VOL. 51 ISSUE 25 JUNE 24, 2014 P65
Baker, Pat Hennen and
Tepi Lansivuori, but
less than 18 seconds
behind Sheene after
just short of 40 minutes
of flat-out racing.
"I vividly remember
that as probably the
best race I ever had,
as far as scaring the
s*&t out of myself and
enjoying every minute
of it."
Christian Sarron also
has vivid memories of the long circuit. His
were at night – not at a GP, but in a 24-hour
endurance race.
"I never did Grand Prix at the old Spa
but I did a 24-hour, so I raced there even at
night, on a 1000cc bike – Kawasaki, which
was a fast bike," the Frenchman said. "Not
as fast as a 500, but still – down the hill
into Malmedy, with the guardrail right by
the track – you knew that if you made a
mistake there you would probably die.
(Left) The
Salzburgring in
Austria is another
of the daunting
old circuits. Here
Wayne Gardner
(1) leads Eddie
Lawson (3), Wayne
Rainey (17) and
Didier de Radigues
(12) in the 1988
Austrian Grand
Prix while Christian
Sarron crashes in
the background.
(Right) When men were
men and spectators
apparently weren't
scared: Phil Read leads
Gianfranco Bonera and
Barry Sheene at the
1975 Belgian Grand Prix
at Spa while spectators
casually watch from
the guardrail. In 1977,
Sheene averaged 135
mph in winning the
500cc GP at Spa.
