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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128158
Three top TT guns for the Triumph team at Ascot: (from left) Eddie Mulder, Dick Hammer and Sid Payne. mer repeated his win in the 250cc Lightweight Grand Prix event at Daytona, then led the 200-miler for a time before blowing an engine again. At the Meadowdale, Illinois, ] 50-mile National road race later that season, he really put on a show, leading eventual winner Dick Mann by over 25 seconds ...until his shift lever fell off. Two weeks later, Hammer suffered injuries at the Peoria TI that would have put many riders into retirement. He crashed heavily going over the jump in practice and was knocked unconscious. A mechanic had improperly assembled the front forks on his race bike, and the first time Dick went over the jump the front wheel came off and he went headfirst into the ground. He lay semiconscious in an Illinois hospital for 27 days. Van Leeuwen remembers the incident well. "He's the toughest son of a bitch I've ever seen," Van Leeuwen said of back to Bellflower and do the same thing over again on the track around the football field at the high school." Hammer himself also recalls how he and Van Leeuwen got interested in racing. "One year, we went over to Catalina Island to watch the races, and Don Hawley won the 200cc class on a Triumph Cub," Hammer said. "So we decided, 'Okay, that's what we're going to do. We're going to get Cubs and we're going earn enough points to qualify to ride Catalina the next year.' But that was 1958, the last year they had the Catalina Grand Prix. " Van Leeuwen added: "The reason Hammer and I started racing was so we could ride Catalina, period. Once we rode Catalina we were going to quit. It never even entered our minds at the time to ride any pro stuff." By 1959, both men had gotten into scrambles racing and earned the 150 points they would have needed, but then there was no longer a Catalina race. One thing led to another from there, and the next thing they knew Hammer and Van Leeuwen were back at Ascot Park. But instead of sitting in the grandstands, they were now the ones on the race bikes. While Van Leeuwen would make his mark primarily at TT events, Hammer liked to do it all. He was fast and was soon winning on Half-Miles and TIs. In 196], Dick's first year as a Pro Expert, he was ranked fifth in the nation in TT and road race events. The following season, he hit the National circuit and won the Peoria TI National on a Harley-Davidson. He finished seventh in the 1962 AMA National points standings. Hammer's early success quickly got the attention of Harley-Davidson race boss Dick O'Brien, who made arrangements with some West Coast tuners to make sure Hammer had the best Harley-Davidson equipment and support. Hammer didn't disappoint O'Brien. He always gave his all. For example, after winning the 250cc Lightweight Grand Prix event for Harley-Davidson on the Saturday of the] 963 Daytona road races, Hammer was confident about his chances to win the 200-mile race the following day. While lady luck had different ideas about the outcome, the day was "classic Dick Hammer" in terms of the effort he gave. With 30 seconds to go before the start, Hammer's Harley KR fouled a spark plug. As the field sped by, he was along the pit wall changing the plug himself. He finally got into the race about a minute behind. With over ] 00 riders in front of him, Hammer began picking his way up through the pack, and eventually made it into the lead with just 50 miles to go. "I was just saying to myself: 'Holy mackerel, I'm going to win both races!'" Hammer said. "And then it blew up." Hammer's good friend Ralph White went on to win the race on a nearly identical Harley-Davidson KR. Even with the DNF at Daytona, Hammer finished fifth in the 1963 National points. The 1964 season started out the same way as the year before. Ham- Hammer. "A lot of people thought he'd never ride again, but after being out cold for a month he got out of the hospital and, the very next Saturday, there he was signing up at Ascot. His eyes were still all bloodshot, but he rode that night." Perhaps the best demonstration of Hammer's grit and determination was shown in the] 967 Daytona 200. Hammer matched eventual winner Gary Nixon stride-for-stride for the first ] 00 miles of the race. The two battled on their identical, factoryprepped Triumph 500s until the midrace pit stop. In the pits, a mechanic handed Dick a rag to wipe some spilled gas from his faceshield. To Hammer giving It hi. all on a Suzuki X6 In the 250cc class at Cari....d Raceway In 1"7. cue' • n ... _ S • JUNE 12, 2002 39