Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

~ ~ town of Nay, th e ro ad narrows and sudden ly begins to climb to the villa ge of Ferriers, which is th e first ti mecheck point on race day . The exit _ from Ferriers is a steep , bottom-gear hairpin, th e scene o f m an y broken footrests , and th e ever-cl im bin g road sees th e en d of th e tree lin e after th e torturous twi sts out o f th e hamlet of l!') Arbeost. 00 From th ere the gra vel-strew n road Q') wr ithes like a sna ke al on g th e edge o f ........ th e mountain with a mult itude o f blind co rners a nd a shee r dro p into ~ th e valley for th e lat e brak er, Sp ri ng ........ co mes lat e to this h igh co u ntry and ...., not u ntil after J une is the winter~ ;::s damaged road repaired and fallen roc ks rem ov ed. Mo re th an once at th e bJ.J beg in n ing o f th e practi ce week we ;::s have had to wai i whi lst th e snow~ pl ow clea red th e pass bet ween th e So u lor an d Au bisq ue m ountains. I had to try ha rd to stay with Rol and to th e to p of So u lorand as we killed th e two Norton motors, I asked him if I would n eed to ride as quickl y o n Su nday . We had o n ly been touring, h e replied , on Sun day it will be necessary to go much faster. H ow right h e was. Very many times since th en in p ractice and on th e race da ys, I have tried to ac hieve th e schedu led time from Ferri ers across th e Soulor and Aubi sque mountains down to th e seco nd chec k contro l in th e ski village of G oureue, but I never quite m ad e it and have th e scars to prove th at it is unwise to try too h ard. One minute late a t a chec k lo ses 60. marks, a nd th ere is no way any rid er The Norton Team at roadside on Aubisque Mountain in France; at left is Mike Jackson, of Norton's California ca n be o n time a t Gourett e on the ' operation. Norton's director Bill Colqhoun is at center; author Shilto,; is at"right astride a Norton 850 Interpol. frequent occas io ns wh en morn in g fog clou ds close down o n th e mountain roads with a wet grey blanket Belg ium. Plus 50 or so keen Fren ch from th e 2000 feet a t Arbe ostto higher ri ders intent on taking a way th e p reth an th e 5000 feet o f th e Au bisq ue . mier troph y from the G endarmeri e Back in Pau a t th e vill a. Roussel and Garde Republicaine who betw een a n d th e English p olice had arr ived th em had won it eac h year. with eig h t Triumphs and o ne BSA In Septem ber 1970, two mon th s parked in th e driveway. The most . a fte r my m eetin g with Al ec a n d sen io r o fficer was a n o ld fri end of Ro la nd, I began th e 600-m ile journey m ine. Joe Davies, wh o was chi ef of to Pau by wa y of Le Hare, Le Mans, th e Birmingham ar ea traffi c division Tours and Bordeaux. Rol and told me a n d , but for myself . th e most elderly to call a t hi s villa o n arriva l, wha tever co m pe tito r. Over cog nac co ffee in th e the time, but as it was a fter midnight, rendezvous room , h e sa id with a I wen tstraight to th e h ot el. I learned I sm ile, " We must not try to beat th ese th e next morning that it wa s a t th at By'Neale Shilton yo u ng fell ow s, Neal e. You a nd I a re ti me that h e p honed the poli ce a t o n ly h er e to en joy th e r ide." I Bordeau x a nd a ll pa tro l ca rs had was to g ive J oe a lift to th e nex t chec kbeen a lerte d to search for a G B-pl at ed point wh en he cras hed h is T ri u m p h No rton o n the 220 mil es o f roa d a few mil es beyond th e.Aubisque. north a nd so u th o f th e city. T he next morn in g, Su n day , I reTh e nex t four days p roved not enoug h to lea rn th e circ u it we ll ne wed m y acq uai ntance with Rol and eno ug h to mem or ize the many poin ts a nd began a wa rm friendship wliich a t which a wrong track would Ipse has co ntin ued ever si nce. T he so rt of tim e ge tti ng back to th e ri ght o ne, relations hip whi ch I have often found Durin g m y m illion mi les of m otorwhich he was born domina tes but it took less th an a day to real ize is un ique amongst motorcyclis ts. An cycli ng, I ha ve enjoyed competing in . the busy stree ts and th e treeth at despite m y man y years o f riding , ex-race r o n Nortons, h e h as been road races an d o n flat tracks, but I had lined sq uare ca lled the Place I wa s a novice for this type of event. honored by the Fren ch go vern me nt put a way m y leathers before I h eard Royal e, which for 33 years was My id ea s o f a ge n tle rally ride aro u nd for hi s serv ices to th e sport, 'n o ta bly a bo u t th e Pau event. Rol and Roussel the m ountains had been sha tte red by for crea ting a nd organizin g th e Interth e foca l p o int eac h year o f a unique wa s in London as a guest of a n o ld Rol and a t the to p of th e Col Soulor. nati onal Ci rcu it des Pyrenees. Around motorcycling event called th e Interfriend of mine, Scotland Yard pol ice To add to the fast spee d sche d u le a nd na tional Circui t des Pyren ees. No th e wall s of hi s m a chine-toolo fficer Alec Smi th , wh o had ca pthe co u ntless hazards o f mountain si mi la r event ex isted in th e world eq u ip p ed worksh op (wh ich ca n p ro tained h is police team a t Pau the pretracks, th e organi zers im po se three since th e demise of th e Ca talina Grand duce a nyth ing from a co n nec ting rod vious year. I had JUSt introduced th e tests o f co u rage wi th timed climbs in Prix, an d it survived through 1984 for a n Indian Sco u t to a cra nksh aft 45 cubic inc h police mach in e wh ich I which th e fastest rider sets th e sta n o n ly by th e effo rt s of th e Club Motofor a T-model Fo rd ), are fadin g poshad designed for Norton and Alec. dard time a nd a ll others are penalized cyc l is te Paloise an d it s president, ters of Birmingham Nortons, Wo ltho ug h I would be interest ed in dem- . one mark for eac h seco nd slower. As Rol and Roussel. ver ha rnp torr AJS a n d th e Roussel onstrating its pe rforma nce in th e a n aperiti f, th ere is a climb of th e spark plug s which Roland and hi s Officiall y, it h ad th e title of th e Pyrenees. H e wa s also interested in notorious Badgers Wood, a steep three Pyren ees Rallye, or th ere would have fath er used to mak e. Next to the on e for himself to ride there, so he been problems in gett ing an internami les of torturous twists demanding worksh op is a large room , th e longbrought Roland a long to see me a t a reckl ess dis regard of th e high banks tional licen se. Bu t in fact. riders are ago ballroom of th e villa bu t fo r 33 th e No rto n asse m bly pl ant. Both of vears th e rendezvous for riders who to have a ny chance of ac h ieving th e Alec's interests were to be sa tisfied," ra cing for 320 miles agai nst th e clock time target wh ich th e o rga n izers ca lo n open roa ds except for those sech ave travell ed far to enjoy th e cam arthough th e 45 cu bic inc h Commando ade rie which has attracted th em to • cu la te is just possible. T o chec k o u t tions wh ich were closed to any o the r wh ich I loaned him wa s wrecked 30 tra ffic. Muc h of th e ci rcu it was in th e thi s event. Its h istory is told by man y th eir ca lcu la tio n is a harzardous exerm iles after th e sta rt li m' wh en hittin g mountains of the Atl antic Pyren ees p ictures o f th e past yea rs a n d by the cise whi ch risks meeting and annoya n 'a m bu la nce which was o n its wa y in g a Fren ch farmer d riving down the fin e collection of presentat ion s from to th e wes t an d th e High Pyren ees to to co llect a d yin g Fre nc h rider. p oli ce forces, m il itary team s a n d club th e east, ofte n climb in g u p opposi te wa y. H ow ever , I d iscovered I needed n o persu asion to tak e m y forest racks which wo u ld gi ve p robth at th e Fre nc h p oli ce teams so lved Norton Int erpol to the P yren ees when riders . thi s problem simply by closing th e lems to a tra ctor. It was ra re for more I learned that in addi tio n to th e ScotT he weather was kin d for rnv introthan ha lf the starters to finis h and duct ion to the firs t 50 mil es' of the road as is done o n race da y. They land Ya rd team , to p class riders comperm itted my English pol ice friends equally rare for all of th em not to go peted from th e Fre nc h Gendarmerie, ' circui t as Rol and led th e way o n h is a nd m yself to join the m fo r a co up le an eli te sq uadro n from the famous back and ride again the followin g No rton Atlas th rough the streets of o f ho urs which were qu ite enough Pall a nd a lo ng th e Fo rm ula -2 car year . Garde Repu bl icaine of Pari s, and for m e to become co nv inced that I G ra nd Prix ci rc uit. After th e sma ll 18 tea ms from th e po lice o f Spain and As I did II ti mes. ~ 81 History: T1)e International Circuit des Pyrenees Part! The old French town of Pau, situated beneath the Pyrenees mountains which separate France from Spain, is in the history books as the birthplace of King Henri IV. The castle in

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