1966 Isle of Man Tt Races
1966 ISLE OF MAN TT RACES
AN EMERGENCY can often bring out the best in people, and the delayed races did just that, inasmuch as it was necessary to hold the sidecar and 250cc races on a Sunday this year to enable riders to attend the usual Bank Holiday Monday meetings on the mainland. To accommodate this the races were put back an hour to start at mid-day, the usual church services started an hour early, and a special midnight boat arranged to get riders to Liverpool and back again the following night. All was set for a week’s racing that promised plenty of excitement and new records. Few could have anticipated the drama that lay ahead when racing began at noon on Sunday.
SIDECAR RACE
From practice it had become quite ob-
vious that the battle was to be between lap record holders Max Deubel/Emil Horner, BMW, and world champions Fritz Scheidegger/John Robinson, BMW, with the latter anxious to win their first TT and complete an unbroken run of wins in title races this year. It did, indeed, turn out to be just such a battle, which from the sidelines looked almost tame, for on the first lap, Deubel opened up a 12-second lead over Scheidegger, to which he added three seconds more next time ’round. But then disaster struck the German pair, when the engine locked up momentarily after starting the third lap. Deubel freed the clutch and coasted the machine in a desperate attempt to ease the motor, which responded. But from then on it was touch and go whether the engine would last the lap, especially since
it had smothered the driver with oil.
At Ramsey, it seemed that Scheidegger was catching the German, and by the time they had crossed the mountain, they were just about level. But, Dame Fortune had not finished playing her tricks, and as Scheidegger left the dip at Governors Bridge, he lost second gear. By this time Deubel had already finished, as he had started 40 seconds in front of the Swiss ace, so the crowd in the grandstand started their own count-down, only to find that the two could hardly be separated on time. Then, the result was given out that Scheidegger had won by 0.4 of a second. Now attention could focus on the other place men who were also having their share of troubles. Colin Seeley/Wally Rawlings, BMW, were getting clutch slip over 8,000 rpm from the start, but managed to hold fourth place. Otto Kolle/ Billie Nelson, BMW, retired on the second lap with engine trouble. George Auerbacher/Edouard Dein, BMW, had trouble with a leaking gas tank and obviously had not read the regulations, for they stopped for gas on lap two at the pits but were not allowed to refuel as it was against the regulations. Somehow they finished, but with not a drop of gas left in the tank.
B. R. NICHOLLS
Klaus Enders, BMW, has come to the fore this season, but as a first-timer in the Island, had to contend with a late number. Almost last away, he showed that he and passenger Engelhardt will be a force to contend with in the future. Enders fought his way through the field to fifth place on lap one, maintained it the second time ’round, and moved up to fourth on the last lap ahead of Seeley. It was BMW machinery all the way, as was expected, with Terry Vinicombe/ John Flaxman in ninth place on a Kirby BSA — the only non-BMW outfit in the first ten. Four hours after the race had finished, the biggest bombshell in years was dropped when it was announced that Scheidegger had been disqualified for using gas other than that laid down in the regulations. It seemed incredible that such a thing could happen, and spectators and competitors alike, were aghast.
The Shell and B.P. companies are the only gas suppliers at the meeting and the regulations stated quite clearly that any competitor wishing to use any other fuel must advise the organizers when entering for the races. Scheidegger had not done this, although he had stated it quite clearly on his weigh-in card the day before the race that he was using Esso. This last fact was a way out for the jury, when the inevitable protest was heard two days later. But, after deliberating for three hours on the subject, they upheld the disqualification, so the world champion must now appeal directly to the FIM in Geneva. This will take time, so meanwhile, everyone moves up a place in the results and Deubel, at the moment, has a record three wins in a row, a feat never before achieved in the sidecar race. USA riders Maurice Candy/Jacques Dupont, with the BSA engine installed, lapped at 30 mins., 50 secs., 30 min., 27.2 secs, and 30 min., 12.2 secs, to finish 14th in the amended results — just 29.4 seconds outside bronze replica time. The lap record was not broken, but Deubel's race speed was a record.
Results:
250 RACE
With Bill Ivy having lapped at almost the ton in practice on a Yamaha, it was obvious that the danger to Hailwood would be from the Yamaha team of Ivy, Read and Duff. The original race entry of 104 was axed to 62 by non-starters, and American interest in the race centered around the Al Fergoda-sponsored Yamaha of red-leathered Bill Boyd, a colorful character who did not discover racing until the ripe old age of 25. Mike Hailwood, on the Honda six, was favorite and endorsed this with a standing start record lap at 109.29 mph, an increase of over four mph on the figure Jim Redman set last year. Nobody could live with Mike on that opening lap, and second behind him at the end of it, was Phil Read, who also broke the old record at 101.24 mph. Then came Stuart Graham, Honda; Bill Ivy, Yamaha; Heinz Rosner, MZ and Peter Inchley, Villiers. But, already the pace was beginning to tell, and on the second lap, Read retired at Ginger Hall and Rosner on the mountain, to join his teammate Fred Stevens, who had not completed the first lap. Bill Ivy, however, went great guns second time around, to join the select band of those who have lapped at over the ton. He did 100.8 mph, and so took second place behind Hailwood, only to have his glory short-lived when the Yamaha started to go sick next time around. A plug chop was done during his refueling stop, but this was of no avail and Bill retired at the end of the fourth lap.
By this time, Graham was well entrenched in second place and Ivy’s retirement meant the Inchley Villiers was now third, over 10 mph down on leader Hailwood. Franta Stastny, though still suffering from his practice crash, was a very game fourth on the Jawa-CZ. The two Bultacos of Jack Findlay and Bill Smith completed the leader board at the end of lap five, and that was the way the race finished. Bill Boyd set about the race with the right idea, and that was to finish, and it was cruel luck that stopped him doing just that. With the motor not going well on the first lap he stopped and changed plugs (the two-stroke rider’s panacea!), but as two cylinder head bolts had sheared, the trouble was not cured. Bill nursed the motor and completed the first lap in 32 min. 05.6 sec. and followed with 28 min. 30.4 sec., 27 min. 59.8 sec. and then 29 min. 25.4 sec., during which he refuelled. His fifth lap was his fastest ever, 27 min. 42.2 sec., a speed of over 81 mph. Then 14 miles out on the last round it cried enough — a sorry end to a great first-time effort.
There is little doubt that the Yamaha twin is the right tool for the job in coming to the TT, and this can be evidenced by the fact that one in the hands of Terry Grotefeld finished seventh in the race at a speed of 86.80 mph. Other things being equal, Team Cycle World could hardly have failed to do well in this race that had so many works machines littering the course.
So ended the first day’s racing, with. much ill feeling over the sidecar result and everyone wondering how long it would be before the awards system would be revised for the private runner to win either a silver or bronze replica, as these are based on 9/8ths of the winner’s time for a silver and between 9/8ths and 6/5ths for a bronze. Only three silver and eight bronze replicas were awarded in the 250 race, so it looks as if the time has come to put works riders and the private runner on a separate footing for earning replicas.
WEDNESDAY
One glance at Snaefell was sufficient to warn everyone that there would be a delay in starting. Nevertheless, spectators and photographers all took up positions around the course in case of a miracle and a prompt start. The canny ones got near a pub, so that when a half-hour delay was announced, it was “off for a beer, lads.” But then another half hour delay came along, and it was off for another beer, and then another, when a further postponement was made. Finally, it was announced that the start originally scheduled for 11 o’clock would begin at two. So, there was time to eat and reason whether Mike the Bike would win the 125 and 350 races and therefore equal Stanley Wood’s record of ten TT wins and then go and break it with a win in the 500 class on Friday. There was enough hot air on this subject to fly an airship. Then, along came five streaks of lightning, three Yamahas and two Suzukis, to put paid to it all. With the 350 class disaster on the first lap, the record was to be safe for another year.
125 RACE
Strategically, Hailwood, riding number 25 and Bryans, 21, were well placed, for the opposition was in front of them on the roads, so they could always be kept well informed by signals how the race was going. But this would only apply if the Hondas were going well, and there lay the rub.
Away from the start went Phil Read, mounted (as were teammates Bill Hy and Mike Duff) on a twin, and set a lap record from a standing start at 96.73 mph, compared with Hugh Anderson’s figure for a flying lap last year of 96.02 mph. At the end of the first lap Read led Ivy, Anderson, Duff and Perris, all on Japanese two-strokes, well ahead of the Hondas of Hailwood, Bryans and Taveri. Taveri had taken the slip road at Ballacraine, while Ivy had nearly overdone it at the Gooseneck, but he made amends on the second and third laps, which he covered in identical times, to send the lap record soaring to 98.55 mph. This gave him a race-winning record average speed of 97.66 mph for the three laps, and put him well and truly back in the hunt for the world title, especially as it is pretty certain that Honda will not compete in the Japanese Grand Prix.
With Read second and Duff fourth, Yamaha took the manufacturers’ team prize and the Honda dream of winning all solo classes disappeared. Anderson was riding a brand new short-stroke Suzuki twin and finished only six seconds behind Read. He said after the race that the new bike had gone well though probably slightly rich.
350 RACE
If the Honda mechanics were unhappy after the 125 race, they must have been close to committing hara-kari ten minutes after the start of the junior race when Hailwood never turned up at the commentary point at Ballaugh Bridge. It was eventually learned that he had retired at Bishop’s Court. His bike’s valves had tried to make acquaintance with the big ends.
From that moment on, there was only one man in it, and he was all set for record making. Heart-throb girl slayer Giacomo Agostini on the MV-3 became the first Italian to win the junior TT, and in so doing set lap and race records, obviously using the opportunity to get race experience, as this was only his second year in the Island.
Equally convincing in second place throughout the race was Peter Williams on the Arter AJS, riding in his first TT, although he has had experience over the circuit in the Manx Grand Prix. So, the interest really turned to the other leaderboard places where, on the first lap, Gustav Havel, Jawa-CZ, was third, Rosner, MZ, fourth, Dave Simmonds, fifth, on his 305cc Honda twin housed in a Featherbed frame, and to complete the picture with six different makes, Alberto Pagani, Aermacchi. Notable first lap retirement was Joe Dunphy, Norton, while well down the field and in trouble was last year’s double Manx GP winner, Malcolm Uphill, also Norton-mounted. Kelvin Carruthers, Norton, went out on lap two and Rosner moved up to take third place from Havel. His glory was short-lived, for the MZ malaise of a broken crankshaft took over at Ballaugh. Pagani also went out on the third lap with a broken clutch cable letting Frantisek Bocek, Jawa-CZ, into fifth place and John Blanchard, SeeleyAJS, sixth. Going well at this stage, having moved into seventh spot, was Chris Conn, Norton. At the end of the fourth lap, Agostini had over six minutes in hand over Williams while Jack Ahearn took a crafty nip up the leaderboard into fourth place by leaving his refuelling a lap later than the rest, so avoiding the chaos that can develop with a lot of riders in the pits at the same time. Williams did the same, but made no impression on Agostini.
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On the fifth lap, Havel Went out, and the battle for third place became critical, for Bocek held it by less than 12 seconds from Conn who, in turn, was a mere three seconds in front of Ahearn. Then Williams caught Conn on the roads, having started some two minutes, ten seconds after him. This provided Conn with an ideal pace-, maker, for the two scrapped for quite a way, before Conn pulled away slightly to gain third place at the finish by four seconds from Jack Ahearn who, urged on by frantic signals, pulled ahead of Bocek by under seven seconds. This last lap sort-out completely bamboozled the officials who, to everyone’s embarrassment, put Bocek on the rostrum for third place. Sixth, seventh and eight places were just as tight, for Blanchard beat Griff Jenkins, Norton, by 4.8 seconds, who, in turn, was only 1.2 seconds in front of Simmonds, who had trouble starting the Honda after his pit stop. Once again the veteran Stastny finished this time in ninth place behind Simmonds.
So ended the second day’s racing, which left spectators rather bemused with the fact that the speeds of the first six home in the 125 race would have given them second to seventh places in the 350 class ahead of Peter Williams. Admittedly, the 125s only do three laps, but it is food for thought and it seems time that this class
should certainly have to cover at least four laps of the mountain course.
FRIDAY
The big bore day commenced with three laps for the 50cc machines. In an endeavor to instill some action in the race, the organizers decided to start them en masse. While such a thing would be almost mass execution at the bottom of Bray Hill for any of the larger capacities, it was possible for the tiddlers, as there were only 17 starters, though one or two of them were not keen on the rush for the correct line.
The race was all set to be a battle between the Hondas of Ralph Bryans and Luigi Taveri and Suzukis ridden by Hugh Anderson, Hans-Georg Anscheidt, Ernest Degnar and Yoshimo Katayama. Anderson led the field initially but by Ballaugh, he had been slowed by a slight seizure and so Bryans led from Taveri and Katayama with Anscheidt, fourth. That was the order at the end of the first lap, with Bryans shattering the lap record with a speed of 85.15 mph, compared with the old figure of 81.13, set by Anderson in 1964. That is not the only record, either, for all the starters completed the first lap — a feat which on one can remember having happened in any TT race before. Bryans got another lap record second time around at 86.49 and Anscheidt retired, as did Katayama. Bryans struck a little trouble on the last lap when the Honda went quiet for awhile at Cregny Baa. This, plus some rain, cut the speed back a bit, although he still put up the race average by some five mph.
So fast had Bryans traveled that only three silver replicas were awarded and none in the bronze category. Honda took the team prize with Dave Simmonds making up the trio with Bryans and Taveri. One of the those tricks of fate meant that the riding numbers of the first four men home were 1-2-3-4. But the difference of 17 mph between first and fifth place shows just why the 50cc class can hardly be called a race.
After a disastrous Wednesday when they failed to win anything, Honda started Friday in good form. This was the : day they wanted the dice to run their way, for to keep alive hope of winning the 500cc world title, Hailwood had to win. Six laps of the mountain circuit would soon sort out any weakness in the engine. Only Hailwood could tame the cavorting beast for the next 226 miles. It was due to be a battle of the giants with the easier-handling, lighter MV-3 against Honda’s challenge to the crown that MV has held so long. Agostini had a slight advantage in starting 20 seconds behind Hailwood. So, the last race of the week started, the conditions good all around the course even though a strong breeze was blowing on the mountain.
A cracking pace was set from the start, and by Ramsey, Hailwood was five seconds faster than Agostini. Over the mountain he could only gain one more second from the Italian to lead at the end of the first lap by 6.2 seconds. Mike Duff, Matchless, haa retired at Quarry Bends. Last year’s second place man, Joe Dunphy, pulled into the pits and retired one lap later. Wednesday’s ace Peter Williams was third on the Arter Matchless; fourth was Malcolm Uphill, Norton; fifth, John Blanchard, Seeley Matchless, and a very temporary sixth, Jack Ahearn, whose Norton took him only to the top of Bray Hill on the second lap before bending a valve. Williams, too, struck trouble. Chris Conn, Norton, and Franta Stastny, Jawa, moved onto the leaderboard at the end of the second lap. And a record breaking lap it was, too: although Agostini had done 106.68 mph, compared with Hailwood’s old record of 106.41, Hailwood, himself, set a new record at 107.07 mph to increase his lead to 11 seconds. This he extended to 22 seconds by the end of lap three, during which Uphill retired with engine trouble. Ron Chandler, Matchless, then moved into the first six. A good pit stop by Conn saved him valuable time and moved him into third place ahead of Blanchard, whose 50 seconds for refuelling was 20 over average.
The fourth lap was significant, for Hailwood finished it almost a minute up on Agostini and it was obvious that only mechanical failure or rider error would stop Mike from setting a record of winning five Senior TT races. Neither happened and the rain that started on the fifth lap in the Ramsey area, merely kept the speed down to prevent a race record. On the final lap, Chandler got ahead of
Stastny, while Williams pulled up to seventh ahead of Jack Findlay and Bill Mccosh (both Matchless-mounted) who kept at bay two Australian newcomers, Malcolm Stanton and Kelvin Carruthers, riding their Nortons very well on their first visit to Mona’s Isle. Selwyn Griffiths, Matchless, crashed on the last lap at Ginger Hall, while running seventh and was removed to the hospital by the Shell helicopter, suffering from shock and abrasions. As mentioned in the practice report, American Byron Black improved his practice times considerably to finish the six laps in 2 hours, 45 minutes, 32.4 seconds at a speed of 82.06 mph for 28th position from 80 starters. His progressive race lap times were a model of what the newcomer should aim for, which is to learn something each time ’round, and so go quicker with each succeeding lap. Byron’s race laps were 27 min. 44 sec., 27 min., 25.4 sec., 27 min. 15.6 sec. 29 min. .09 sec. (this suggests a little too long on his pit stop), 27 min. 02.8 sec. and finally 26 min. 55.6 sec., a speed just over 84 mph.
God’s Bats Road Racing Club can be proud of their member in the Island who came over for the June races, but stayed on for the delayed meet, and now hopes to get a ride at the Japanese Grand Prix. Who better to argue start money, for his fluency in the language surprised Japanese mechanics in the Isle of Man.
Thus ended the TT races for 1966, with 10 new lap or race records in the books. The 1966 running was tragic, exciting, and disappointing. Tragic, because of the deaths of Toshio Fuji in practice and competitor Brian Duffy on the last lap of the 250 race. Exciting, with the battles between the non-works men being so close.
Disappointing, because of the crashes to Provini and Minier, which kept the Benelli and Gilera out of the races. And also because of the Yamaha decision not to run in the 350 race.
But against these points must be measured the achievement of Peter Inchley, the development engineer responsible for the work on the Villiers-engined machine that he rode to third in the 250 race; those hair-raising laps at 98.55 mph by Bill Ivy; Agostini’s win and William’s second in the 350 race; Conn gaining two thirds; Hailwood’s exciting ride gaining that 107.07 lap; but, perhaps above all, the courage of the Czechoslovakian Franta Stastny, fourth, ninth, and sixth in his three races after a heavy crash during practice.
