Classic Racer Issue 175, Sep/Oct 2015

INSIDE: 30TH ANNIVERSARY SUZUKI GSXR750 TESTED #175

www.classicracer.com where legends live on...

www.classicracer.com

OFFICIAL PARTNER

Pride of Yorkshire Dave Potter

R Ron Haslam The true story

Hailwood’s Hutch - The 1965 Hutchinson 100 | Mr Stylish - Geoff Duke Remembered | Pre TT Classic - Real Road Racing | And all the regulars...

WHAT’SINSIDE CLASSIC RACER REGULARS _006 _008

Archive Shot Whitham’s win

Paddock Gossip

All the classic news

_016

Readers Write

_018

Subscribe

You have your say

Get it first and save

CLASSIC RACER PEOPLE _022

Dave Potter

_030

Ron Haslam

_048

Geoff Duke

_058

Hailwood’s Hutch

_022 Popular Yorkshireman Dave Potter was the British fans’ favourite.

Phil Wain tells his story.

Pride of Yorkshire

The real story

Unseen images of a legend

A great moment in history

CLASSIC RACER MACHINES _038

Suzuki GSXR750

Changing the face of racing

CLASSIC RACER EVENTS _066

Pre TT Classic

_074

Sachsenring Classic

_078

Spa Bikers’ Classics

_082

Racing on the Island

Nostalgia German Style

_030 From humble beginnings to factory Grand Prix rider. Norm DeWitt charts Ron Haslam’s career.

Hot action in the Ardennes

Cadwell Classic

Legends in Lincolnshire

CLASSIC RACER SPORT _085

BHR Anglesey

_087

CRMC Anglesey

_088

CRMC Brands

_089

Irish Classic Scene

ON THE COVER Rocket Ron Haslam hard at work on the Honda

_038 Alan Cathcart gets reacquainted with Suzuki’s game-changing GSXR750 and is impressed.

September/October 2015 Issue 175 EDITOR

Malc Wheeler mwheeler@mortons.co.uk Tim Hartley thartley@mortons.co.uk

PUBLISHER

CONTRIBUTORS IN THIS ISSUE Jan Burgers, Norm DeWitt, Alan Cathcart, Julie Wheeler, Russ Lee, Graham Lawlor, John Watterson, Phil Wain, Peter Crawford, Bruce Cox, and Rob Savage.

PRODUCTION EDITORS SarahWilkinson, Sarah Palmer SENIOR DESIGNER Kelvin Clements DESIGNERS Michael Baumber, Libby Fincham PICTURE DESK Paul Fincham, Jonathan Schofield

_048 Motorcycle racing’s first superstar, Geoff Duke, celebrated. Bruce Cox tells the story of a legend.

DIVISIONAL ADVERTISING MANAGER David England 01507 529438 dengland@mortons.co.uk ADVERTISING Lee Buxton 01507 529453 lbuxton@mortons.co.uk SUBSCRIPTION MANAGER Paul Deacon CIRCULATION MANAGER Steven O’Hara MARKETING MANAGER Charlotte Park PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Dan Savage COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Nigel Hole ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR Malc Wheeler 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 Email: help@classicmagazines.co.uk Web: www.classicmagazines.co.uk ARCHIVE ENQUIRIES Jane Skayman, 01507 529423

jskayman@mortons.co.uk

SUBSCRIPTION Full subscription rates (but see page 18 for offer): (12 months 6 issues, inc post and packing) – UK £27. Export rates are also available – see page 18 for more details.

UK subscriptions are zero-rated for the purposes of Value Added Tax. DISTRIBUTION COMAG,Tavistock Road, West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QE Telephone 01895 433600

_058 Peter Crawford tells the tale of Mike Hailwood’s day of domination at the Hutchinson 100.

USA SUBSCRIPTIONS 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 Printed by William Gibbons & Sons, Wolverhampton ISSN No 1470-4463 © Mortons Motorcycle Media, a division of 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.

Having trouble finding a copy of this magazine?

_066 Classic racing on the Billown Circuit kicks off the TT. John Watterson was on hand to bring us the action.

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

Member of the Professional Publishers’ Association

Independent publisher since 1885

Words Malc Wheeler Photograph Mark Wernham Collection/Mortons Archive.

ARCHIVE SHOT

WHITHAM’S World Super Bike 1994

WIN

6 ClassicRacer

I

n one of the most hotly contested World Super Bike seasons in the history of the series, the UK Ducati importer joined the championship with a factory-supported 916, with British fans’ favourite, James Whitham, as the rider.

After a slow start to the season by the small, but well-run outfit, it was at round three, at Misano, that the hard-riding Yorkshireman had his first points-scoring

finish, with 11th place in race one.

At the following round, held at Albacete, Spain, Whitham took the final spot on the podium in both races, with Castrol Honda’s Aaron Slight runner-up and fellow Ducati rider Carl Fogarty on the top step.

A seventh in Austria was followed by a sensational victory in race one in the following round at Sentul, Indonesia. No-one was sure if it was the sultry heat, or the

excitement of victory, but team owner Hoss Elm had to be rushed to the medical centre after collapsing.

There were six more points-scoring rides during the remainder of the season, with Whitham just missing out on the podium in race two in Indonesia.

James Whitham and the Moto Cinelli Ducati are captured against the stunning backdrop of Phillip Island, Australia.

ClassicRacer 7

CLASSIC RACER DAVE POTTER

DAVE POTTER Pride of Yorkshire During the 1970s onwards there were plenty of privateers eager to challenge the factory Suzuki and Kawasaki riders, but there was one undoubted king of the underdogs – Dave Potter. Phil Wain charts his career.

O

Words: Phil Wain Photographs: Phil Wain and Mortons Archive-Nick Nicholls Collection

riginally from Hovingham in Yorkshire, Potter’s career got underway at Croft late in the 1969 season on a 500cc BSA, with his first wins coming the next year when he raced a 750cc Dunstall Norton. However, he was persuaded to move south, where he started working for Paul Dunstall and he soon struck a partnership with Vincent Davey of Gus Kuhn.

Riding the Kuhn Norton, Potter took the Lord of Lydden title in both 1971 and 1972 and it was in the latter where he really came to the fore on the British scene, winning the ACU British Championship. He also took sixth in that year’s MCN Superbike Championship with his best results being fourth at Mallory and on two occasions at Brands Hatch, whilst his efforts meant Kuhn picked up the dealer award.

22 ClassicRacer

Such was his progression, he was soon a member of the annual Anglo-American match races with his debut year, 1973, seeing him not only be the second-highest British scorer, and finish fifth overall, but also secure his first win when he took the chequered flag at Brands.

In 1974, Dave moved camp and had a short association with Willie Ryan, helping develop the 500 Crescent machine, and although it was relatively unsuccessful, he did enjoy good fortunes in the flourishing Production class with a win at Brands and a fourth at Silverstone. Partnering Gary Green on a 750cc Triumph, he also took second in the Thruxton 400-mile race and a good seventh in the Barcelona 24-Hour race held around the twists and turns of Montjuich Park.

ClassicRacer 23

CLASSIC RACER PEOPLE

30 ClassicRacer

RON

HASLAM Self Made Super Hero The Haslam story was the polar opposite of what is so often the case, of well funded racing campaigns arranged by a supportive and connected family. Norm DeWitt tells a fascinating tale.

Words Norm DeWitt Photographs Norm DeWitt and Mortons Archive-Nick Nicholls Collection

T

he father of the 10 Haslam children, when out of prison, would raid whatever meagre funds the family had to fuel his drinking habit. The usual result was an angry drunk that would beat them, once chasing them through the house with a shotgun, firing into their hiding places.

Florence, his wife, after being threatened with a knife, slipped out of her house through a window to stay with one of her older sons.

The brothers went to confront their father at the house, but his response had already been to drag the family belongings into the street and create a bonfire from them. It was chaos.

Added to this was the pub-fuelled culture that would mark the Haslam boys and men as being big trouble (Ken was 20 years older than Ron, the youngest). Beatings and payback were the currency of the day. Of course there were lighter moments, such as playing chicken by firing arrows at each other, daring each other not to move.

It was Russian Roulette meets Robin Hood, and showing fear in the face of danger was ridiculed endlessly. Stealing coal and endless poaching adventures would provide desperately-needed funds or food. Before long, some of the funds were directed into motorcycles and provided both focus and hope for the Haslams.

Babe (Terry) had a moped used for work transportation which 10-year-old Ron took for a joyride that ended with the bike in a canal.

It was an auspicious start. By 1966, Babe had entered a 750cc Norton Dominator in a club race at Cadwell Park, with high expectations.

He finished last.

Things were more promising for Ron’s brother Phil. His initial year was marred by endless breakdowns of his 250cc sixspeed Suzuki, but Phil’s speed was never in question. To say that there was no budget sums up their efforts. Ron’s favourite track was Cadwell, as he had found an abandoned ambulance in the woods and the beds in the back provided rare trackside luxury versus the floor of their clapped out Ford van. Eventually the Haslam brothers figured out how to break into the track hot dog stand and turn on the gas heater.

ClassicRacer 31

CLASSIC RACER MACHINES

38 ClassicRacer

SUZUKI GSX-R750 FIRST OF THE

Featherweights

Ever since Honda created the four-cylinder Universal Japanese Motorcycle back in 1969 with the CB750, it’s taken turns with its three Japanese rivals to re-invent the concept.

Alan Cathcart rtt celebrates the 30th anniversary of Suzuki’s game-changing GSX-R750.

Words: Alan Cathcart Photographs: Jay Groat

ClassicRacer 39

CLASSIC RACER PEOPLE

GEOFF DUKE Motorcycling’s

Words Bruce Cox Photographs Duke Archive and Mortons Archive www.mortonsarchive.com

first superstar

If you measure ‘superstardom’ by its appeal to the public-at-large, then Geoff Duke was very definitely motorcycling's first. Back in the early 1950s, there were only two names from motor sport that regularly featured in the national press outside of the sports pages and who were what today would be termed ‘celebrities’. Stirling Moss and his motorcycle racing counterpart, Geoff Duke, were the darlings of the dailies – handsome and modest young men who were patriotic even beyond the call of duty, as they battled foreign opposition with out-dated and underpowered British machines.

48 ClassicRacer

Stirling Moss, Left, and Geoff Duke enjoyed regular column inches in the daily newspapers.

ClassicRacer 49

CLASSIC RACER PEOPLE

S ’ D O O W L I A H Hutchinson n class at the 33rd tio uc od Pr e th inning ph’s thunder by w to record his third ilwood stole Trium a grid of Triumphs Ha lf ha ike at M be st gu he Au ne is rsto Fifty years ago th rd tells the story. a treacherous Silve tch’. Peter Crawfo g Clubman round Hu nin d’s ht oo Lig w a ail g ‘H ein it ed 100. Tip-to e media proclaim Not surprisingly th s Collection victory of the day. chive – Nick Nicholl Peter Crawford ford Photography: Words: Peter Craw

I

and Mortons Ar

ring the tings waned du nternational mee y by the or re just a mem Seventies and we entirely an s wa it er rli de ea Eighties. A deca theYear, of ce Ra allory Park’s , different story. M of n’s Race Aces ds, and Snetterto l na tio na e The King of Bran th as n as much attentio guably all commanded tchinson 10 0 ar Hu e th th wi s, oduction pr d championship an ic acing both class br Em . nt ine m bo pre-e e best of th, ed to combine th ut classes it manag l fields througho ely internationa siv es pr im c ng ati cti m attra h a prag so largely throug and the 1960s. It did classes, circuits d he itc sw ’ ch ut ‘H e th as ch oa appr ars. , focus over the ye on Tyre Company d by the Hutchins he lis p tab es ica n nd he ha W durance e form of an en in 1925, it took th mile circuit of 0 10 a on f of tting cities event, riders se their bike’s capa on d se ervals ba Brooklands at int

Mike Hailwood splashes to victory on the BSA Lightning.

58 ClassicRacer

al ay at the inaugur e fastest man aw th bo as t bu and pedigree. Th st, e fir minutes after th event started 28 ed Les Archer ’s ov pr im try en e speeds and th ph average in d the first 10 0m Velocette achieve 1933. d at more Woods had lappe By 1935 Ginger rial. pe Im w a blown Ne than 115mph on r the time so fo ds ee sp le dib These were incre the demise for the best that it was probably r both a new fo ch ar se a eant of Brooklands m Hutch settled on he r.T at, post-wa venue and form nal status being 50 with Internatio Silverstone in 19 s largely wa le tit .The ‘10 0’ conferred in 1952 point but it had honorary by this Daily Mirror ’s e th no impact on sor it from 1963 decision to spon it benefited in on from where

H C T U HThe 1965 Hutchinson 100

ClassicRacer 59

CLASSIC RACER SPORT

THE 2015

SACHSENRING CLASSIC

80 years of motorcycle racing in one weekend Front row of the 350s: Dieter Braun, D, Yamaha (1), Bruno Kneubühler, CH, Yamaha (2) and Theo Bult, NL, Yamsel (6).

A total of 650 riders competed at the ADAC-Sachsenring-Classic in Hohenstein-Ernstthal in former East Germany.

Thousands of spectators came to see the stars during the three-day event like in the old days before the iron wall was demolished. Jan Burgers shares the experience.

Words and photographs: Jan Burgers.

T

he paddocks and pits were loaded with exotic bikes, the oldest being a 1927 Schütoff. With the help of Ferry Brouwer, former Yamaha factory mechanic and the creator and owner of the now disbanded YCRT team, the organisation succeeded in inviting the owners with bikes of any importance from the period 1950-80 to the event.

It was like a two-wheel Valhalla, with MV, MZ, DKW, Honda, Bultaco, Mondial, Benelli, NSU, CZ, Jawa, Aermacchi, Norton,

74 ClassicRacer

Matchless, AJS, Moto Guzzi, Gilera, Bianchi, Yamsel, Velocette, Derbi, Garelli, Piovaticci, Condor, Bridgestone, Rotax, König, Ringhini and many more.

Fifty-one years after he had won at the Sachsenring, Hugh Anderson came all the way from New Zealand accompanied by Ginger Molloy.

South African Alan North missed a flight but eventually arrived just in time. Kel Carruthers came over from the USA to ride one of the original works Benelli and 1977 F750 world

champion, Steve Baker, raced an ex-works Yamaha.

Eastern European heroes such as Heinz Rosner (MZ) and Bohumil Stasa (CZ) also gained the crowd’s appreciation, while 86-year-old Swiss legend Luigi Taveri raced a 250 Honda, as did his fellow countryman Bruno Kneubühler in the 500 class. Dave Hailwood, son of the late, great, Mike Hailwood, spearheaded a British delegation, among them former Continental Circus stars and TT winners Chas Mortimer and Alex

2

Steve Baker, Emil Holder and mechanic Derek Booth on the grid with the ex-worksYamaha 0W45.

1

1 A Jawa 2TV4 type 673 from 1967. V-four, liquid-cooled, disc-valve, two-stroke, 345cc, with a seven-speed gearbox. Italian Silvio Grassetti won the Yugoslavian Grand Prix on a similar machine in 1969. Bill Ivy lost his life at the Sachsenring when this bike seized in practice.

3

2 Mechanic Derek Booth working on Steve Baker’s Yamaha 0W45, owned by Emil Holder.

4

3 Aussie Kel Carruthers, 250 Benelli, and Swiss Bruno KneubĂźhler, 250 Honda, on their way to the grid.

4 The rare, six-carburettor, titanium frame, three-cylinder 350 MV Agusta. According to Lucio Castelli, the former works mechanic of Agostini and Hailwood, the bike was an experiment and was never raced.

More than 60 riders line up at the start rtt of the 1970-80 demonstration. First row of the 50cc class: Theo Timmer, NL, Jamathi (3), Aalt Toersen, NL, Jamathi (2) and double world champion, Jan de Vries, NL, Kreidler (1).

ClassicRacer 75

NEXTISSUE ISSUE 175 /// ON SALE October 15

November/December issue on sale at all good newsagents from October 15 or get your copy early and save money, call 01507 529529 Ad Deadline September 24 98 ClassicRacer