Continental Report
CONTINENTAL REPORT
B.R. NICHOLLS
EUROPEAN SIDECAR CHAMPS
The sight of a sidecar outfit negotiating a difficult hazard in a trial can often be good for a laugh if the passenger gets dumped in a stream and few can be unmoved by the sight of a roadrace outfit drifting through a bend at over 100 mph with a smoking rear tire. But few Americans have seen Europe’s top men battling it out in an European Sidecar Cross championship meeting. It could well get carried to popularity in the wake of the American wave for enthusiasm in motocross.
Both of the present world solo motocross titles started off with European status, but did not take long to gain the world tag. Last year, the chairs were given an European title for the first time and Dutch rider Rickus Lubbers came out on top of British Mike Guildford.
The incredible thing was that Britain, who virtually gave the world sidecars both as a touring machine and as a racer, did not hold a championship round, and the A-C.U., governing body of the sport, did not appear particularly interested in getting involved in holding one in 1972.
However, the enthusiastic Newbury club had other ideas and invested a lot of money to bring the best that Europe could offer to fight a British round in the championship. It was a gamble that paid off handsomely, as 10,000 enthusiasts turned up to watch three 30-min. supporting solo races which surrounded the all important two races of 25 min. each plus two laps. In other words, the pattern of racing is the same as for the solos, but is of shorter duration.
It is a hard game to play and teamwork is the whole key to success, not just in the racing but also in preparation and understanding between driver and passenger. To race cross-country at full tilt for 25 min. means peak fitness, particularly for the passenger who has to ensure that his weight is in the right place at the right time; a single mistake by the passenger can lead to the whole outfit being turned upside down.
WASP FRAMES DOMINATE
Engine capacity for sidecar cross has a top limit of 750cc and by far the most popular power unit is the 750cc Norton Commando Twin. It was that power plant which won in 1971 and is certain to take the title again in 1972, as the first five in the championship are all Norton powered. All utilize the Wasp frame which now dominates the sidecar class. Every outfit at the Newbury meeting used a Wasp frame and its versatility is shown by the fact that it housed the 748cc Kawasaki Three of Belgian Louis de Kort and the 736cc Honda Four of Swiss ace Lorenz Haller.
Earlier in the season Anatoly Sibirtsev and Valentine Teleguine of Russia competed on Ural outfits and Sibirtsev won the opening round in Belgium with Teleguine 3rd, but after two more events in which they failed to get better than 7th places they abandoned the title chase. Now it is fought out by riders from Holland, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark and England.
To look at the sidecar cross outfit in the paddock is to gaze upon what appears to be the most illogical creation in the racing world, and yet when it is out being raced it molds two men and a machine into a racing unit that in itself is difficult to describe. Imagine the scene as 18 outfits hurdle for the first bend, jockeying for position and the chance to be first out of the corner, throwing the dirt at everyone else. That all important first corner assumes even greater importance when the weather is hot and dry and the course very dusty. Visibility then becomes a prime factor.
It rained at Newbury the day before the race, so conditions were ideal for racing, though the course dried out a bit during the day and there was some dust around, but not enough to spoil racing or make it dangerous.
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At the start of the first race a big cheer went up from the crowd as they saw their own Andy Wilkins making the pace into the first corner on his Triumph-powered outfit neck-and-neck with Dutchman Rickus Lubbers (Norton Wasp). But the joy was only momentary, for Sweden’s Goran Anderberg (7 50 Norton Wasp) whistled around them both on a wide line.
It was Anderberg who led from Wilkins at the end of the first lap, but Robert Grogg (750 Norton Wasp), the Swiss champion, was breathing down Wilkins neck and took 3rd place next time around.
Lubbers started to close on Anderberg, with Grogg catching them both. Then trouble struck the Swede on the fifth lap, and he retired with a broken layshaft.
Two laps later Grogg took the lead and pulled away from Lubbers; but in the meantime, Swiss brothers Lorenz and Samuel Haller had surprised everyone by moving into 3rd place on their 736cc Honda Four outfit, as they had not even scored in a 1972 championship round. Perhaps it is rather fitting that driver Lorenz is at the controls of a bulldozer all week.
Grogg lost his comfortable lead when his passenger, Gerhard Martinez, smashed his ankle against a trackside post. Although in severe pain, Martinez hung on so that they finished second to Lubbers, with Haller 3rd and Dutch pair Jan ten Thije and Ton van Heugten 4th and 5th. Best home rider was Nick Thompson, in 6th place.
But the race had exacted its toll, for Grogg’s passenger was taken to the hospital. The diagnosis was severe bruising—he was more fortunate than Tore Stromberg, who had broken his ankle when the outfit driven by brother Teddy crashed early in the race.
The Kawasaki of de Kort had broken a contact breaker spring, but that was soon repaired and Stromberg got his gearbox sorted out for the second race. Most unlucky of all the competitors, though, was Denmark’s Axel Larsen, who broke a collarbone during Saturday practice.
As the start of the second race it was Wilkins first away again, but Anderberg took 1st place before the end of the lap and that was the order for the next four laps; that was the time it took Lubbers to fight clear of a battle for 3rd place and overtake the leaders.
Anderberg retired on the eighth lap with a misfire, by which time Haller had taken the lead, but Lubbers knew that he had only to hold 2nd place to gain overall victory and that he did. But it could be that the second race has shown a glimpse of things to come and maybe the Norton boys will have to find some more power from somewhere because the Honda Four was the winner and Louis de Kort took the Kawasaki Three into 3rd spot. He really thrills the crowds with his vivid style of taking right handers with both hands on the throttle grip powering round the corner.
Yes, sidecar cross is here to stay. It is exciting and with each race lasting about half an hour, it ends before it gets boring. Sibirtsev and Stromberg have won a round each and Grogg and Lubbers two apiece, but the man at the top for sheer consistency is Dutch rider Ton van Heugten (750 Norton Wasp), who has scored in six of the seven rounds held so far, although he has not won.
There are nine rounds for the title, with a rider’s best five scores counting; so with two rounds to go it looks like a Dutch benefit as the first three riders all come from Holland. They are van Heugten, 54 points; ten Thije, 49; and Lubbers, 47, with Swiss rider Grogg in 4th place with 42 points—the only one able to beat the Dutch trio for the title. All four are 750 Norton Wasp mounted, and I figure that the title will be won at the final meeting by Grogg or Lubbers.
500cc SOLO MOTOCROSS
On the solo side of motocross, the British round of the 500cc title was held at the usual venue of Farleigh Castle in perfect conditions, as rain fell heavily on the previous day, eliminating any dust problems. It did leave a tricky mud patch that is a hazard that a title contender should be able to take in stride, though both DeCoster and Friedrichs might disagree, as they had problems there.
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At the end of practice the list showed that eight seconds covered the fastest seven in practice and the incredible thing was that the first six were of five nationalities, all on different makes of machines from five countries. They were Roger DeCoster (Suzuki), Jaak van Velthoven (Yamaha), Bengt Aberg (Husqvarna), Adolf Weil (Maico), Jiri Stodulka (CZ), and Vic Eastwood (AJS). When that list was published, nobody realized just how important the time factor was going to be in the results.
At the start of the first leg, DeCoster was fastest from the gate with Dutchman Gerrit Wolsink (Husqvarna) in close pursuit, but it was not long before Weil was closing on the Suzuki man and really had the crowd going as they dueled in the bright, sunny weather.
DeCoster, knowing that Weil always fades toward the end of a race, pursued the German doggedly and finally regained 1st place on the 13th lap and held it to the end.
Weil was 2nd, followed closely by teammate Ake Jonsson, who had pulled up from 10th at the end of the first lap, while 4th was van Velthoven, some 50 yards ahead of Mikkola. The home riders had been ground into the dirt by the continentals, with the best British placing being Eastwood in 10th.
The second race started in the same way as the first, with DeCoster first into the turn and Weil in close contention. Then Mikkola took Weil and was in hot pursuit of DeCoster on a fast downhill section when he lost it in a big way and went over the handlebars. The superstitious nodded their heads and pointed out that he was riding number 13.
Then on the fifth lap DeCoster wrote off his rear brake and stopped to inspect the damage. His brief stop dropped him to 6th place with Velthoven leading from Weil and Friedrichs. But when Friedrichs dropped out two laps later and DeCoster took over 4th from Wolsink, it was obvious that the overall result was wide open.
On lap 1 1 Velthoven led Jonsson with Weil 3rd and DeCoster 4th, limited by the broken rear brake. Any of the first four could have won.
Then Jonsson got ahead of Velthoven to take the lead on lap 1 3 and the pressure was on DeCoster to improve on his 4th place or victory would go to Jonsson, who had finished 3rd in the first leg. He got past Weil but could not get higher than 3rd, so tied with Jonsson as both of them had a 1st and 3rd place. Moreover, there was a tie for 3rd as both Velthoven and Weil had a 2nd and 4th place each.
The timekeepers went into a huddle and pronounced DeCoster the winner by one second, his total time being 91 min., 13.2 sec. As if that was not enough they then gave 3rd place to Velthoven, 6/10th of a second faster than Weil-91 min., 45.6 as opposed to 91, 46.2.
HUTCHINSON 100 ROADRACE
The Hutchinson 100 roadrace meeting has a long history, and in recent years has found its home at Brands Hatch. To give overseas riders a fair chance along with the locals (for it is an international affair), the races have been held in the reverse direction to that normally raced. The same rules applied this year, but instead of using the full-length course the short club course was used, but the “reverse” idea still held good.
To attract spectators, especially the ladies, Giacomo Agostini was signed up to ride, but for the purists the even more attractive appearance of the Ducati 750s was arranged. Riding them were Bruno Spaggiari and Paul Smart. With so much start money tied up in the appearance of that Italian machinery it did not leave much for anyone else, so the sidecar entry suffered; but more of that later.
Big race of the day was the 100 kilometer event for machines from 350cc to lOOOcc, which meant 50 laps around the 1.24 mile circuit.
It was a meeting destined to be full of surprises. In the first race for 500cc class machinery, Agostini made his customary good start and led the field at the end of the first lap. Peter Williams, on the single-cylinder Arter Matchless, moved into 2nd place and then slowly but surely started to catch the Italian.
As they started to lap tailenders Williams snatched an uncluttered line into Druids hairpin and took the lead. He then had the temerity to pull away from the world champion, thereby thrilling the crowd. Then a light rain shower made the track slippery and Agostini had the rear wheel slide away when accelerating hard and was dumped unceremoniously on the track. Fortunately he was not injured and could rest during the five races that would run before he was due out again.
During that time Barry Sheene (Yamaha) won the 250 race. Then came the sidecar race—which to all intents and purposes was a foregone conclusion with Alan Sansum racing his threecylinder Quaife Triumph and the only other notable in the race being Rudi Kurth with his 500cc three-cylinder Crescent two-stroke engined outfit.
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It looked all the more like a Sansum certainty when Kurth, who had never won a race with that outfit, was left stuck on the line, getting away more then 10 seconds after everyone else. Then, with Mis Dane Rowe in the chair, he drove superbly, drifting around the corners in immaculate style, and catching and passing all but Sansum, who was in the lead. Kurth was still gaining on Sansum when the latter had trouble, and Kurth whistled past to a fine win.
The 100 kilometer race was a startto-finish victory for Tony Jefferies (Triumph Three) who was never troubled at any stage of the race. A grand scrap for 2nd place went on between John Cooper (BSA Three), Paul Smart (Ducati), and Peter Williams (John Player Norton), who finished in that order.
Dave Potter won the sports production machine race on a Kuhn Commando after Ray Pickrell dropped his Triumph Three when well in the lead. Pickrell remounted to finish 3rd behind Dave Croxford (Commando).
Then came the 350 championship race and Agostini was on the line against all the usual scratchers. But it was Barry Sheene who shot into the lead with his customary wheelie. Nevertheless, Ago caught and passed him, but then found he had a fight on his hands as Mick Grant closed in on his Yamaha, now sponsored by Jim Lee and also third man of the John Player Norton works team. He caught and passed the world champion to become the second Ago beater of the day. Grant also set the fastest lap of that race.
To continue the excitement in a race for 175-1000cc machines, Peter Williams (J. P. Norton) and Paul Smart (Ducati) dueled for the whole of 20 laps before Williams snatched victory by three lengths to give the John Player Norton works team its first win.
Then in the final race of the day, a Formula 750 event, Phil Read (J. P. Norton) diced all the way with Paul Smart (Ducati). But just when it looked as i'f Nortons were to get a second win Smart snatched victory on the last lap by less than a machine’s length.
Everything is now set for a tremendous battle at Silverstone, when the John Player Norton team will be strengthened by the inclusion of CW Staffman Jody Nicholas. The meeting will be reported next month. 151
