assen Nelson Billie URS
Classic Racing Photogallery Photos by Jan Burgers
Michel Rougerie (April 21, 1950 in Montreuil-sous-Bois - May 31, 1981 in Rijeka) was a Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from France. His best year was in 1975 when he won two races and finished in second place in the 250cc world championship behind his Harley Davidson team-mate Walter Villa . Rougerie actually scored more points than Villa that season, but because only the best six results of the season were counted, he lost the championship. He was killed in 1981 while competing at the Yugoslavian Grand Prix.
1973 Rougerie Michel portrait Imatra
Classic Racing Photogallery Photos by Jan Burgers
1973 Silverstone Kim Newcombe Konig Kim Newcombe (January 2, 1944 - August 14, 1973), was a Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from New Zealand. Born in the town of Nelson, Newcombe grew up in Auckland, then moved to Australia (first Brisbane, then Melbourne) in 1963, and subsequently moved to Europe in 1968. He competed in the 500cc Grand Prix World Championship finishing second to Phil Read in the 1973 season. Along with fellow racer, John Dodds, he developed a motorcycle using a two-stroke outboard motor designed by Dieter Kรถnig. He and the Kรถnig were the first to challenge the dominance of the MV Agusta after the departure of Honda from Grand Prix competition at the end of the 1967 season. In contrast to his main competitors, Newcombe was credited with the distinction of developing, building, maintaining, and riding the Kรถnig machine in competition. On August 11 1973, Newcombe was seriously injured at a non-championship event at Silverstone at Stowe Corner. After taking his customary walk of the track prior to the event, Newcombe had requested that hay bales be positioned on the outside of Stowe Corner before the race but race officials refused, stating they were "not required". In the race itself, Newcombe slid off the circuit at that very corner, and collided with the concrete barrier. He died from his severe head injuries three days later
See more on Kim at:: http://www.ozebook.com/konig.htm
Classic Racing Photogallery Photos by Jan Burgers Barry Sheene was born in London, England the second child of parents Frank (resident engineer at the Royal College of Surgeons) and Iris. He grew up in Queen's Square, Holborn, London. He became the British 125cc champion aged just 20, and finished second in the World Championships for that class a year later. Sheene won the newly formed Formula 750 European championship for Suzuki in 1973. A spectacular crash at the Daytona 200 in 1975 threatened to end his career, breaking his left thigh, right arm, collarbone and two ribs, yet he recovered and was racing again seven weeks afterwards. In 1973 he won the Formula 750 World Championship and in 1976 he won five 500cc Grands Prix, bringing him the World Championship. He won again in 1977 with six victories. Sheene's battle with Kenny Roberts at the 1979 British Grand Prix at Silverstone has been cited as one of the greatest motorcycle Grand Prix races of the 1970s. After the 1979 season, he left the Suzuki works team, believing that he was receiving inferior equipment to his team-mates. He shifted to a privateer Yamaha machine, but soon started receiving works equipment. In 1981, Kenny Roberts was the reigning World 500cc Champion for the third time, and Barry Sheene, now on a competitive Yamaha, was determined to regain the championship. Ironically, Sheene and Roberts battled all season and let Suzuki riders Marco Lucchinelli of Italy and American Randy Mamola beat them for the top two spots. Roberts finished third and Sheene fourth for the 1981 championship. A 1982 crash largely ended Sheene as a title threat, and he retired in 1984. He died in 2003 of cancer of the stomach and oesophagus.
1974 Barry Sheene portrait Imola 200
1974 Barry Sheene testing Montesa Trials bike Imola 200
Classic Racing Photogallery Photos by Jan Burgers
1974 Clermont Ferrand Otello Buscherini
Otello Buscherini (January 19, 1949 in ForlĂŹ - May 16, 1976 in Mugello) was an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. His best years were in 1973 when he won two Grand Prix races and in 1974 when he finished the season in fourth place in the 125cc world championship. Buscherini was killed during the 1976 Nations Grand Prix at Mugello . He won three Grand Prix races during his career.
Classic Racing Photogallery Photos by Jan Burgers Cyril John (Jack) Findlay (5 Feb 1935 - 19 May 2007) was an Australian Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He is noted for having one of the longest racing careers in Grand Prix history spanning 20 years. He competed at the highest level despite racing as a privateer - that is, not as a contracted member of a factory team - through most of his racing career. Findlay was born in Mooroopna, Victoria, roughly 120 miles north of Melbourne. He began racing aged 15, two years under age, taking the name "Jack" so he could use his father's identication documents . After leaving school, he worked as a trainee accountant at Commonwealth Bank of Australia until 1957. He moved to England in 1958 to race, got a job at the BSA factory in Birmingham, and joined the Grand Prix circuit with a 350cc Norton Manx . He competed in his first Isle of Man TT in 1959. He competed on the Grand Prix circuit from 1958 to 1978. His best championship result was in 1968 when he rode a Matchless to finish second behind Giacomo Agostini in the 500cc class . In 1971 he won his first race for Suzuki at the Ulster Grand Prix. It was also Suzuki's first 500cc Grand Prix victory . His greatest victory came in 1973 when he won the Isle of Man Senior TT after 15 years of trying. He rode Suzuki TR500s in 1973 and 1974. In 1974, he was a member of the Suzuki factory racing team and helped develop the RG500, with Barry Sheene and Paul Smart. In 1975, he defeated Barry Sheene for the FIM Formula 750 championship. An accident that fractured his skull curtailed his racing career, and he retired in 1978. A further high-speed accident in 1987 stopped him riding motorcycles. He married Dominique Monneret, the widow of Georges Monneret, and made his domestic base in France and has a son, Gregory Findlay. He was appointed Grand Prix technical director by the FĂŠdĂŠration Internationale de Motocyclisme in 1992, retaining the post until he retired in 2001. A bronze statue of Findlay on a TT-winning Suzuki was unveiled in July 2006, in a park in his hometown that was renamed the Jack Findlay Reserve.
1975 Imola 200 Findlay
1974 Jack Findlay portrait Imola 200
Classic Racing Photogallery Photos by Jan Burgers 1974 Patrick pons FR portrait Imola GP
Patrick Pons (December 24, 1952 in Paris - August 10, 1980) was a Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from France. His best year was in 1974 when he finished in third place in the 250cc and the 350cc world championships. Pons became the first Frenchman to win an F.I.M. World championship when he won the 1979 Formula 750 title. In 1980, he won the prestigious Daytona 200. He was killed in 1980 at the British Grand Prix.
Classic Racing Photogallery Photos by Jan Burgers
Graf Ulrich (August 15, 1946 - June 19, 1977) was a Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from Switzerland. His best year was in 1976 when he won the 50cc Yugoslavian Grand Prix and finished in third place in the 50cc world championship, behind Angel Nieto and Herbert Rittberger. Graf was killed while competing at the 1977 Yugoslavian Grand Prix
John Newbold (December 14, 1952 in Jacksdale - May 15, 1982 in Coleraine) was a Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. His best season was in 1976 when he finished in fifth place in the 500cc world championship riding a Suzuki motorcycle. Newbold won his only world championship race in 1976 at the 500cc Czechoslovakian Grand Prix . He won the 1978 North West 200 race in Northern Ireland. Newbold died after crashing at the 1982 North West 200
1975 Anderstorp Graf Ulrich
1975 Anderstorp John Newbold 750
Classic Racing Photogallery Photos by Jan Burgers Tom Herron (December 14, 1948 - May 26, 1979) was a Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from Lisburn, County Antrim in Northern Ireland. He specialized in road circuits such as the Isle of Man TT and the North West 200. Herron's career started in 1965 and n 1970, he won his first major race, the 350 class at the North West 200. After winning the 1973 Irish 350cc championship, he moved up to the Grand Prix world championships. During these years, Herron competed as a privateer, against the factory backed riders During this time, he met and eventually married Andrea, sister of Norton rider Peter Williams. At the close of 1976, he finished fourth in both the 250cc and 350cc world championships. The following year, he finished runner-up in the 350cc world championship to Yamaha factory rider Takazumi Katayama. In 1978, Herron strengthened his position as one of the world's best riders on privateer machinery with fifth and sixth places in the 250cc and 350cc world championships respectively. For the 1979 season, he finally got his big break, as a full works, manufacturer backed rider for the Shell Heron Suzuki team in the 500cc world championship. The season started well, with a third in Venezuela and Italy, and a fourth in Austria. This left him in third place in the championship after three rounds. At the fourth round in Spain he crashed in practice and broke his right thumb, suffered third degree burns and was unable to race. He finished the season in tenth place. Herron returned back home to compete in the North West 200, where, in the previous year, he won 2 races, and he set a lap record of 127.63 mph. The 1979 North West 200 will always be remembered as "Black Saturday"; as it claimed the lives of Scotsman Brian Hamilton, Armoy man Frank Kennedy, who died of injuries months later, and Herron himself. In the last lap of the last race, Herron had been fighting for third place along with Jeff Sayle, Steve Parrish and Greg Johnstone, when he crashed at Juniper. He died later in Coleraine hospital, leaving behind his wife and two daughters.
1975 Herron Tom and Andrea, Salzburg
Ray discusses when the T500 Suzuki was first raced Hi Murray, The question you pose has exercised me for some while now and I'm always on the lookout for proof. One of the first people I was going to cite as significant in the Suzuki 500's racing history is M. Jacques Roca, the seven times French National Champion of the 1960-70s. However, I notice that his importance is already r ecognised on your site. Shortly after I joined Suzuki in 1976, I met Jacques on a new model test session in Bavaria. My, what a smooth, fast rider he was. Made me look like a three legged elephant. I didn't know his racing background then - including racing an MZ 250. I can hear his passionate, high-pitched voice as I write, explaining to a Japanese engineer what is right and what is wrong '...wiz de machine's handleeeng'. In the 1970-80 period, I tested with Jacques and other European importer staff the GS750 (Bavaria, Germany), GS1000 (Montpelier, France), GS850G (Bavaria, Austria/Germany), Katana 650 (Ryuyo, Japan). Jacques came to the UK to test ride the SB200 - yes we all felt a little stupid riding the city roads of Croydon on such a pathetic machine. Anyway, Jacques is considered by many to be the first man to race a T500. Apparently, Roca bought a very early T500 and modified it for racing and it was his success on this machine that incentivised Suzuki Japan to build the TR500. Towards the end of 1968, his technical knowledge of the T500 allied to his racing success also got him the job of technical director at Pierre Bonnet, the French Suzuki importer at that time, based in Boulogne, Paris. According to a French magazine, Jacques visited Bonnet to arrange some Suzuki parts business (for which, unusually, he wore a collar and tie). While he was speaking with M. Bonnet, a customer arrived riding his problematic T500. Jacques rolled up his sleeves and set to work. The machine fixed and customer satisfied, Pierre Bonnet realised Roca was the very man who should head up Suzuki's aftersales department and promptly made Jacques an offer he couldn't refuse and so they shook hands. The odd thing was that Jacques had previously been an importer of motorcycles himself (Derbi) and when I knew him he was selling Roca race accessories and also imported a range of crash helmets - all while working for Suzuki France. I feel sure that the wily Jacques managed to persuade Bonnet to agree to his moonlighting activities.
Anyway, the photo above - shows Jacques in 1969 negotiating the chicane at Monthlery Circuit in France on a T500. As far as definitive proof that Jacques was the T500's first racer, the best method would be to check the results of the French National Championship Races. You won't find a better site than http://racingmemo.free.fr/M%20FRANCE/MOTO%20FRANCE%201969.htm for these results. This link covers the 1969 results but from this page you can access the results for almost a century of racing from 1895 to 2007. Unfortunately, the 1969 page is the earliest page of the results showing Roca winning on a 500 Suzuki . But this site is concerned only with the winners; Roca may have struggled with his T500 for two years before he got his foot on the podium and thereby onto this results database. Unfortunately, we cannot ask Jacques to confirm the date when he first raced a T500; Jacques Roca died on 30th July 2007 after a long hard battle with cancer. The other urban myth about when the T500 was first raced is apparently evidenced by a Suzuki magazine ad showing Ron Grant at the Willow Springs 12 hour production endurance race in 19?? - well, nobody seems to know the date of this race do they? This advert is also shown on your website but it was also produced as a small poster or dealers to use within their shops. Chip Hennen (who was US Suzuki's PR Chief in those days) gave me a copy when I visited LA in 1980-81. Somebody has pencilled '1971' below the photograph on my c opy but I personally doubt that this advert really dates as late as 1971. It just has a feel of the late 60s period immediately after the T500 was launched in the US doesn't it? Out of curiosity, I've emailed Willow Springs to see if they can date it conclusively. I'll let you know the outcome. I think that's all for now. Cheers Ray Battersby
En Rickman-Metisse , précède André-Luc Appieto sur sa 500 Paton .
Comparison of riding styles
First published 1922 - Author - CK Shepherd
Across America by Motorcycle
Continued from Issue 3
Across America by Motorcycle
To be continued
Barry Sheene, Silverstone 1974
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