Bad News

BAD NEWS

Racing has a grim side. None of us like to think about it and we like even less to report it, but sad and tragic things do happen: Willie Crabbe died May 11 of injuries suffered at the San Jose mile the previous week. The record books won’t say much about Willie Crabbe. He wasn’t a factory rider, never won a Winston Pro race. But everybody on the circuit knew and liked him. Crabbe was the sort of guy who’d laugh himself silly when another rider broke something, then pitch in with the loan of parts or a hand on the wrenches. Willie Crabbe will be missed.

English rider John Newbold was killed May 1 5 in the North-West 200, a roundthe-houses race in Northern Ireland. Newbold was a club racer who worked his way up to the Suzuki GP team and won the 500cc Czechoslovakian GP in 1977. He was top scorer in the Anglo-American Match Races in 1981 and this year was riding a Formula One Suzuki for the British importers.

Closer to home, Bruce Hammer was badly hurt at the Winston Pro road races at Road America May 22. Bruce is a friend of the staff, and is partnered by John Ulrich in endurance races. Bruce suffered a broken back in the Formula One race. At this writing he is partially paralyzed. We are hoping for a full recovery, but it’s too soon to tell. Meanwhile, he’d enjoy cards, letters and so forth, care of Cycle World, 1499 Monrovia Ave., Newport Beach, Calif. 92663.