Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Kenny Roberts leads Wil Hartog during the British GP. which Kenny won. World ChampIonshIp Road Race SerIes· Round 8 Rob.erts stretches point lead with British win By Chris Carter. Peter Simcock and Mick Woollett ./ TOWCHESTER, ENGLAND. AUG . 6 The weather won the 500cc race at Silverstone. For the race that promised so much simply fizzled out into a dreary marathon as a long, heavy shower flooded the track. And as rider after rider came into the pits to change to rain tires confusion reigned. No one knew who was leading and it was not until four hours after 22 the race ended that championship challenger Kenny Roberts (Yamaha) was confirmed as the winner. Steve Manship (Suzuki) , who had started on intermediate tires and who rode non ·stop, claimed he was the winner - but was officially placed second: while Italian Marco Luc chinelli (Suzuki), who scrambled on to the rostrum shouting that he had won, was placed fourth behind Barry Sheene (Suzuki). In fact the rain probably helped Sheene. For in the early stages, on a dry track, he was outpaced by Roberts and was struggling in ' sixth place. Now, with third place and 10 points, he goes to the final round in Germany eight points behind Roberts. Quick-starting Wil Hartog (Suz) was first away. leaving the pack standing as he streaked ahead . But Roberts took the lead on lap two - chased by Hartog. Michel Rougerie (Suzuki) who had been fastest in training, Virginia Ferrari (Suzuki), Takasumi Katayama (Yamaha). Sheene and Cecotto (Yamaha). Roberts. who had bettered the lap record on Friday. the first time he had ever ridden on the circuit, and who finished practicing second fastest to Rougerie. was flying and looked well in command. But it was different story for Sheene, He caught Katayama but could not pass the hard- riding Japanese, who then pulled away again leaving Harry struggling.. In one lap, the - fourth. Roberts increased his advantage over sixth- placed Sheene from five to nine seconds. Then, just seconds after commentator Fred Clarke had warned of rain at Stowe Comer. the heavens opened and riders found themselves riding on a streaming wet track. Roberts eased off. and Hartog went ahead when the American had an almighty twitch at Woodcote at the end of the sixth lap, A lap later, Michel Rougerie took advantage of Kenny's discomfort and pushed him down to third place. Sheene was suffering too. After nine laps , with the track covered in water and every rider looking ill '\t ease, Barry was in seventh spot. and 27 seconds behind Roberts, who was third. Rougerie and Hartog pulled clear of the American. who-was caught and passed by Yamaha factory man Takazumi Katayama. The "Zooming Taxi" waved his arm at the start-line officials at the end of the 12th lap, in an appeal for them to stop the race - but already Johnny Cecotto. Will Hartog and Barry Sheene had pulled in to change their tires . Rougerie was out front. but then, after 13 laps. Roberts and Katayama came into the Yamaha pit to switch to wet weather tires. As the riders circulated at a very careful Fate. Sheene , Cecotto, Katayama and then Roberts all rejoined the fray. It was almost impossible to say who was where. The crowd was confused. the riders were confused and so, too, were the corn mentators and the press. Finally, at the end of 28 laps . flag man Dave Bailey stuck out the checkered flag to Kenny Roberts and the rest of the water-sodden field came home. The garlanding ceremony was a shambles. Roberts. Manship and Sheene came on to the podium. and so· too did Marco Lucchinelli, who had appeared a possible winner on many amateur lap charts. Roberts wouldn't be drawn into a slanging match. or an argument as to who had won . "M y job is to race motorcycles. not to worry about the results," he said. "But I think it would have been better if the race had been stopped when it rained. let everyone put on new tires. and start again." Katayama also thought the whole thing a sick joke. "I wavedto them to stop the race because it was bloody dangerous. On the tar between the new bits of road surface the front wheel would lock at over 120 mph. That's not funny." he said . Manship and Lucchinelli protested, but the FIM jury met, studied the claims and the lap charts and cornfirmed the result. So Roberts is the winner , and Sheene's hopes of a third world title look a little grim. but not impossible. 350cc Kork Ballington and Kawasaki are World Championsl The tough little South African. double winner at the British Grand Prix last year on his own Yamahas, clinched the 350cc title in style at Silverstone on Sunday with a clear- cut win. "I may not be the youngest but I'm certainly one of the happiest World Champions ever," quipped Kork, who was born in Rhodesia , brought up in South Africa. but now lives in England and has a British passport. For 20 of the 28 laps Ireland's Tom Herron (Yamaha) battled with Ballington. But, although he set the new lap record for the 350cc class at 112.30 mph, his Yamaha just had not got the speed to catch the leader after he had been baulked by a . lapped rider. "My only chance was to hang on and hope. Once I lost hiin I'd had it." said Herron who scored three second places at Silverstone and won the Man of the Meeting award. An exciting battle for third went to Mick Grand (Kawasaki) who passed Frenchman Michel Rougerie (Yamaha) in the closing stages. Ballington had been fastest during practicing. beating the old 500cc lap record, but rival . and reigning champion, Takazumi Katayama (Yamaha) was second fastest with Olivier Chevallier (Yamaha) and Aussie Gregg Hansford (Kawasaki) close behind. From the start Herron shot ahead to lead at the end of the lap from Rougerie, Grant. Ballington and Jon Ekerold (Yamaha). Katayama was already in trouble and retired on the second lap with a broken crank and with Hansford struggling in sixth place things looked good for Kork. RIding superbly. Ballington picked off grant and then' Rougerie. Ekerold went out with a broken gear-change shaft and Hansford followed a few laps later when the alloy swinging arm of his Kawasaki broke. By the time Hansford retired. after nine laps. Ballington was right with Herron and they swapped first place right up until the halfway stage, lap 14. After that Ballington was in control and finally broke away to win by 10 seconds. Rougerie hung.on to the leaders until lap 13. then, with his engine overheating. he gradually slowed and on lap 20 Grant passed him. Rougerie's engine went onto one cylinder on the last lap but he managed to limp home to finish fourth just ahead of a magnificent six-sided dice in which Gianfranco Bonera (Yamaha) beat Vic Soussan (Yamaha), Christian Sarron (Yamaha) , Olivier Chevallier (Yamaha), Lief Gustafsson (Yamaha), and Patrick Pons (Yamaha). 250cc Tom Herron is just fed up to the back teeth with Kawasakil The Ulster privateer found once again that his Yamaha twin just has not got the legs 01 the green meanie, and he had to settie for second spot to West German Anton Mang at the end of a thrilling 26-lap 250cc race. _ The victory was Mang's first 250cc GP success, and he could hardly have done it in better style. He had caught Herron after 17 laps, but Tom would not let him get away and the Irishman's last bend effort to snatch back the lead only just failed. Tom's gallant bid - his third runner-up spot in the weekend programme - was good enough to clinch for him the John Player Man of the Meeting award . Perhaps South African Kork Ballington would have won that title. if he had finished. but it wasn't that that he regretted not collecting when the Kawasaki's crankshaft failed . That breakdown, his first of the season. cost him another good chance to stretch still further his lead over Kawasaki teammate Gregg Hansford. who made a terrible start, and then crashed at Beckens on the second lap whilst trying to make up ground. With Hansford out. and Kenny Roberts deciding to give this 250cc race a miss. Ballington saw the chance slip by, when his bike stopped after nine laps. while he was battling with Herron and Frenchman Olivier Chevallier (Yamaha) for the lead. With Kork gone. the two Yamaha privateers both sensed victory. but Oily was too keen to win and on lap 13 he fell off. without injury. at Beckett's, the spot that had claimed Hansford earlier. Herron's dream of that elusive GP win faded as it became obvious that

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