Continental Report
CONTINENTAL REPORT
B.R. NICHOLLS
EUROPEAN TRIALS
The European trials championship is really warming up now, as three rounds have been held in the past month. The first was in Ireland, where the European challengers did battle for the Hurst Cup and the first three made it a repeat performance of the opening round, with Mick Andrews (Ossa) winning from Bultaco-mounted Malcolm Rathmell. Gordon Farley (Montesa) was 3rd. By one of those strange quirks of fate, the gap between Andrews and Rathmell was eight marks 83-91, which was the same difference as in the previous event. Arthur Browning (Bultaco) added yet another good performance with 4th place to lay claim to being one of our best all arounders today. Of the overseas visitors, the Spanish rider Fernando Munoz was best, finishing in 12th place on his 325 Bultaco.
A week later in the first round of the British championship Rathmell lost 27 marks, winning the St. David’s trial from Farley, who lost 37, with Jon Hemingway (Montesa) third on 41. Andrews would have had that 3rd spot had he not lost 10 marks on the noise test.
On to the third round of the European championship which was held in France where Rathmell found a riding form that could only be described as fantastic, for he lost a mere 36, piloting his Bultaco over the stoney hillsides of the Loire Valley, more famous for the Sancerre wine than the Sancerre trial. Andrews was 2nd on 56 with Farley 3rd on 60, so that after three rounds it seemed that the championship was going to be a straight fight between Andrews and Rathmell. The fourth round in Spain was the one that really mattered, for there the boys would be riding on the factory doorsteps with Bultaco, Ossa and Montesa all eager to win in front of the home crowds outside Barcelona.
It was just the sort of situation that Andrews relishes—the chips down and everything to play for. And how well he kept his cool, for while everyone else took their scores over a hundred, Mick completely demoralized everyone, except the Ossa factory, with a loss of only 80. And yet the score line belies the drama that took place over the two laps of the course for at the end of them he was trailing young Martin Lampkin by two marks.
Lampkin was out on one of the new 325 Bultaco machines but could not match the brilliance of Andrews, losing 105 on observation plus 1.2 on time. Rathmell, on a 250 Bultaco, was a shadow of the rider he was in France and could do no better than 5th on 110.9, though he was close behind 4th place man Rob Edwards (Montesa) who lost 108.7.
Farley was nursing a damaged hand and failed to finish as he retired after the first lap. But the surprise of the trial was the riding of 3rd place man Ignacio Bulto, 18-year-old son of the head of the Bultaco concern, for he almost overshadowed Andrews’ great performance by taking 3rd place with a loss of 108.1 and, in fact, losing only 1 mark more on observation than 2nd place Lampkin. The French and Spanish rounds were made truly international by the presence of a group of American riders, the best of whom was Roland Levitt (Bultaco) who finished 24th at Barcelona out of an entry of over a hundred.
There is no doubt about it, trials riding is the fun sport if you aren’t a factory man earning your bread and butter at it. The trials machine of the future looks like being that 325 Bultaco, so just wait and see how long it will be before the bigger strokers start appearing from the other factories.
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Championship table after four rounds shows Andrews 57, Rathmell 45, M. Lampkin 33, and Farley 30. English riders hold the first six places, with Ignacio Bulto breaking the sequence in 7th place with 13 points.
CAL RAYBORN, SUPERSTAR
Cal Rayborn, the 32-year-old from San Diego, Calif., has blown to pieces any lingering thoughts of British enthusiasts that only Europeans make road racers. A couple of years ago, Gary Nixon and Yvon du Hamel showed that Yankee racers knew a thing or two about short circuit racing. Now, in the second GB vs. U.S. match race series, Cal has left the British press short of superlatives to describe his achievements.
The John Player Translantic Trophy Races were held over Easter weekend with meetings at Brands Hatch, Mallory Park and Oulton Park. The Yankee team consisted of Team Captain and No. One plate holder Dick Mann (BSA Three), Daytona 200 winner Don Emde (750 Kuhn Norton), Cal Rayborn (H-D) and the Suzuki team of Ron Grant, Art Baumann and Jody Nicholas mounted on 750cc water-cooled Threes.
Only Mann and Emde rode the series last year. For Grant it was a bit of a homecoming, while the other three (Rayborn, Baumann and Nicholas) were new to the circuits.
TIGHT SCHEDULE
The schedule the riders were expected to keep was much too tight, and gave them little time to settle before they were expected to race. A 10-hour flight and time differential has a marked detuning effect on anyone, let alone a road racer expected to practice the day after arrival as did the American team at Brands Hatch. The first disadvantage for the Americans was that the short 1.24-mile circuit was used instead of the long international, which would have favored the Suzukis a bit more than the shorter course. Then during practice, Jody Nicholas had a nasty crash when Emde pulled into the pits without Jody realizing what was going on. Fortunately he was not hurt in the spill, but it must have upset him and certainly did the bike no good.
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Having practiced at Brands the day after arrival, they went to Mallory to familiarize themselves with that circuit before returning to London to race at Brands on Good Friday. The main talking point after practice in the morning was the fast riding of Rayborn and the poor handling of the Suzukis.
Riding against the Americans were the John Player Norton team of Phil Read (captain), Peter Williams and Tony Rutter; Ontario winner John Cooper (BSA Three), and Ray Pickrell and Tony Jefferies (Triumph Three).
There were two races at each circuit, with the winner scoring 12 points down to one point for last man home. At the present rate of exchange, riders won $ 13 per point.
Tension mounted as the riders did a warm-up lap before lining up for the clutch start. Down went the flag and away went Rayborn heading the pack into the notorious Paddock Hill bend but it held no fears for him and he streaked up the hill to Druids bend still clearly in the lead as he was at the end of the lap. Cheering him on was luckless Ron Grant, whose Suzuki had locked its clutch during the warming-up session.
Rayborn shook off an initial challenge from Peter Williams and looked the complete short circuit scratcher with his knee-out style on the corners. Looking as safe as houses, he carried on in the lead until half distance when Ray Pickrell, after a poorish start, fought through to the front. In doing so he set a new lap record at 81.75 mph in a time of 54.6 sec., knocking 1.6 sec. off the old figure. In the hurly burly of his scrap with Read in the same race, Williams equalled the lap record, putting the large reduction in time down to much improved tires.
Behind these four came Mann and Emde with an out-of-touch Cooper in 7th place ahead of Baumann and Nicholas on the thrashing Threes, weaving like harpooned whales. Man, they had guts to ride those things ahead of Jefferies and Rutter. The Suzukis were further handicapped by being able to use only three gears. At the end of the first race the score stood at 43-35 in favor of the GB team.
The second race saw Cooper flash into the lead, but when Cal promptly rode around him at Druids the 15,000 crowd knew that the first race ride was no fluke and Rayborn was intent on showing just how good he is. After his meager practice (he had learned a bit from following Pickrell and put it all to good use), he stayed out front all the way and underlined his performance by equaling the lap record. Once again ill fortune struck the Americans when Don Emde was sidelined with a broken ignition lead. This left Pickrell, Williams, Read and Cooper all ahead of the Suzuki trio (Baumann, Grant and Nicholas), who led Mann, Jefferies and Rutter home. So at the end of the day the British team led by 85-70. Pickrell and Rayborn had each dropped one point off a maximum, but moral victory went to the American by virtue of his faster average speed in the second race even if it was only 0.4 of a second faster.
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NEW SPROCKETS
Plans were to travel to practice at Oulton Saturday, but the idea was scrapped in favor of getting new sprockets made for the Suzukis and stripping the Harley down to ensure all was well with the ex-works 1971 engine, purchased at the end of last season and maintained by Walter Faulk throughout the tour with jealous care. Cal enjoyed Brands Hatch, as he had liked the circuit from the moment he saw it, but Mallory was a different kettle of fish—bumpier, faster and more difficult to pass on.
It seemed that bad luck would never leave the American team, for as they came to line up on the grid Don Emde’s Kuhn Norton had a flat battery. So, they wheeled out another for him that he had never ridden before and then away they all went with Rayborn in the lead and Pickrell in hot pursuit. The series was developing into a two-man affair and not even local ace John Cooper, who had won the Race of the Year on the same circuit six months earlier, could make any impression in catching them. He did manage to stay ahead of Read while Mann took 5th from Jefferies. Once again the Suzukis were a disappointment, but up front Pickrell was closing on Rayborn, whose front wheel was playing skittish tricks, causing Pickrell as much trouble as Cal himself. With four laps to go, Pickrell took the lead and so once again the British team won with a score of 43-35.
Perhaps the most important thing of the series was the friendly atmosphere, with no bitching about riding tactics. There were no secrets between riders. Consequently, in the interval between races, Rayborn and Pickrell were chatting and the hairy Harley was put down to overhard tire pressures. A reduction proved the cure.
Nobody quite knows what happened to Jody Nicholas in that break time and if they did maybe the CW staffman would cut it from the report. His best ride so far had been at Brands when he got an 8th place and in the first race at Mallory he could do no better than 10th. Whatever happened set him on the way to being the highest Yankee points scorer behind Rayborn, for as the flag fell on heat two away went Nicholas at the head of the field with Pickrell and Cooper in hot pursuit and Rayborn down in 4th spot.
“He’ll soon lose it,” remarked one spectator but it was difficult to know whether he meant the 1st place or the bike itself as Jody powered his unique way round the 1.35-mile circuit with a line at Devils Elbow that had even the hardened Suzuki mechanics wondering what was going to happen.
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Rayborn shadowed Nicholas for a few laps with an air about him that seemed to say “thank goodness for a bit of support.” At the same time, he was keeping an eye on the Pickrell/Cooper battle behind him and when it got too close he nipped ahead of his teammate on the eighth lap. Pickrell and Cooper finally got the better of Nicholas with four laps of the eighteen left, and any hope Jody had of fighting back disappeared on the penultimate lap at the hairpin when the bike jumped out of gear. The 4th place was secure though ahead of Read, who was separated from Williams by Art Baumann in 6th spot. Mann, Grant and Emde were 8th, 9th and 10th, so the United States team took that race by 40-38. Pickrell and Rayborn were still level on points and in their respective wins at Mallory had both set fastest laps at 92.05 mph.
MORALE BOOSTER
For once things had gone well for the Yankee team, which must have given their morale a boost for Oulton although they trailed in the points battle by 145-166.
Surely the 2.76-mile lap would favor the Suzukis—but it was not to be. Lady Luck smiled only briefly, for in practice Don Emde lost it at over a hundred miles an hour and hurtled into the trackside mud—fortunately without serious injury, but obviously shaking him badly and aggravating a neck injury sustained when flat tracking. He failed to get among the points and Dick Mann was badly handicapped by poor handling, so, in the first race the team took a drubbing by 34-44. Once again Rayborn was superb. He and mechanic Walter Faulk were worried men, wondering whether the Harley would last out, so having never seen the circuit before Cal did only seven practice laps in an endeavor to nurse the machine through.
Rayborn trailed Pickrell for the whole of the race, then made his supreme effort on the last lap and snatched victory from the Englishman. Nicholas was 5th behind Cooper and Williams. Grant was 7th behind Read, and Baumann was 9th behind Jefferies.
So with one race to go, Cal had taken over top rider position from Pickrell by a single point and was obviously as determined to stay there as Pickrell was to salvage some honor by drawing level.
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Cal outbraked the whole field at the first turn in the second race, leaving the corner a good 15 lengths ahead, but Pickrell was not going to let him get away that easily and closed the gap to start a long duel that ended only when the Harley ran short of breath, four miles from the flag. So Cal lost out and in his personal battle with Pickrell the honors were even right down to shared fastest lap at Oulton at 93.77 mph. Both riders won three races, both had three 2nd places, and both had set identical times for fastest laps at all three circuits.
Behind them at Oulton, Cooper finished 3rd for the fourth race in succession with brave Jody Nicholas manhandling the Suzuki in crowd-pleasing style into 4th ahead of Williams, Read and Jefferies, who were followed by Grant, Mann and Emde. Baumann was sidelined with a broken chain on the fourth lap when lying 7th. So the final score was Great Britain 255, United States 212.
RAYBORN’S HARLEY
Of that total, Rayborn had scored almost one-third with 69 out of a possible 72. The 749cc iron barrelled Harley is based on the 900cc Roadster model with the stroke shortened to 3.228 in. by 3.005 bore and two front heads with welded up and rerouted ports had proved the equal of the factory Triumph. Its light weight, easy handling and four-speed gearbox made up for the heavier five-speed Trident Three ridden by Pickrell. which formed the basis of some of the most evenly matched and exciting racing ever seen between two men on the British short circuits.
Dick O'Brien of Harley-Davidson sure can be proud of Cal for the Way he rode the Harley, and Walter Faulk for how he nursed it between times. Right now Rayborn is the talk of the racegoers and I have a hunch he could win our "Man of the Year” title. He should be the number one attraction for the Race of the Year at Mallory in September and if Agostini could be signed as well then the tour operators had better start booking the Jumbos for Yankee enthusiasts to come and see the race of the century.
Rayborn was wanted for the big race in I mola, Italy, at the end of the month and could have come against Agostini then, but naturally declined the offer. However, Don Emde has already agreed to ride the Gus Kuhn 750 Norton in Italy and was really getting used to the machine when he crashed at Oulton. He had not raced a Norton before his trip to England this year.
John Player Norton team manager Frank Perris said after Daytona that the 4th place garnered by Phil Read had with the knowledge gained, advanced their race program by at least two months; no doubt the Suzuki camp will be thinking on the same lines about the trip to England, for it threw the handling deficiency of the powerful 750 machines into stark relief.
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Some thought they should have brought the lighter 500cc models, but that would merely have made them slower on the straights and even less competitive than they were. The frame is the problem—the back end needs strengthening, a job that is well within the capability of Ken Sprayson of Reynolds Tubes. They are brave men that ride them at the moment and it will be a tragedy if someone gets hurt before the problem of handling is sorted out.
The success of the series has already led to the suggestion that next year the teams should consist of nine men; which is fine, but to counter the bad luck that almost inevitably accompanies any sort of team racing I would like to see nine riding and seven to score. Most important of all, though, is to ensure that the American team has at least another five days for acclimatization. This will iron out the time differential and give a chance for adequate practice at each circuit, particularly for those who have not ridden in England before.
ANNUAL PIONEER RUN
Although the match race series completely dominated the month in England, everything was going on as usual and a week before he rode against the Americans on the John Player Norton team, Peter Williams indulged a lighthearted jaunt to Brighton from Epsom in the annual Pioneer Run.
Ever faithful to the marque of his employer, Peter rode a 1912 490cc Norton single-cylinder and spent most of the journey in close company with television star Jon Pert wee who rode a 1914 348cc Royal Enfield. His presence brought out the television newsreel men and so larger crowds than usual were to be seen at the favorite advantage points along the route.
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BULTACO MX ENGINE
Too late to mention In the column last month was the latest works development Bultaco motocross engine which breaks away from the traditional design of a two-stroke associated with that company. It is called the Conquistador, and the factory claim 40 bhp from the 397cc engine at 6500 rpm.
Main features that distinguish it is a forward operating kickstarter direct on the crankshaft, gear primary drive and a dry clutch. Gearbox drag will be eliminated by the kickstart operating on the crankshaft. The prototype has been housed in a Pursang frame which will be replaced by a new design when the bike goes into production.
EUROPEAN TRIALS CHAMPIONSHIP
It was Ossa rider Mick Andrews who won the British round of the European trials championship held in Somerset and so opened up a very useful 27-point lead at the top of the championship table. Fighting off the effects of a bout of flu, Andrews looked far from fit but nevertheless had the measure of all his opponents as. he mastered the rocky sections, which is his favorite sort of going. Losing 55 marks, he was 17 better than Martin Lampkin, out on one of the new 325cc Bultaco models.
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Trailing him by two marks was another Ossa man, Dave Thorpe. The following day Thorpe was again 3rd in a national trial held in the same area when he lost 14 marks to the 10 of Martin Lampkin who again finished 2nd, but this time the winner was Montesa man Rob Shepherd who had a one mark advantage over Lampkin.
A week later when the chips were down in a British Championship event, Dave Thorpe hit top form and was the winner of the Traders trial by one mark from Martin Lampkin, the scores being 42-43. Lampkin only just got the second spot as he finished level on marks lost with a new boy, Brian Higgins (Bultaco), but cleaned more sections which gained him two extra valuable points in the championship. Andrews was riding but continued to disappoint his British fans when riding at home as he was 12th.
Rathmell leads the championship after three rounds with 35 points to the 30 of Martin Lampkin, whose brother Alan is third with 24, three ahead of reigning title holder Gordon Farley while Thorpe’s win puts him in 5th place. A week later Farley at last seemed to be getting back in the groove when he won the non-championship Lomax trial.
HANTS INTERNATIONAL
While the road racers were battling out the match race series, motocross was also having its own star attraction in the annual Hants International event where riders competed over three races along usual motocross lines.
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Underlining his dominance in the bigger classes this year was Sylvain Geboers on the 370cc five-speed Suzuki, winning two of the three races. He was beaten in the first by Heikki Mikkola (Husqvarna). A seized engine stopped him continuing the challenge to Geboers in the second race. Behind Geboers came a trio of works Maicos ridden by Adolf Weil, Ake Jonsson and Willi Bauer. John Banks (CZ) was the best of the home riders in 5th place and his ex-teammate in the BSA team, Vic Allan, now riding a Bultaco, rode his first international since breaking his leg in the opening 500 championship round in Italy last year. It looks like a long hard road back for Vic before he gets to the top again.
In the big duo meeting of Genk in Belgium and St. Anthonis in Holland RogerDeCoster (Suzuki) was the big money winner in the first leg in Belgium from Adolf Weil (Maico) and Geboers (Suzuki). Then, a week later with DeCoster not riding, the Dutchman Pierre Karsmakers had his home crowd going mad with excitement at St. Anthonis when he scored his finest win so far in his career albeit at the expense of Geboers luck. The Belgian won the first leg easily but then on the last lap of the second race when again leading comfortably his engine failed, and by the time he had pushed to the finish line five riders had passed including Karsmakers, so winning overall. Geboers gained the consolation of taking the Lente trophy awarded to the rider with the best overall result of the two meetings.
Jaak Van Velthoven had his best ride to date on the 400 Yamaha in finishing runner-up to Karsmakers who was ahead of Jonsson (Maico). There is no doubt that the only way to test a machine is in the company of the opposition as it is only those conditions that lay bare all the problems that naturally have to be cured when developing a new machine. The early season internationals will have given Yamaha a chance to cure some of their problems but they cannot be expected to hit the top immediately. 1972 will also be more of a test season for Kawasaki, with Olle Pettersson developing the new works 250. In the same way that the early meetings help development they also provide good training for world championship contenders like Sylvain Geboers, Roger DeCoster, Adolf Weil, and Ake Jonsson. The 1972 250 and 500 motocross champions could well come from these four, though it is quite amazing the way Joel Robert always comes through when title points are at stake. [O]
