Continental Report
CONTINENTAL REPORT
B.R. NICHOLLS
SUZUKI MOTOCROSS WIN!
Slamming the opposition in an amazing 1-2 victory, Suzuki teamsters Joel Robert and Sylvain Geboers set off on the 1970 motocross 250-cc world title hunt in grand fashion at the first round in Spain, held just outside Barcelona.
Having warmed up in pre-season international meetings, the two Belgians were in fine form. Reigning champion Robert brilliantly won both races, making it perfectly, clear that he is after his fourth title.
After the first lap of the first leg, Geboers led from teammate Olle Pettersson of Sweden, who has done so much over the past two seasons in developing the Suzuki motocross model. Robert was 3rd but really turned on the gas to fight through to the lead. He held it to the end. Geboers was just as firmly placed in 2nd spot.
For the established CZ and Husqvarna riders there was little comfort. After good starts British riders Bryan Wade (Greeves) and Malcolm Davis (AJS) maintained a sustained attack to finish 3rd and 4th with Pettersson 5th and veteran Torsten Hallman (Husqvarna) 6th. For the ex-champion it looked very much as if the new guard was taking over.
But the quiet spoken Swede is a tough character, having won his first title back in 1962. In the second race he came storming back, chasing race leader Geboers. But Robert was not to be denied and raced on to his second win, with Hallman behind him and Geboers 3rd. Then came the best of the CZ men, Roger DeCoster, followed by Davis and Wade, with the first six overall being Robert, Geboers, Hallman, Wade, Davis and DeCoster.
While the 250s were battling in the sunshine in Spain, the 500 contenders were in Switzerland. Reigning champion Bengt Aberg ran true to form with a win and 2nd in the two races to gain overall top place. Good opposition was provided by young Andy Roberton, racing the 370 AJS in its first world championship round. In the first race he fought up from 7th after the first lap to be with race leader Aberg by the halfway mark, but the champion had the edge through a four-turn chicane just before the finishing line. Aberg finished four seconds to the good. Arne Kring (Husqvarna) finished 3rd and similarly mounted Jef Teuwissen, who had been the early leader, 4th, the victim of gearbox trouble. On Lap 2 of the second race, the leaders spilled and down went Aberg, Kring and Roberton. Flying past went Paul Friedrichs (CZ) and John Banks (BSA) with Aberg downfield in 11th and Roberton a darn sight worse off around 25th. The fight back was on.
There was no catching Friedrichs, but Banks retired with a hand injury when he hit a course marker. Aberg fought right back to 2nd, which gave him certain victory. A strange battle was going on between race leader Friedrichs, who finished 9th in the first leg, and Roberton, down in 8th spot, for they were tied on points and time would be the decider.
Friedrichs was fighting to carve off seconds; Roberton needed to move up one place but failed to do so by the flag. Even so he took 3rd by 8 seconds, Teuwissen having taken 2nd. His fine showing immediately gave Roberton and the AJS concern a problem, for he had ridden in Switzerland only because the Spanish organizers had refused him an entry. The Swiss 500 was virtually a “one-off” ride for experience. If negoti-
ations are successful, Roberton will change to the 500 class for the rest of the season. What the fans will now want to see is a battle between young Roberton on the Ajay and the Robert/ Geboers combine on the Suzukis.
Before the title trot had commenced, Sylvain Geboers had scored an important win on his 370 Suzuki at the big Easter Hants international meeting. Run over three races of 12 laps each, it is a tough, grueling event on a course noted for loose stones that fly from rear wheels—a hazard to following riders. Main victim of this on the day was John Banks, who copped one from Geboers in the second race.
The Belgian by no means had things all his own way. The first leg was won by Aberg, the second by Geboers, and the third went to DeCoster. It was, in fact, Belgium’s day. Not only was Geboers winner, but Teuwissen was 2nd and only Vic Allan (Greeves) prevented DeCoster from making it a clean sweep of the first three places.
In the first rounds of the British championships for 1970, the Beesa boys have taken the top three places in the 500 class. Dave Nicoll leads John Banks and Keith Hickman. Nicoll won the national TV Grandstand 750-cc title, while Banks won the World of Sport television trophy. Nicoll’s good fortune was short-lived. In practice for the Swiss GP his foot slipped off the peg and he cracked a bone in his foot.
Biggest surprise comes in the 250 title. In the first round, 35-year-old veteran Jeff Smith fought a lone battle on his works 250 four-stroke. With a 3rd and 1st place in the two races, he heads the table from Andy Roberton. The secret of Smithy’s success was in his ability to keep going in atrocious, muddy conditions, while most of those around him were falling foul.
EASTER ROAD RACES
The Easter series of road race meetings brought some surprises and keen, exciting racing. It all started on the Friday at Brands Hatch where the King of Brands title was to be decided over three races. Consistency is the essence of success in this event, which went to Pat Mahoney who took 3rd, 5th and 8th in the qualifying events to beat another local ace, John Taylor, by one point.
Brian Kemp won the 250 race on a Yamaha and the production event on a 750 Commando that he hopes to take to Daytona later this year for a crack at the hour record. Tony Rutter (Yamaha) fought right through the field after a bad start to take the 350 race. Alan Barnett, who broke with sponsor Tom Kirby just as the season was starting, had a runaway win in the 500 race, riding a Seeley. He earlier defeated reigning 500 champion Dave Croxford in a special match race. This was the first of a series sponsored by BP in memory of Bill Ivy. It is called the Bill Ivy 500-cc Silver Helmet Match Race Championship.
Barnett’s interval before his next challenge from Mick Andrew is nine weeks. The first duel between Dave Croxford and Barnett was an anti-climax as Croxford had difficulty in starting. Barnett was one of the first to point out that, to be a success, the match race series should be on a clutch start basis.
SHELL, CASTROL SERIES
From Brands the scene changed to Mallory for the second round of the Shell 500-cc championship. The first round had produced a surprise four weeks earlier when Bob Heath won on the works 500 BSA Single. In Round 2, Heath was in contention again in a final that lost Barnett in a heat crash. Barnett was the obvious favorite, but with him out all eyes were on previous winner Heath, Mick Andrew and Pat Mahoney. As the final started, so did the rain, and the three-way battle for the lead became a foursome with the arrival of virtually unknown Ivan Hackman on his Seeley. He challenged and took the lead. After Andrew dropped it at the hairpin, Hackman was busy keeping Heath at bay when his megaphone came loose. Unaccountably he was not black-flagged and when yellow flag waving made him aware of the situation, he calmly kicked it off, much to the annoyance of Heath and Mahoney, following in close attendance.
Hackman went on to win by a few feet from Heath, with Mahoney in 3rd spot. But it was a bitter-sweet victory, with the acrimony that followed what other riders considered to be a dangerous act. “Ivan the Terrible,” headlined one newspaper, but, as Hackman replied, it was up to the marshalls to black-flag him. A rider battling for his first national, win does not give in because of a loose exhaust.
Other Mallory winners included Charles Mortimer (Villa), who beat Barry Sheene (Bultaco) in the 125-cc event as he had done at Brands. Stanley Woods rode a Yamaha through the field to win the 250 for his first national victory. John Cooper won both 350and 1000-cc finals on his 350 Yamaha. Chris Vincent suffered one of those rare occasions when he blew up, though not before he had set a record lap, and Peter Brown took the honors in the sidecar class.
Brands had been the scene of the first round of the Castrol British championships. The second meeting was held in wet and windy conditions at Thruxton where Alan Barnett (Seeley) proved that he is fully recovered from last season’s crash by fighting through from a poor start to take 1st place from Peter Williams (Arter Matchless). With a maximum 30 points from two rides, Barnett leads the 500 championship by 13 points from Williams. Another maximum man is Charles Mortimer, who won the 125 race from his usual rival, Barry Sheene, who is 6 points behind.
Barnett was all set to win the 350 race with a 20-second lead on Syd Lawton’s Aermacchi over the Yamahas of Dave Croxford and Derek Chatterton, when he slid to earth on a patch of mud on the circuit. So Croxford scored his first win on the ex-Rod Gould TR2 and leads the title in that class with 27 points. Chatterton has 22. Chatterton leads the 250 class, although he was beaten at Thruxton by Brian Kemp (Yamaha).
It was ironic that Peter Brown, who gained the points at Brands, should retire at Thruxton, where Vincent was the winner. These two now are tied for 2nd place with 15 points each. In the lead is young Mick Boddice, with 22 points from 2nd and 3rd places, to show that consistency counts. But it would be a foolish man who backed anyone but Vincent in this class.
BRITISH TRIALS CHAMPIONSHIP
Miller marches on to yet another British trials championship title. With four events of the 12 already held, his 57 points tops the title table. Gordon Farley is 2nd at 42 and Mick Andrews 3rd, with 25.
In the last event to count toward the championship, Sammy lost 43 marks in a really tough Traders Cup trial that gave Andrews his best ride since returning from the States. He beat Farley for the runner-up spot by 2 points.
Spain was the real winner. The machinery these three men ride are a Bultaco, Ossa and Montesa, respectively. The pressure will really be on in the next trial, for it is the famous Scottish Six Days. With his liking for the rockery, Andrews is the only man that I see in it with a chance of beating Miller. Next month you will know.
