ulster road racing in focus

Issue 53 Winter 2014 £3.50 Sterling or €5.00

9771742

412017

01

Ulster Grand Prix - Sunflower - Moto Guzzi - Adelaide Masters - Road Racing

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SUPER DUPER !!!Comment

Photographers:Eddie Mateer, Rowland White

The views expressed by the contributors are not necessarily those of the editor or the publishers. Whilst every care is taken to ensure thatinformation published is accurate and reliable, the publishers cannot be held responsible or accept liability for any errors or omissions in thispubication. ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form,or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written consent of the owner. No liability isaccepted for the safe custody of unsolicited materials and manuscripts. Publication of accepted articles is not always guaranteed and thepublishers will not be held liable for any manuscripts, photographs or other materials lost or damaged while in their possession, although everycare will be taken. The editor reserves the right to amend any such articles as necessary.

Front cover - Gruber Wolfgangand Rowland White

It is always good to finish the season on a high notewith an excellent Sunflower meeting to cap a yearwith the Ulster Grand Prix and North West 200 back

on song again. The sport of Motorcycle tarmac racing isstill held in high regard, no matter what our local mediathink.

Our top riders are still making waves throughout the worldin other championships away from Ireland, especially in theMoto GP, World Superbikes, BSB Championships and the Isleof Man.

The main problem with racing here at home is the lack ofvariety in race meetings as everything is now SUPER - Bikes -Sport - Stock - Twins - the list is endless. It is only the bikemanufacturers who have added this name to ordinary roadgoing motorcycles to add a bit of psychology in their salespitch. I am sure you remember Reggie Perrin who workedwith two crawlers in an office in a series called “The Rise andFall of Reggie Perrin”. When they wanted to impress CJ, theboss, they always responded with “Super” to everything hesaid. Is this the same for bike manufacturers?

After another good year in the World Superbikes EugeneLaverty returns to the Moto GP series, along with brotherMichael. The very successful Mar-Train Team will not be backat the BSB championship next year as they will beconcentrating their efforts in the Road Racing scene in 2015.

Our top Road Racing events here, the UGP and NW200,continue to grow and will do so in the future due in no small

way to the excellent teams running the events. With moststatuary safety requirements now in place every situation hasbeen inspected to keep the competitors and spectators assafe as possible. However human error raised its ugly headagain this year and serious accidents did occur at bothmeetings.

The Short Circuit scene was short changed again this yearwith fewer race meetings and our three circuits stillunderused. Jim O’Brien deserves great credit for providingthe best circuit in the country, Bishopscourt, while Kirkistowncontinues to be a problem with lying water and flooding.Nutts Corner was a beaten docket this year as it was not usedfor any meetings even though the Mid Antrim Club hadbooked it twice at the beginning of the season - maybe forthe same reason they cancelled the Mid Antrim Road Racethis year.

As mentioned earlier motorcycle racing, like every sport,has to cope with problems continually and this yearunfortunately we had to say goodbye to two of our regularand well loved riders - Stephen “Jack” McIlvenna at the Manxand Simon Andrews at the NW. We offer sincere condolencesto all those connected with both riders and a get-well card tothose who were injured or sidelined for any reason.

To all marshals, 1st Aid, Riders, Officials and Club Memberswho make the big Motorcycle thing happen we would like tosend sincere thanks for a good job well done and hope to seeyou all back in 2015 for another Super Duper year!!

4 Ulster Road Racing in Focus Issue 53

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Since its creation as a separate legal entity in1921 Northern Ireland has produced amagnificent and colourful array of World

Champions in a variety of sporting challenges -superb for such a small area with only around 1.8million people. Boxing, bowls, motorsport andsnooker are just a few but we have only had oneMotorcycle Grand Prix World Champion - RalphBryans from Belfast who unfortunately passedaway in August of this year.

Ralph’s parents both heralded from Irelands beautiful Lakelanddistrict; his father William Robert Bryans from Clones, where amemorial plaque commemorating his bravery in the 2nd WorldWar still proudly hangs in the local Clones church, while hismother Eliza Jane (Jean) Hawthorn came from Ballyjamesduff.

Ralph Bryans was born in turbulent times on 7th March 1941.The Second World War was not yet two years old and his nativeBelfast was soon to be under siege. On 15th April 1941, EasterTuesday, 200 bombers attacked Belfast resulting in the death of900 people with another 1500 injured. Tragedy struck the familyon 10th July 1943 when Ralph’s father Bill, a flight engineer inthe Royal Air Force, was killed when his aircraft was shot downover Germany. He was 21 years of age.

The Bryans rise to motorcycling fame began with a fiveyear apprenticeship with W.J.Chambers. Located inBelfast’s Donegall Pass the firm was a magnet formotorcycle enthusiasts as an importer of Norton, B.S.A.and A.J.S. machines. Herbie and Jackie Chambers wereavid racing enthusiasts. Herbie was a product of theRoaring Twenties and competed successfully in the UlsterGrand Prix and local races. He was killed in 1925 whileracing an A.J.S. on the sands at Portmarnock near Dublin.Jackie also competed in the 1930s with great success : hefinished third in the 350cc class of the 1936 Ulster GrandPrix on a Norton. He was also a competent car racer butin this same year when racing in the ARDS TT he lostcontrol of his Riley coming into Newtownards beneath

THE RALPH BRYANS STORYPART - 1 : THE GENESIS YEARS

Ralph visits his father’s grave in Reichswald in Germany.A rare picture of Joe Ryan with his famous 500cc Ryan Norton.

An early picture of Ralph with his 197cc Triumph on which hewon the first of his 200cc Championships.

Ulster Road Racing in Focus Issue 53 7

the railway bridge and crashed intoa group of spectators, killing eightand injuring another fifteen. Thiswas the demise of this historic event.

It was Jackie who took a shine towhat,even at that early stage, heregarded as a budding racing star. Athis insistence Ralph found himself onday release from work studying atBelfast College of Technology. Theresult was City and GuildsCertificates for mechanicalengineering and motor vehicletechnology.

Ralphs first venture into roadracing was the 1959 Tandragee 100,well remembered for the atrociousweather conditions on race day. Hismount was a 197cc Villiers-enginedAmbassador knocked into semblanceof a racing motorcycle. Havingforged his own mother’s signatureon the race entry form he tookadvantage of the downpour and agenerous handicap allowance torecord his first victory. When news

broke of the result his mother vowednever to watch him race - and neverdid. For the remainder of the 1959season, and 1960 he rode a Special,cobbled together from a Triumphengine and a B.S.A. Bantam frame.to victory in the 1960 Irish 200ccchampionship.

In 1961 he rode a friend’s 500ccB.S.A. Gold Star in the Tandragee100, stepping off on a slow cornerwhen in the lead. Already hisdetermination and style of ridinghad raised eyebrows among theracing fraternity. His first sponsor,Jimmy Wilson, provided a 350ccManx Norton with which he dicedwith the local stars, Tommy Robb,Ray Spence and George Purvis,gaining valuable experience witheach outing. In the next few yearsRalph garnered a horde of wins inlocal events.

In 1962 Ralph rode in the Isle ofMan TT races with forgettableresults. After clocking an over 90mph

lap on the Wilson Norton the engineblew up in spectacular fashion. Anafter-race inquest into the causerevealed that a gudgeon pinretaining cir-clip had not beenreplaced when the engine wasrebuilt. In the 50cc class he rode aBenelli supplied by Shrewsburydealer Fron Purslow. This singlecylinder, two-stroke had a moped-type twist -grip gear change andRalph struggled to bring it home infifteenth place at the lowly speed of59.8 mph - “it wasn’t much fun toride” was his summing up.

The 1963 season saw the allianceof Ralph and Joe Ryan. Joe, who wasin the fireplace business, was amaster at preparing Norton racingengines. With an already super fast500cc machine Joe and Ralphconcentrated on developing the350cc bike. After much work andtesting Ralph reckoned it was thefastest ever 350cc Norton. Ralphrecalls the only occasion he and Joe

Memorial graveyard in Reichswald where his father is remembered. Inscription on the memorial headstone from his father’s grave.

Memorial plaque for Ralph’s dad in Clones church.Ralph with Ronnie Conn and Ian McGregor who was racing theRyan Norton.


nearly had a fallout was overcleaning the machines, somethingwhich Joe would never countenance.Unfortunately circumstances decreedthat Ralph never got to race thelegendary Nortons in the Isle of Man.Fortunately Fron Purslow steppedinto the breach and provided one ofthe new Honda CR93 125cc Twins,and an ex-works 250cc Benelli. Ralphbrought the Honda home in ninthplace, the first non-works riderhome. The Benelli behavedimpeccably during practicing butbroke a piston early in the race.

The 1963 Ulster Grand Prix was thepivotal point in Ralph Bryan’s career.He took full advantage of the paceof the Ryan 350cc Norton and hadthe temerity to pass Luigi Taveri onthe “works” Honda twin to holdthird place behind Jim Redman andMike Hailwood on factory Hondaand MV Agusta Fours. Disasterfollowed when the gear lever on theNorton grounded and broke offwhen rounding Leathemstown. Onthe 500cc Norton he finished in fifthposition behind a gaggle of Foursridden by Mike Hailwood, JohnHartle, and Derek Minter, and AlanShepherd riding Reg Kirby’s G50Matchless.

First to react to these bravuraperformances was Harry Lindsay,Dublin’s importer of Spanish Bultacomotorcycles. Harry arranged a visitto the factory in Spain and the offerof “works” bikes to contest end of

season Spanish races. In MadridRalph finished fifth on a 196cc bikein a 250cc race. In the final meetingat Zaragoza he finished second toteam-mate Ramon Torres and aheadof Bultaco specialist Kiwi GingerMolloy. Francesco Bulto, theenthusiastic owner of Bultaco, wasmost impressed and offered the 22year old Ulsterman a contract to race“works” Bultacos in 1964. Ralph,while appreciating that Bultacomachines were never going to beworld classcontenders, signedon the dotted line.Imagine hischagrin when,within weeks, atelegram arrivedfrom Jim Redmanoffering him aplace in theHonda Teamriding the 250ccfour cylinder and500cc twinmachines in 1964.Between a rockand a hard placewould be an aptdescription ofRalph’spredicament.Luckily thebenevolent SeñorBulto agreed toHonda buying outhis contract. It is

true to say that the Bryan’s talentswere to add a new dimension toGrand Prix racing worldwide overthe next three years.

Thanks to Ralph’s half brotherJohn, his wife May and RaymondMills and George Knight for theirhelp.

Part 2 of The Ralph Bryans story willbe in our next issue No 54 for the2015 North West 200 - The HondaGlory Days.

Ralph’s half brother John Colligan and his wife May who live in Bangor, Co Down.

Ralph was an avid all-round sportsman seen here with teammates Luigi Taveri and Jim Redman enjoying a round of golf.


Another of his many sporting interests was shooting with his local Gun Club.

Memorial cards from the celebration service of his life.

Seen here enjoying shark fishing at the Deep SeaAngling Centre in County Cork.

He was a great enthusiast for rare and classic vehicles seen here on board hisArmy Pig with younger brother Bobby.

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Two good UGPs in a row showsthe staging Dundrod & DistrictMotorcycle Club must be doing

something right as the crowds wereback in spite of the variableweather conditions, including aselection of the wet stuff. Thesafety regulations were obeyed tothe letter with the races red flaggedimmediately in the interests of riderand spectator safety.

With demand greater than everbefore to race in the World’sFastestRoad Race over 30 Newcomers lined upto face this new and exciting challenge.New and impressive names includedPeter Hickman, Daley Matheson, JamesCowton, Russ Mountford and SteveMercer, who came to take on theestablished line-up of Bruce Anstey onthe Pagett’s Hondas, William Dunlopand Guy Martin on the Tyco Suzukis, LeeJohnston on the Pirtex Honda, up andcoming road racer Dan Kneen from theIsle of Man and Dean Harrison on theMar-Train Yamaha.

After all the pre-race hype the soothsayers got it wrong when vintage legendBruce Anstey carried off the Man of theMeeting award after he won the firstSupersport race and then added thefeature blue riband Metzeler UGPSuperbike A race to his impressivecollection.

In the opening Superstock race it was

Dan Kneen who set the crowd alightwhen he won by 1000th of a secondfrom Mar-Train’s rising star, DeanHarrison, and Anstey in the closest finishfor many years.. Antrim’s StephenThompson and Peter Hickman, both onBMWs, filled the next two places in thatorder.

Unfortunately the cat jumped into thepigeon loft in the 1st Supersport racewhen it had to be red flagged earlyafter top riders Kneen, Harrison andKeith Amor crashed as a group in aspectacular accident exiting Irelands.This race was rescheduled midprogramme and it also came to adramatic conclusion. Throughout therace the front contest was betweenWilliam Dunlop and Bruce Anstey, justlike in 2013, with Dunlop just holdingthe lead through Leathemstown on thelast lap. Eventually, heading for home atthe back of the circuit, Dunlop’s TycoSuzuki blew in a big way leaving Ansteyto peer his way through an oily visor tothe flag, followed by Lee Johnston, GuyMartin and Ivan Lintin.

Anstey was top of the pile again in thefeature Metzeler Superbike race whenhe outfoxed Martin on the final lap atTornagrough and held the lead to theflag by just 0.26 sec from Martin withJohnston and Michael Dunlop in 3rd and4th - this was Dunlop’s only finish of theday.

James Cowton took the Lightweightwin while Matheson just piped Christian

Elkin for the 125cc title. Ivan Lintin madeup for his NW mistake and took thehonours in the Supertwins race.

The final race was shelved and themeeting was brought to a prematureclose when Anstey had a high-speedcrash at the top of the Deer’s Leap whichalso involved Michael Sweeney, SteveMercer and Ian Hutchinson. All riderswere extremely fortunate to walk awayfrom this crash with nothing more thana few bruises.

Looking back, the programme wentoff the boil when Kneen, Harrison andAmor were sidelined and did notcompete after crashing out.Then theDeer’s Leap incident brought the day’sracing to a close. Perhaps longer raceswith pit stops would stop the red misthyped-up 5 lap dashes, with one race foreach class, bringing positional changesthroughout the entire races. Uncertainweather conditions are always a majorproblem both with racing and underfootconditions so it is good to know theDundrod & District Club have plans inprogress to improve all aspects of theirpromotion of the World’s Fastest RoadRace, including the security staff’sattitude towards the public. This partleaves a lot to be desired, especially theone who was “in charge” of the podiumfor the media - his well rehearsedversion of a Gestapo Officer was spot on- this may work in his position at the NWbut his Adolph impression has no placeat the UGP. Good will goes a long way!!

ULSTER GRAND PRIX

AMAZING ANSTEY

Steve Mercer (24), Michael Sweeney (65), Derek Shiels (15) and Christian Elkin (51)form a freight train out of Leathemstown in the re-run first Supersport race.

UGP FACES


Ryan Kneen (90) leads the group through the trees at Cochranstown.

Daley Mathiston (35) shadowed Christian Elkin(25) to take the Moto 3 win on the last lap.

Nuno Caetano (27), PaulJordan (19), Paul Cranston (33)and Neil Gregory (41) blast off

in the final race of the day.

James Cowton leads Russ Mountford(52) and Daley Mathison (40) in theSupport race at Leathemstown.

Man of the Meeting Bruce Anstey.

Ian Morrell whowas 3rd in the

Lightweightrace.


Lisburn’s Lord Mayor, Andrew Ewingcongratulates the podium group in theLightweight race including James Cowton1st, John Ella 2nd and Ian Morrell 3rd.

Lee Johnston leads Michael Dunlop out of Leathemstown.

Mar-Trains Dean Harrison wassidelined after his crash at Irelands.

A happy group who raised £4802 for theMS Society at the UGP.

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The 3rd time in three yearsproved lucky for the popularSunflower Trophy meeting

after a couple of years ofcancellations and last yearsabandoned race meeting. JimO’Brien has to be congratulated forhis preparation of an exceptionalBishopscourt Circuit and also thehard working Hillsborough Clubfor their top planning which sawthe biggest crowd at Ulster ShortCircuit racing this year.

The BSB Series had been wrapped uplast week at Brands Hatch which freedup many teams to finish the seasonhaving a blast with no pressure. Teamsincluded Gearlink Kawasaki , Mar-Train, MWR Racing, Seadrift OffshoreKawasaki, Tsingtao WK, Milwaukee

Yamaha, etc. Ben Wilson, DannyBuchan, James Egan, Luke Jones hadall taken the gloves off to duel withthe best of our short circuit men whichincluded Glen Irwin, Andy Reid, AlistairSeeley, Nikki Coates, Nico Mawhinneyand Jamie Patterson.

The promised head to head betweenGlen Irwin and Alistair Seeley didn’tmaterialised as Irwin was in a class ofhis own and lifted the honours in bothSupersport races as well as bothSupertwins to lift the Man of theMeeting award. In the first Supersportrace he resumed his great rivalry withpartner in crime Alistair Seeley and atthe end he took a comfortable victoryover his BSB associate with his Gearlinkpartner Ben Wilson in 3rd and thenlocals Nikki Coates and Carl Phillips in4th and 5th respectively.

The second outing had Wilson

changing places with Seeley , andCoates again in 4th and the promisingJamie Patterson in 5th.

Visitor Pirelli National Superstock1000cc Champion Danny Buchanshowed his class in the Superbike raceswith a brilliant double over BSBSuperbike competitor Ben Wilsonbefore he served up the same again inthe feature Sunflower race. Thisprestigious Trophy has remained theproperty of our local riders since 2008when Michael Rutter carried it back toEngland. Newtownabbey’s Andy Reidis greatly improved since he extendedhis campaign to England and claimedtwo Superbike 3rd places including theSunflower, South African James Egannotched up four excellent 4th placeswith the Sunflower result taking prideof place as he was the first 1000ccSuperstock bike home.

Alan Kenny (114) and Kevin Keyes (5) had a great dicethroughout the Sunflower Trophy race.

Start of the Trophy race sees Nikki Coates (65), Ben Wilson (15), James Egan (81) andAndy Reid in pursuit of leaders Danny Buchan, Glen Irwin and Alistair Seeley.


Paul and Pat Gaffney on their 1000cc LCR Suzuki.

Angela Kernohan on the Team Zebra Honda.

Alistair Seeley cranked well over for the final corner.

Andy Reid from Newtownabbey.


Bishopscourt owner JimO’Brien acknowledgesLeslie Kirk on hisretirement after sixty yearswith the MCUI.

2014 Junior Mini Moto World Champion JohnCampbell from Lisburn did two laps in theParade.

Nico Mawhinney from Castledawson. Gearlink Kawasaki Team - Rider Ben Wilson with Team ownersMichael and Norma de Bidaph and David the mechanic.

Nico with his dad before theSunflower Trophy race.

Andrew Irwin

Sunflower Trophy winner Danny Buchann heads Andy Reidand Nico Mawhinney at the front.

Jimmy Walker’s ISN blog in June1981, above, is a direct deja vuof todays scene so problems

must go in waves. Unfortunatelyour short circuit racing finds itself inthe same predicament as car racingwhere there seems to be morecompetitors than spectators exceptat our International events, theUGP, North West 200 andSunflower.

If the media are to be believed it hasbecome a minority sport with even bowlsand indoor tennis getting more coveragethan the bikes.

The start of the season was full ofpromise with Keith Amor, JeremyMcWilliams, Ryan Farquhar, Mark Hannaand Jamie Hamilton taking part in earlyseason racing but with a mixture of injury,lack of funds and apoorly structuredchampionshipprogramme the publicseems to have lostinterest.

Even though wenever see our bestracers in the flesh anymore due to theiroverseas commitmentsthe racing here hasbeen as good as anyyear with full grids andclose exciting racing.Biggest classes arewithout doubt the mostaffordable, which is asign of the times, andthese include the Pre-Injection, Stock Classesas well as theSupersport andSuperbike Cup Classes.

As last season DavidHaire, Cody Nally, JasonLynn, Carl Phillips, NikkiCoates, Jamie Patterson,Mark Conlin, Christain

Elkin and‘Visitor’Marshall Neillare thefrontrunners inthe competitiveSupersport andSuperbike classes.Then Alvin andMervyn Griffin,Steven Titterington,Stephen McKeown,James Chawke andMichael Rea lead the chargein the Stock and Pre Injection outings.The McGreevy brothers have shown bigbike promise since moving from the dyingMoto 3 races while the GP 250 cc racinghas died a death with a maximum of onlyfour riders competing.

During its relatively short history the

Adelaide Masters Series has become firmlyestablished as Ireland’s biggest motorcyclechampionship, consisting of fourteen racesover five events, sponsored by AdelaideInsurance Services. Adelaide founder SamGeddis has promoted this Series for fouryears now, four rounds at Mondello Park

SHORT CIRCUIT



Chris Hillis (80) leads theProduction Twins group round

the chichane at Kirkistown.

The Adelaide Masters Superbike race saw Marshall take the win with Cody Nally2nd and David Haire 3rd.Caolan Irwin on the D&G 125cc Honda.

(Right) Marshall Neill lifts the NormanBrown Memorial Cup at the AdelaideMasters meeting at Bishopscourt.

and one at Bishopscourt. The main focusof the championship remains on theSuperbike and Supersport classes. In 2013Brian McCormack won the Superbikechampionship but this year he had tosettle for second behind fellowcountryman Cody Nally and in front ofMarshall Neill who only took part in a fewraces. Lisburn star Carl Phillips took theSupersport honours ahead of Jason Lynnand Jamie Patterson while another Lisburnman, Declan Hoey, sealed the SuperbikeCup Series ahead of Raymond Casey andThomas O’Grady. It was Kevin Keys all theway in the Supersport Cup ahead of RossPatterson and Eoghan Delaney.

At present not all riders have a pile bigenough to stick their racing flag in to raceabroad but many others look on it ashaving a bit of fun among their mates andthis is what they want - good on them.People who win races do so because theyhave access to the most amount of moneyaround and not necessarily because theyhave more talent than the rest.

One thing for sure is I won’t be needinga large box to store this years short circuitprogrammes in.

Start of the Adelaide Masters race with Marshall Neill (3),Cody Nally (57), David Haire (4) and Gerard Kinghan (18)at the start.


(Left) Carl Phillips won the 2014Adelaide Masters SupersportChampionship.

(Below Left) Alan Graham (110) and Matt Donaldson (46) in a Pre Injection mid-field dice.

(Below) Ex-125cc champion MarkLunney giving advice to new 125ccrunner Caolan Irwin.

Bottom Left - Darryl Tweed.

Bottom Right- Ross Patterson.

Mark Murphy (21) leadsDeclan Hoey (80) andRaymond Clarke (58) atBishopscourt.

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Jeremy McWilliams (left) & Natalie Kanelaunched the Adelaide Motorbike Awards.

Sam Geddis from sponsor AdelaideMotorbike Insurance (2nd right) and David Weir, Enkalon Motorcycle Club

Adelaide Motorbike Insurance is a trading brand ofCornmarket Insurance Services Ltd


Johnny Aiken hadanother good year inthe Pre Injection Class.

Steven Titteringtonlifted his title

again this year.

Marshall Neill

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The Road Racing programme in 2014 hit anotherlog jam due to unpredictable problems both onand off the tracks. Firstly, before the season

started, the popular Mid Antrim races were shelved fora year due mainly to internal problems within thepromoting club but it is hoped they will continue in2015.

To follow this, the hard working North Armagh Club was setfor another good year with the Tandragee 100, butunfortunately Noel Murphy was involved in a fatal crash inthe Junior Support Race in the second race of the day. Thisresulted in a depleted field, with shortened races, when mostof the top riders decided to call it a day.

Next the Bush Races were lacking in both spectators andcompetitors alike which proved a lack lustre meeting for thepublic. The saving graces for this discipline were the Armoyand Dundrod 150 meetings, both used by the riders as awarm-up for the Ulster Grand Prix. With top riders GuyMartin, Dan Kneen, Keith Amor, William and Michael Dunlopall involved it led to great racing in every class. ROI ridersDerek Shiels, Derek McGee, Michael Sweeney and James Kellycame into their own with excellent results showing how theirconcentration on ROI road races has improved theirperformances.

Pure Road Racing certainly sets the adrenalin racing buteach year seems to see our beloved riders paying the price.We wish any rider who has been injured over the year aspeedy and full recovery and look forward to seeing themback in 2015.

ROAD RACING

Paul Shoesmith (111) and Davy Morgan peel off intoWheelers in the Dundrod 150 Superbike race.

Patricia Fernandes from USA.


Gareth Keys from Lisburn. Maria Costello MBE.

Guy Martinconfuses thejudges with twonumbers atArmoy.

Lee Johnston (13) leads Glen Irwin (13) and Michal Dokoupil(78) into the fast right-hander in the Dundrod Supertwins race.

Glen Irwin

Derek Shiels at Armoy

Junior Support race atTandragee sees Tommy Henry

(74), Melvin Hollingsworth(103), Sean Conolly (62)

and Neil Kernohan (109) inclose contention.


Ian Morrell (57), Neil Kernohan (23),Peter Fletcher (102), John Elle (73) andPierre Favre (22) at the off in theLightweight race. The Frenchman Favreunfortunately crashed shortly after thestart.

Second wave at the start of theDundrod 150 National race seesWilliam Hara (53), Johnny McCay (54),Paddy Woodside (30), Darren Cooper(80) and Joseph Loughlin (33) readyfor the off.

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The cream of riders at the top of Ulster’sracing bottle have been selling their abilityon the best tracks throughout the world

with exceptional results. Michael Laverty fromRandalstown is the top by chalking up credibleperformances in the Moto GP’s which isregarded as the blue ribband class of Worldmotorcycle racing. He finished the season inthe points with a great 13th place. Second inline is the World Superbike Series and hereagain we have two impressive local racersproving Ulster can still produce riders as goodas anywhere else in the world. They are EugeneLaverty, brother of Michael, and Jonathan Rea,whose family have been steeped in motorcycleracing for generations. Both Eugene andJonathan have proven that winning is not adream but a reality.

The British BSB Championship has now grown to what the Grand Prix status was several yearsago with around two hundred and fifty top riders from all over the world taking part in a highclass Series. It has become probably the best National Championship in the World. To compete

in this Championship is good but to bechallenging for top honours is as good as itgets, improving riders ability on a regularbasis. Alistair Seeley, Glen Irwin, Andy Reid,Marshall Neill, Marty Nutt and AndrewIrwin have all stepped on the podium thisyear in their own individual classes, a recordwe should all be proud of in this smallcountry of ours.

Unfortunately Alistair Seeley just missedout on the top step of the BritishSupersport Championship by four points asdid Andy Reid in the 1000cc Superstocktitle. As Mar-Train are taking a year outnext year Seeley should have no problem ingetting snatched up by another top team.

All images by Jon Jessop


Ulster Abroad

The happy Mar-Train team after Alistair Seeley tooksecond place in the BSB Supersport championship.

Eugene Laverty Glen Irwin and Alistair Seeley on the podium at Brands after taking a 1-2 in the Supersport race.

Andy Reid and team who took runner-up spot in the Superstock 1000ccchampionship.

Andrew Irwin had a goodstart to his BSB experience.


Jack Frost may be cool but there isnothing cold about Dromore’s Holeshotmechanical and competition supremo.

Not only is he a genius mechanical andelectrical engineer but he transfers histheory into real practical action bycontinually attempting to better themotorcycle World Landspeed record on hisSuzuki Hayabusas. Jack is a top Dyno expertand engineering doctor for many specialcompetition cars and bikes worldwide.

Long experienced in competition racing allforms of motorcycles and also cars,Jack hasbeen turbocharging bikes since 1987 andturbo’d his first Hayabusas when they wereintroduced in 1999 A year later on thismachine breaking the land speed worldrecord on it at 228mph and then going fasteras the years and bikes progressed to currentspeed of 261mph for the standing start mileand 271mph for the flying mile

Running two Hayabusa bikes for speed,one race one road legal and a newly builtKawasaki ZX10R turbo.

Both Hayabusa bikes are1300cc fitted withCarrillo rods, custom CP turbo pistons, knife-edged cranks, Billet gearbox shafts and shiftshafts with undercut gears, billet clutcheswith drag race style lock up clutches fitted totake the power and torque. Heavy duty valvesprings and titanium retainers, Kent customturbo cams, gasflowed cylinder heads, ½”diameter extra HD cylinder bolts, and also HDcrankcase studs. Outrigger bearings areadded to both frames to strengthen the

gearbox further. All internals supefinishedand nanotech coated. Both bikes are usingHoleshot charge cooled plenums withsecondary rads and water pumps, BorgWarner EFR91-80 turbos built custom into Vband housings to allow them to be mademore compact to allow such large turbos tobe fitted to the bikes. Turbosmart waste gateswere fitted and1500cc injectors (over 5 timesbigger than standard), 450litre fuel pumps.Chassis are braced, running Ohlinssuspension, Brembo brakes and magnesiumDymag and PVM wheels with Dunlop tyres,using EK drag chains. Life racing / Syvecs S8engine management is now fitted instead ofMotec that was used before, as it has moreinputs needed for some of the additionalsensors used and running traction control,boost control, gearbox control, widebandlambda and knock control. The road legalbike is 640hp and 285 ft/lbs torque and therace one is 708hp and 347ft/lbs torque at thetyre..

The ZX10R is running Carrillo rods, CPcustom pistons, HD studs, HD clutch, full newwiring harness and again Syvecs S8 enginemanagement. Garret GT30-76 turbo,Turbosmart 40mm wastegate. Holeshotcharge cooled plenum which is currentlyrunning over 400hp at the tyre and when thenew custom clutch is made it will be capableof going to near 500hp

In August this year he took both bikes toElvington to have another attempt at theland speed record. This was a standing mileevent running many consistent runs in high250’s Achieving a best of 261mph on his No 1

bike and 256mph on his road legal Busa. Thiswas the first time out on Busa No1 sincefitting a new Borg Warner EFR 91-80 turbo sohe was really pleased and with some more setup and good conditions will do well over270mph

For further aerodynamic mods to comelater he has fitted the turbos the oppositeway around to conventional kits.

At Elvington Jack was joined by Cecil“Bubba” Myers and his friend Brock O Leewho had made the trip from the USA. Theywere over to run the world speed wheelierecord. As Jack was putting all efforts intotop speed it worked out well to let Bubbaride the ZX10R for speed wheelies. It was hisfirst ever time on a turbo bike and took awhile to get used to it doing a187mphwheelie but just put it down a couple of feetbefore the final speed trap. Brock rode theother Busa and started to get used to thebike running a 231mph on the mile. This wasan excellent performance as he had neverdone a speed event before nor ridden a turbobike He is a man mountain of a guy and couldnot get tucked in at all.

The wheelie record was smashed again thisyear by Egbert Von Popta at 199mph for thekilometre while Cork’s Ted Brady posted197mph on a Holeshot GSXR1000 turbo forsecond, and last years winner PaddyO’Sullivan posted186mph, again on aHoleshot GSXR 1000 turbo for third. To cap agreat event Tom Swales took fifth and thefastest Yamaha R1 in the world record at173mph which was running normallyaspirated on a Holeshot tuned R1.

HOLESHOT RACING

Jack Frost at Elvington with his two Suzuki Hayabusas.

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When Eddie asked me topen a few words aboutJack I felt very

privileged, but also a little bitworried,yes I knew Jack well andwe shared many of great timestogether but my memories ofhim are probably a lot differentto someone else.

Jack meant so many things to somany people, Son, Brother, friend,fellow competitor, partner, drinkingcompanion, I could go on but thething everyone will remember most ishis happy manner, his very dry senseof humor and his smile.

He was a painter and decorator but

that wasn't his profession,it was onlya way to pay for his real passion inlife, motorcycles, notice I didn't saymotorcycle racing because althoughthis was a massive part of his life if hewasn't racing he was reading aboutthem, watching them, talking aboutthem or thinking about them.

Jack liked to do things "Old Style"as well called it, financially relying onno-one but himself, only letting afew trusted people work on his bikeand of course working out of theback of his trusty transit van, he oncesaid, "if it was good enough for Joey,it's good enough for us." Nocorporate hospitality or motor homefor him in fact once recently at the

NW 200 George McCann wascommentating and remarked that noone came to this race any more andworked out of the back of a van andthere we were doing that very thingour way, Jack loved the irony in thatand it brought a big smile to his face.

There is a saying, Racing is life,every thing else is just waiting, andthis best describes how he felt, heloved the sportsmanship and the craicin the paddock, probably becausewas going to racing all his life andnow he was competing becomingpart of the show. Saturday morningsat half five and sometimes evenearlier you would regularly find himwalking the roads of

Stephen "Jack" McIlvenna

Jack with the twinkle in his eye before practice at the 2013 UGP.


Randalstown,with his wee dog Tara,because he couldn't sleep, just soexcited and buzzing about the daysracing ahead.

Jack always has a special glint in hiseye when it came to the UGP BikeWeek,there "was just somethingabout that place" he often said, healso felt the same way about the Isleof Man, his greatest achievementwinning the Junior Manx Grand Prixin 2009. When you were on "theIsland" he said it felt like being a fulltime racer, wake up, work at thebike, race, sleep, repeat, nowherewas he more at home and althoughhe got to race at the TT in 2010 Ithink his heart was always at the

Manx Grand Prix, it suited more to hisstyle, laid back, low key, no fuss.

He also enjoyed the smaller localraces always competing hard,normally with his great friend andrival Dennis Booth in close formation,sometimes in front of him sometimesbehind,always trying to beat oneanother but always fairly and alwaysa looking for each other after therace was over to talk it all over andhave a laugh.

Jacks greatest influence was hisfather, James, who used to race grasstrack scrambles and trials when hewas younger and that's where he gothis great passion for bikes and bikeracing from and also his great dry

sense of humour. This is where hisloss is felt more than anywhere else,at home with James and Jack's sisterJulie and although so many manypeople called at the house, sentcards, and telephoned the say howsorry they were for the family's losseach and every person had a greatand lasting memory of Jack, and tome that's the greatest legacy of all.

Personally I have so many greatmemories of him that I could fill anentire magazine with them but partof me is still waiting on him to finishthat final lap and sadly that's theworst memory of all.

Gone but NEVER forgotten.Alwyn Evans

With trusty friend Alwyn Evans on the grid at the Tandragee 100.

Stephen with his close teamon the grid at the NW 200.

Rounding the Clough Hairpinon the Moira MCC in the MidAntrim.

In relaxed form before the NW 200.

In the interim, however,the first JAWA aftershrugging off variousteething troubles, proved itsworth in competitions. Longdistance trials were its forteand several Czech riders,including Antonin Vitvar,came into province usingJAWA machines.

What Janacek requiredwas a simple andinexpensive machine withwhich to gain a foothold inthe commercial market. To

achieve this he importedGeorge Patchett fromEngland and his designincorporating a 175cc Villiersengine and a three speedAlbion gearbox was justwhat the doctor ordered. A250cc version followed andwhen the company’s cashflow situation improvedPatchett was asked todesign an out and out roadracing machine. Initially thiswas a 500cc push-rodengined single but a changewas made to the shaft andbevel overhead camshaftlayout. Patchett himselfrode the machine in GrandPrix events but the bestperformance was byEnglishman Ginger Woodwhen he finished eighth inthe 1933 IOM Senior TT.

Thereafter little was seen ofthe road racing JAWA andcompetition successes wererestricted to trials.

After the Second WorldWar Patchett had returnedto England and JAWA andCZ were amalgamated in1949. A 500cc vertical twinracer was used in nationalevents and in the earlyfifties JAWA made sporadicappearances in internationalraces with 250cc and 350ccvertical twins. Then thefactory withdrew fromracing for a period ofextensive work returningonly in 1960 with a 350ccdouble knocker verticaltwin. Nowadays it isfashionable to castigate thevertical twin racing enginebut no one who saw (and

heard) the JAWA twin canever support that school ofthought.

As the years pass it is themachines like JAWA andriders with the ability ofFrantisek Stastny that flashupon the inward eye ratherthan the blurred images leftby the Honda and MVAgusta bolides

Frank Stastny was one ofthe great characters ofgrand prix racing. Muchaddicted to fast motor carsand stereophonic jazz musichis devil-may-care attitudeto life, coupled with ageneral friendliness andsincerity and a naturalaptitude for motorcycleracing, made him one of themost popular men on theracing circuits. He and hisbeautiful wife Jarmila wereboth in the top flight ofspeed ice skaters and Frankalso laid claim to fame as anice hockey player and amember of the Czechnational cycling team. Hebegan motorcycle racing in1947 using an old Norton

JAWA Czechoslovakia’s Grand Prix Challenger

Like BSA in England and FN in Belgium, JAWA of Czechoslovakia was initially aproducer of ordnance, turned motorcycle manufacturer. The Prague factoryfounded by Frantisek Janacek in 1928 started production of motorcycles in 1929

and built a machine under licence from Wanderer in Germany. The pressed steel framehad a novel leaf spring front suspension layout and housed a 498cc four-stroke, singlecylinder engine with shaft drive to the rear wheel. The machine proved expensive toproduce, only 1,000 were manufactured and Janacek (who had combined the first twoletters of his own name with those of Wanderer for his machine) was forced to thinkagain as to his position as a manufacturer of motorcycles.

Frank Stastny accelerates out of the Hairpin in the 1964 UGP.


Isle of ManTT 1963FrankStastny.


built from scrap. After armynational service he bought aKSS Velocette and thenanother Norton. His effortssoon bore fruit and theJAWA factory invited him tojoin their team in 1953. Helearned his craft on a varietyof machines, most of whichhad the common attributeof atrocious handling.

But the 350cc twin of 1960was a very different kettleof fish. The double overheadcamshaft layout was uniquein that the vertical shaft tothe inlet camshaft lay to therear between the cylinders,the drive to the exhaust camthen being carried acrossthe top of the engine by ahorizontal shaft.

Each cylinder head hadtwo valves with twin plugssparked by four battery-operated coils.Power outputwith a six speed gearbox

was just short of 50 bhp at10300 rpm. Impressions ofmachines from behind theIron Curtain are rare butDavid Dixon, of the MotorCycle magazine, tried theJAWA in 1961. Capable of135 mph on Isle of Mangearing the machineendeared itself withimpeccable road manners.

Racing honours were hardto come by in the heyday ofthe four cylinder MV Agustaand Stastny startled theracing world when he splitthe Italian fours of GaryHocking and John Surtees inthe firstClassic of 1960 inFrance. And he repeated thedose by finishing second inthe final Classic at Monza.

Ninety sixty one was evenbetter. Frank won atHockenheim in Germanyand at Kristianstad inSweden with team mate

Gustav Havel second oneach occasion. In additionStastny was placed fifth inthe Isle of Man, second inEast Germany and third inUlster, to claim second placein the World Championshipratings to Hocking. Indeedit was not until halfwaythrough the season that‘Socks’ went ahead in thepoints tally.

But 1962 saw the entranceof Honda into 350cc classicracing and the JAWA’sinadequacies becamemanifest. Even the pairingof Mike Hailwood and MVAgusta had to bow to thesuperiority of Jim Redmanand the Tokyo-built four.Stastny had to be contentwith a few placings andsecond in the Ulster was hisbest outing. IncidentallyFrank was twice invited tojoin the Honda factory teambut he refused to leave hisnative country. This decisionelevated him to the status ofa national sporting hero, anhonour he shared withOlympic track star EmilZatopek.

If 1962 had been a leanyear for JAWA 1963 waseven worse. The Praguefactory responded to thechallenge of the fours fromItaly and Japan by adoptingpaired valves (as on theHonda). An eight valve headwas fitted to an over squareengine (62 x 58mm) whichstill sported the unique beveldrive. Peak revs rose to11400 but inevitablyproblems occurred in thebottom half of the enginewherein the big endbearings could not cope with

the increase in revs. Theanswer probably lay inconverting the engine to afour but the factory hadlimited resources and Stastnyhad to persevere with thenew design with Havelproviding back-up on theslower but more reliablefour valve machine.Stastny’s outing was third inthe Isle of Man. Then hecrashed heavily in Jicin inCzechoslovakia andshattered his right leg.

He made a comeback in1964 but during practice atSolitude in Germany hebroke the same leg in sixplaces and the plateinserted after the 1963accident. Nineteen sixty fivesaw the swan song of thevertical twin four strokeJAWA. But it bowed out infine style when Stastnyscored a very popular win inthe Ulster Grand Prix.Engine capacity wasstretched to 440cc andFrank won on it in the 1966East German Grand Prix.The factory concentrated itsefforts on the developmentof a two stroke, V4 - 350cc.Stastny rode it for twoseasons without muchsuccess and the machinesmain claim to fame was thatit killed Bill Ivy when itseized during practice forthe 1969 East GermanGrand Prix. Stastnycontinued racing in spite ofsuffering severe spinalinjuries in a crash in 1970but his talent faded as theJAWA challenge wained.He passed away in the year2000.

BARRY SEWELL

Jawa Transporter at the 1961 Ulster Grand Prix.

UGP 1961 ‘Works’ 350 Jawa Twin.


ionIn 1951 Moto Guzzirealised the limitationsof their long-lived

single cylinder and V-twinracing machines, and theproblem of how to get ajump ahead of theopposition. There were nohard and fast rulesregarding the design of aGuzzi racing motorcycle,the only criteria being thatthe end product shouldcombine mechanicalexcellence with racewinning potential.Transverse fours weremuch in vogue but theirbulkiness and indifferentaerodynamic qualities,coupled with the fact thatthey were being raced byarch rivals Gilera and MVAgusta was cause to lookelsewhere for a solution.

The task fell not to GuilioCarcano, the head of theracing development at

Mandello, but to Carlo Gianniwho was based in Rome. Theeventual choice of an in-linefour may have seemed oddbut in reality Gianni had nooption than to explore thisconfiguration of a multiplicityof cylinders. Extremely littlewas known of this type ofpower unit under racingconditions and the lastattempt had been with theBelgian FN in pre-WW2 days.Logic decreed that thecrankshaft in-line with theframe would adversely effecthandling and that the enginecooling would also be aproblem. Whether the fourhad redeeming features tooutweigh these disadvantageswas for Gianni to discover.

After many rumours aboutits existence the machine wasshown to the public at Monzain September 1952. The fourwas never a handsomemachine as cosmetics played

no part in the Guzzi quest fordominance in the racingworld. Apart from the in-lineconfiguration the enginediffered only in detail fromconventional fours. The oversquare cylinders had a boreand stroke of 56mm by 50mmrespectively, the two valves ineach being actuated by gear-driven twin overheadcamshafts. Magneto ignition,water cooling and shaft drivefrom a 4-speed gearboxcompleted the vital statistics.

The upper half of thecrankcase, the cylinder blockand the cylinder head werecombined in a one-piecealuminium alloy casting ; thelower half of the crankcasewas retained by ten longstuds. The crankshaft wasrigidly supported in fivebearings and the connectingrods were one piece steelforgings with roller bearingbig ends. Oil was carried in

the crankcase sump and agear-type pump provided apressure feed to vital areas ofthe engine, including thebearings, valve gear, thegearbox and clutch thrustmechanism. Water wascirculated from a front-mounted radiator bythermo-syphon assisted by animpeller mounted on thefront of the camshaft.

What really set the machineapart was the carburettorsystem. Side mountedcarburettors would haveadded unduly to the width ofthe machine and insteadGianni employed a patentedsystem known as the forcedatomisation mechanicalcarburettor, certain featureswhich dated back to prewardays. Basically this compriseda gearbox-driven Roots-typeblower which supplied air tofour atomiser units, one ineach induction tract. The inlet

BLACK SHEEP FROM MANDELLO The 1953 in-line, 4 cylinder Moto Guzzi

Enrico Lorenzetti takes the in-line four to victory at Hockenheim.


camshaft also carriedadditional cams that operatedplunger-type air valves. Thesewere timed to open insynchronism with the inletvalves so that, at the requiredtime, air from the blower wasreleased across the fuel jets toatomise the fuel. A gear-typepump, driven from thecamshaft,delivered fueldirectly to the jets. The flowof mixture through the inlettracts was controlled in thenormal manner by twist-gripoperated butterfly valves.

The frame of the four wasbuilt up of small diametertubes in typical Guzzi fashion,Suspension and the rear sub-frame was similar to that usedon the single cylindermachines and drum brakeswere fitted. Partialstreamlining took the form ofside panels around the upperhalf of the engine andenclosing the steering head toform a number plate. Poweroutput was 55bhp at9000rpm.

The racing career of theGuzzi in-line four was brief.mechanical failure marred itsracing debut at Siracusa in1953. Ironically its next outingat Hockenheim was anunprecedented success. Twomachines competed against astar-studded field includingLes Graham (MV4), and agaggle of factory BMWs andNortons. Enrico Lorenzettistormed to victory at an

average speed of 107.5mphand Fergus Anderson

posted fastest lap at 113mphto set the racing worldbuzzing. Many pronouncedthe machine a world beaterbut doubtless Giannirecognised the Hockenheimrace for what it was - a flatout blind in which machinehandling played little part.

With the machine still atdevelopment stage the Isle ofMan races were given a missand the four’s next outingwas the Dutch TT. Lorenzettiand Anderson again rode butthe latter retired with fuelpump trouble and the formerbattled to reach seventh placeon the twisting circuit beforeretiring. The fours shouldhave been more suited to thevery fast Francorchampscircuit in Belgium whichhosted the fastest GP on theclassic calendar. But

Lorenzetti again retired andAnderson finished a lowlyseventh. In addition topersistent trouble with thefuel system and handlingproblems brought about bythe torque reaction of the in-line crankshaft, anothersource of bother, proved tobe the engine speed clutchwhich made positive gearselection difficult.

With Carcano deciding toresurrect the single cylindermachines the fours wererelegated to the race shop formodification. At Monza onlyone was ridden by Anderson.A new fuel tank was fittedand the streamlining nowshredded the front wheel.The machine performed wellbut again the fuel injectionsystem proved its AchillesHeel and it retired fromfourth place. Little was heardover the winter months but

the four was raced atHockenheim alongside KenKavanagh on a Guzzi single,presumably for purposes ofcomparison. Anderson andthe Aussie diced furiouslyduring the early laps, thenFerguson retired. Kavanaghwon the race and the fate ofthe four was sealed. The lastappearance of the machinewas during practice for theIOM-TT in 1954 before it waswheeled into the Guzzimuseum.

Thereafter it was back tothe drawing board forCarcano. His revamped 350machine was to proveinvincible, and using theknowledge gained with thein-line engine his next multi-cylinder proved to be themost fabulous of all - the 500V8 !!

BARRY SEWELL


In the not-too-distantpast the label ,”Madein Japan”, was

sufficient to identify anarticle as a shoddyimitation producedunder sweat shopconditions in theteeming Orient. Andnowhere was this moretrue than in theJapanese motorcycleindustry which churnedout a motley collectionof pseudo - BSA andBMW machines.

So barefaced was theextent to which theJapanese copied foreigndesigns that Europeanmanufacturers turned asomewhat amused andforgiving eye on thesituation. The appearanceof a team of doubleoverhead camshaft 125ccvertical twin Hondamachines in the 1959 Isleof Man TT races did not,then, cause much concernamong the big guns of theracing world. Indeed withthe memory of World War2 still vivid, the only mildapprehension evident wascaused by the appearanceof the first Oriental riderssince Kenzo Tada finishedfifteenth in the 1930Junior TT on a KTTVelocette. Not even thefact that Honda won the1959 125cc ManufacturersTeam Prize whenTaniguchi, Suzuki andTanaka finished in sixth,seventh and eighth placesgave cause for concern asthis success was almost bydefault due to the failureof the MV and Ducatiteams to finish intact.

However, had anyonebothered to scratch belowthe surface to that first

tentative Japanese forayinto Classic racing theywould have foundevidence of serious intent.Admittedly, with theircurved spine frames, fourvalves per cylinder, flatthrottle slides, obviouslywrong steering geometryand left hand camshaftdrive and somewhatextravagant performancefigures, the Hondamachines looked positivelyquaint in comparison totheir svelte rivals. On theother side of the coin,however, the knowledgethat the machines weremeticulously prepared andthat the whole entouragehad been flown fromTokyo specifically for onerace, should have giventhe clue that HondaMotors really meantbusiness.

Actually the plot hadbeen hatched five yearspreviously when SochiroHonda visited the TT races.By all accounts he wasshocked to see the high

standard of Europeanracing and only in 1959 didhe consider that hismachines were anythinglike race worthy - but theJapanese proved to bequick learners. Not threemonths after the TT racescame the news ofsweeping Honda successesin the NationalChampionships held on theAsama Volcano circuit(more chuckles in Europe),and not only in the eighthlitre category, but also inthe 250cc Class in whichfive transverse fourcylinder machines hadbeen entered. These wereobviously a double-up ofthe 125cc Twins. The samedubious front fork wasfitted and separateignition coils and flat-sidedKeihin carburettors wereprovided for each pot. Tocope with the rough anddusty circuit were mesh aircleaners and also knobblytyres which did little toenhance the machinesclaim to be a serious

contender in road racing.On the credit side thecamshaft drive was now onthe “right” side of theengine. Power output wasgiven as 35 bhp at 14,000rpm but this figure wasregarded with somescepticism in the West. Thenews that fours wouldcontest in the 1960 Isle ofMan TT was, somewhatjustifiably, looked on moreas a promise than a threat.

The Honda machineswhich arrived on the Islandin 1960 gave the final hintof things to come. The125cc model showed signsof the original design,including the front forks,but it was the 250cc thatdrew the attention of thetechnical experts. Designedby Shizuoka Universitygraduate Kawashima, thefours now sported a gear-driven camshaft drivelocated between themiddle cylinders. Thesixteen valve engine wasreputed to give 38 bhp at13,000 rpm and with the

HONDA’S OPENING GAMBIT

Taniguchi weighs in the 125cc Vertical Twin at the 1959 Isle of Man TT.


detailed refinements,including a well-proportioned tank andexhaust system, themachine had now thestamp of a classic. AussiesTom Phillis and Bob Brownhad been added tostrengthen the all -Japanese team of Suzuki,Tanaka, Taniguchi andShimazali.

In the smaller capacityrace the Hondademonstrated utterreliability filling sixth totenth places but as yetthey were not fast enoughto harry the work’s MVsand MZs. The result wasmuch the same in the250cc race with Brownheading a Honda 4 - 5 - 6finish behind two MVs anda Morini.

There were no victoriesfor Honda in the EuropeanClassics they contestedduring 1960, a seasontotally dominated by CarloUbbiali and his brace ofMV Agustas. The teamsuffered a setback whenBob Brown crashed fatallyon his 250cc four duringpractice for the GermanGrand Prix at Solitude - apity as the likeable Aussie

was an asset to Hondahaving had priorexperience of multicylinder machines when herode for Gilera in 1957. Butalready drafted into theHonda team was the manwho, more than any other,was to shape Honda’sracing fortunes in thecoming years - JimRedman. Ex-Londonerturned Rhodesian, Redmaneventually became team

leader and racing managerfor the Japanese factory. Inthe process he provedhimself to be a veryshrewd racing motorcyclist.Never one to take anunnecessary chance or togo faster than the occasiondemanded he was, in theleast derogatory sense ofthe word, the first of themercenaries in themotorcycle world. Hemade no bones whatever

that his considerable talentwas for sale, whether it beto Sochiro Honda or torace organisers the worldover.

In the course of hiscareer Redman rubbedmany people up the wrongway and frequently methead-on with governingbodies of the sport - buthe delivered the goods. Inwinning forty five ClassicGrand Prix races he wasWorld Champion six timesand carried off the 250ccand 350cc Isle of Man TTsin 1963 -1964 and 1965.And he knew when toretire !!

In 1966 Honda producedthe notorious 500cc fourwith which to contest thehalf litre class withGiacomo Agostini and hisMV. Redman won inGermany and Holland buthe was never happy withthe machine and finallywhen the brute shruggedhim off at a high rate ofknots in the Belgian GrandPrix he was happy to letthe master craftsman,Mike Hailwood, take onthe big Honda - which hedid to good effect.

Jim Redman on a slippery Leathemstown Bridge.

Belfast’s Tommy Robb took to the Honda like a duck to water.


But to return to the 1960season - This was in effectonly a testing time forHonda and at the end oftheir European tour theyreturned to Tokyo todigest their experiences.What a pity that MVAgusra chose 1961 as atime to curtail their racingactivities in the 125cc and250cc classes. This waslargely due to theretirement of Carlo Ubbialiand we shall never knowhow he and his team -mate Gary Hocking wouldhave fared against thechallenge from Honda.Hocking won the first250cc race of the season inSpain from Phillis butthereafter he concentratedon the 350cc and 500ccevents.

With only Ernst Degnerproviding anything likestiff opposition on his EastGerman MZ, Hondamachines powered theirway to success in the twolightweight worldchampionships.The fourcylinder two fifties hadbeen revitalised by theadoption of conventionalcarburettors and an energy

transfer ignition system, acombination whicheffectively cured thetendency of the engine toloose 1000 rpmperiodically during thecourse of the race. Poweroutput rose during theseason from 42 to 45 bhpand coupled withrefinements to thestreamlining, judiciousweight saving andlowering the engine in theframe, the model was

capable of 155 mph at anall-up weight of 230pounds.

Total domination wouldnot be too strong adescription of Honda’sperforation in the 1961 Isleof Man TT races. In the250cc race Bob McIntyrecame within a whisper ofrecording the first 100mph lap. From a standingstart he sliced anunbelievable 48. 4 secs offUbbiali’s record and was

nearly half a minute aheadof Hocking on the MVAgusta. Mac’s last lap wasat 99.58 mph and betteredeven John Surtee’s laprecord in the 350cc class.But by then McIntyre’sfurious pace had boiledmost of the Honda’sengine oil out of the tankand, halfway round on thefinal lap, the four groundto a halt, thus ending anepic performance.

Nineteen sixty one sawthe turning point forHonda with Phillis takingthe 125cc World Title,albeit after a nail-bitingtussle with Degner whosedefection from EastGermany ruled out hisparticipation in thedeciding event inArgentina. Mike Hailwoodin winning the 250cc titlescored the first of hisfistful of world honours.Then the floodgatesopened. Until they retiredfrom Grand Prix racing atthe end of 1967 Tokyo -built machines blazed awinning trail across theworld thus relegating the“Made in Japan” stigma tohistory.

BARRY SEWELL

Ulster Grand Prix 1960. The first appearance at Dundrod of the Honda 250cc Fours.

The Vertical Twin 125cc Honda 1959.

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