Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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The Mi.-al:le at Monza Monza. Italy September 12. 1954: In the Italian Grand Prix, Wilhelm Noll with Fritz Cron in , the sidecar were the first to see the checkered nag from their fully faired BMW sidecar combination. It was the first World Sidecar Championship title for Germany and the first for BMW. For the two riders from Kirchhain, near Marburg , it was the third win of the season. Car mechanic Noll and telephone engineer Cron had previously claimed two impressive World Championship rounds when they won the German Grand Prix and the Swiss Grand Prix. Their season of success was complemented by two second-place finishes - in the Ulster GP at Belfast and the Belgian GP at Spa-Francorchamps - and a third place in the Isle of Man TT. It meant the BMW sidecar team not only took to the podium in all six World Championship races of that year, but they also managed to break the longstanding dominance of Norton in this discipline. "What was decisive among other factors, " Noll emphasizes today, "was the significantly improved injection system of our BMW." At the beginning of the season, winning the title was certainly not in the cards. Englishman Eric Oliver (four-time World Champion and defending title-holder) managed to claim the first three races on his faired-works Norton with sidecar man Les Nutt. But in the Feldbergrennen, which did not count toward the World Championship, Oliver had a serious accident, resulting in him being unable to compete in the German GP on the Solitude track outside Stuttgart. That gave Noll and Cron their chance. With their fuel-injected RS, they claimed BMWis first-ever victory in a World Championship race . It was a GP win which, as Noll was at pains to emphasize, they would have managed on their own strength. ''At the point when O liver dropped out of the Feldbergrennen, we already had a five-second lead. Besides, if you drop out, you're out of time," Noll said. In the Swiss Grand Prix, the fifth round of the season, they were the first to cross the finish line again. Their rival, Oliver, managed to gain just two points, and ahead of the final race at Monza, both riders had drawn level in first with 26 points each. But O liver couldn't race at Monza either, and his arm had to be put back in plaster. It meant all Oliver had to do was score. But the duo, lining up at Monza for the first time with a similarly fully faired sidecar combination, would not have been content with that . From the off they tackled the race in commanding style, carving out a lead of more than four seconds a lap over the Norton duo of SmithlDibben. The press was disappointed that the big showdown did not materialize, but with their superior ride, Noll and Cron proved that they were worthy World Champions. After the Football World Championship, there were more World Champions to be celebrated - this time in motorcycle racing. "Our title win hit the national headlines," Noll recalls. Even Oliver would arguably have had little chance against the new full fairing, the unique hydraulic drum brakes and BMW's supreme team strategy, in which "it is the brand that wins first, and only then the rider." The first World Championship title of 1954 marked the start of a unique run of successes in motorcycle racing. By 1974, BMW sidecar combinations had claimed 19 Drivers' and 20 Constructors ' World Championship titles. Noll and Cron managed to repeat their title win in 19S6, after having to settle as runners-up in 1955 And so. a second World Championship title went to a sidecar combination whose rider expressed his enthusiasm for the sport in the following words: "Normal is too dangerous for me - a sidecar combination always stands on three wheels ." After this final World Championship event in autumn of 19S6, the twosome retired from their racing career. eltmeister 500 cern Seitenwagenklasse NOlllCRON ... ,...- ..•." '-,_. "'" ... ~ -~.~ "*'" . . 1;(1'''' 'I Ilf 100l /et. IU'M(I I U U O IIIFl IU' IElTU '''lOU 55 SEC t'O'lSP.~ 1(Uf:1 "llOU 1(l.oa.O 141'.96 IIUII! IUIIDU _uoa. IU ..2') "II'" Online poll results from last week Cyclenews.com reader poll question of the week Which of the following riders will win the 250cc class at the 2004 Maxxis U.S. Open Supercross at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas? A. B. C. D. E. Michael Byrne Ricky Carmichael Ernesto Fonseca Mike LaRocco Travis Pastrana K. Someone F. Chad Reed G. Sebastian Tortelli H. Heath Voss I. Nick Wey J. Kevin Windham else Loris Capirossi wasn't punished after taking out five riders (including all the Americans) at the Japanese MotoGP race at Motegi. What should have been done? He should've received a one-race suspension like John Hopkins did last season. 1542 (50.33%) Nothing, it was a racing incident. 852 (27.81%) Bombs away! America should attack Italy, in protest. 670 (21.87%) Total Replies: 3064 _ VtfWW·cy ci enews.com CYCL E NEWS • OCTO BER 6 , 2004 109