Classic Racer November/December 2017

1975

HOCKENHEIM THE READ - AGO BATTLE

BARRY Y LAID BA ARE

LIKE YOU'VE N EVER SEEN

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SECRET T SQUIRREL! Q REL! THE WORLD'S MOST ELUSIVE FACTORY TWO-STROKE

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LINE ART

A GLORIOUS RACE BIKE IN BARE DETAIL

ONTRACK

THE LATEST REPORTS FROM THE BHRC AND CRMC

JIM CURRY

TAKING THE MICKEY OUT OF HARD BLOKES

RIDING THE HONDA SIX

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SCARY STUFF ON THE MOUNTAIN COURSE

#188

WHAT’SINSIDE 006 From the archive

014 Paddock Gossip

This month we have three stunning images from the world of Classic Racer, two of which are from deep within our huge archive and the third having a much more recent flavour to it (but it’s still very much on topic).

Our Malcolm has been visiting the paddocks of the scene to see the what, the why and the who of things going on. He’s also been over to the Island to stay abreast of everything on the road scene. It’s been hectic. He loves it.

012 Readers Write

022 Line Art

Another passage of time passes us by and some of you have chosen to mark the past few weeks with a missive to Classic Racer. Good on you and thank you very much for the correspondence – we enjoy every single letter, email and pigeon that lands at Racer Towers.

This month we have another superb piece of work from the mightily-talented Mick Ofield. For this issue of Classic Racer it’s the Paul Smart Ducati Imola 200 winner. Beautiful.

024 Subscribe to Classic Racer It’s a great idea to subscribe to your favourite classic motorcycle magazine. Do it and you get the magazine earlier than it appears in the shops, there’s no going out in the cold and wet to get it because it’s delivered to your door and it’s a bit cheaper too.

026 Jim Curry. Pushing it.

The story of a man who wouldn’t let‘no’be the answer to anything. Not even when he got his hands on a write-off road bike and had a plan to get it to the front of a Grand Prix grid.

036 Riding the Six Our very own Steve Plater was the only man out on a real Honda 6 at the Classic TT. Not only do we mark the moment on these pages but we look at what made the iconic Honda such an amazing machine both here and in the huge 32-page supplement that you have free with this issue.

038 Magnificence in motorcycle form – the Suzuki XR96 RGV250 One of the rarest motorcycles on the planet, this is Steve Wheatman’s Suzuki RGV250. A factory racebike now looked after by the expert hands of Nathan Colombi, you won’t see another one of these – we promise you that. It’s utterly delicious and a genuine work of mechanical art.

046 Sheene Unseen: Part two The final part of our look at some incredibly personal images from the Sheene life. These come from a terrific book which we urge you to add to your collection. Full details on how to do that are included in this article, so get to the pages to find out all you need to know.

050 Funny front end…

The Bimota Tesi YB wasn’t what you’d call successful out on track, but as a piece of track-inspired engineering it deserves its place in the annals of history. Not just for the cleverness around the whole bike but the sheer audacity of that front end…

058 The Bennetts Classic TT Our resident Island expert John Watterson and snapper legend Peter Faragher were on hand, on site and on a roll as the Classic TT happened. Here’s their report into what has become a huge event (due in no small part to the efforts of our Malc Wheeler).

ISSUE188 066 GP back in the day: Hockenheim 1975

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER2017

One of the most memorable races of the year comes under the eye of Jan Burgers, for another expert slice of the good, the great and the‘gosh I never knew that’of GP racing from decades ago.

EDITOR Tony Carter tcarter@mortons.co.uk

SUBSCRIPTION MANAGER Paul Deacon

PUBLISHER Tim Hartley thartley@mortons.co.uk

CIRCULATION MANAGER Steven O’Hara

CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Malc Wheeler, Alan Cathcart, Mick Ofield, Graham Lawlor, Russ Lee, Jan Burgers, Mark McCloskey, MikeYiend, John Watterson, Len Hartley, Peter Faragher, Peter Crawford.

MARKETING MANAGER Charlotte Park

072 Len Ireland A real fan favourite at the Irish motorcycle road races throughout the 1960s, Len was one of the men to go wheel-to-wheel with if you wanted silverware at races like the North West 200 and Carrowdore 100. His story is a fascinating account of a man who loved his racing and was as hard as nails.

078 On Track Reports on recent racing in the classic scene including Bob Mac, CRMC and BHR plus a cracking report on the Irish road racing scene across the middle of the season.

PRODUCTION EDITOR Sarah Wilkinson SENIOR DESIGNER Kelvin Clements DESIGNERS Michael Baumber Libby Fincham PICTURE DESK Paul Fincham Jonathan Schofield DIVISIONAL ADVERTISING MANAGER Billy Manning ADVERTISING Kieron Deekens 01507 529576 kdeekens@mortons.co.uk

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

Leon Currie 01507 529413 lcurrie@mortons.co.uk

SUBSCRIPTION Full subscription rates (but see page 24 for offer): (12 months 6 issues, inc post and packing) – UK £27. Export rates are also available – see page 24 for more details.

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

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CORNER: DRUIDS // YEAR: 1964 // TRACK: BRANDS HATCH // DEREK MINTER HOLDS OFF JOHN COOPER It was with good reason that Derek Minter was known as the original ‘King of Brands’. His prowess at the Kent circuit had coined him the unofficial title years before it was any sort of ‘recognised’ honour given out by the racing overseers.

The reputation that Minter had for riding hard but fair came mostly on Manx Nortons tuned by either Ray Petty or Steve Lancefield. At other points in his career, Derek would contest Hondas, Morinis and Gileras, but it wasn’t really for the variety of machinery that Derek is most remembered.

A hard-charging competitor – he was once described by Mike Hailwood as: “My toughest ever rival.” Minter’s skills weren't just confined to tarmac, he was a skilled trials rider too.

Minter was a talented Isle of ManTT competitor also, becoming the first rider of a British singlecylinder bike to lapThe Island at over 100mph (on a Norton). He had a love/hate relationship with The Mountain Course though and at the age of 26 he took part in the 1958 Island event where he scored an incredible fourth in the Senior and ninth in the Junior, all funded with a £100 budget.

In 1961 Derek was British Champion for a second time, only to better that in 1962 by taking the crown in the Senior, Junior and 250cc classes.That year also saw him win the Mallory Park 1000 Guineas Race of theYear before winning the 250ccTT on a year-old, non-works Honda.

His attitude to racing, the enjoyment and the application he had for it shone through and it seems a shame that the modern world doesn’t include Derek in the same breath as those he often bested.

So it seems fitting for us to select this image from the Classic Racer archive which shows Minter tussling with great rival John ‘Mooneyes’ Cooper.

Derek’s style didn’t stray away from the tidy, tucked-in technique where a wise placement of a right big toe would relay corner-angle information back to the racer’s brain.

This great photograph by Nick Nicholls elegantly shows the different style between Minter and Mooneyes as they try their best to occupy the same bit of Kentish track.

Photo: Nick Nicholls Collection at Mortons Archive.

ClassicRacer 7

CLASSIC RACER ARCHIVE

PLACE: SCOTT RUSSELL LEADS THE MELEE AT HOCKENHEIM, GERMANY // YEAR: APRIL, 1994.

Nice and green up front with green team-mateTerry ‘TooTall’ Rymer bringing up the back of the first four.

If you can correctly identify the two riders in the middle, email Malc Wheeler – his contact details are on the Paddock Gossip pages.

Photo: Mark Wernham/Mortons Media Archive

ClassicRacer 9

CLASSIC RACER ARCHIVE Photo: Russ Lee

CORNER: GOOSENECK // YEAR: 2017 // TRACK: THE MOUNTAIN COURSE // MICHAEL DUNLOP LAPS THE COURSE ON A BOB MAC GILERA REPLICA SIXTY years after the landmark lap that saw the 100mphTT average tumble, all eyes were on modern Mountain hero Michael Dunlop as he went out in full period kit on a replica Gilera at the ClassicTT. It might have been a demo lap, but this was as important as the racing for real.

Dunlop's ambition to get out on the bike that took the ton was well documented.The (somewhere around) 65bhp replica, built 13 years ago by Black Eagle Racing, is as close to the original as you can get – even down to the 23lb heavy alloy dustbin fairing and seat-over-the-back-wheel chassis.

That’s a big change for a modern rider to get to grips with and with Michel not getting any time to get used to the bike beforehand – not even a couple of runs at Jurby – it would be a big ask of the man to get close to Bob's 101.12mph 1957 best.

Cometh the hour... and Dunlop managed a 100.5mph. Amazing.

Full commitment, full-on, full speed. It was joyous to witness and the best way to remember Bob Mac, that Gilera and that era inThe Mountain's history and very deserving of these pages in Classic Racer.

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

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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 iinteresting g in Classic Racer’s world.

NOW THEN, HERE’S A PLAN! Dear CR There were some great points and suggestions in the last issue of CR about the current interest by the wider audience of classic racing. There is a growing interest and demand to see real race bikes ridden by people who are having fun and enjoying themselves – and have a go themselves.

Organisations like the CRMC, BHRC and Auto 66 Club (and many others) have been working tirelessly for years to raise the profile of classic racing to attract riders, visitors and sponsors.

Luckily, they are thriving now but many have been close to the financial wire.

The success of the Classic TT and European events (Bikers Classic, Chimay etc), Festival of Jurby and the Mallory Bonanza, have dramatically increased the level of interest and expanded the opportunities for riders and their bikes. Not forgetting the highly successful industry built on providing everything you need, from a new Manx Norton and Suzuki XR69 to a Ducati TT2 frame and seat unit for a TZ250.

Luckily Rob and Darin of Endurance Legends (and Classic Bike Track Days) are passionate

about creating events that everyone can take part in. And luckily for us had the commitment and deep pockets to keep going.

Their partnership with the CRMC and the Festival at Donington at the beginning of August demonstrates the ‘build it and they will come’ approach which you are promoting.

The circuit owners play a key part in enabling these events to take place and support the clubs and promoters. The cost of renting the tracks are eye-wateringly high and the gate receipts (generally) go to them not the organisers.

If the costs and risks of staging events were shared how many more people, sponsors and companies would step up and invest in the classic racing scene?

The real challenge is to bring together the key parties and agree a shared vision, approach and schedule to reduce the event clashes. So, who is prepared to initiate the first meeting and take up the challenge for the classic community and turn it into a viable and sustainable voice? You can’t have everyone there as nothing would be decided. The proposal would be to have the key bodies and representatives from each

sector. My vote for the first meeting would be: Auto-sports body – ACU Classic racing club – CRMC Circuit owners – MSV Event development – TT and Classic TT Officials – BMMC Promoters – Endurance Legends Publications – Classic Racer Race team – Classic Suzuki Sales/promotion – Duke marketing One major item to add to the first agenda: attracting new riders.

This is not only crucial for the longterm success of classic racing but we need people to take over the legacy of our race bikes.

So, who is up for the task and will volunteer to make it happen?

How about booking a room and getting things started?

Michael Baggs email Thanks for the letter Michael, lots of good points made there.

What do the rest of the racing world think about this then? Let us know in the usual way.

It’d be terrific to get a host of racing brains involved and together for serious talks about that next step.

TC

STAR LETTER PRIZE This issue we’re offering the chance to win two fantastic DVDs courtesy of Duke Video – Road and The Unrideables 2. Get writing in to be in with a chance of winning these fantastic prizes.

1977 TZ INFORMATION SOUGHT Dear CR I recently had the opportunity to purchase a 1977 Yamaha TZ250 that was originally sold to Cliff Goebell by ABC motorcycles of Middlesex in 1978 and raced at every Manx from 1978 to 1984; also national meetings.

The TZ needs a full restoration in the next few years, when I have time, and in the spirit of preserving history I am keen to bring the bike back to life exactly as it was in 1984 when Cliff finished fifth at an average of 100.54mph at the Manx.

Can anyone help me with any further information about the bike, or anything that would help with the restoration at all?

12 ClassicRacer

It doesn’t matter how small the piece of information is, anything that I could find out would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Paul Chaplin Umina Beach Australia Hello Paul, I’ve included your letter this issue to leave it open to the massed ranks of the vastly knowledgeable Classic Racer readership. If anyone sends us the information you request, we will pass it on to you.

Good luck with it all.

TC