Innholdsfortegnelse for July - August 2019 i Classic Racer

It’s another issue of CR so that means there’s another chance for you to win a great prize. To be in with a chance of winning, just correctly complete the crossword opposite. Once you’ve done that, you need to send the work of mind and black and white boxes to us at CR Towers where Malc will once again delve deep into the upturned helmet of heroes to pluck forth one lucky winner. That lucky winner will not only be able to boast about how they were the best CR Crossword enterer (is that a word? Probably not...) but also be able to strutt around in the paddock or home – or both – whilst wearing a superb RST set of IOM TT leathers. So just fill in all the…

This year’s ClassicTT will see the appearance of one of the most iconic racing machines in motorcycling history, as Honda celebrates its 60th year on the Mountain Course and in racing. Mike Buttinger, founder and owner of the leading global supplier of Japanese motorcycle parts CMSNL, has recreated a Honda RC142 – the first Honda motorcycle to compete in the TT Races back in 1959. Working with his good friends and motorcycle builders Marnix Deibert and Sebas Van De Broek, Buttinger has rebuilt a complete RC142 from only an engine, fuel tank, swingarm, wheel hubs, and an assortment of smaller components. Combining their craftsmanship with fastidious research, the team has produced a 17.4hp, four-valve, 125cc racer that’s not a ‘replica’, but a recreation. Entered in the 1959 125cc LightweightTT race,…

One of the UK’s top short circuit and TT racers Barry Randle passed away in May after a long illness. Barry raced through the 1960s, firstly on Manx Nortons but successfully made the switch to Yamaha, winning many races along the way. A retired newsagent from the Midlands, Barry maintained his passion for the Isle of Man and theTT in particular, starting in 27 races and standing on the rostrum twice, with a runner-up spot and a third, and until last year he never missed a TT Riders’ Association luncheon. All at Classic Racer send sincere condolences to Barry’s family and friends.…

With 70 years of MotoGP as the main theme, Bikers’ Classics promises to have something for everyone when it returns to the iconic Belgian venue of Spa this summer as part of the A-XOC series. Organised by Classic Racing Motorcycles Belgium (CRMB) – the only Belgian club fully dedicated to old competition bikes – the event always provides close, fast, racing. “Our club has been an active partner of Bikers’ Classics since the first event in 2005,” said Eddy De Keyser, head of CRMB. “As this gathering is taking place at the historical site of the MotoGP of Belgium, we just had to be there in order to honour our national Grand Prix.” The Belgian Classic Grand Prix has been running for six years now, and over the years has…

More than 1000 bikes are expected to roar around the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit as part of the A-XOC Bikers’Classics event (left), making it a spectacle not to miss. On the Saturday, between 4.50 and 5.25pm, the huge parade of machinery will storm the circuit. The tour of the seven kilometre long track continues to Combes to take in and (re) discover the 14-kilometre track that turned Spa-Francorchamps into a legend. The parade is accessible to motorcycles (not scooters) and sidecars. Registration is free for all competitors already active during the different sessions or races, as well as members of the clubs participating in the event.…

The pride and joy of Minnovation Racing’s stable is its replica Matchless G50 motor – manufactured using the best quality materials and components available, using the original AMC competition department drawings. There’s no comparable product out there on the market. Its aim is to produce top quality, reliable engines which kick out a good spread of power, but most importantly to create the engine you want. ALL G50 ENGINES INCLUDE: • Fag X-life heavy duty brass caged main bearings which are oversized for added durability. • Cylinder barrel assembly comprising a machined heat treated cast alloy jacket, containing a machined from solid HE30 liner. The bore is precision honed and the liner outer diameter ground before final assembly and Apticote plating. • Pistons machined from solid billet by Omega to…

Horsman suffered serious injury after a crash during practise for the 1972 Castrol Six-Hour at Amaroo Park. Bill recently took up target pistol shooting, concentrating on air pistol and free pistol. “I retired about 1974. I got an invitation to go to the Isle of Man to ride in the Manx Classic TT, which I did for eight years. I did two years, 1989 and 1990, I missed 1991 then went back in 1992. In 1993 we took our own G50 over, I missed 1994, then I did 1995, 1996 and 1997. If I hadn’t done 1997 I wouldn’t have had a ride in 1998 because of a cutoff age, I would have been three months too old. As I turned out I was fortunate enough in 1997 to win…

SETTLE A BET Dear CR As a regular supporter of the Northern Irish road races I feel it is a tragedy that they are under so much pressure in Northern Ireland. Can you settle a bet for me? I have a £10 wager with my friend who is a regular in Northern Ireland and he maintains that the first year he visited the NW200 in 1968 the class was won by Bill Smith on a Honda from Kel Carruthers second and John Hartle third, both on Aermacchis. Our wager revolves around the Honda that won, I say it was one of the very rare ER77s, my mate says it was a rare kitted CB350, which was the forerunner of many, many race kitted CB350s which have dominated classic racing since…

Following last year’s successful Sidecar Revival at Cadwell Park, the event returns to the picturesque Lincolnshire circuit over the weekend of June 22-23. There is a VIP reception planned for the celebrity guests at the Grand Hall on Friday evening, following a test, practice and publicity day at the track. Former world champions pledging their support over the weekend, along with their legendary machinery, include the two most successful ever, Steve Webster and Swiss legend Rolf Biland. The event commemorates 70 years of the FIM World Sidecar Championship, and 40 years of LCR chassis success, the brand having won 37 world sidecar titles within that period. There will also be the current crop of world championship regulars, as this unique event will be hosting a round of the British Championship…

Elsewhere on these opening pages of CR you can read Malc’s thoughts about spending time with Gene Romero, who passed away recently. Malc, quite rightly, views his time with the On Any Sunday star – and wonderfully talented racing icon – as a treat. I too spent time with Romero at the Stafford Show when he and Dave Aldana were the star turns. For me, the experience was illuminating and addictive. Dave was a gentleman, in every respect. Gene was a force of nature. Both brilliant racers in their day, Dave was genial and engaged and Gene was forthright and opinionated. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute with both of them. Several times I found myself alone with Gene, the pair of us having a drink and talking about the old…

Like so many more of my generation I soaked up any motorcycling fix I could get, but the release of the movie On Any Sunday was the real game changer. For the first time we got a gripping take on motorcycle sport in the USA, in all its forms... but the one discipline that made the greatest impact had to be flat track, especially the mile. Suddenly we had a whole new group of heroes to admire, so you can imagine the excitement when the TransAtlantic Match Races were announced, with our new-found American racers coming to the UK to race at Brands Hatch, Mallory, and Oulton Park. We rode down to Brands on my Norton 600 and somehow managed to get an American flag to show support for the…

At long last the overdue story of one of the UK’s most popular racers, John ‘Moon Eyes’ Cooper, has been published by Classic Racer’s parent company Mortons Media. John Cooper raced through perhaps the hardest-fought period of short circuit racing – the 1960s and 70s, and beat the best along the way. He will always be remembered for his giant killing act when he beat world champion Giacomo Agostini around the circuit he made his own, Mallory Park, but in a long career he achieved much more. Moon Eyes tells the story of a down to earth racer in his own words who still has the same enthusiasm for the sport as he did when racing at the very top level. Moon Eyes –The John Cooper Story costs £6.99 and…

Benelli’s 1969 250 It may have been spied in the opening year of the 1960s, the reality was that the 250 Benelli four did not actually race competitively until April 1962, with the machine debuting at Imola in the hands of Silvio Grassetti. The race may have been under close scrutiny because of the new Benelli race bike but a bent valve put paid to any thoughts of contesting for a podium place at what turned into a damp squib of a debut. So it took another week for the world to get to see the small machine in full flight for an entire race distance, and when it did at Cesenatico, the writing was on the wall. Here, the 250 beat the works Hondas of Jim Redman andTom Phillis…

Back in the mid-1980s, chassis stiffness was the holy grail. The principle was to made the structure as rigid as possible, so that the suspension could do its work precisely. More than 30 years later, the goal posts have moved. Controlled flex is the epicentre of racing chassis design, while the carbon-fibre-framed Ducati of 2009-11 was famously unsuccessful, especially in the hands of Valentino Rossi, because it was thought too stiff. The explanation is that at high angles of lean, bumps are acting out of line with the suspension, so the chassis must absorb them. But the simplicity of this hides a world of complexity. So what has changed? Leaper has no instant explanation. “I don’t know. I’m not in there doing it, but it didn’t appear to be like…

“The bike was commissioned by Giancarlo Morbidelli as a study, after he saw some advanced designs I made that were published in the Yamaha International Magazine,” Philippe DeLespinay recalls today. “It was designed by the late Hurley Wilvert and myself, with the idea of making it more stable under braking. The front suspension was a single vertical arm pivoted from brackets on the chassis on Heim joints (there was no ‘steering column’). “That meant actuating a swing arm of which the pivoting axis was in a line from the front tire patch to the centre of gravity of the bike, so there was no diving under braking. “The fuel tank was under the bike sited on the front of the engine that, in turn moved closer to the rear wheel…

CR: HOW DID YOU GET INTO MOTORCYCLES? MP: “That would be my dad’s fault – he bought me an ancient Francis-Barnett with a Villiers engine when I was a kid. We restored it together, and that was that. I was hooked.“ CR: HOW DID MINNOVATION RACING BEGIN? MP: “My boss George Parrott gave me the go-ahead to make some fork yokes about 20 years ago to supplement Minnovation’s core mining equipment business, during a lean period. We went on to buy George Beale’s G50 engine business – and it just snowballed from there.” CR: WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE MATCHLESS G50 ENGINE? MP: “It’s a very simple, but brilliant design which lends itself to never-ending development. And if you need proof of just how good they are, you should check…

True commitment to racing is shown by Horsman, who knowingly drove to Bathurst without enough money to return home! How many in the sport today would do the same? With that historic win under his belt, Horsman fortunately doubled his prize money as the Senior and Unlimited races were combined however, the payout was not in cash. Bill explains: “I went home with a bit of a story. My finances were such that when I left home I didn’t have enough money to get back. I thought that everything would go alright but if the worst came to the worst, I could get a job in Bathurst for a week or fortnight, get a few quid to pay for the petrol and get home! As it turned out I had…

The CRMC was in South West Wales at a dry but chilly Pembrey for its second meeting of the season, where it turned out to be a fantastic weekend for the Minnovation Racing team of Lee Hodge and Joe Barton, as they netted a large haul of wins, including both ACU races. Graham Lawlor and Pete Morris bring you the action.…

IT’S FAUSTO! From the era that brought us the hardest small-bike racers in the world, Fausto Gresini was a proper hardman who rivals feared – and team-mates too. Most people were scared of the Italian, except for little Loris Capirossi... we’ll tell you why. GOODBYE GENE Romero’s legacy and how he changed the shape of racing forever CHEVALLIER HONDA 500 You take a Honda NS500 motor and wrap something hot around it DUCATI’S 1971 500CC GP BIKE The ‘Proof-of-Concept’ racer that took to the track Classic Racer #199 is on sale from August 15, in many outlets where magazines are sold. If you struggle to find a copy (because it’s sold out, for example) then you can get one delivered to your door. Go to page 26 for details of…

Ten timeTT race winner Giacomo Agostini has confirmed he will appear at this summer’s ClassicTT Races. The legendary Italian, who has 15 world championship titles to his name, will ride the iconic Robert Iannucci owned 350cc MV Agusta ‘Quattro Cilindri’ that was first introduced in the 1972 world championship season – the bike that replaced the hugely successful MV Agusta triples that won the 350cc world championship every year from 1968 to 1973. Agostini’s name is synonymous with the iconic Italian MV Agusta marque that he represented from the 1965 season. He won the 500cc world championship seven times in a row for the Italian manufacturer – also winning six successive 350cc titles on MVs and no less than 10TT races. His career record included 62 500cc and 48 350cc…

Star names, a bike ridden by one of the most famous riders in history and a record near-£4 million auction all contributed to a smash hit Stafford show this spring. The Bonhams auction was, as usual, a real attraction for the 39th Carole Nash International Classic MotorCycle Show, and with an impressive sale rate of 92% and a total of £3,892,397 achieved, it proved an all-time record. Highlights included a 1962 Triumph 649cc TR6SS which had been ridden by Bud Ekins, the US racer who performed the famous jump as stunt-double for Steve McQueen in The Great Escape. The lot achieved more than three times its top estimate with a world record auction price of £97,750. Another record-breaker was a 1925 Coventry Eagle 981cc Flying-8, a rare example of a…

Entries for the forthcoming Barry Sheene Classic on July 27 and 28 July at Scarborough’s Oliver’s Mount are now open. Organiser the Two Four Three Road Racing Association says its first meeting heralds a new era of racing at Oliver’s Mount, which will feature both classic and modern machinery. Entries are available by mailing Hayley Colebrook, the entries secretary, at 243rra@gmail.com or by visiting www.243racing.co.uk The racing categories for the Barry Sheene Classic are as follows: CLASSIC MACHINE ELIGIBILITY: ■ Lightweight Class – Two-stroke race machines up to 250cc 01/01/1973–31/12/2004 ■ Junior Classic – 175cc-350cc – Two-stroke pre 31/12/1993 – Four-stroke pre 31/12/1986 ■ Senior Classic – 350cc-500cc pre 31/12/1972 ■ Classic Superbike – 501cc–1300cc pre 31/12/1992 MODERN SIDECARS AND SOLOS ■ Sidecar F2 to ACU regulations 2019 (no long…

CRMC is currently testing the new automated on-line entry system that will be appearing on the CRMC website shortly. MARQUEE OF THINGS TO COME? At the CRMC Pembrey meeting in May the Carmarthenshire circuit was able to retain the marquee pit lane garages from an earlier meeting for the benefit of CRMC competitors. Will the success of the marquee garages resurrect the BARC plans for a permanent set of pit lane garages at Pembrey? Be nice if it did! ON SHOW Bikes appearing for the first time in the Donington Classic Festival Grand Prix bike display include: 1. An original 297 Honda 6 whose engine can be traced to being used by Mike Hailwood in the 1967 TT 2. An ex Colin Edwards Moto GP FTR Kawasaki 3. Kenny Roberts…

After the big duel the NSW Kawasaki importer approached Molloy and offered the Kiwi one of the new factory H2R 750 triples. Ginger was the first non-factory Kawasaki rider to be given an H2R and won the Singapore Grand Prix in 1973. Molloy went on to win the inaugural NZ Castrol Six-Hour in 1974, solo on a 900cc Kawasaki Z1, and after retirement at the end of 1975 he successfully raced his Bultaco racers in classic racing for many years. With great past successes in East Germany, Ginger was invited to ride a lap of honour before the German MotoGP at Sachsenring in 2015.…