Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126023
- S' III • ~ t (.0 t- O) ~ (.0 :>... ell ;:j ~ ell "> last comer of the last lap of the last Gran Prix. T his year Mo rbidelli fitted slightly larger gas tanks an d Paolo Pileri , along wit h t e a mm a t e Paolo Bian ch i, obliterated the class wi th ru na w ay victories at almost every event . U tilizing team tactics and extra horsep o w er the MorbidelIis stop p ed two-time ch amp K e n t A n derso n. T he best t he watercooled 125 Ya maha could m ust er was third pl ace in t he standings behind t he two Italians. By Jody Weisel 250cc Class We all strive to achieve so mething, and in striving we are rewa rd ed with a sens e of accomplishm en t. Th e world is full of peop le who try , accomplish, and achieve, but only a small percentage of those ever become champions. In the arena, on th e track, or in the mind one individual is left standing when all others have fal len by the urayside. The cham pion may have been bloodied, h e m ay have bow ed, he may have achieved his glory on the wings of fo rtune (eit her goo d or bad ), bu t he was th e one man lef t after the pru ning, preen ing and thinning of the rigors of co mpetition. 1975 was a banner year f or champions. Th ere we re new fa ces in m otocross, road race and trials to stand am id the clamor and no ise wi th the im mortals of the past. I t was not the year of th e ups et , although the re w ere startling upsets; it was n o t the year of th e veteran, although veterans pulled thro ugh to w in; it was not the year of the young, although youngsters Cam e and conquered; It was for all purposes a year, like man y ye ars before, in wh ich the world's best gathered , accepted th e challenge , com pe ted all ou t, and after it was over th en th ere was one. without a proven pilot. Spaniard Angel Nieto, former 50cc and 125cc World Ch ampion f o r the Spanish Derbi concern , signed on and im m edi at ely 50Cc Class t ook co m ma nd of the title for Kre idler. Kreidler has dominated the 50cc Stiff competition surfaced in the fo rm World Championships with amazing of th e in n ovat ive Piovaticci ridden b y E . regularity fo r the past co uple of seasons. L a zzarini wh o finished second, but The ph enom en al w a ter -co oled , Kr eidler swep t th e next seven pl aces . thimble-sized road racers t ook th e 1974 championship with Henk V an Kessel 125cc Class Yamaha works ride r Kent Anderso n toppin g a st andings t otally d omin ated wo n the 1974 World Road Racing b y the m o-ped firm . Van Kessel decided Ch ampionship wh en Pao lo Pileri , o n the t o graduate to th e 125 cc class ridi ng a Van Ve en Bridge stone leaving Kr eidler works Morbidelli, ran o ut of gas on th e Road racing nu« Nieto .. 40 Yamah a's d omin ation of t he 25ucc Gr an Prix circuit ended last year when Walter Vill a too k t he Harley -Davidson t w o-st ro ke twin to the first World Champ i on ship for both rid er and ma rq ue. Yamaha was hot t o get th eir class b ack and w it h th e un expected sup port of V ene zuel an w onderboy Johnn y Cecotto things lo oked brigh t . Cecotto and V illa ro cked b ack and forth th ro ugho ut the y ear until the y o ung South American suffer ed a serie s of breakdowns and get-off's to allow the Italian veteran to pull away . Vill a, r e s ting in a hospital bed recovering fr om injuries , clinched his and Ha rley' s seco nd world title when Cecotto failed to win th e Finnish Gran Prix. Villa is rumored to b e preparing t o leave H-D and ride for the family firm next y ear. 350cc Class The 35 0c c class of t he road racing c h a m p io n s h i p s h as b een th e sole possession of handsome Italian superst ar Gi acomo Ago st ini. Last year 250cc exp atriat e Dieter Braun fell sho rt of taking th e 350 ti tle fro m th e king a t th e Yugo sl avi a n Gran Prix. This year Agostini fa ced a challe nge from Braun and from t he kid who came charging out o f th e ' South ern hemisphere , Johnny Ce cotto. The 19 year old Cecotto in his first year o f E uropean co m pet it io n simply outclassed the 14 ti me World Champion a n d went into t he Czechoslovakian round need ing only to fin ish ahead of the Italian t o garner h is first title. Ago st in i fail ed t o finish th e 350cc even t and Ceco tto clinched the cr o wn while sitting on the sidelines, also a DNF , but with an insurmountable lead in points . 500cc Class If there exi st s a World Road Race Championship t o end Ch ampionships it is the 500cc t itl e ch ase . MV Agusta has co ntro lled th e 5 0 0 class with th e howl of their exo t ic four cylinder, .fo ur-st ro ke eq uip ment seventeen times. MY Agu sta is a specialty firm that builds a small number of expensive sports and racing b ikes as a sideline . In 1974 Yamaha hired away the great Agostini from MV to ride the TZ-500 Monosho ck . MV had the title holder , Ph il Read, and contender Gianfranco Bonera in 1974 to duel with the Yamaha team and renovated Suzuki 's of Barry Sheene, In 1974 Agostini began to adjust to th e mono as Read, with no love lost b etween th e two former te ammates, and Ago fa ced off. Throughout the season the two titans dueled back and forth w ith the p o t en t MV l acking its traditional horsep ower and handling advanta ge . Read rode the big four-stroker into the last part of season with a slim points lead, but the Italian star racked up th ~ p o ints ~ !!!!! j; Cecotto Raider