Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

:TEByR Carruthers ' APaul O N DW he 1964 250cc si x-c ylinder Honda sits idle in front of the Team Obsolete garage at Daytona International Speedway. Some passersby stop and wk, others keep walking, unaware of e rarity of the parked motorcycle. The okers are attracted to the Honda by ther simple curiosity, the lure of a wd, or their sense of road racing hisry . It would take someone with a keen ckground in road racing, however, to ognize the man standing in the shads of the Obsolete garage. When Team Obsolete owner Rob nucci finally obtained his stable of ondas and MVs, he went on a search find Nobby Clark - one of the only en in the world with hands-on experice with such classics. lanucci couldn't ve made a better choice - after all, the st majority of Clark's 57 years have en spent around purebred racin g otorcycles. Never one to stray far from a suitse, Clark hopped on a plane from uth Africa and headed to Brooklyn at nucci's beckoning. Clark and a shop II of classic motorcycles - a match ade in heaven. The main project was e restoration of the little Honda Six, nd it's a job that has given Nobby lark a second life. He is the man ponsible for bringing full life back to e Honda - and vice versa. "I feel like I've been born again, and ot in the Christian sense," Clark said. His talents would be wasted on any. g else, and it's nice to see a man tha t knew so well in my youth, seem so outhful again. Nobby Clark is back at e race track - where he belongs - and the smile has returned along with th e spirit. Clark's trek through World Championship Grand Prix road racing began in 1959. A schoolmate of Clark's had headed to Europe in 1958 to run the Grand Prix circu it on a factory MV Agusta - a gentleman by the name of Gary Hocking. In 1959, the former schoolmates headed to Europe together: Hocking, Clark and the MV. "He said, 'Come to Europe instead of wasting your time with an 8-5 job," Clark recalled . For the next 3O-s0me years, it was to be anything but an 8-5 job. Clark and Hocking stayed together for the 1960 and 1961 Grand Prix sea sons. In 1962, Clark's GP career was put on hold as he concentrated his efforts on helping an "English gu y " do s o m e "English race meetings." In 1963, the mailman delivered a letter from .lim Redman - and the '63 season was to be Clark's first as a factory Honda mechanic. "The Japanese mechanics all left after ' Assen in June," said Clark, "and everybody had to find their own mechanics." Redman found Clark. The 250cc Hondas were of the four-cylinder variety in 1963, and Clark still saw an immediate difference between the Japanese-built machinery and the Italian MVs. 'The MVs weren't anywhere near the Hondas," Clark said. "The progress the Hondas had made was incredible. The MVs featured a very 1950s design - the Hondas .ha d progressed quite a bit over tha t design." The six-eylinder arrived in 1964 - and hot on the heels of the new six, a young Mike Hailwood arrived on the scene, w in n in g th e Ja p an ese Grand Prix at Suz uka in 1965. When Redman ret ired after his horrific crash in the Belgian GP a t Spa-Francorchamp in 1965, Clark went wi th Hailwood. "They were fairly similar in the way they went around things," Clark said of the two heroes. "It was n't a matter of ha vin g things set up differently. You couldn't alter suspension mu ch in those days . The r e w as no sophistication n ob o d y even th ought to change the grade of the fork oil. The main thing was to keep the engine running as near the top as possible. The story was horsepower. Han dling d idn't play an important pa rt back then - and the triangular shaped tires didn't help anybody." A flagra n t u nderstatement if I've every heard one. Some of my fondest racing memories come from a childhood spent mostly in Europe as my father Kel attempted to win a World Championship - and som e sca ry m oments as well. Eager young children tend to try and get as close to the action as po ssible, but that was of gra ve concern to my mother when Mike Hailw ood and th e Honda six were headed our way. Hailwood 'a nd the Honda made pit signalling from the side of the race track a religious experience. Go watch the modem-day hero exit a corner on the edge of tire adhesion. Take that slide and the chassis flexing that goes with it, and multiply that by 10 - that's what you could expect from Hailwood and the Honda on each and every comer exit. Clark's final stint with Hailwood came during the 1968 Grand Prix season . In 1969, his career careened off to a season of Formula Two car racing with yet another motorcycling icon - Brit Billy Ivy. In 1970, Clark joined forces with my father as the pair chased th e 250cc World Championship with a privateer Yamaha . When Carruthers came to America for the 1971 season of AMA racing, Clark joined up with Rodney Gould and the factory Yamaha team . He sta yed with Yamaha for the 1972 season with Hideo Kanaya and Barry Sheene, stuck with the team and Kanaya again in 1973, and finally with legend Giaco mo Agostini in 1974. Clark's GP career was rekindled in 1978 as he was reunited with my father in a successful effort to bring Kenny Roberts a World. Championship, or three. A trio of titles later and Clark was off to Cagiva to work with Marco Lucchinelli. In 1985, Clark returned to Honda to work on th e RS500 threecylinder with Randy Mamola. In 1986, Clark received a job offer from Kenny Roberts - now a team owner - but he was thwarted in his attempt to gain a visa from his homeland of Rhodesia - which by this time had become Zimbabwe. Another hiatus from racing resulted, but this one was much too long . . Now he has been "born again" thanks to the old Honda - and racing should be pleased to have him back. Okay, so Nobby Clark has worked on a few different motorcycles, with a few legends, but with what kind of success? "I think I've been involved in about 17 World Championships," says Clark. e" . . '.:. eturning to Europe to take care of amily and persona l business. Amelot ill remain in France. Dave Wo lman ill now serve as marketing vice presient , Herve Blanquart as project manger, Kristen Jackson as office manager nd Susan Lee as assistant manager of he race department. UTOG RAPH SIG N ING : At Town nd Country Suzuki in Chand ler, Ariona, on March 25 from 6-8 p.m. Team uzuki riders Britt Turkington, homas Stevens, Do nald Jacks and om Kipp will appear. For more infertion, call 602/899-9088. he rain-postponed 28th running of the Day tona 200 was won by Cal Rayb orn, aboard a Harley-Davidson; Ron Grant was the runner-up, and Mik e Duff, Mert Lawwill and Rod Gould rounded ou t the top five . It was the second time in a row that Rayborn had won the event. The race took one hour, 59 minutes and 19.18 seconds to complete, with an average speed of 100 .882 mph. Yvo n D uHamel, the winner of the 100-mile 250cc National held - on schedule - a week earlier, was among the leaders in the 200 before dropping out with a bra- AU T O G RA PH SIGNI NG: At Charlotte Yamaha in Carlotte, North Carolina, on March 25 from 7-8 p .m. Team Yamaha MX r id e r s Jeff Emig and Michael Craig will appear. For more information call 704/394-7301. HI RED: Don Courtney by FMF Racing to aid in product development. Co urtney brings 15 years of t w o -s t r o ke development experience, along with an extensive computer p rogramming . background, to FMF. RESCHEDULED: The March 27 California Trail Ride Frazier Mountain 100 ken piston on his Yamaha. A s ta tic photo of Rayborn, Grant and Duff sittingon their bikes was featured on the cover...Gary Bailey won the 125, 250 and 500cc Senior classes at a local motocross race at Saddleback MX Park in California; Mark Blackwell won the 250cc Sportsman class... 15Y SAGO EAR March21,1979... o b "Hurricane" Hannah won both rounds of the AMA/Toyota Supercross Series doubleheader held at the Houston Astrodom e. Hannah finished ahead of Steve Wise and Mike Bell on both Friday and Saturday nights...Cycle News featured an article on B IN·THEWIND3 .': . frompage . ~ : Continued dual sport ride has been postponed to Ma y 15 due to excessive snow in the mountains around Hungry Valley. Also, the May 8 Chaparrals dual sport ride and the May 15 Mojave Adventures dual sport event have been cancelled. For more information call Larry . Langley a t CTR 714/992-9291. AUTO G RAPH SIGNING: At Barnes Suzuki in Gastonia, North Carolina, on Friday, March 25, from 6-8 p.m. Team Suzuki factory motocross riders Ezra Lusk, the 125cc East Coast Supercross Series points leader, and Phil Lawrence are scheduled to appear. For more information, call 602/899-9088. OPENED: Sport Cycle Pacific, a Moto . Guzzi dealership in Santa Barbara. The shop will offer service for Moto Gu zzis, Ducatis, Bimotas and BMWs, as well as various British motorcycles. For more information, call 805/9666508. AUTO G RA PH SIG NING: At Suzuki Motorsports in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Friday, March 25, from 6-8 p .m . Team Suzuki factory motocross riders Brian Swink and Jimmy Button are sch e d u le d to appear . For more information, call 704/39.4-6666. eN the proposed plan by the Carter administration to force the closing of gas sta tions between Friday noon and Sunday midnight as a means of conserving oil. John Da vidson , chairm a n of AMF/ H arley-Dav id son, was quoted in the a r ticle, calling th e plan " ... the mo st immediate threat to our right to ride... (it) wo uld be d isastrou s to our sport." Chris Economaki, publishe r of Nati o nal Sp ee d Sp ort News, called the proposal, " racing's greates t th rea t e ve r." ISDT ride r Frank Gallo was featured in an intervi ew ... ever to win the Daytona 200, which saw seven different leaders throughout the race. Finishing second, 22.66 seconds behind Ashmead , was Jami e James; Kevin Rentzell finished th ird. The average sp eed of th e race was 96.323 mph. Jeff Stan ton won the Daytona Supercross over Jeff Ward and Mike LaRocco; Dam on Bradshaw won th e 125cc class. The opening round of the GNC/Camel Pro Series at Daytona was won by Canadian Steve Aselt in e, who also won the opening round of the 600cc National Dirt Track Series. Chris Ca rr and Scott Pea rs on finished second and third, respectively, in the GNC. John Kocinski topped the 250cc GP, as well as the 600cc Supersport race at Daytona. Joey Hopkins won the Alligator enduro. e" 5YEARS AGO March 22, 1989.., id in g a three- year-old . Honda VFR750, John Ashmead became the third privateer R

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