Continental Report
CONTINENTAL REPORT
B.R. NICHOLLS
CHAMPIONSHIP RACING ’68
Surprise news that Honda has withdrawn from world championship motorcycle racing emphasizes the enormous expense a factory incurs when it goes racing.
The Japanese giant apparently has realized that racing both bikes and cars is not the proper course; hence Honda is leaving a field where the firm has garnered the lion’s share of the spoils these past few years to concentrate on cars.
Mike Hailwood’s new contract will not allow him to contest any world championship meetings, though this may be modified to permit him to ride in the Isle of Man TT, as the prestige of a win there would be worth the effort of full support. In any event, on last year’s showing, the 350 Honda is easily capable of winning again in 1968, but the 250 and 500 classes would depend on what work already has been done during the winter.
It will be interesting to see if MZ will reconsider its decision to pack up racing in 1968 in the light of the Honda move. Far worse than the Honda and MZ withdrawals was the move, back in 1957, when, at the end of that season, the three Italian factories that had won all four solo titles discontinued competition. Out went Mondial in the 125 and 250 classes, the Güera Fours of 350 and 500 cc, and the fantastic Guzzi 350 and 500 single-cyUnder mounts. Gone forever was the fabulous Guzzi V-8. (One of these engines was said, in the early 1960s, to be used to power a grindstone.) Racing did not die after the exit of that lineup, and will not die in 1968.
What are the prospects for the coming season? There is the nearest thing to a racing certainty with Giacomo Agostini set for his third 500-cc world title. For Count Domenico Agusta there is the satisfaction of 11 MV
victories in a row in the road racers’ championship, to add to the 16 other titles gained by his machinery between 1952 and 1961 in the 125, 250 and 350 classes.
Perhaps the most intriguing realm of racing is the 350 class. After Phil Read’s brilliant win at Alicante over Giacomo Agostini, Read would love to have a go for the title. On the basis of the Alicante showing, he would have a very good chance against an Agostini who is anxious to regain a crown last held by MV in 1961.
Capable of upsetting the odds in the 350 sphere, and in the 500 class, where he will be the sole opposition to Agostini, is Renzo Pasolini on the Benelhs. The 250 class can be left to Yamaha which also will contest the 125 title with Suzuki.
The 125 round probably will be the most open of all the solo classes, as Suzuki again wül have the 50 ce aU to itself.
Sooner or later BMW wiü lose the stranglehold that it has held on the sidecar class for the past 14 years. The man most likely to do it is Helmut Fath with his own four-cylinder URS engine, which in solo form, with John Blanchard as rider, should end the season in the first three of the 500-cc solo championship.
Agostini will not be the only one with a three-cyUnder machine in the 500 class. Jack Findlay hopes to have the Fontana Three racing by TT time. By that date, Billie Nelson should be accustomed to riding the Hannah Patons, which should give him his most successful season yet.
ENGLISH INGENUITY
Ingenuity always has been a salient feature of the racing scene in England. Enthusiasts either buüd engines of their own design, or adapt one not usually used for bikes.
Latest in this field is a three-cylinder Swedish Crescent two-stroke motorboat powerplant, bolted into a solo motorcycle by Peter Humber. At the moment, cooling problems make it a very potent steam boiler. Radiators now are behind the engine, but may be rehoused in the fairing. A manifold enables use of a single exhaust pipe. Power is transmitted through a five-speed Albion gearbox. Those who regard this effort as light entertainment can think again. The engine alone cost Humber $960.
TT BONUS
Enthusiasts who make the trip to the Isle of Man TT this year will get something for nothing. The ACU has included a 750-cc class in the sidecar race which should increase the entry of chair outfits. The sidecar classes will be run on the Saturday evening preceding race week, with the 500-cc world championship race starting at 6 p.m., and the national 750 class leaving some 10 min. after the last 500. The race week program has been changed so the 50and 250-cc events will take place on Monday. The production race for national riders only, and the 350 event will be run on Wednesday. The 125and 500-cc events will be contested on Friday. Race week will have the usual concurrent attractions of a vintage rally, a drag meet, and a couple of scrambles.
EASTWOOD WINS TWO
Vic Eastwood continues his run of good form in the TV motocross series with two wins at Naish Hill, taking both the 750 Grandstand Trophy round and the Invitation race. He was followed home in the 750 race by Bryan Wade (360 Greeves), who also was 3rd in the 250 Grandstand event behind Bryan Goss (Husqvarna) and Jeff Smith (BSA). In this race Freddie Mayes gave his works Montesa its first outing and finished 4th. The sole AJS success of the day was a 3rd for Malcolm Davis in the Invitation event, with teammate Dick Clayton back in 5th place. Both were on 360-cc models.
Norton Villiers Ltd. has decided to market the 250 scrambles model which swept the board at a meeting a week after Naish Hill. At that event NV displayed a new model with two distinct differences from earlier bikes. One difference was an under-the-engine exhaust system; the second was a nearly vertical engine mounting.
Much has been written on the subject of two-stroke exhaust systems. A glance at photographs showing the latest Montesa and AJS will show just how varied ideas can be. The AJS is a prototype in which the frame loop has been shortened and the engine set higher to assess the effect on handling. No particular advantages were found. Thus, production machines will be replicas of standard works bikes. AJS now has started to build a machine for Malcolm Davis to ride in trials. The objective is to fully prepare and test the machine in time for the classic annual Scottish Six Days event in May. Plans are to use a 246 cc engine, but the 360 easily could be modified down to 346 cc to contest the 350 class of the trial.
Major national trials still have not resumed because of the foot-and-mouth epidemic. In a small event, Sammy Miller (Bultaco) suffered a rare defeat at the hands of Paul Dunkley (Cheetah). However, when the chips were down at the Lamborelle trial in Belgium, Miller slaughtered the opposition with a loss of only 31 marks to the 53 of Jim Sandiford (Bultaco). English riders dominated the event, with Mick Andrews (Ossa) in 3rd place, and Gordon Farley (Greeves) tied for 4th with local rider Claude Vanstenagen (Greeves).
Two weeks later, near Paris, in the Clamart trial, Gordon Farley and Sammy Miller tied on marks lost, with the verdict going to Miller as he took less time. It showed that Farley has made the change over from Triumph to Greeves with little bother. Miller now has made sure of taking the first European Trials Championship title as he has won all four qualifying events so far held.
SPEEDWAY SPORT IS 40
The English equivalent of U.S. flat track racing is 40 this year. The British call it “Speedway.” To mark the occasion, arch enthusiast and commentator Peter Arnold organized a reunion for stars of the past and present at High Beech, the track where it all started. The grand old track is in the Epping forest on the outskirts of London. Not only were the stars present, but some of the early bikes used were brought along by proud owners. The machines of yesteryear are a far cry from the present day JAP and Eso machines. In those times, perhaps the most famous bike was the Douglas. Among others were AJS, Chater Lea, and BSA. The yowl of the two-stroke Scott, as mastered by Frank Varey, „ also was in evidence. There is a resurgence in the popularity of Speedway at the moment, which may well prove for the sport that “life begins at 40.”
