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Ozebook Classic Motorcycles

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Editorial Hi

Time for a new slice of Classic Motorcycling.

This issue we are featuring a series of photos taken byJan Burgers. Jan has an extensive library of photoshe has taken on the motorcycle racing scene over manyyears. Jan has generously shared a selection with us whichgive us the opportunity to remember a number of riderswho are no longer with us.

These riders are featured on our memoriam site at:http://www.ozebook.com/gpwin/documents/home.html

It is a sad task to maintain a site which records the tragicside of our sport, but it is important not to forget our fallenriders, especially those who have given all to their sport.

On another note, it is interesting to see the number ofnew bikes coming on the road. It is almost impossible tokeep up with them. The choice is endless and they alllook lovely enough to own.

What would it be like to own a bike that actually stopswhen you put the brakes on and doesn’t squirrel aroundcorners? I just don’t know.

But then, where is all the fun gone. Who wants a bikewhere you need to look down at the speedo to knowhow fast you are going?

An old cobber Ivor Evans has just set a fabulous lookingadventure Farm Stay in new Zealand’s South Island.Check it out here...http://www.takakavalley.co.nz/

You can even take a CB750KO, or GT750J, or even a rareold Suzuki T500 Cobra for a ride.

Save a room for me Ivor....I need a holiday in New Zealand!

Cheers

Muzza

Layout and original content copyright: 2010Ex Libris www.ozebook.comEmail: [email protected]

Cover Shot: : Jarno Saarinen - Photo copyright by Jan Burgers

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http://www.takakavalley.co.nz/

Classic Racing PhotogalleryPhotos by Jan Burgers

Jan has kindly provided a number of photos in memory of some great racingmotorcyclists from the 70s

1972 Billie NelsonBillie Nelson (November 2, 1941 -September 8, 1974) was aBritish Grand Prix motorcycle roadracer. His best season was in 1969when he finished the year in fourthplace in the 500cc world championship .Nelson was killed at the 1974Yugoslavian Grand Prix held at theOpatija Circuit.

1972 Brands Hatch Dave Potter

Dave Potter died on 18 September 1981 at hospital of Chester, UK , 18 days after hecrashed during a British Superbike Championship race held at Oulton Park on Monday 31 August 1981. On thelast lap of 2nd heat of the event, he lost control while approaching the Cascades bend and crashed at95 mph (about 150 km/h) into a guard-rail, without straw bales. Dave had already been the winner of thefirst heat, riding his Yamaha TZ750 tuned by Ted Broad. Dave Potter started his racing career in 1970 riding aBSA Gold Star. Having been the 1972 British Champion, 750 cc class in a Norton, Potter was 2nd in 1978 andwon two times in a row in 1979 and 1980, the British MCN Superbike Championship.


1973 Anderstorp F750 Sheene Suzuki

1972 Jarno Saarinen

Jarno Karl Keimo Saarinen (December 11, 1945 in Turku,Finland – May 20, 1973 in Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Italy)Saarinen began his Grand Prix career during the 1970 season.He would finish in a respectable fourth place in the 250cc class,despite missing the last three races to return to his engineeringdegree studies - before the DNF at the Finnish TT he was tied for second. In 1971 Saarinen competed in both 250cc and 350ccclasses. Saarinen won his first Grand Prix that year, claiming the350cc class in Czechoslovakia. He finished third in 250cc WorldChampionship and second in 350cc. His success didn't gounnoticed as Yamaha signed him to ride its TD3 and TR3 bikes,then pre-production TZs for the 1972 season. Saarinen deliveredas expected, winning the 250cc World Championship. He finishedsecond in 350cc World Championship, giving defending championGiacomo Agostini a strong challenge.

Yamaha developed a new, four cylinder, two-stroke 500cc bikefor the 1973 season and chose Saarinen to ride it. Finally, Saarinenwas ready to challenge Giacomo Agostini and Phil Read in the500cc class with competitive equipment. Saarinen's 1973 seasonstarted amazingly well, as he became the first European rider towin the prestigious Daytona 200 race in the United States on aTZ350 against much larger-capacity opposition. Returning toEurope, he jumped to an early lead in the Grand Prixchampionships by winning his first 500cc race, then the premierracing, class. His win was also the first win for the new, fourcylinder Yamaha. Saarinen went on to win the first three 250ccrounds and the first two of three 500cc rounds, but his bikesuffered a broken chain in the third. It seemed he was on thebrink of running away with these titles, with the opportunity tocomplete in the 350cc class if or when the 250cc title was certain.

However, the 1973 season ended in tragedy. On May 20, 1973,the fourth Grand Prix of the season was held at Monza near Milan,Italy, a very fast track, with few strong chicanes. The race leader,Renzo Pasolini fell in front of Saarinen, who was in second place.He couldn't avoid the fallen rider and the resulting crash caused amultiple rider pile up. In all, 14 riders were embroiled in themayhem that resulted. When the dust cleared, Jarno and Pasolinilay dead with many other riders seriously injured

1973 Monza Renzo Pasolini last portrait


Renzo Pasolini was born in Rimini, the son of a motorcyclist. He began hismotocross career in 1958 , after having shown great interest in boxing aswell. A smoker and incorrigible party-goer, he was an uncommon athlete,as was his approach to corners while racing—a dangerous combination ofbalance and speed which always made him seem about to fall off his bike.

After performing well in motocross, Pasolini focussed on road racing whileremaining active in other sports to keep physical form. In 1962, he debutedwith the Aermacchi 175 cm3, when his two first-place finishes ahead ofGiacomo Agostini spurred their long rivalry. Pasolini took a two-year breakfrom racing to complete his military service and, while stationed in Sardinia,he met his future wife, Anna, with whom he would have two children,Sabrina and Renzo Stefano.

Pasolini resumed his racing career in 1964, racing Aermacchi 250 cm3 and350 cm3 bikes at the senior level. In the 1965 Italian championship, Pasolini,racing a Benelli, finished second to Tarquinio Provini in the 250 cm3 classand third in the 350 cm3 class behind Giacomo Agostini and GiuseppeMandorlini. 1966 was a year of varying results both domestically andinternationally; most notable was the final race of the Italian championship,which Pasolini won on the then-new four-cylinder Benelli 500.

With a more competitive bike, Pasolini was able to rival the best, and thismarked the start of a string of epic confrontations with Mike Hailwood, thenriding a Honda, and the revival of his rivalry with Agostini, an MV Agustarider. The 1968 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season saw him second toAgostini in the 350 cm3 championship, after having earned the 250 cm3 and350 cm3 Italian titles.

The 1969 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season brought mixed results, causing Pasolini to lose out to Benelli teammate Kel Carruthers in the 250cm3 world championship. New regulations in the 250 cm3 classificationfor 1970 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season limited the category totwo-cylinder bikes, which prompted the Benelli team to concentrate on the350 cm3 class.

After a miserable season, Pasolini left Benelli and joined Aermacchi, fresh out of a merger with Harley-Davidson .Much of the 1971 season was lost to testing the Aermacchi/Harley-Davidson 250 cm3 bike, which took much longerin development than had been anticipated. The resulting bike was not superior to most, and a number of up-and-coming racers increased competition; among them was Jarno Saarinen, to whom Pasolini lost the 250 cm3 worldchampionship in 1972 by a single point.

Tragedy at Monza

Pasolini lost his life at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza on May 20th, 1973. He was not able to finish the350 cm3 race because of mechanical problems, withdrawing from competition with four laps to go, and fell duringthe first lap of the 250 cm3 race. Jarno Saarinen, immediately behind him, was unable to avoid him and fell as well,causing a chain reaction ultimately involving twelve riders and resulting in Pasolini's and Saarinen's deaths.

Much debate has surrounded the probable causes of the accident, with the most common explanation suggestingthat a spill left on the track during the 350 cm3 race (when Walter Villa's Benelli leaked on the penultimate lap,but the urge to collect championship points led the rider to continue racing despite the leak) likely caused the biketo slide. While it has been ascertained that race officials did neglect to order clean up of the track prior to the 250cm3 race—one rider, John Dodds, made his concerns known to authorities, only to be met with threats—Pasolini'sfall and the damage sustained by his vehicle are consistent with an engine problem, likely a seizure of the pistons.

The Ducati Paso

In 1986, Ducati Motor Holding, then under the ownership of Cagiva, introduced the Ducati Paso, named after therider and designed by Massimo Tamburini, co-founder of Bimota.


1973 Paul Ricard Saarinen Yamaha 500

1974 Assen Nelson Billie URS


1973 Rougerie Michel portrait Imatra

Michel Rougerie (April 21, 1950 in Montreuil-sous-Bois - May 31, 1981 in Rijeka) was a Grand Prix motorcycleroad racer from France. His best year was in 1975 whenhe won two races and finished in second place in the250cc world championship behind his Harley Davidsonteam-mate Walter Villa . Rougerie actually scoredmore points than Villa that season, but because only thebest six results of the season were counted, he lost thechampionship. He was killed in 1981 while competingat the Yugoslavian Grand Prix.


1973 Silverstone Kim Newcombe Konig

Kim Newcombe (January 2, 1944 - August 14, 1973), was a Grand Prix motorcycle road racer fromNew Zealand.

Born in the town of Nelson, Newcombe grew up in Auckland, then moved to Australia (first Brisbane, thenMelbourne) in 1963, and subsequently moved to Europe in 1968. He competed in the 500cc Grand Prix WorldChampionship finishing second to Phil Read in the 1973 season.

Along with fellow racer, John Dodds, he developed a motorcycle using a two-stroke outboard motor designedby Dieter König. He and the König were the first to challenge the dominance of the MV Agusta after thedeparture of Honda from Grand Prix competition at the end of the 1967 season. In contrast to his maincompetitors, Newcombe was credited with the distinction of developing, building, maintaining, and ridingthe König machine in competition.

On August 11 1973, Newcombe was seriously injured at a non-championship event at Silverstone at StoweCorner. After taking his customary walk of the track prior to the event, Newcombe had requested thathay bales be positioned on the outside of Stowe Corner before the race but race officials refused, statingthey were "not required". In the race itself, Newcombe slid off the circuit at that very corner, and collidedwith the concrete barrier. He died from his severe head injuries three days later

See more on Kim at:: http://www.ozebook.com/konig.htm

http://www.ozebook.com/konig.htm


1974 Barry Sheene portrait Imola 200

Barry Sheene was born in London, England the second child of parentsFrank (resident engineer at the Royal College of Surgeons) and Iris.He grew up in Queen's Square, Holborn, London.

He became the British 125cc champion aged just 20, and finishedsecond in the World Championships for that class a year later. Sheene won the newly formed Formula 750 European championshipfor Suzuki in 1973. A spectacular crash at the Daytona 200 in 1975threatened to end his career, breaking his left thigh, right arm,collarbone and two ribs, yet he recovered and was racing again sevenweeks afterwards.

In 1973 he won the Formula 750 World Championship and in 1976he won five 500cc Grands Prix, bringing him the World Championship.He won again in 1977 with six victories.

Sheene's battle with Kenny Roberts at the 1979 British Grand Prix atSilverstone has been cited as one of the greatest motorcycle Grand Prixraces of the 1970s. After the 1979 season, he left the Suzukiworks team, believing that he was receiving inferior equipment to histeam-mates. He shifted to a privateer Yamaha machine, but soon startedreceiving works equipment. In 1981, Kenny Roberts was the reigningWorld 500cc Champion for the third time, and Barry Sheene, now on acompetitive Yamaha, was determined to regain the championship.Ironically, Sheene and Roberts battled all season and let Suzuki ridersMarco Lucchinelli of Italy and American Randy Mamola beat them forthe top two spots. Roberts finished third and Sheene fourth for the 1981championship. A 1982 crash largely ended Sheene as a title threat, andhe retired in 1984.

He died in 2003 of cancer of the stomach and oesophagus.

1974 Barry Sheene testing MontesaTrials bike Imola 200


1974 Clermont Ferrand Otello Buscherini

Otello Buscherini (January 19, 1949 in Forlì - May 16, 1976in Mugello) was an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle road racer.His best years were in 1973 when he won two Grand Prix racesand in 1974 when he finished the season in fourth place in the125cc world championship. Buscherini was killed duringthe 1976 Nations Grand Prix at Mugello . He won threeGrand Prix races during his career.


1974 Jack Findlay portrait Imola 200

1975 Imola 200 Findlay

Cyril John (Jack) Findlay (5 Feb 1935 - 19 May 2007) was anAustralian Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He is notedfor having one of the longest racing careers in Grand Prix historyspanning 20 years. He competed at the highest level despite racingas a privateer - that is, not as a contracted member of a factoryteam - through most of his racing career.

Findlay was born in Mooroopna, Victoria, roughly 120 milesnorth of Melbourne. He began racing aged 15, two years underage, taking the name "Jack" so he could use his father'sidentication documents . After leaving school, he worked as atrainee accountant at Commonwealth Bank of Australia until1957. He moved to England in 1958 to race, got a job at the BSAfactory in Birmingham, and joined the Grand Prix circuit with a350cc Norton Manx . He competed in his first Isle of Man TTin 1959. He competed on the Grand Prix circuit from 1958 to 1978.

His best championship result was in 1968 when he rode aMatchless to finish second behind Giacomo Agostini in the 500ccclass . In 1971 he won his first race for Suzuki at the UlsterGrand Prix. It was also Suzuki's first 500cc Grand Prix victory .His greatest victory came in 1973 when he won the Isle of ManSenior TT after 15 years of trying. He rode Suzuki TR500s in1973 and 1974. In 1974, he was a member of the Suzuki factoryracing team and helped develop the RG500, with Barry Sheeneand Paul Smart. In 1975, he defeated Barry Sheene for the FIMFormula 750 championship. An accident that fractured hisskull curtailed his racing career, and he retired in 1978. A furtherhigh-speed accident in 1987 stopped him riding motorcycles.

He married Dominique Monneret, the widow of GeorgesMonneret, and made his domestic base in France and has a son,Gregory Findlay. He was appointed Grand Prix technical directorby the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme in 1992,retaining the post until he retired in 2001. A bronze statue ofFindlay on a TT-winning Suzuki was unveiled in July 2006, in apark in his hometown that was renamed the Jack Findlay Reserve.


Patrick Pons (December 24, 1952 in Paris - August 10, 1980)was a Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from France. His bestyear was in 1974 when he finished in third place in the 250ccand the 350cc world championships.

Pons became the first Frenchman to win an F.I.M. Worldchampionship when he won the 1979 Formula 750 title. In 1980,he won the prestigious Daytona 200.

He was killed in 1980 at the British Grand Prix.

1974 Patrick pons FR portrait Imola GP


1975 AnderstorpGraf Ulrich

1975 AnderstorpJohn Newbold 750

John Newbold (December 14, 1952 in Jacksdale - May 15, 1982 in Coleraine) was a Grand Prixmotorcycle road racer. His best season was in 1976 when he finished in fifth place in the 500cc worldchampionship riding a Suzuki motorcycle. Newbold won his only world championship race in 1976 atthe 500cc Czechoslovakian Grand Prix . He won the 1978 North West 200 race in Northern Ireland.Newbold died after crashing at the 1982 North West 200

Graf Ulrich (August 15, 1946 - June 19, 1977) was a Grand Prix motorcycle road racer fromSwitzerland. His best year was in 1976 when he won the 50cc Yugoslavian Grand Prix andfinished in third place in the 50cc world championship, behind Angel Nieto and Herbert Rittberger.Graf was killed while competing at the 1977 Yugoslavian Grand Prix


Tom Herron (December 14, 1948 - May 26, 1979)was a Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from Lisburn,County Antrim in Northern Ireland. He specialized inroad circuits such as the Isle of Man TT and the NorthWest 200. Herron's career started in 1965 and n 1970, hewon his first major race, the 350 class at the North West 200.

After winning the 1973 Irish 350cc championship, hemoved up to the Grand Prix world championships. Duringthese years, Herron competed as a privateer, against thefactory backed riders During this time, he met and eventuallymarried Andrea, sister of Norton rider Peter Williams.

At the close of 1976, he finished fourth in both the 250cc and350cc world championships. The following year, he finishedrunner-up in the 350cc world championship to Yamahafactory rider Takazumi Katayama. In 1978, Herronstrengthened his position as one of the world's best riderson privateer machinery with fifth and sixth places in the250cc and 350cc world championships respectively.

For the 1979 season, he finally got his big break, as a fullworks, manufacturer backed rider for the Shell Heron Suzukiteam in the 500cc world championship. The season startedwell, with a third in Venezuela and Italy, and a fourth inAustria. This left him in third place in the championshipafter three rounds. At the fourth round in Spain he crashedin practice and broke his right thumb, suffered third degreeburns and was unable to race. He finished the season intenth place. Herron returned back home to compete in theNorth West 200, where, in the previous year, he won 2 races,and he set a lap record of 127.63 mph. The 1979 North West200 will always be remembered as "Black Saturday"; as it claimed the lives of Scotsman Brian Hamilton,Armoy man Frank Kennedy, who died of injuries months later, and Herron himself. In the last lap of the lastrace, Herron had been fighting for third place along with Jeff Sayle, Steve Parrish and Greg Johnstone, whenhe crashed at Juniper. He died later in Coleraine hospital, leaving behind his wife and two daughters.

1975 Herron Tom and Andrea, Salzburg

Hi Murray,

The question you pose has exercised me for some while now and I'm always on the lookout for proof. One ofthe first people I was going to cite as significant in the Suzuki 500's racing history is M. Jacques Roca, theseven times French National Champion of the 1960-70s. However, I notice that his importance is already recognised on your site.

Shortly after I joined Suzuki in 1976, I met Jacques on a new model test session in Bavaria. My, what asmooth, fast rider he was. Made me look like a three legged elephant. I didn't know his racing backgroundthen - including racing an MZ 250. I can hear his passionate, high-pitched voice as I write, explaining to aJapanese engineer what is right and what is wrong '...wiz de machine's handleeeng'. In the 1970-80 period,I tested with Jacques and other European importer staff the GS750 (Bavaria, Germany), GS1000(Montpelier, France), GS850G (Bavaria, Austria/Germany), Katana 650 (Ryuyo, Japan). Jacques came tothe UK to test ride the SB200 - yes we all felt a little stupid riding the city roads of Croydon on such apathetic machine. Anyway, Jacques is considered by many to be the first man to race a T500. Apparently,Roca bought a very early T500 and modified it for racing and it was his success on this machine thatincentivised Suzuki Japan to build the TR500. Towards the end of 1968, his technical knowledge of theT500 allied to his racing success also got him the job of technical director at Pierre Bonnet, the FrenchSuzuki importer at that time, based in Boulogne, Paris.

According to a French magazine, Jacques visited Bonnet to arrange some Suzuki parts business (for which,unusually, he wore a collar and tie). While he was speaking with M. Bonnet, a customer arrived riding hisproblematic T500. Jacques rolled up his sleeves and set to work. The machine fixed and customer satisfied,Pierre Bonnet realised Roca was the very man who should head up Suzuki's aftersales department andpromptly made Jacques an offer he couldn't refuse and so they shook hands. The odd thing was thatJacques had previously been an importer of motorcycles himself (Derbi) and when I knew him he wasselling Roca race accessories and also imported a range of crash helmets - all while working for SuzukiFrance. I feel sure that the wily Jacques managed to persuade Bonnet to agree to his moonlighting activities.

Anyway, the photo above - shows Jacques in 1969 negotiating the chicane at Monthlery Circuit in France ona T500. As far as definitive proof that Jacques was the T500's first racer, the best method would be to checkthe results of the French National Championship Races. You won't find a better site thanhttp://racingmemo.free.fr/M%20FRANCE/MOTO%20FRANCE%201969.htm for these results.This link covers the 1969 results but from this page you can access the results for almost a century of racing -from 1895 to 2007. Unfortunately, the 1969 page is the earliest page of the results showing Roca winning ona 500 Suzuki . But this site is concerned only with the winners; Roca may have struggled with his T500 fortwo years before he got his foot on the podium and thereby onto this results database. Unfortunately, wecannot ask Jacques to confirm the date when he first raced a T500; Jacques Roca died on 30th July 2007after a long hard battle with cancer.

The other urban myth about when the T500 was first raced is apparently evidenced by a Suzuki magazine adshowing Ron Grant at the Willow Springs 12 hour production endurance race in 19?? - well, nobody seems toknow the date of this race do they? This advert is also shown on your website but it was also produced as asmall poster or dealers to use within their shops. Chip Hennen (who was US Suzuki's PR Chief in those days)gave me a copy when I visited LA in 1980-81. Somebody has pencilled '1971' below the photograph on my copy but I personally doubt that this advert really dates as late as 1971. It just has a feel of the late 60s period immediately after the T500 was launched in the US doesn't it? Out of curiosity, I've emailed WillowSprings to see if they can date it conclusively. I'll let you know the outcome.

I think that's all for now. Cheers

Ray Battersby

EnRickman-Metisse , précède André-Luc Appieto sur sa 500 Paton .

Ray discusses when the T500 Suzuki was first raced

Comparison of riding styles

First published 1922 - Author - CK Shepherd

Across America by Motorcycle

Continued from Issue 3

Across America by Motorcycle

To be continued

Barry Sheene, Silverstone 1974

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