Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/917325
IN THE WIND P66 VALE NOBBY CLARK L egendary mechanic Nobby Clarke passed away on Satur- day, December 18, at the age of 81, after a long illness. The former factory wrenchman for a string of champions, from Gary Hocking to Kenny Roberts, died at a clinic at New York, where he had made his home after a peripatetic existence fettling factory bikes for MV Agusta, Honda, Yamaha and others. Clarke hailed from Zimbabwe, then called Rhodesia home, where he became involved with future international racing legends including multi- champion Jim Red- man. But his closer relationship was with the enigmatic genius Gary Hocking, who came from Rhodesia at full speed to earn a slot in the MV factory team. Clarke joined him in 1960, and in 1961 swept to both 350cc and 500cc champi- onships, before retiring abruptly midway through 1962—only to die in a Formula 1 car in South Africa later that year. Redman recruited Clarke to the burgeoning Honda team, where his skills and personality won such favor that the factory took him on directly in 1964. By then Clarke moved to Japan, taught himself Japanese, and was valued also as an English teacher for the team. He became fluent in several other languages, with a working knowl- edge of others, to a total of seven. "That's one of the things the Japanese like—they didn't have to have an interpreter. They'd just call me … and I could explain it back to them in Japanese," he said earlier this year, in his final interview. Clarke worked on a generation of legendarily complex Honda racers, including the five-cylinder 125. "You had to use tweezers on a lot of parts, like valve collets— because the parts kept getting smaller, but your fingers stayed the same size." After Honda withdrew, Clarke stayed in racing until the 1990s. The list of champions with whom he worked included legends like Bill Ivy, Jarno Saarinen, Kel Car- ruthers, Barry Sheene, Giacomo Agostini and Kenny Roberts, as well as Marco Lucchinelli, when he rode for Cagiva. After quitting racing, Clarke played the crucial role in reviving (among other famous bikes) the Honda 6 for US revivalists Team Obsolete. Clarke felt his strong suit was finesse. "You should have feel when you work on the engine. For instance, if you are torqueing something, eventually you can actually feel one kilo of torque, so you don't really need a gauge. But just to be sure that it is exactly one kilo, I would always put a torque wrench on." Michael Scott Nobby Clark (center, with bike), was a tuner to some of the greatest names in racing history. He's seen here with Kenny Roberts (left), Kel Carruthers (right), with Australian mechanic Dave Cullen (Marlboro overalls) and Stephanie Sheene (wife to Barry) at rear. JORGE LORENZO HIRES ALEX DEBON AS RIDER COACH J orge Lorenzo will have long-time friend and former teammate Alex Debon in his corner in 2018 as his official rider coach. Lorenzo and Debon were teammates during the former's early career on Fortuna Aprilia machines in the 250cc class. Lorenzo worked with Ducati test rider Michele Pirro during 2017, however Pirro's numer- ous wildcard appearances and commitments with the Italian Superbike Championship meant he was unable to fulfill his duties to Lorenzo many times throughout the sea- son. Debon, however, will be present at every one of the 18 rounds scheduled for 2018. CN