Classic Racer Magazine Mar/Apr 2025 issue **20 PAGE FREE PREVIEW**

SHOOTING STAR

Royal Enfield Super Meteor 700 ridden

ICONIC METAL

1975 Suzuki XR11 TR750

#232

GIANT KILLERS! How V&M beat the best at the TT

PLUS

WIN S100 CLOTHING

BEST OF THE BEST: GP AND WSB WINNERS

CARE KIT

TEAM ALLSPEED GO CRMC SUPERSPORT 600 RACING

WORTH £69.95

LINE ART: 1967 MIKE HAILWOOD HONDA RC181 WHATEVER HAPPENED TO: HERMANN PAUL MÜLLER FRED CLARKE COLUMN BACK IN THE DAY: YOUR PICTURES!

MEZ-MERISING

Why Phil ‘Mez’ Mellor was a big fan favourite!

BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLY Chrysalis BMW F650 restored

WHAT’SINSIDE 006 ARCHIVE A quick look back in the archives of Classic Racer over the many decades: what have we discovered this issue I wonder?

012 NEVER A CROSSWORD

Our regular crossword is another mix of classic racing clues and all with the carrot on a stick of the chance to a win an S100 Clothing Care Kit worth £69.95. Go for it!

014 READERS WRITE

We welcome all feedback, good, bad or indifferent here at Classic Racer towers. It’s YOUR magazine so let us know what you think about CR’s content, and tell us what YOU want to see in YOUR magazine!

016 PADDOCK GOSSIP

What’s happening in the wild world of classic racing, with shows, products and events up-andcoming.

022 SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE

The best place to buy your favourite racing magazine is to do it this way – SUBSCRIBE! Not only do you get it delivered to your door BEFORE it hits the shelves, it’s cheaper too and you won’t need to venture out of your shed/garage…

024 HP MULLER

Fred Pidcock examines the career of HP ‘Happy’ Muller: a rider who not only raced pre and postwar, but also was a notable breaker of speed records.

028 BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLY

…from a Chrysalis BMW F650 Supermono racer.

Neil Morris restores his dad’s TT-winning bike with help from friends and former team staff. It’s a labour of love.

038 1957 ROYAL ENFIELD SUPER METEOR 700

Alan Cathcart rides a venerable production bike from when British motorcycle manufacturers would ‘win on Sunday and sell on Monday.’

050 LINE ART: 1967 HONDA RC181 Mick Ofield’s pen re-creates Honda’s big challenger to the likes of MV Agusta in the blue riband class: the RC181 500cc Grand Prix machine, as ridden by Mike Hailwood and Jim Redman.

052 BEST OF THE BEST

Do you know which 19 racers have won both a 500cc Grand Prix or MotoGP race AND a World Superbike race? We’ve got all 19 here, but we obviously concentrate on the older, classic ones!

CO OVER IMAGE: Main cover images by Don Morley, Kel Edge, Mortons A Archive, Terry Joslin, Ian Greene.

TThanks again this month to: Don Morley for the many images in vvarious features. And the following: Terry Joslin, Bill Snelling, Neil M Morris, Vince Rank, Mick Ofield, Fred Pidcock, Stuart Barker, Ben R Rumbold, Clive Challinor, Tony and Claire Greenslade, and not fforgetting our brilliant archivist Jane Skayman and repro man JJonathan Schofield.

ISSUE232 MARCH/APRIL 2025 EDITOR Bertie Simmonds bsimmonds@mortons.co.uk PUBLISHER Tim Hartley thartley@mortons.co.uk

MARKETING MANAGER Charlotte Park

CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Don Morley, Alan Cathcart, Stuart Barker, Neil Morris, Ian Greene, Fred Clarke, Clive Challinor, Mick Ofield, Fred Pidcock,Terry Joslin, Vince Rank andTony Greenslade.

ART EDITOR Kelvin Clements

WEBSITE www.classicracer.com

ADVERTISING Connor Crowley 01507 529411 ccrowley@mortons.co.uk

Terry Joslin’s camera and Vince Rank’s words give us the low-down on Tepi’s tremendous TR750, which he campaigned at Daytona that year and in the F750 series.

066 PHIL ‘MEZ’ MELLOR

If popularity alone won championships, the legendary Mez Mellor would have been a multiple world champ. Stuart Barker gives us the story of the talented and much-loved (and missed) Mez.

074 V&M RACING

In the second instalment, Jack Valentine talks about how V&M battled to beat the handling woes of Honda’s RC45, and how they took on the big factories at the TT with Dave Jefferies and won!

082 TEAM ALLSPEED

In the third of his columns, our Fred recalls some of the funniest and dramatic stories from his 50-year-plus career behind the motorcycling microphone…

088 BUT WHY GREEN?

Yeah… why are racing Kawasakis (and road bikes) often lime green? And who came up with the name ‘Ninja’? And why is Rob Muzzy such an important name in the history of racing Kawasakis?

COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Nigel Hole

PRODUCTION EDITOR Sarah Wilkinson

GROUP ADVERTISING MANAGER Sue Keily

086 THE FRED CLARKE COLUMN

PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Dan Savage

EDITORIAL ADDRESS Mortons Media Group, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR UK

DESIGNER Mark Field

058 ICONIC METAL: 1975 SUZUKI TR750

SALES AND DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Carl Smith

GENERAL QUERIES AND BACK ISSUES 01507 529529 24hr answerphone help@classicmagazines.co.uk www.classicmagazines.co.uk ARCHIVE ENQUIRIES Jane Skayman 01507 529423 jskayman@mortons.co.uk

SUBSCRIPTION Full subscription rates (but see page 22 for offer): (12 months 6 issues, inc. post and packing) – UK £29.40. Export rates are also available – see page 22 for more details.

UK subscriptions are zero-rated for the purposes of Value AddedTax. DISTRIBUTION Marketforce (UK) Ltd, 3rd Floor, 161 Marsh Wall, London E14 9AP. 0330 390 6555 USA SUBSCRIPTIONS

CLASSIC RACER (USPS:706-150) is published bi-monthly

by Mortons Media Group Ltd, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6LZ UK. For Overseas subscription rates please visit www.classicmagazines.co.uk.

Printed by Acorn Web Offset Ltd, Normanton, WestYorkshire

096 BACK IN THE DAY

YOUR pictures and memories from bike racing days gone by!

098 NEXT ISSUE

© Mortons Media Group Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage retrieval system without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Plenty in the next issue of Classic Racer, including the final part of the Jack Valentine/ Valmoto story, a profile of top Brit racer Rob McElnea (part 1) and so much more!

Tony Greenslade and Team Allspeed were going racing with a Honda in 2025… But Tony’s a Yam man at heart – so guess what he’s done ‘just to see if it’s faster than the CBR?

Having trouble finding a copy of this magazine?

Why not Just Ask your local newsagent to reserve you a copy?

SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

Pay just £3.83 per edition. That’s a 22% saving when paying by direct debit. See page 22 for more details.

Independent publisher since 1885

CLASSIC RACER ARCHIVE

6 ClassicRacer

Radio TT!

Words: Bertie Simmonds Photographs: Mortons Archive

No other motorcycle race-track is quite like the Isle of Man TT, and therefore it stands to reason that the course has inspired some unique features of its own.

Even before the current 37.73 mile course was fully established, the need for a different breed of ‘marshal’ around the course was recognised. Therefore, in 1935, the organisers of the Isle of Man TT races established the ‘Travelling Marshals’.

This was a time when the lap record stood at around 86mph – today Peter Hickman holds the record at 136.358mph… Back in 1935 there were only two travelling marshals, one based at the start, the other in Ramsey. While the telephone had been on the Island since 1889, this was still some time before efficient two-way radio communication was commonplace. Instead the main job of the travelling marshal was to search for missing competitors who hadn’t checked in at the start-finish line.

Fast forward to 1956 and finally the travelling marshals were not only equipped with new Triumph 650cc twins,

but also a two-way radio.

Preliminary tests were conducted on the Island before the races themselves. Frank Nurdin of the British Communications Corporation – the manufacturers of the equipment – came along to help set up the new system for Chief Marshal Peter Crebbin. Triumph also ensured the kit was properly packaged on the bike and sent their own sales manager Neale Shilton along to make sure this was done. See the inset picture.

The tests were a complete success and the travelling marshal team found that the speed and handling of the Triumphs were hardly affected by the extra weight of the radio equipment, but the kit itself meant that they could easily communicate to other marshals or parts of the course in case of an emergency.

While the leap forward in technology was welcome, compare that to today, where the travelling marshals have modern, Bluetooth connectivity/4 or 5G phones and machines boasting more than 200bhp and around 190mph…

ClassicRacer 7

CLASSIC RACER ARCHIVE

Sheene 1975

It could well be argued that – 50 years ago in 1975 – things were finally coming together for the 25-year-old Barry Sheene, but his most successful year to date wouldn’t come without cost…

Barry was one of the favourites for the Daytona 200 held in Florida, in March: a race that was a traditional precursor to the main Grand Prix season and a rather prestigious one at that.

It was here that – perhaps – good and bad luck combined to send Sheene’s popularity into the stratosphere. Bad luck, because Barry’s Suzuki TR750 would suffer the lock-up of the rear wheel at an estimated speed of 178mph: the bike was geared for around 180 up on the Daytona circuit’s notorious banking. Initially the thought was that the rear tyre delaminated, but other explanations such as a failed chain tensioner

which then dug into the tyre tread (see page 58) have been mooted. Whatever the reason, Barry was thrown up the road and onlookers feared he was dead.

The fact that the accident was caught on camera was part of the good luck that day.

Sheene was being shadowed by a Thames Television film crew, headed up by awardwinning film maker Frank Cvitanovich, and they were on hand to chart Barry’s miraculous recovery from his injuries. These included: a broken left femur, broken right wrist, broken right forearm and collar-bone, as well as six ribs. On top of this were compression fractures to a number of vertebrae, a split kidney and (as Barry put it) ‘…losing enough skin on my back and arse to upholster a settee…’

Amazingly, Sheene would be back racing within two months of the incident and

Words: Bertie Simmonds Photograph: Mortons Archive

8 ClassicRacer

would win his first 500cc Grand Prix race at Assen that June – just three months after the crash. He would win with a last-gasp overtake of Giacomo Agostini and both riders would receive the same ultimate race time. Barry would also win the Swedish Grand Prix at Anderstorp that year.

Of course the TV documentary – shown a month after his Daytona crash – saw the popularity of Barry Sheene and bike racing itself in the UK especially take off.

It set Sheene up to become a house-hold name in the 1970s, and especially thanks to his two world championships which came back to back in 1976 and 1977.

ClassicRacer 9

CLASSIC RACER ARCHIVE

10 ClassicRacer

Wild Boys!

Words: Bertie Simmonds Photograph: Mortons Archive/Mark Wernham Collection

We would welcome the return of the added excitement that home-town heroes add to a MotoGP or World Superbike grid.

For decades riders could get themselves onto a Grand Prix grid, as machinery raced at home would be raced abroad. Even into the 1990s, you could see 125cc and 250cc two-strokes ridden by eager Brits at their home Grands Prix. You’d also see privatelyentered 500cc V4 two-strokes backed by Medd, Padgett’s or others line-up against the exotic factory Marlboro Yamahas or Rothmans Hondas in the blue riband class…It all added to the excitement.

World Superbikes in the 1980s-2000s offered an even greater chance of glory:

the home-grown hot-shots could take the four-stroke production bikes they’d been racing all year and take on the world’s best riders, often threatening for podiums.

One exciting season summed this up more than most: 2000. You may think this is ‘too recent’ history, but we’re talking a quarter of a century ago. That year, we had a superb tooth-and-nail battle in the British Superbike Championship between Neil Hodgson and his Ducati 996, versus Chris Walker and his Suzuki GSX-R750 – also in the mix was John Reynolds on his Ducati.

With such top-quality riders and with three home WSB races that season (one at Donington Park and two at Brands Hatch)

it was little wonder they were up at the sharp-end, battling the regulars such as Noriyuki Haga, Colin Edwards, Troy Corser and Frankie Chili.

Hodgson – who would go on to win the 2000 BSB title – would take his first two wins in WSB at Donington and Brands, Reynolds would win race one in the final event of the year (Brands again) while Walker would take 2nd at Donington and two 3rds at the two Brands meetings.

Impressive stuff and exciting racing too.

Today of course the rules between the current BSB series and World Superbikes is disparate, so it can’t happen quite as easily as it used to – but maybe one day, eh?

ClassicRacer 11

WIN

Compiled by: Ben Rumbold, MotoXwords

35

#

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Keep your leathers, textiles, boots and gloves looking good, smelling fresh and in peak condition with these care products from S100. Developed and made in Germany, they are simple to apply and will extend the life of your riding kit.

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Across 1: 1980s GP team backed by a cool green ‘smokeless tobacco’ brand. (5,6,6) 9: Big old fairing that had to be dismissed, as rubbish? (7) 10: Mr Lawton, Hampshire postwar ace who earned aTT podium for Moto Guzzi. (3) 11: It’s best if this follows a tuck, if you come off at high speed. (4) 12: See 27 Across.

14: Sprawling nation whose first two GPs were run at the Sentul circuit. (9) 15 & 18 Down: Multi-functional venue that first hosted the Japanese Grand Prix in 1999.

(4,4,6) 17: Federico, businessman who turned around the fortunes of Ducati after the brand came out of Cagiva’s ownership. (6) 19: Group that looks out for the best interests of those funding the bikes at Grand Prix level.

(4) 21 & 13 Down: How a rider comes off the circuit, especially when the destination is the pit lane. (4,2) 22 & 25 Down: Scot who took the last British Superbike title for Norton. (3,7) 27 & 12 Across: Hermann Paul Muller’s steed

during his exploits in the prewar European Championships. (4,5) 28: Reg, the only winner of a 500cc GP from the Republic of Ireland. (9) 29: Former 250cc British Champion with a famous father and even more famous uncle.

(5) 30: The sort of helmet feature that means it’s definitely meant for off-road use. (4) 31: Monsieur Malherbe, the biggest rival for Britain’s DaveThorpe in early 1980s Motocross.

(5) 32: Intake, compression, exhaust… for example. (6) 33: One of history’s most talented racers who is still Finland’s only GP World Champion. (8) 34:The most important component in passing a noise test! (8)

Down 1 & 24 Down: Massively important components in the battle against headshake! (7,9) 2: Generally known as the wide line. (7) 3: Short Kentish circuit owned by the McLaren Group. (6,4)

4: Swedish venue that saw the final three wins of Tuevo Lansivuori’s career, the last two occurring on the same day! (10) 5: Failure to follow the rules could ultimately lead to this. (16) 6: Akira, Japanese 125cc podium finisher in the 1990s. (5) 7: To take out, like a screw or bolt, for example. (4) 8: Dennis, one of only three winners of a 500cc Grand Prix from New Zealand. (7) 13: See 21 Across.

16:The sort of tyres you reach for when precipitation occurs. (4) 18: See 15 Across.

19: Engine component that transfers fuel into the cylinder. (5,5) 20: Held its first GP two years after its first World Champion was crowned, and of course that guy won it! (9) 23: Graeme, former sidecar passenger from 20 Down who went to win twoTTs in 1984. (8) 24: See 1 Down.

25: See 22 Across.

26: Whether it was a 30 or a 45, it was one of the most lusted after Superbikes of all! (5,2)

HOW TO ENTER To be in with a chance of winning, fill in your details and return the completed crossword to: Classic Racer March/April 2025 Competition, Mortons Media Group Ltd, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR. Competition closes: 9am, April 16, 2025

Mr / Mrs / Miss / Ms (please circle) First name:

Surname:

Town/City:

County:

Postcode:

Country:

Email: Telephone:

Don’t forget!

If you don’t want to cut up your issue of Classic Racer, we will accept a photocopy of the completed crossword and form.

You can keep your CR pristine and intact. We will print the answers to this issue’s puzzle in the next edition of Classic Racer – you can find the answers to the last one below.

Address:

The terms and the conditions There are no cash alternatives available. The winner will be the first name drawn at random from the rather smelly Classic Racer helmet.

Terms and conditions apply. To view the privacy policy of MMG Ltd (publisher of Classic Racer) please visit www.mortons.co.uk/privacy

The answers to last issue’s Classic Racer crossword: Across Down 1 & 4 SuspensionTravel, 10 Klaffi, 12 La, 14 Spanners, 15 Ago’s Leap, 1 & 19 Down Sidecar Passenger, 2 Ear, 3 Nikasil, 5 Alfonso Nieto, 6 17 Drum, 20 Hungary, 22 Bell, 23 Sensor, 26 Zschopau, 29 & 7 Across Louisiana, 8 Aldo, 9 Ariel, 11 Academy, 13 Spain, 16 Sound Stories, 20 European Drag Race, 30 & 18 Across Le Mans, 31 Bimota, 32 CableTie, Herrero, 21 Rossi, 24 Finland, 25 Burgess, 27 Hobl, 28 Part, 33 Bob 34 Ramsey, 35 Disc Brakes

ClassicRacer 13

Classic Racer, Mortons Media Group, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs, LN9 6JR.

CRletters@mortons.co.uk

facebook.com/ClassicRacerMag/

If you want to get in touch…

Then please do. We read every letter, email and comment sent to us and we enjoy hearing from you whether you’ve an event coming up, a motorcycle you own or just want to let us know about something you find interesting in Classic Racer’s world.

LOVED LADY LUCK

Dear CR While flicking through my copy of the latest Classic Racer I was a little perturbed to see pictures I really don’t expect to see in a motorcycle racing magazine.

Pictures of horse jumping, footballers, politicians, boxers,TV stars and the like… What on earth! And then I read the feature. Well, as a former owner of all the Motocourse annuals up until the mid-1990s (I was

made an offer I couldn’t refuse some years back for the collection when I downsized) of course I was familiar with Don’s work, but I didn’t have a clue about everything else he had done.

What a great story, and it was fantastic to read about how he got some of those special shots.

Lovely stuff!

John Reeves The editor says: “Glad you liked it John!”

STAR LETTER PRIZE

Win a Classic Racer T-Shirt!

Yes, you can if you’re the lucky writer of the STAR LETTER of each issue. Just let us know your size and we’ll send you one of our lovely T-shirt designs, gratis!

PRAISE FOR PAT AGAIN

Dear CR I have to compliment you on the Pat Hennen story. It was very well done and one of my favourite reads so far.

It struck me in two ways. Firstly, as a Yank I needed to know his story and his part of US history in 500cc Grand Prix racing. So for that I thank you. Secondly, it was HIS story told by his pit crew, family and friends, so it was perfect and I loved it from their view point.

I myself started racing boats when I was 17. I’d build my own boats and motors and did it all on an (always) empty

bank account. My pit crew were always my friends who volunteered. I fed them food and beer in exchange for them working and being wet all weekend, while sleeping in either one of my old vans or a tent.

Some of those guys have better stories of my racing than I do! For that side, I thank you for a trip in the ‘way back’ machine. Well done!

Gary Williams The editor says: “We are so glad you liked it, Gary!”

MORE TT STUFF PLEASE…

Dear CR Loving the old short circuit stuff as I do, I am also partial to the roads. My favourite is clearly the Isle of Man TT but I’m also a fan of the North West and Oliver’s Mount, as well as others. So how about some more features looking at what happened over a particular event/year or single race? Bet there are plenty of stories.

And with the Classic TT being back on, why not go over and give us a big feature on this event?

Jim Peters The editor says: “Like what you’re saying Jim. Firstly, we do have our sister title Island Racer 2025 which will be out once more this year just before theTT starts, so you’ll read more on this next issue. As to heading over for the Classic – we rather think it would cost a fortune, as travelling to the Island seems to do these days!”

14 ClassicRacer

A MESSAGE FROM DON Dear CR I just wanted to say a sincere thank you for the wonderful and much appreciated article about myself, Jo my wife and our careers, printed in the last issue of Classic Racer.

The feature literally brought tears to our eyes, as our motivation from when we first started was to try and best promote our own love of all things motorcycling not just to the similarly converted, but more importantly to

the masses.

Our motivation from day one was to try and take pictures and write articles interesting enough to persuade even the non-believers that motorcycling, and especially the sports side, were in fact so exiting they really should come along themselves and take a look.

Personally, I have also long believed motorcycling gets a very raw deal from the mainstream media, and on this front the ACU

has not helped much either, so as such we journos and photographers truly needed to also be ambassadors tasked with promoting our sport.

I always saw our main role in life was to try and take pictures or write words which hopefully were good enough to persuade more than a few more paying customers to actually go to the events we ourselves loved.

And this wasn’t just the UK: in our final year of providing our services it cost us £69,000 in travel expenses. This included Japan, South Africa, the USA (twice), Australia (twice) and all the European Grands Prix. Even the two weeks at the TT cost £2000…

We loved every moment and often only just managed to fund these trips thanks to covering other sporting events. But thanks to motorcycling we have absolutely no regrets either.

Mind you, it would not be me if I failed to pull you up on one serious inaccuracy. How dare you say: ‘I rode it Trials until 1999 by which time I was 62’. I rode in The National British Bike Championship Trials series right through my 70s, and also competed in several tree stage Trials (Enduros as well). I hoped to continue into my 80s but then broke my ankle badly in two places and had to stop.

Don Morley The editor says: “Sorry Don! But I did send you the words to check…”

WHY NOT THE MANX?

Dear CR I have read the fanfare with which you welcome the ‘Return of the Classic TT’, including giving us qualifying and race times etc. No mention that it is being run concurrently with the Manx Grand Prix, although the three GP races are being run before the classics. l need hardly point out that the Manx, being over 100 years old, must qualify as a ‘classic’ event.

Are you people part of the perceived government conspiracy to help get the Manx Grand Prix to quietly fade away? lt would be nice if the Senior Manx and the Senior Classic were both run on the last day as it would give the classic followers a chance to see the top Manx riders who are not that much slower than Michael Dunlop and Co. Tim Matt The editor says: “As I’ve said in an email to youTim, no conspiracy here whatsoever. And you mentioned some of your racing stories – share them with us!”

GRAVE ERRORS!

Dear CR I have just received my issue in Australia, to find a couple of very grave errors. On the letters page, (page 15 Motegi Moan) the photo of Mike Hailwood is him riding an MV Agusta. And on page 26 Dick Wyler is riding a Honda CR93, not a Norton.

Otherwise this is a great magazine .

John Simms

The editor says: “Sorry John.The Hailwood pic was simply generic of the man rather than the machine. And we do apologise if the encrypted caption said Dick was on a Norton. But, to err is human as your original spelling of ‘MV Augusta’ proves. We always try our best sir! Hopefully this picture will help apologise.”

ClassicRacer 15

PADDOCK GOSSIP

PaddockGossip Compiled by The Classic Racer team // Send your classic racing news to:

editor@classicracer.co.uk

WIN Wayne’s hat!

Wayne with ‘the hat’ back in 1987.

ABOVE: Wayne reunited with the hat this year.

LEFT: John Brown is gifted the hat from WG in 1987.

The 1987 500cc Grand Prix champion Wayne Gardner will be the star guest at the Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show over the weekend of October 11/12, 2025.

And – you have the chance of winning a unique prize at the show, which takes place at the Stafford County Showground.

Known as the ‘Wollongong Whizz’, Gardner went from a young lad riding around his hometown on a five-dollar dirt bike to becoming the king of the two-wheeled world.

Wayne was the first Australian to win the 500cc World Championship in 1987. The springboard to his international success began when he came to the UK in 1981, becoming big pals with multiple British bike race champ Roger Marshall.

Wayne and Roger wowed the crowds at The Classic Bike Guide Winter Classic at Newark in January, and you can’t afford to miss them both on stage at the CMM event. You’ll also be able to enjoy hearing some very special race machines roar into life at the Classic Racer GP Paddock, as well as see road and race machines from days gone by along with hundreds of trade stands and auto-jumble stalls. So why not book tickets now?

But – what is our big prize?

Well, the headline gave it away, but just after it was announced that Wayne was appearing at

A night with JR at the pub!

John Reynolds will be appearing at a Kettering pub in March, in a Q&A evening hosted by Classic Racer editor Bertie Simmonds.

JR is a three-time British Superbike champion, winning the title in 1992, 2001 and 2004: he’s won the title on a 750cc inline four, a 1000cc V-twin and a 1000cc inline four. He’s also a world superbike race winner

16 ClassicRacer

and former 500cc Grand Prix privateer.

The JR night is Monday, March 3, and tickets cost £15 – don’t worry the editor doesn’t see a penny...The pub is at: 48 Woodland Ave, Barton Seagrave, Kettering NN15 6QP. For more information go to: www.thestirrupcupbartonseagrave.co.uk or email: info@thestirrupcupbarton seagrave.co.uk

both shows, CR editor Bertie Simmonds was at a social event and auction where a hat belonging to Wayne Gardner came up for sale.

Bertie says: “The hat was given for auction by Anne Brown, wife of the late-great Grand Prix paddock journalist John Brown, who was a friend of mine. As you can see from the picture, on winning his 1987 world title Wayne gifted his famous hat to JB and he kept it in pride of place.”

At the Newark show Bertie asked if Wayne recalled the hat and he did, saying: “JB was a legend and a lovely fella.” The original auction Bertie won saw the proceeds go to the MotoGP effort to help the Valencia area of Spain following their floods last year. This time Bertie wants to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation. He says: “JB had a few heart issues towards the end of his life and we all gave money to the charity in lieu of flowers at his funeral back in 2012. Wayne is up for it, can sign the hat at the show in October and also says he may bring a few other things along for the lucky winner.”

As of yet the precise mechanics of the competition are yet to be finalised, but we will announce them in the next issue of CR and on our various social media channels.

For more on the shows, go to: www.classicbikeshows.com

ClassicRacer 17

18 ClassicRacer

PADDOCK GOSSIP

Tommy Robb: 1934-2024 Classic Racer was saddened to hear of the passing of former TT and Ulster Grand Prix winner Tommy Robb, aged 90.

Hailing from Northern Ireland, Robb joined the Honda factory racing team in 1962, winning his first world championship race in the 250cc class at the Ulster Grand Prix in that year. Tommy was one of the first western riders to be hired by the factory Honda team and he repaid that trust, finishing runnerup to team-mate Jim Redman in the 1962 350cc championship. He would win the Lightweight TT in 1973 and would win the NorthWest 200 five times.

His daughter, Natalie Robb, said:

“Dad’s funeral was such a lovely day and absolute ‘celebration of his life’ and it was such an honour to see so many of his lovely friends there on the day. He had asked me to ride my bike and escort him on his final journey wearing his crash helmet.

I escorted him to the Anglesey Circuit for his final ‘lap of honour!’ I watched him do his final lap with my family and then I escorted him back to the crematorium and that will be the biggest honour I think I will ever achieve in my life.”

We will be publishing a feature on Tommy’s career in a later issue of Classic Racer. We send our condolences to his family and friends.

Tommy Robb: legend...

Ron Williams: 1941-2024 Ron Williams, respected race engineer and suspension expert has died, aged 83.

Williams worked for a number of race teams – most notably Honda/HRC from 1980-1989

and Norton in the early 1990s.

Ron would be instrumental in designing a number of Honda race frames as well as the rotarypowered Norton that Steve Hislop took to the 1992 Senior TT win.

Always a forward-thinker, he would also get into wheel manufacture and founded Maxton Engineering and Maxton Suspension. Many of his products over the decades

were must-have items for racers that could afford the best. He started out fabricating frames for Matchless G50s before moving on to Japanese machines, most notably Yamaha’s two-stroke twin racers.

In later decades he concentrated on suspension and by the end of the 1990s it was said that 99% of Maxton’s suspension components were actually made in-house thanks to Ron’s dedication to quality control and excellence.

Ron Williams leaves wife Mary and stepsons Richard and Matthew. Richard took over the running of Maxton in 2004 and the firm continues to make topquality road and race suspension units today. www.maxtonsuspension.co.uk

Ron (second left) was a talented engineer who worked with big teams.

Kwak champ search Dave Simmonds was a legendary racer who took Kawasaki’s first world championship when he won the 1969 125cc world championship. Tragically he died in a fire at a race paddock in 1972.

The Simmonds family and Kawasaki are trying to organise a permanent display at Kawasaki Europe in Amsterdam, to remember and celebrate Dave’s achievements and legacy. His daughter Jennie says: “We’re touched that Kawasaki want to do this and to launch the display we’d like to try and borrow one of dad’s racing

bikes – be it one of his Kawasaki 125cc e bikes or a 500cc machine to help kick-off the display.”

If anyone can help, please email jsimmonds734@msn.com

Dave Simmonds took Kawasaki’s first ever world championship.

ClassicRacer 19

PADDOCK GOSSIP

Selwyn Griffiths: a tribute Former Manx Grand Prix winner Selwyn Griffiths has passed away, aged 83.

The rider from Pontypool, Wales, who passed away on January 11, was a road-racing stalwart. Selwyn made his Isle of Man road racing debut in 1961 at the Manx Grand Prix. He achieved his first podium finish in 1963 when he finished 3rd in the Junior race. Better was to come when he went on to win the 1964 Senior Manx Grand Prix.

Moving on to the TT races in 1965, he would race for another decade, scoring eight top-10 results including an impressive 3rd at the 1975 Production TT race.

His son Jason is a 15-time Isle

of Man TT podium finisher who still works in the racing paddock.

Classic Racer would like to pass on our condolences to his family and friends.

Go-Show Bimota auction Anthony Gobert – known as ‘The Go Show’ to fans, was an eight-time World Superbike race winner.

The Australian was recognised as one of the most naturally talented racers of the 1990s, but his career was blighted by his own personal issues, and he never fully realised his potential.

Sadly those issues took a toll and he passed away last January aged just 48.

His final WSB race win was probably his best: riding an unfancied Bimota SB8-R he won at a wet Phillip Island in 2000, some 30 seconds ahead of Carl Fogarty. It is that bike that Iconic Auctioneers will be selling at their event during the MCN London Bike Show in February. We can’t wait to see what it goes for and will report back: www.iconicauctioneers.com

YAMAHA RACERS UP FOR AUCTION! Other lots in the auction at the MCN London Bike Show include one of the UK’s biggest private collection of Yamaha production race bikes.

These machines were introduced in the late 1960s, produced byYamaha as full-on race bikes but available from your local dealer. They came ready to race and complete and with a spares package. No other manufacturer

20 ClassicRacer

offered this at the time.

The collection belongs to bike dealer Glyn Marriott, an ex-racer who raced similar bikes in period.

All the bikes are restored, mostly all matching numbers and original, and have been displayed in Glyn’s dealership for many years.

The collection includes some early air-cooled machines, a TD-2 250cc and a TR-2 350cc, and a very rare Maxton framed TZ750D. Other notable bikes include TZ500D, TZ250A, TZ700A and a matching numbers TZ750D. The collection’s combined value is estimated at around £250k.

We’ll keep tabs on the auction to see how they do: www.iconicauctioneers.com

Editor’s welcome ‘Win on Sunday, sell on Monday’ is a mantra that’s always been associated with production racing.

But while you may think that I’m mentioning this due to our Alan Cathcart racer test on the production racer the Royal Enfield Super Meteor, (or even our feature on World Superbike and Grand Prix winning riders), I’m actually more thinking about Kawasaki green – see our feature on page 88.

I’d seen the ‘Team Green’ boys of John Reynolds and Brian Morrison do the business around my local circuit of Brands Hatch. And there I was, the next day, a sucker for the marketing men, drooling at the new Kawasaki ZXR750K in the window of Dave Fox Kawasaki, Ramsgate.

There was just something that always stood out about the lime-green Kawasakis, even in their ‘corporate’ race colours with dashes of blue and white. I was always a bit of a Kawasaki boy, as my uncle rode them on the road and worked in the very dealership I was currently pressing my nose to the window of. This thing was gorgeous: single-seat (this was the homologation racer, after all) alloy tank, close-ratio gearbox and those ‘Hoover’ pipes that did nowt but looked good.

Sadly, I was a skint 21-yearold and could never afford such a machine.

When I worked for a motorcycle magazine four years later the chance to ride the later ZXR750M (homologation bike again) was a must. And it was sadly a bit of a let-down on the road, compared to the standard bike. But it wasn’t by chance that – when I bought my track bike – that it was an all-green Kawasaki ZX-7R. Seems like that marketing mantra worked out after all…