Continental Report
CONTINENTAL REPORT
B.R. NICHOLLS
ROAD RACING FINALE
For some unknown reason, British road racers like to break their normal hibernation for the winter by having a quick outing at Brands Hatch the day after Christmas. For equally unknown reasons, about 4000 spectators like to break their Christmas by going and watching them race, and no doubt 1-year students of human behavior will go along and find out why they do it.
The racers could be doing it to see how their modifications are getting on, but for the crowd it is probably a good excuse to get away from the mother-inlaw or a chance to blow away the cobwebs caused by overindulgence. Whatever it is does not really matter; the point is the meeting is held. It was the final one of the 1971 season; the weather was mixed and the track was decidedly slippery, unlike 1970 when it was under 6 in. of snow and the meeting was cancelled.
The Yuletide program is a short one of simple make. There are three heats for solos over 125cc but not over lOOOcc. The first seven in each heat go forward to the final. Sidecars from 350 to 1300cc have two heats, with the first six in each going to the final. Heats were five laps and the two finals were ten laps around the short 1.24-mile circuit.
The first solo heat saw 1971 British 350 champion Tony Rutter rushing into the lead on his championship-winning Yamaha. Similarly mounted Pat Mahoney and Barry Ditchburn tried unsuccessfully to catch him. The big disappointment in this heat was Cliff Carr’s showing, home from the States after winning the American Association of Motorcycle Road Racers championship on a Kawasaki H1R. For Brands he was Yamaha-mounted, and never really got the model sorted out in time to be competitive. He can hardly wait to get back to the States again for his racing.
The second heat saw the race debut of the Hi-Tac Suzuki, which is a watercooled conversion race kit for the 500cc model. Ridden by Barry Sheene it won the heat, although hard pressed by a 500cc single-cylinder BSA based on a motocross engine, ridden by Bob Heath. Then, in the final solo heat, Martyn Ashwood had no trouble winning on a 740cc Weslake Metisse, on which he has modified the fairing to give his hands protection against the vagaries of English weather. It has a distinct resemblance to the Peel fairings that used to be popular in the early 60s. The final was a bit tame, with Rutter again getting a good start and making the most of it, though Ashwood was not far behind. The big Metisse, though, was a bit of a handful on the tricky little circuit, and Rutter soon lost 2nd place to Howard Robinson (Yamaha). Meanwhile, Mahoney was making up ground after a bad start and fought through to 2nd place by the time the flag fell, with Rutter taking the $125 first prize. Robinson was 3rd and Ashwood 4th.
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The excitement of the afternoon was left to the sidecar boys and they did not let the crowd down. Norman Hanks and Mick Boddice won the two heats, and then in the final were joined out front by Roy Hanks—in a real thriller of a race with nothing between the three of them until the final lap. Having diced in each other’s slipstream all the way it looked as if Boddice, holding 2nd place into the final lap, had everything under control. He thought so too, until he loused a gearchange halfway around and lost the chance of catching Norman Hanks, who won from Boddice with Roy Hands 3rd.
BSA TWIN CONVERSION
All three were riding 750 BSA-powered outfits. It is possible for any owner of a BSA A50 or A65 Twin to uprate their engine to 734cc by means of the Devimead Jumbo Conversion kit which gives a compression ratio of 10.2:1 for racing or 9.5:1 for use on the road.
It is a simple bolt-on conversion which gives a bore and stroke of 79.5 by 74mm. The kit consists of a high-grade cast iron cylinder block, pistons, head gasket, pushrods, studs and bolts. Cost in England of this kit is around $180, from Devimead Ltd., Dept. CW, Wilnecote Hall, Watling Street, Tamworth, Staffs, England. They will need to know whether your crankcase has 3/8 or 5/16 holding studs.
SHELL 200 PRIZE $87,000
This is the time for rumors and reports of what might and might not be happening during the 1972 racing season. One thing is certain, the Italians have decided to set the scene alight with the Shell 200-mile race at imola where prize money will reach about $87,000. With an entry of up to 40 riders there will be no start money, but plenty of opportunity to win something however far down the field a rider finishes. The fact that it will be a 750 class race speaks volumes for the success of the American formula that is gaining popularity so rapidly in Europe. Entries have been invited from everyone who is anyone and it seems obvious that it will be the prestige event to win at the start of the season. Naturally, world champion Giacomo Agostini will be the man to beat as he is racing in his own backyard.
