Classic Racer - January/February - Preview

THE TOP 10

RIDERS & BIKES

And it’s all from the early days

FRANK PERRIS’ BEAUTIFUL TR250 Bike number 13

classicracer.com where legends live on...

#195

THAT MAGICAL DAY SPENCER OWNS SILVERSTONE

Number 195 January/February 2019

£4.50

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Ducati’s Superbikes

Seriously big production metal

Carlos Lavado

Mike’s Bikes

Kenny Roberts Jnr

The ‘tache.

The titles.

The tears.

It wasn’t JUST about a Ducati ride in 1978, you know...

”I didn’t have to deal with mind games in my career”

www.classicracer.com

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PLUS ASPAR’S 1988 80cc & 125cc GP BIKES // GRAND PRIX TRACKS // LINE ART

2 ClassicRacer

WHAT’S INSIDE

COVER STORY

006 From the archive Three more classic moments from the racing history archive that perfectly illustrate those minuscule fractions of a second through the lens of the greatest of motorcycle racing photographers.

012 Readers write

022 Line art

015 Paddock Gossip

This month it’s Mick Ofield’s superb capturing of the Yamaha TZ750 flat tracker that terrified King Kenny Roberts so much. He declared: “They can’t pay me enough to ride that thing!”

Malc scours the four corners of the paddock for the news that makes the news pages he writes.

024 Subscribe

More of your thoughts on recent happenings in, around and because of classic motorcycle racing.

Various deals have been offered, some continue to, in order to save you both money and the worry that Classic Racer will have sold out at the local newsagents. Here are the details.

028 Aspar’s bikes It was the 80cc and 125cc machines that continuously gave us the closest GP racing of the 1980s and here’s the inside-out tale of two of the very best of them and what they did in the same season of shoulder-to-shoulder action.

Splish splash about to dash Don Morley’s expert photograph captures the tensions and wet weather that plagued the 1985 Silverstone round of the British Grand Prix. What a day. What a brilliant pic.

038 Carlos Lavado Venezuela produced two amazing racers in the most formative years of international racing on track and Lavado was one them. He won two world championships and came close to a third.

We tell his story.

ISSUE 195 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 EDITOR Tony Carter jclements@mortons.co.uk PUBLISHER Tim Hartley thartley@mortons.co.uk CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Don Morley, Michael Scott, Bertie Simmonds, Philip Wain, Bruce Cox, Malc Wheeler, Gary D Chapman, Sir Alan Cathcart, Frank Weink, Peter Parnham, Norm DeWitt, Mark Wernham, Nick Nichols, Hamish Cooper, Phil Aynsley PRODUCTION EDITOR Sarah Wilkinson SENIOR DESIGNER Kelvin Clements DESIGNERS Michael Baumber PICTURE DESK Paul Fincham Jonathan Schofield DIVISIONAL ADVERTISING MANAGER Billy Manning

ADVERTISING Kieron Deekens 01507 529576 kdeekens@mortons.co.uk Matt Hansom 01507 529413 mhansom@mortons.co.uk SUBSCRIPTION MANAGER Paul Deacon CIRCULATION MANAGER Steven O’Hara MARKETING MANAGER Charlotte Park PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Dan Savage COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Nigel Hole EDITORIAL ADDRESS Mortons Media Group, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR UK WEBSITE www.classicracer.com 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

DISTRIBUTION Marketforce UK Ltd, 5 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HU. 0203 787 9001.

044 Frank Perris’ Suzuki TR250 Long-time friend of CR, Peter Parnham, has overseen a return to former glory for this particularly lovely 250. It’s worth a close-up look at this exquisite piece of machinery.

050 Top 10 WSB riders and bikes Bertie Simmonds turns his eye to those who stood on top of the pile that was World Superbikes during their most frantic of years. You might agree with the selection, you might not, but we’re sure – unlike WSB of today – you’ll remember every single name here.

054 Kenny Roberts Junior What was it really like to be named after the most famous racer on the planet and then become a racer yourself? Was it helpful or harmful? How was it when you made it to 500cc GP and had to step into your dad’s massive boots?

062 Lookback In a large tome just ripe for this time of year, CR contributor Philip Wain has launched his GP book.

Here’s a taste of what’s inside.

USA SUBSCRIPTIONS

067 Ducati’s Superbikes. A history.

Hamish Cooper looks at how the racing world went from 888 to 916 and a bit beyond.

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

by Mortons Media Group Ltd, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6LZ UK. USA subscriptions are $30 per year from Motorsport Publications LLC, 7164 Cty Rd N #441, Bancroft WI 54921. Periodical Postage is paid at Bancroft, WI and additional entries. Postmaster: Send address changes to CLASSIC RACER, c/o Motorsport Publications LLC, 7164 Cty Rd N #441, Bancroft WI 54921. 715-572-4595 chris@ classicbikebooks.com

074 Spencer’s day

Printed by William Gibbons & Sons, Wolverhampton ISSN No 1470-4463

It was the British GP round. It was 1985 and it was Freddie Spencer who headed out under a leaden sky to show the world something it had never seen before. Michael Scott tells the story of that day in detail.

© 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.

080 Mike’s bikes Bruce Cox charts the history (and the circumstances) around the motorcycles that carried the exquisite skill-set of Mike Hailwood through his travails. That includes something Mike’s father did that ultimately caused Mike a great deal of embarrassment.

SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

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CLASSIC RACER ARCHIVE

The Climb

Photo: Nick Nicholls Collection at Mortons Archive

With Kel Carruthers (#74) leading on the 250cc Benelli from Santiago Herrero (#8) on the Ossa and Renzo Pasolini (#6) going full tilt in third on the other Benelli, the chase up the hill on a cloudy Spa day began in the usual fast fashion.

YEAR: 1969 // LOCATION: SPA FRANCORCHAMPS

CLASSIC RACER ARCHIVE

‘Where is HE?!’

8 ClassicRacer

Photograph: Mark Wernham Collection at Mortons Archive

YEAR: 1995 // LOCATION: ASSEN

The rider at the centre of the melee caught on camera by Mark Wernham is Carl Fogarty. You may notice two things captured in this moment at the end of race two on this world superbike day. The first is the amount of people trying to hold Carl back from Pierfrancesco Chili (not visible here) and the second is the sheer anger on King Carl’s face.

‘Frankie’ is still a tough cookie – he was much more so back then – and Carl would happily tear into a rival for less than he accused Frankie of doing on track. Who would reckon on a clear winner had they ever got their hands on each other?

CLASSIC RACER ARCHIVE

The Champ

Photograph: Don Morley

ClassicRacer 11

Sometimes, when you know it’s a set-up photo, the impact can be lost a little. However, that can’t be said of this prime example – nothing is quite as impressive as a study Wayne Gardner, King of the World in close detail. Every nuance of the man, the machine and the time graphically told.

YEAR: 1987 // LOCATION: PHILLIP ISLAND

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 if 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.

How about some Hocking?

Dear CR Thank you for an excellent magazine, my only gripe is that it should be a monthly publication instead of every two months.

I have recently enjoyed reading about Jon Ekerold in the magazine and having done so it reminded me of another favourite racer I used to watch, Gary Hocking.

My father and I were at the 1959 Ulster GP where, if memory serves me correctly, Hocking was easily the best rider in the 250cc class that day and showed his skill in what could be described as a tricky surface upon which to ride.

I think that Hocking is amongst the most overlooked of riders from that era and I would therefore like to suggest that Classic Racer features the Rhodesian in the future.

I believe that Gary would serve a very

popular read for those who enjoy Classic Racer and I look forward to seeing such an article in print one day.

Ronald Greer Email Dear Ronald Thank you for the correspondence. I would agree with you that Gary is one of the most overlooked racers of a generation, what he went on to do for MV is so often swept away in the rush to get to ‘bigger’ names of the times.

I think that an in-depth look at where Gary came from, what he achieved and how the events that happened in 1962 came to pass, ultimately ending his two-wheeled career, would indeed make for an intriguing read.

Thank you for the suggestion.

Tony

STAR LETTER PRIZE

We’re offering you the chance to win two fantastic DVDs courtesy of Duke Video – Narrow Edge and Racing Champions. Get writing in to be in with a chance of winning these fantastic prizes.

Legendary?

There’s another I’d like to see

time for a proper Foggy issue or do we have to wait a few years yet?

J Jones Email

Dear CR Seeing the recent CR cover of Eddie Lawson in action (Legendary cover #194 – Ed) got me thinking about other legends and those who I think would make equally good subjects for such a grand title.

How about Carl Fogarty? He was at the top of his powers in the mid-1990s and that’s 25 years ago.

Is that too soon for CR to consider it

Dear J My point of view is that almost anything from 25 years ago and later is fair game for these pages.

I know Malc had started to include riders and races from more recent eras and he and I are working on continuing that but absolutely not at the cost of great examples of motorcycle racing from the 1950s, 60s, 70s etc.

12 ClassicRacer

VESCO WAS THE MAN Dear CR Don Vesco was a very special man, and a friend to racers of all types. My school friend Ken Greene was Reg Pridmore’s long-time sidecar passenger, pictured recently in CR. Ken and I delivered the chair to Don’s shop back in the day, only to find out Don was at another location.

We dropped off the chair, drove to a large warehouse where we found Don, door wide open, working on his streamliner.

Ken and I started asking questions about his adventures on the salt. It was as if Don had all the time in the world to talk to us, explaining in detail what we were looking at and what 300mph on a motorcycle was like.

There was a time as the streamliner accelerated between 160 and 225 when the steering worked backwards, but not a big issue!

What a man.

Kevin Burke Eugene, Oregon

If it’s a rider who dominated the world a quarter of a century ago then yes, I personally don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t feature that person, bike or race.

And let’s face it, there’s quite the story to tell in detail of Carl Fogarty and those most brutal of years in the World Superbikes plus his dalliance in GP500s (and who could forget the Isle of Man outings too...).

The grumpy so and so will be good value on page for racing fans like us. You can bet on that.

Thanks for the email.

Tony

My pre-flight theory!

Dear CR Bought your excellent mag at Gatwick while waiting for my flight, and I have an inkling the bike in the sepia photo on p13 is a Greeves Silverstone. Clues: the leading link front fork and the bigfinned two-stroke single, both typical of Greeves. Now I’m going to have to buy next month’s issue to find out if I’m right!

Thanks anyway for a top class magazine.

George Greenfield

Funds needed Dear CR Disappointing to read your article about the goings on at Oliver’s Mount.

After watching racing there for many years, going back to the Bob McIntyre, Geoff Duke, Gary Hocking, Mike Hailwood days, through to John Cooper, Mick Grant, Jarno Saarinen, Ago etc and right up to Dean Harrison, it’s something that hopefully can be sorted out and racing gets going again.

The major problem area, from what I can gather, is that Scarborough Council who own the Mount because it’s public roads, have said that they can’t work with the Auto66 Club, and as such have said that

they won’t issue them with a licence to run any more events there, and are looking for a new party to replace them.

To bring things right up to date, Martin Smith the Council’s Cabinet Member for Leisure has said that the council are in negotiation with various parties with the aim of bringing racing back next year. “It’s taking time, but meetings are taking place, and we want to be open next year.”

As you comment, Malc, it’s going to need someone with the necessary funds to get things going again.

Ray Slack Stamford Bridge nr York

THE PROBLEM WITH THE CLASSIC RACING WORLD Dear CR I’d like to voice my opinion on what I have seen during my first visits to what you might call the classic racing world, in the hope that somebody will read this and change. I should explain that I was tempted to actually go to a race or two after firstly picking up your magazine, being encouraged by what the editor was saying about how welcoming the classic racing world was.

I raced a few years ago myself, in the 400 class. I wasn’t going to win any championships but I enjoyed it, and gave up because I found the paddock very hostile and closed off. If I didn’t know anybody there I was often met with suspicious and glaring looks from others. So I went to a couple of meetings this year to see if the classic world was more my kettle of fish.

It wasn’t and I don’t know what the editor was talking about. I walked around the paddock looking at the bikes and tried to talk to people about them but was met with rudeness and a very closed-off feeling from everyone I saw taking part.

I like reading CR but will I be going to anything in classic racing again? No thanks. If I want to feel like I’m watching a clique with its own language then I’ll go to a football match and be miserable with everyone wearing the same colour shirts there. I don’t like cliques or groups of people only there to keep their racing to themselves.

Alan Weston Shropshire Dear Alan I’m so very sorry to read this letter. I’ve chosen to include it on these pages in the

hope that others from the racing world will read it and respond to it too. In my experience of both classic and modern paddocks there can be little corners where racers are (rightly) up to their elbows solving problems and sometime they might seem a tad ‘closed off’ whilst they get on with putting a bike right, but this is a way of racing life that I think is pretty normal.

Alan, I’m absolutely sure that others will respond to this letter with positivity and offers of showing you more of the plus side of classic racing. I do hope that when they do you can find it in yourself to give it another go. Classic racing and the people involved in it are the very best you’ll find on two wheels.

I wish you all the best and plenty of good times in paddocks to come.

Tony

ClassicRacer 13

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