Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

English sponsor George Beale. The bike no-showed for Thursday practice at Brands Hatch and arrived late on Friday race morning, only partially prepared. Never having sat on the bike until two hours before the first race, Cooley had natural misgivings about the whole deal and spent the weekend bemoaning the lack of his trusty four· stroke. Given that Newbold ended up top points scorer on a less highly de· yeloped version of Wes's Yoshimura bike, Fujio's sticking to his principles obviously cost the U.S. team·dearly. Against that, American hopes took an upswing when American Honda surprised many by announcing that they were prepared to release Freddie Spencer to ride another brand of motorcycle in the series: "Honda feels it's imponant that America has the best possible team," said PR chief (and Freddie's new manager) Stuan Rowlands. Ace Austrian tuner Harald Banol provided a brand new Mlt. 6 RG500 Suzuki owned by Bel· Ray and Johnson, destined for a Belgian rider after Freddie had run it in during the match races. Sponing Banol's own specially·cast barrels, heads and pistons, the engine's poning was panicularly special, and produced a wider power band and better torque and top speed, using standard timing discs and pipes. Banol was unhappy with the lack of time to prepare the bike - "We had to build it in two days, which I don't think is right, but the RG is the only production race bike you can race practically out of the crate." Even so, Freddie suffered a broken gearbox oil seal in Thursday practice, then a main bearing went on Friday morning, causing him to miss the fust race. Once the bike was soned out, it was possibly the fastest in either team. Freddie scored joint fastest lap in the last race of the SIX, at Oulton. Current U.S. Road Race Champion Rich Schlachter seemed a man in form after two second places at Daytona in the 200 and the Twins. Suffering a heavy cold throughout the weekend "The English doctor I saw said I had a social disease when I knew damn well I had a virus," said Rich. "So I turned right round and flew back to the States for treatment and some medication before I went to Paul Ricard. I feel better, but I can't breathe through my ~ose, and my helmet keeps getting misted over." In spate of such problems, Schlachter proceeded to put in some truly outstanding rides on his Kevin Cameronprepared McLean Yamaha, so much so that after two days he was top overall points scorer in either team. Failure to score at Oulton through no fault of his own meant he slipped a little in the final standings, but British spectators were mighty impressed by Rich's perfOl'lDllllCell, and his European reputation grows apace. With the right backing he could be a powerful threat in Grand Prix racing. Miami veteran John Long made the team on his TZ500 - the bike he rode in the IT last year, not the '81 model he had a 'For Sale' sign stuck on at Daytona. Though he scored points in every race, it was hard to see John as other than making up the numbers on the grid, and even with a good stan (he was second into the first corner at Oulton, yet still only finished 10th), he never looked likely to get in the high points. A total contrast was Nicky Richichi, AMA Rookie of the Year in '80 and shoestring racer par excellence. Once he'd proved to himself that he could run with the best (which he did by passing Barry Sheene at Brands), Nicky showed he has determination to match his ability, pickinx u speed and points as his knowledge of lhe strange circuits increased, and bouncing back from a potentially terminal get-off at Mallory in the first race there. By the end of the series his TZ750 looked pretty shell-shocked, but the 26-year old New Yorker felt it had all been worthwhile. "I felt it was an honor to have been picked for the team, and I was glad to come not just for the glory but also because you have to stan somewhere in Europe. And this seemed as good a place as any. I just wish we had a lot more practice at the second two tracks (Mallory and Oulton). I went well at Brands because I had three hours undisturbed to set up the jetting and suspension, and learn the track. At the other places they just give you three practices of about five minutes each, and that's no exageration. The British race there all the time, but I wonder how well they'd do if they tried to race Loudon with only 15 minutes' practice against Schlachter and the rest of us?" This lack of track time to set up was also echoed by the other two team members and fellow rookies Dan Chivington and Jimmy Adamo, fifth and seventh respectively at Daytona. The 200-miler was Dan's first ride on a 750, George Vicensi's TZ. HiS was not to be a happy weekend, though to their credit both he and George saw the series as providing a valuable lest!On in the degree of organization needed to run overseas. Adamo was also dogged by difficulty, staning the series with a bent frame as a legacy from an incident at lmoJ.a; he really only looked at home at Brands - more practice needed, again. Against the U.S. team, depleted by absence, was ranged a strong British line-up headed by two-times 500cc World C~1J:::;r Sheme, now back on works ma' with Erv Kanemoto attending to his pair of Yamahas one a standard-framed 500cc and the other a Harris-frame with choice of 500 or 750cc motors. Dave Potter had a similar choice, with two 750s and a 500 sponsored by BP. Tuner Ted Broad was the British team manager. Steve Parrish should have ridden in the series, but broke his left wrist the week before in a horrific crash at Donington when he was involuntarily run over by both Roberts and Mamola. His replacement was a political one - all form and experience pointed to Mick GRant, now running a private Yoshimura Suzuki, but his face doesn't fit with the UK promoters right now, and the mantle fe1l on relative unknown Steve Henshaw, with a choice of RG and TZ750. It's nice when your sponsor knows the Right People. Factory-assisted Suzuki RG500 rider Keith Huewen - top British scorer last year - and Yamaha TZ500mounted Graham Wood completed the UK straker line up, while Huewen's teammate John Newbold rode the four-stroke. Roger Marshall - 15th at Daytona - was mounted on one of the most interesting bikes from a technical standpoint, the Moriwaki Kawasaki with ultra-lightweiKht frame made from square alloy tubing. Claimed allup weight is just !l5S pounds, and an even lighter and lower version is apparmtiyon the way. As it is, Manhal1's teammate Aussie Wayne Gardner leads the UK Superbike class by a country mile. Completing the British team were Honda UK teamsters Ron Haslam and Joey Dunlop - first Irishman to race in the Transatlantic, and fastest man round the IT course at over 115 mph. Joey isn't really a shon-circuit racer as even he admits, and in any case he suffered throughout the weekend with a badly swollen knee from which fluid had to be drawn off before every race. Did -he bang his knee on a coune marker or maybe the pavement? Not a bit - as befits an Irishman he slipped outside the pub in the Brands Hatch paddock. Both were riding llOOcc Honda Formula I bikes. BRANDS HATCH, APR. 17 Fine weather with a biting North wind greeted the teams as they lined up for the first two races. Consternation reigned in the American team when it was found that the Goodyear tires that had been sent over were seemingly of the wrong compound - but without a technician from the tire company, nobody could be sure. What was for certain was that the rears especially were breaking up after only a few laps, losing grip and rolling the rubber into long strips on the edge. Mamola and Spencer were already on Dunlops front and rear, to be joined by Cooley and Singleton. The others fitted a Dunlop rear except for Long who was on Michelins and Richichi who couldn't afford a new tire and hadn't thought of asking for one for free. He stayed on Goodyears throughout, the only one to do so. All the Brits used Dunlops, except for Sheene who occasionally had a Michelin rear: the change of tire companies was a major decision for the Michelin-contracted star. Practice mean trouble for Spencer, whose crank rebuild could not be completed in time for the first race, aJ.d Haslam, whose Honda broke a crankshaft: he took over Dunlop's machine, whileJoey rode the slower IT Formula machine. Mamola led race one from the stan, only to be passed by Barry Sheene on lap two. A roar from the crowd signified the entry of Britain's hero into the stan line area, but his turn at the front was shon-lived, as Randy passed him the next lap and steadily drew away to win. Marshall's Moriwaki stopped with no oil pressure, and Graham Wood unloaded in spectacular fashion. He was unhun. Behind Sheene, Dave Potter led his fellow influenza sufferer Rich Schlachter until lap six, when Rich squeezed past. Three laps later, he promoted himself to second as Sheene slowed. Dale Singleton was also charging and slipped past Potter on the last lap to place third. Huewen was fifth for Britam, followed by Haslam's Honda and Sheene, who at one stage was plUlled by an increasingly confident Richichi. Barry made it back past him again before the end, though, while Nicky was passed literally on the line by Henshaw. Adamo would have been_ next, but he too was just edged out in the last 100 yards by John Newbold. American hopes were high though, and the huge crowd (around 55,000) silent when the results showed the U.S. leading by 69 to 67 after the first leg even without Freddie Spencer. Could the home team fight back? The answer was yes, as after a hold up for Cool~ to appear - still trying to son out his borrowed machine and relearn the an of riding a two-stroke - the field set off on the second leg, this time including Spencer. Not for long, though. After holding a secure founh place, Freddie slowed on lap six to stop just before the line with a broken gear in the water pump drive. He still pushed over to claim valuable points for the U.S. Ahead, Mamola had charged into another immediate lead, from which this time he was never headed. After getting the better of Potter on lap two, Schlachter was equally secure in second, ahead of Potter, Newbold and Huewen. A superb fighting ride brought Richichi all the way up from 16th on lap two to sixth at the end, passing Haslam on the last lap and proving if you have determination you can surprise even yourself. Nicky was really pumped after the race, as he had every right to be. On his way up the field he passed Singleton - also a slow starter - and Dale tucked in behind to also pass the Honda as they crossed the line, to place seventh. _ _ . That was the total of the good news as far as the U.S. was concerned. Adamo had unloaded on a fast rilJhthander and badly damaged his bike, fonunately emerging unscathed himself. Worse still was to befall Dan Chivington: After a ride which had the whole U.S. c;ontingent cheering, as he made the most of a good stan to place sixth on lap six and looking to move up past Marshall's Moriwaki into fifth, he was involved in a truly horrifying crash on the fast right-hander before the stan line. The GV Performance Yamaha endoed a couple of times and was a total write-off. Steve Henshaw close behind was also brought down but managed to push his bike to the line to score points. Dan was thankfully unhun, and afterwards claimed Marshall had deliberately taken out his front wheel. Certainly. there were tire marks on his front slider, but it seems more likely that he got slightly off line on this notoriously tricky off-camber comer and just clipped the rear of the four-stroke. Whatever, from riding high, U.S. hopes were now slipping, as the Brits left Brands seven points to the good - 159 to 1!12. It was the turning point of the series. MALLORY PARK, APR. 20 .... 00 (j) .-4 The Saturday rest day provided valuable respite for the U.s. team. Spencer's Suzuki was rebuilt again; Adamo borrowed a frame from Barry Sheene to replace his own, by now well and truly wrecked; and Chivington was on a completely different bike, a '79 TZ750 borrowed from John Newbold's former sponsor, slotmachine king Dave Onon. The Appleby Glade team machine had a Spondon frame which rapidly wore George Vicensi's patience thin: "Seems in designing this bike they chose the most difficult way to do everything," was his comment as he tried to improve the wiggly handling by fitting his own swingarm to lengthen the wheelbase. Dan reponed no ill effects after his get-off, but the new bike's power characteristics were entirely different than his own: "It just comes on with an incredible bang, and you have to be ready when it does, else you're in big troublel Also, it really doesn't handle at all yet, but we're working on it," Dan was wearing a set of Rich Schlachter's leathers after trashing his own in the accident. By contrast, the Brits had relatively little to do. Only major engine work was to Haslam's Honda, which appeared with a new engine for the Sunday meeting. And Rocket Ron put it to good use, after solving initial braking problems with a change of rear suspension units - Konis were fitted to both 'Hondas, which are not (yet) monoshocked. Otherwise the rest of the British team had little to do other than routine maintenance - to the point that Sheene was able to lend sporting assistance to Freddie Spencer's mechanics in helping them son out the troublesome RG Suzuki - a motorcycle he helped develop during his years as a factory rider. America looked good at the stan of race three as Schlachter led lap one from Spencer, with the thundering four-strokes of Haslam and Newbold close behind. But all eyes were on the back of the field, where Randy Mamola was touring dejectedly round with no front brake lever. His Suzuki UK teammate John Newbold's leathers had caught the lever on the stan line, and the first Randy knew of it was when he arrived at the first turn and reached for empty air. A $25,000 freak accident. Lap two and Fast Freddie led the pack, his Suzuki at last running perfectly. Schlachter had dropped to third behind a charging Haslam. who swept past Spencer into the lead on lap four followed by Newbold two laps later. . 13

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