The Scene

THE SCENe

IVAN J. WAGAR

I understand a couple of the AMA regulars did not take kindly to young John Buckner coming to Daytona for the first time and blowing them in the weeds. It will be remembered that John, on a privately owned, privately tuned Yamaha, finished second in the combined amateur/expert race, and came within an ace of winning.

One would expect, if there were to be a protest, that it would come from Bob Winters or Ralph White, first and third, re spectively, who fought tooth and nail with John for most of the race without giving an inch. But that was not the case. Bob and Ralph are both talented enough to know when they are, or are not, on line through a turn. The two riders who did protest, condemning John's style for "passing in an unsafe manner," have a bit to learn about road racing. I saw John catch the one rider, who had been able to get a better start, and on two occasions, he very nearly wiped John out. But John did not complain. When asked about it later, John's only comment was, "that's racing."

The only reply I can get from two AMA representatives is that officially no action has or will be taken, although John might have trouble if he tries to enter any more races this year. This means very little to John, as he is now doing his bit for Uncle Sam and will be hung up for a while anyway. I hope the people involved have matured by the time John finishes his hitch.

THE MRI (Motorcycle Racers Inc.) is a professional riders' union and is very familiar to those of us on the West Coast. It also rings an influential bell with race organizers or promoters who would try to take advantage of the competitors. The system works very well: it has forced the AMA to modernize many of its rules, has kept promoters in line regarding prize money, and most important in the long haul, several tracks are safer, as a result of their efforts.

Now, after talking about it for many years, a similar group is being formed in Europe (maybe we are not so far behind, after all). Essentially, the new organization will be comprised of factory riders, and names like Redman, Hailwood, Read and Perris are the ones behind it.

At this point, money has not been mentioned. Organizers who have only the minimum number of classes at a grand prix are the first target. Under FIM rules a classic (a GP counting toward the world championship) need only cater to three classes, and may be any combination the organizer chooses. Some races, such as the Isle of Man and the Dutch, run all categories. The Spanish GP leaves out 350s and 500s, but only because the course is too tight and twisty. Japan has never had a 500 class; until this year, none of the Japanese factories had competed in the largest category.

The offending organizers, as the riders see it, are those at the French and Belgian GPs, who continue to have classic status year after year, with the minimum of effort or concern. Everyone in grand prix racing feels there are too many classics; the new group suggests dropping those who obviously don't care enough to have a full schedule.

Another reason for the group being formed is the matter of mistreated riders. At the Belgian Grand Prix, Bill Ivy had been told he would not need a pass for practice. On arrival at the paddock one-half hour early on Friday, Ivy was knocked down and kicked twice.

Fortunately, World Champion sidecar passenger John Robinson saw the rumble going on and brought help. Stan and Mike Hailwood ran into a Gestapo-type policeman who pulled a gun on them.

Belgium is not alone in this respect. In Italy, one is apt to be pulled off his motorcycle in the pits and shuffled away. And the best thing that ever happened for the riders was the loss of the Argentine GP.

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It appears the organizers hire large thugs a few days before practice, give each a gun, a uniform and a good meal, then position them at strategic points with very specific instructions. Of course, if a cousin comes along, whom they haven't seen for a year, the course is his, and he goes wandering off wherever he pleases. The brilliant Dave Chadwick, who had been my pit attendant at the Isle of Man in 1954, was later killed on the continent because of an ice cream vendor pushing his cart on the course.

With things like this going on, it is not surprising that a rider's union is underway. In fact, I should think there has been a much greater need in Europe than here. But regardless which side of the world, some organizers will always take advantage of the riders. This is partly due to the fact that most riders don't care about "the politics." They just want to ride. The few who do speak out for better conditions are labeled rabble rousers and trouble makers, since individuals can do very little by themselves. However, a proper body with elected officials can do some good; the MRI has proven it.

DON Vesco has been absent from several races lately, not only due to his motorcycle retail business in San Diego, but because he is building another streamliner for this year's Bonneville speed trials.

Unlike last year's Yamaha-powered projectile, in which he broke a collar-bone, this one will be a car and have a 90-cubicinch Offenhauser four-cylinder, twin cam engine. A roots-type blower will be used and the engine runs on alcohol fuel.

Don broke the National D class record three years ago with a speed of 222.791 mph, and became a member of the famous 200 mph club. He and his father have been "Bonneville regulars" for many seasons and we all wish them well.

AT Francorchamps during the Belgian Grand Prix, a French photographer was making movies by remote control. Star in this sequence is Andy Richman from Florida, who finished 17th in the 250 race on a Bultaco.

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GOOD news for those who may have an objection to the standard Greeves front end is the new Challenger fitted with Ceriani front forks. The forks are factory equipment and have been used for two seasons by Greeves works riders in European motocross racing.

A leading California desert racer has sampled the new machine and is raving about the soft ride and high-speed stability offered by this set up. The 54-inch wheelbase is identical to the latest Greeves-forked model, tested in this issue. The Cerianis, while being light, are very strong and have 6 1/2 inches of travel.

FIRST "naked" photo of the mighty Honda 499cc four-cylinder grand prix racer shows the detachable lower frame members, mentioned in this column last month. After these tubes have been removed, the engine drops straight down to come away from the chassis in the same way as would a standard Hawk unit.

The large casting under the crankcase is an oil sump, and has a frame mounting point at the forward tip. Almost all of the engine castings are magnesium, and by using some of the running gear from the 250s, the machine is considerably lighter than the outdated MV fours.

The engine is a copy of the famous four valves per cylinder 250 four, doubled in capacity. It is worth noting that this is the largest cylinder size Honda has used in their factory racers since 1960. But since they are able to extract 78 horsepower at 12,500 rpm, and clearly have a performance advantage over the opposition, there is really no need to go to more then four cylinders.

Drive to the overhead camshafts is almost identical to the 250s, with spur gears driven by the crankshaft and passing between cylinders two and three. An auxiliary gear from the back of this train drives a transistor ignition system, which is mounted directly under the carburetors.

The rear brake has squirrel cage-type vanes on the periphery of the hub and vents out the backing plates. This means that air is forced into the hub past the back of the cast iron drum.

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Performance of the new 500 has been somewhat earth-shattering. However, there

are problems. Honda wants to win all solo classes in this year's championship, and while Hailwood has been concentrating on the 250 and 350 classes, Jim Redman is going after the 500, using Hailwood as back-up man. The system works fine, except Mike, for various reasons, has not been collecting points. And while Jim won the first two races, with Agostini second, Mike has not scored any points in the big class so far.

Now Jim has broken his shoulder and Agostini has gone ahead on championship points. Unless Jim heals very quickly, there is no hope of Honda taking the championship, as Agostini would still win if Mike beat him in the remaining races. This is all unfortunate for Jim; it is quite well known he would like to hang it up, and that is why Honda chose him to go after the championship. After all, what better way to wind up a great ca reer? Mike has won the heavyweight crown so many times it is difficult to keep track.