Report From Italy
REPORT FROM ITALY
CARLO PERELLI
THE ITALIAN ROUND for the FIM “Coupe d’Endurance,” the Monza Six Hour race, was held in overcast but dry weather, and completely dominated as last year by two factory Aermacchis.
The Varese factory fielded a 350 ridden by Mandolini and Pagani, and a 250 with Giovanardi and Campanelli, both machines practically the same as the production racers recently described by CW, but fitted with complete electrical equipment and kick starter.
Riders Loro and Dardinello, sharing a 650 Norton Dominator SS prepared by the factory and the Italian agent, took an early lead followed by the English riders, Buckmaster and Pickrell, on their Triumph Bonneville 120. However, both these attempts failed, letting Mandolini and Pagani move into first place, Mandolini setting up in the process the fastest lap at 103 mph. A fine performance but, according to the riders and factory technicians, still below the machine’s potential. The 350, in fact, was never allowed to rev over 7000 rpm, instead of the usual 8000, while the 250 also was kept down 1200 rpm from the usual 10,000.
At about mid-race, all the best foreign opposition faded: the Loro-Dardanello
Norton stopped with a broken exhaust valve (a standard valve since the factory didn’t want to fit a special type); the Buckmaster-Pickrell Bonneville had a connecting rod come out of the crankcase; while the factory Montesa 250 two-stroke, with Spanish riders Busquets and Sirera, was going very well, although not so fast as the Aermacchi, until it retired with a holed piston.
Lots of mechanical trouble also developed in the privateers’ field. Monza is a very fast, demanding course, and six hours are . . . long. But almost everyone seemed to overlook this, and right from the first lap, after a frantic kick-start getaway, the riders could be seen flat out as if in a short race, with no pity at all for their engines. The result was that not long after the start we could photograph the most terrifying collection of “mechanical horrors” in the pits.
No job was too big for some people; valves and pistons were changed, while in some two-stroke engines they went so far as to change the crankshaft!
There was some anxiety when the factory Aermacchi 250 was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop due to misfiring, but a replacement battery cured the problem. The 350 was as smooth as a clock for the whole race. Both Aermacchis finished the race in perfect condition, with barely traces of oil on the engine.
Overall winners Mandolini and Pagani, with the 350 mount, covered 576 miles in six hours at 96 mph (record), and second overall were Giovanardi and Capanelli on the 250 job, with 543 miles at 90.5 mph. Last year’s record set up by Pagani and Visenzi with a 250 factory Aermacchi was 88.5 mph.
Winners in the other classes were Tosolini and Mondani (Ducati 125), Casagrande and Bassani (Morini 175), and Perrone and Trabalzini (Moto Guzzi 500). Only 12 machines out of 40 starters finished the event.
The perfect condition of the winning 350 Aermacchi Harley Davidson soon after the race. The 250 mount looked similar.
