Racing Review
RACING REVIEW
BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
Heinz Schneider
Racing on a circuit where brute power counts above all else, Phil Read and Bill Ivy must have felt confident that their Yamaha Fours would dominate the 250 class of the Belgian GP, contested over the fast straights and sweeping curves of the 8.76-mile Francorchamps circuit, in the Ardennes mountains.
Ivy had won three, and Read one, of the four previous rounds, while only by consistent placings had East German Heinz Rosner kept his MZ Twin within striking distance in the points table. But, with the race an apparent Yamaha monopoly, luck and mechanical dramatics gave the crowd an unexpected bonus in excitement.
Characteristically, Ivy burst his machine into life with a spectacular wheelie and, followed by Read, hurtled up the mountain. At the completion of Lap 1 it was Rod Gould-sporting a TEAM CYCLE WORLD decal on his fairing-who tailed Ivy, while Read pitted to change plugs. He restarted in 25th, and last, position, while Rosner held 3rd place.
Read battled through the pack, but Yamaha’s hopes suffered another blow when Ivy pitted on Lap 4. He, too, restarted, but quit only a few miles farther on, with suspected magneto troubles.
After four laps, Rosner led Gould, with Read still down in 6th place. With five of the nine laps gone, Read was only 19 sec. behind the leader, who had pulled out 6 sec. on Gould. And, when Read passed Gould into 2nd place, with only three laps to go, Rosner’s advantage had diminished to 7 sec. Read motioned Gould, riding his Yamahaengined Bultaco, into his slipstream in order to pull him closer to Rosner. But with Rod on his tail, Read gained only 3 sec. on the next lap. So Phil waved goodbye to his countryman, and proceeded to catch the East German.
Through the fast S bends of Masta the pair swept, side by side. Out of La Source hairpin, requiring low gear and skillful slipping of the clutch, Rosner emerged, leading, and sped into the final lap a machine’s length ahead of the Yamaha. But Read startled his opponent by diving past on the outside on the left hander after the pits, and on the last few miles gained no less than 7 sec.
Gould finished 3rd, 20 sec. behind Rosner, and Hungarian Laszlo Szabo rode his MZ into 4th. Santiago Herrero’s aircooled Ossa Single occupied 5th place. The Spaniard completed the final third of race distance with the left handlebar dangling uselessly, and was forced to “slow” to an average speed of 111 mph. After the race Herrero said his simple little Ossa was as fast as the watercooled MZ Twin of Szabo.
Privateers led the 24-strong field of 500-cc machines from the flag, with John Cooper ahead, and favorite Giacomo Agostini trapped in the pack. However, Alberto Pagani, on the new Lin to Twin, led after Lap 1, with Agostini in his slipstream. At 112 mph, Pagani covered his opening lap 8 mph slower than the rocketlike Ivy had completed the first round of the 250 race. Jack Findlay (McIntyre Matchless), Kel Carruthers (Norton), Cooper (Seeley), and Australian Johnny Dodds (Norton), were battling less than 4 sec. behind the leader.
World champion Agostini cruised around for another lap, watching the Linto from behind. Its two Aermacchi cylinders on a common crankcase sound healthy, and the bike appears a promising production mount for private riders. But, on Lap 3, Pagani retired with one cylinder silent, and ignition faults suspected.
His countryman out, Agostini wound up the MV, raising the race average to a fraction under 125 mph, and his best lap speed to 129.6 mph, a new record. It also is the fastest lap ever recorded in a world championship event.
Findlay, who this year has proved himself best of the “single cylinder brigade,” raced on in a secure 2nd place, ahead of Derek Woodman (Seeley) and Carruthers. After two-thirds distance, Carruthers’ Norton slowed, and Robin Fitton, “Continental Circus” veteran who first raced at Francorchamps 16 years ago, pressed his Norton into 4th spot, grinding away patches of his fairing through the bends. Four laps from the end, Woodman caused a flurry of excitement by pitting for fuel. He rejoined the race just in time to save his 3rd place from Fitton and Carruthers.
Agostini lapped everyone but Findlay. Giacomo has now won all five of the 500-cc title events held this season, and with five more rounds to go needs only one more victory to clinch the world championship. Findlay’s race speed of 118.1 mph on his McIntyre Matchless special, with its dated single-cylinder “thumper” engine, would have earned him 1st place ahead of John Surtees and the MV Four in the Belgian GP 10 years ago. Since then no other machine but an MV has won this race.
Helmut Fath and his URS Four gained 5 sec. a lap over the other sidecar competitors for the opening two laps of the race. Then the BMWs of Georg Auerbacher and Johann Attenberger caught up, and with three laps remaining, passed Fath, who coasted into the pit with fuel starvation. His engine is now rehable, with pistons formed of improved material. Previously, pistons had to be changed after every race, and even then developed cracks.
Attenberger’s light blue outfit led Auerbacher’s metallic green chair into the last lap, never to reappear. As stated in “Continental Report” (CW, Sept. ’68), Attenberger crashed, and he and his passenger, Joseph Schillinger, were killed.
After Auerbacher, Assi Butscher (BMW) claimed 2nd place, ahead of Helmut Lunemann, Tony Wakefield, and Otto Kolle—all relying on BMW engines. No records were broken, despite the fierce competition and the money that riders pump into the shortstroke engines. A shortage of new spare parts also hampers speed and reliability of the horizontal Twins.
In the 50-cc race, Hans-Georg Anscheidt, on the Suzuki Twin, beat Dutch GP winner Paul Lodewijkx, on the Jamathi Single, by more than a minute. Derbi factory riders Angel Nieto and Barry Smith spent most of the race slipstreaming each other, in a vain attempt to master the Jamathi, but Lodewijkx held off Nieto by 1 sec.
Nieto looked anything but angelic a while later, as he dashed through the paddock protesting that the Dutch-built Single was oversize. A few days after its Dutch success, a German newspaper had alleged that it was not a copy of the old Suzuki Single, but that the engine actually comprised one cylinder taken from a stolen Suzuki 125. But, official measurements showed that the Jamathi men had gained their speed through honest laborthe engine measured just under 50 cc.
IRON CURTAIN GRANDS PRIX
The two big bike titles are clinched with completion of the Iron Curtain round of grand prix racing at Sachsenring, East Germany, and Brno, Czechoslovakia. Both road circuits are of the old style, leading through villages with curbs and lampposts to be avoided, and sneaking bends to stress brakes and gearboxes. They are riders’ tests par excellence, although long straights favor the few factory mounts left in this year’s round.
Winning both his classes in both events, Giacomo Agostini secured his third consecutive senior title, and his first 350 to go with it. It is the eleventh 500 championship won on a bike from Count Agusta’s stable, with no other make to break the sequence. Four championships went to Mike Hailwood, one was won by the late Gary Hocking, and three in a row were garnered by John Surtees. Surtees earned a fourth title on the 500 MV in 1956, but, the year after, the late Libero Liberati took the magic name of Güera to top laurels for the last time. All other makes retired from works supported racing in 1958. Thus MV’s titles never were reaUy contested, until 1966 and last year, when Honda made an aU-out effort to get Hailwood or Jim Redman on the rostrum. Young Agostini and the MV Three kept the title in Italy.
Honda has paused in the grand prix game, and Yamaha has not yet bothered to build a 350. Thus class honors return to GaUarate and MV. The last Italian success was scored back in 1961, when Gary Hocking rode for the Count. Hard bitten Honda captain Jim Redman had taken the title to Honda four times. After Redman’s retirement, Mike Hailwood held off a half-hearted MV challenge for another two years. Opposition from spectacular Renzo Pasolini and the Benelli Four faded out after the Dutch TT. Wild riding Renzo never had a chance to beat Ago, though the Benelli is no slower than the winning make.
Unchallenged as MV, Yamaha does all the winning in the smaller classes and, the season more than halfway completed, Phil Read is as sure of his 125 title as little Bill Ivy is of his 250 championship, provided he does not stick to his habit of falling off the bike or breaking it. Phil Read won both classes at Brno, where Bill dropped the 125 and had trouble taking home the 250 to 2nd place. In East Germany, Ivy had won his class and Read his, as they had to.
In aU classes, except the 500, where Jack Findlay outclassed all the opposition, the places behind the works runners are hotly disputed by private racers or lesser works team riders.
EAST GERMANY-THE 350
The Sachsenring crowds, who love Mike Hailwood not only because he had pleased them with a win on the East German-made MZ 250 back in 1963, were disappointed not to see their hero in action this year. Cheerful Ago either is playing around with the boys, or he reaUy got a bad start in the opening 350-cc event. Heinz Rosner (MZ) led through Lap 1. Ginger Molloy (Bultaco) and Kel Carruthers (H-D Aermacchi) disputed this season’s question of two-stroke vs. four-stroke Single. Ago watched from behind, until he opened up to pull away and win with 103 mph. Only Rosner escaped being lapped after 18 tours on the 5.35-mile circuit. Ginger’s air cooled Bultaco was out-accelerated by Carruthers’ horizontal Single. Derek Woodman was offered an MZ ride, but stuck with his H-D Aermacchi Métissé, and emerged best from a three-cornered fight for 5th. His closest rival, Peter Wüliams (Arter AJS), fell off in the very last curve.
Wüliams’ forced stop helped Billie Nelson (Norton) to take 6th, ahead of German old hand Karl Hoppe, who has had a fine season on his H-D Aermacchi so far. Bohumil Stasa (CZ) also dropped it in notorious Queckenberg, but remounted to finish 12th behind his compatriot Hlavac (Jawa), Rudi Thalhammer (Drixton-H-D Aermacchi), and the surprisingly slow Dan Shorey (Norton).
THE 125
There were lots of MZs of various age and ownership to fill the leaderboard places behind the winning 125-cc Yamahas, and 50-cc champion and Suzuki team rider Hans-Georg Anscheidt had been talked into trying one of the West German Neckermann stable, but was glad to be off the bike again. Heinz Rosner led for most of the first lap, and his riding deserves praise. Bill Ivy got a new plug into his Four after a slow first lap, which did not affect the result. Rosner retired from his 2nd place with electrical trouble. With 1.25 min. in hand over his mate, Phil Read won the race, averaging 97.4 mph, and picking up the lap record with 100.3, doing the first ton on this classic GP course with a 125 bike.
Ambitious East German rider Gunther Bartusch caught fast starter Laszlo Szabo during the final lap to take 3rd place. East Germany’s top tuner Hartmut Bischoff got 5th, and Thomas Heuschkel grabbed 6th to earn points with his homemade bike. The three riders were separated by only a few machine lengths after a 64-mile dice.
THE 500
MV’s Agostini truly enjoys pulling a rider away from the field. This time it was compatriot Alberto Pagani on the Linto Twin who profited from the Three’s tow. For two laps, Ago helped him, then the champion started his lap around the whole field. He finished it in time to tow Alberto again. With five laps to go, the Linto was slowed by a loose battery lead, and loss of a megaphone. Jack Findlay (Matchless) was hung in Alberto’s slipstream, then Ago was there to pull the Linto to safety. The production Twin-to-be scored its first GP success, much better than the rival Patons, and put the Singles where they belong. Mostly a lonely rider, relying on blonde wife Nanou’s pit signals and concentrating on the ride, Jack Findlay this time had to fight for his place with John Cooper (Seeley) and Kel Carruthers (Norton), until the latter’s engine tightened up. In the end, Jack’s 8-year-old McIntyre Matchless, in top form of reliability, got the better. Top privateer in the 250-cc class, Rod Gould roUed^off the field from behind after a slow start, picking up a few places every lap. He was 6th when the Norton’s clutch let him down.
THE 250
As tradition has it at Sachsenring, the 250-cc class provided the last race of a brilliant day. Phü Read and BiU Ivy scorched off the line to show who is the master. Going side by side for three laps, they tore away from Heinz Rosner (MZ Twin), who, on his side, got clear of Rod Gould’s Yamaha Twin in the nickel plated Bultaco frame. Then Phü began to gain on this mate. At half distance of the 15 lapper, Phü stopped at his pit. Some coolant was poured into his right radiator. When Ivy zoomed past, Phil restarted, and within a lap he hung on his mate’s tad. To keep the crowd of 200,000 happy, PhU took the lead again. But howling down Queckenberg and entering Queckenberg curve, he kept his Yamaha on the wide Une and let the designated champion take the flag, with an average of 103.9 mph. Phil got the lap record to his credit with 105.9 mph.
CZECHOSLOVAKIA—THE 125
Heinz Rosner led the 30-strong field down the descent of the start for eight laps on the 8.66-mile circuit on the outskirts of the industrial town of Brno. Phil Read was caught napping in pole position and was last man away, but was not able to curse-he had stuck a length of adhesive tape across his mouth to keep out the rain. The circuit was still wet from a downpour, and thick clouds threatened more water to come, making the mountain course more dangerous than it already is. The Yamaha team led clearly after Lap 1 from Rosner and fast starter Szabo. A host of private MZs followed, the aged Honda Twins of Walter Scheimann, Kel Carruthers and Canadian Dave Lloyd no higher than 10th.
Rosner went out at half distance with either the piston or the crankshaft of his water cooled Single damaged. With two laps to go, Phil Read passed the pits slowly and pointed down, which can mean anything from the Yamaha wanting water to the missing Bill Ivy sitting in a ditch-which is what the message turned out to be. Little Bill had to be carried home in one of the big black Tatra cars officials use in CSSR.
Neither Phil Read’s race speed of 85.5 mph, nor Bill Ivy’s fastest lap of 87 mph improved on last year’s figures, set in brilliant sunshine by winner Yoshimi Katayama’s Suzuki in a hot fight. With 40 points, Phil Read is not likely to be beaten for the title. Bill Ivy and Bultaco rider Ginger Molloy, who did not contest the small class in the East, follow with only 12. Barcelona winner Salvador Canelass, away with commitments in Spain, is next with 11. Laszlo Szabo has moved up to 5th with nine points, ahead of Dieter Braun and Gunter Bartusch, each with eight. The 50-cc champion, Anscheidt, is still eighth with his six points from his only 125 start at Nurburgring.
THE 350
To give riders a break, big classes and small ones were alternated, so the 350s lined up for their 11 laps. The sun peeped out. Two CZ Singles joined Rosner, Woodman and Ago in the front row-thought to be the result of fast time keeping, by some competitors. Franta Stastny had his Jawa two-stroke Four in the second row; it is built up of two Twins coupled by gears, the Yamaha way. It is the 1967 bike with some improvements, not the four-stroke Four on similar lines, often predicted. There was a similar Jawa bike for Franta. Yellow number plates indicated 500 cc, though it was 7 sec. slower in practice than the 350.
Agostini was first away, and Kel Carruthers flashed out of the third row into his slipstream. The yellow helmet of Derek Woodman led the pursuers. Ago pulled a string of three H-D Aermacchis out of Lap 1, led by Kel, with Pagani and Milani following. Heinz Rosner was ahead of Franta Stastny’s fantastically fast Four, and Ron Chandler was the first man to take off his helmet at the pits.
At half distance, Billie Nelson still held his Norton to 9th place, behind the three secure leaders, the two H-D Aermacchis and the three CZs of Stasa, Jiri Hlavac and Karel Bojer, first of the old British Singles. German champion Karl Hoppe, Rudi Thalhammer and Swiss Herbert Denzler followed with various H-D Aermacchis, and Sweden’s Bo Granath kept up with them on the Husqvarna twostroke. Fancied two-stroke, the big Bultaco, stopped. Ginger Molloy had to find out how long the big end of the new engine would last. Now he knows—1000 racing kilometers— which does not exactly fit the end of the Czech race.
Only half of the 30 starters remained, when drizzle changed to a rainstorm. Pagani’s retirement made it 14. Kel Carruthers lost 4th place to Stasa’s fast CZ. Rex Butcher gave up struggling for laps, and Karel Bojer moved up to the le^derboard, leaving Hlavac behind. Gaps opened up as the rain became harder. Riders sat up to peep over their screens even on the straights, not daring to open the throttle fully on the slippery surface.
As expected in the wet, Ago’s race speed of 89.4 mph was miles below Mike Hailwood’s 1967 figure of 98.2 mph, and the fastest lap of 97.3 mph did not come near Mike’s 100.7. Three riders now are equal on points for 2nd place behind world champion AgostiniRosner, with two 2nd places and 12 points, Molloy, who accumulated 12 as well with a 2nd and two 4ths, and Renzo Pasolini, who seems to be out of the running. Kel Carruthers follows with 11.
THE 250
Bill Ivy was lifted into the saddle of his Yamaha, his left leg too swollen to zip his leathers, after his 125 crash. He had qualified to a mid-field place only.
Kent Andersson led the field by 50 yards down to the first village. Ivy got the Yamaha fired well. He was 3rd behind Rosner after a lap. Rod Gould kept up well with works men. His Yamataco had thrown the chain when the bike was started for warming up. One has to be lucky in racing.
Fastest starter Andersson was 5th, and Gilberto Milani, on a very quick H-D Aermacchi, held off Ginger Molloy’s second best Bultaco, the good one mysteriously having lost power in practice. Rex Butcher, with a private Suzuki, led Jack Findlay’s blue Bultaco ahead of Stasa on a Jawa production racer.
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From Lap 2 to the end, after nine tours, Bill Ivy held 2nd place and gradually pulled away from Rosner. After the race he had to be lifted from the bike and carried away. Rosner and Gould extended their lead over the rivals. At half distance Andersson went out with his Yamaha production racer, joining John Cooper on the sideline.
Fairly good weather and Phil Read’s riding made his win the fastest of the day. With 92.4 mph, his race average, however, remained below his last year’s speed of 97.3. The fastest lap of 94.6 equally was below the 1967 figure of 100.4, ridden by Bill Ivy. Phil is the most consistent rider in the field, and it is a pity he has to be content with 2nd place only because Bill Ivy is supposed to be a champion.
Despite his bad luck all season, Bill still leads the title table with 38 points, four more than teammate Read, who only wins the 250 races when he cannot help it. Rosner cannot improve on his 3rd place with 27 points, but ten points back sits Rod Gould, waiting for some MZ mishaps to take the third Yamaha to the lead. Ginger Molloy is out of the running with his Bultaco, having scored no more than 13 points.
THE 500
The flag whipped down and Giacomo Agostini was off with John Cooper’s Seeley and the Norton of Kel Carruthers astern. For the umpteenth time the rain had stopped, but clouds were heavy. There was no waiting to give someone a lift. Ago opened up the MV to cover as many miles of the 122 as possible before the clouds burst again.
Alberto Pagani brought his Linto Twin from a place on the fourth row to 2nd spot in front of John Cooper after a lap. With Cooper on his neck, Pagani thrashed his Linto down the straights to get clear of the Singles. Linto Tonti’s threat to all private owners lasted no longer than three and a half laps, then it coasted in, and was opened to look for a dropped valve.
Cooper still led the private brigade, but Findlay, already in his stride, clung to John’s slipstream, with Carruthers close behind. In Lap 5 of 13, both John and Kel were out. Kel’s Norton clutch packed up, and Cooper was thrown off the bike. John escaped at the cost of a screen and a stiff body.
Findlay gained a 26-sec. lead over Billie Nelson, and opened it by 10 sec. a lap, seeking his lonely way through the deluge which had begun to hammer down. Gyula Marsovszky made use of the wet and sneaked up from nowhere, 6th behind the NelsonWilliams group and Dan Shorey’s Norton. Riders flocked to the pits. Walter Scheimann’s Norton seized up in one of the villages. It is always fine to see the boys back at the pits when they have not turned up for a couple of laps, especially at Brno in the rain. Karl Hoppe coaxed his sick Matchless over the three laps.
Slides through the village bends put back Shorey and Peter Williams. Marsovszky, who has had a very lean season so far, grabbed the chance and 4th place. Rain fell even harder, making him close on Billie Nelson’s Paton, which is difficult to ride in the wet. Three laps from the end, the hard Swiss passed the green Italian bike built for British sponsor Bill Hannah.
The track began to develop dry spots by the time Ago entered his final lap, but riding was by no means easier. Dan Shorey had been after the Paton as well, but under those conditions thought better of staying on the Norton to finish. Derek Lee passed Sma for 8th place, and on the last few kilometers also snatched 7th from Granath, who slowed down.
A flashing light showed winner Agostini’s way round the last 8.66 miles. Nelson just escaped being lapped, then champion Ago was flagged off. He walked to the decoration as if he had been around the houses in sunshine. Lapped Peter Wilhams (Arter Matchless) and Dan Shorey, who had slowed down, were flagged off. Lee and Granath crossed the Une. Franta Sma failed to beat the Swede and finished 9th. Errol Cowan, Kurucz and Austrian Werner Bergold (Matchless), Eickelberg (Norton) and last man Penti Lechtala deserve praise for finishing under the hardest conditions—except ice and snow. Drenched and frozen, his right leg burned from petrol, Jack Findlay (Matchless) was celebrated for his 2nd place, Marso (Matchless) for 3rd. Billie Nelson (Paton), last man not to be lapped, placed 4th!
With 86.9 mph, Ago was a little faster than the winning 125, but in the dry he had done 98 mph for a lap. Both figures were well below the Mike Hailwood ones of yesteryear. With 28 championship points, Jack Findlay now cannot lose his 2nd place. Cooper and Williams share eight. Dan Shorey has seven, and Alberto Pagani has six from a 2nd place at Sachsenring.
BIKES VS. BUGGIES AGAIN
Parker, Ariz., the sun-baked resort town on the shores of the Colorado River, scene of feverish boating and boat racing activity, has joined the states of Nevada and California, and on Oct. 19-20 will present a motorcycle vs. dune buggy race. An unsanctioned affair, named the Pioneer 100, the event is a 130-mile cross-country race. Rules are based on AMA Sportsman regulations. Bikes of 100 cc and 100-250 cc will run on the opening day, while on the following day races for open class bikes and a bike-buggy event will take place. Prizes will be awarded for the fastest buggy, fastest four-wheel-drive vehicle, and the fastest machine overall. Sponsor of the event is the city of Parker Special Events Committee, a group of local businessmen. They also sponsor a nine-hour boat enduro later in the year. Expert winners will receive cash awards, while in other classes, six-foot tall trophies will be awarded. Additional information can be obtained by calling (602) 669-2466.
