urrf number 54

Issue 54 Spring 2015 £3.50 Sterling or €5.00

9 771742 412017

0 6

Ralph Bryans - Part 2 TheHonda Glory Days

Jonathan ReaBad Days at Bianchi

Suzuki’s TT History MakerShort Circuit Racing

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Photographers:Eddie Mateer, Rowland White

The views expressed by the contributors are not necessarily those of the editor or the publishers. Whilst every care is taken to ensure thatinformation published is accurate and reliable, the publishers cannot be held responsible or accept liability for any errors or omissions in thispubication. ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form,or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written consent of the owner. No liability isaccepted for the safe custody of unsolicited materials and manuscripts. Publication of accepted articles is not always guaranteed and thepublishers will not be held liable for any manuscripts, photographs or other materials lost or damaged while in their possession, although everycare will be taken. The editor reserves the right to amend any such articles as necessary.

Front cover - JonathanRea on the podium atAssen.Photo - Maurice Montgomery

4 Ulster Road Racing in Focus Issue 54

Archives:Barry Sewell

It is a long time since Joey Dunlop led a fourstroke Formula 1 World Championship class buthere and now, our own superstar Jonathan Rea

is sitting in pride of place, leading the prestigiousWorld Superbike Championship. Thischampionship now matches the Moto GP forstatus as the followers can still associate theirover-the-counter road going bikes with themodified machines raced in these championships.The ordinary fellow cannot relate to the Moto GPspace rockets and much of the draw is on themagical names of the riders - Rossi, Marquez,Lorenzo, Dovizioso, etc - even these guys riding aBSA Bantam would have appeal.

All our top riders are now selling their waresoutside this country in high profile events such asMoto GP, World Superbikes and BSB championshipsand we don’t get to see them in the flesh anymore.The North West and Ulster Grand Prix races are theonly time we get to see quality international racingover here now. With the North West just round thecorner all eyes are on the invasion of the top road

racers when our own special road racers will stand toeto toe with the best.

It was good to see the spectators back at shortcircuit racing again over the Easter weekend and bothmeetings were well received by the large crowds -Kirkistown had the largest crowd seen for many years.Even without some of the top riders the battles werehectic in all races. William Dunlop was a welcomeaddition and his special skills were much appreciated,even though he slid off at Kirkistown chichane whenin the lead in the first Supersport race.

The surge of top class motorcycle racing has notbeen good for our own bread and butterchampionships but it is here where we see the stars ofthe future. Recently we have seen two of our top ex-racers introduce their sons to the sport - EugeneMcManus and Michael Swann - who knows what thefuture holds but we do know they are under the bestinstruction possible.

For all riders and organisers of the North West wewish them a safe and successful event and hope thereis excellent weather to match the excellent racing.

Marty Nutt


THE RALPH BRYANS STORYPART - 2 : THE HONDA GLORY DAYS

For someone weaned on JoeRyan’s “fireplace” Nortonsthe call to ride factory Honda

50cc twins and 125cc fours, andbeing answerable to team leaderJim Redman, was a challengewith a steep learning curve. Inparticular coping with theidiosyncrasies of the little 50ccRC114 twin proved a nightmare.Powered by a four valve doubleoverhead camshaft engine itrevved to nearly 20,000 andtipped the scales at a mere 50 kg(110 lb). Top speed was 100mph.Precision engineering, thatwould not have shamed awatchmaker, was evident in thecrankshaft, conroe and pistonassembly that fitted comfortablyinto the palm of a hand. Acurious weight saver was thefront bicycle-type brake with acalliper gripping the wheel rim.With little flywheel effect (Incomparison to a Manx Norton)leading to a distressing tendencyfor the engine to die when thethrottle was closed, it wasnecessary for the rider to acquirethe knack of playing tunes onthe nine speed gearbox, allied tojudicious use of the clutch, tokeep the engine on song.

After mechanical failure in theSpanish and French Grands Prix andanother burst engine in practice forthe I.O.M. TT the penny finallydropped on the last lap of the racewhen he stormed through the fieldfrom sixth position to finish secondto World Champion Hugh Andersonon a Suzuki. If proof was requiredthat the wee Ulsterman was a WorldChampion in the making it wasprovided when he won the nextthree rounds in Holland, Belgium andGermany. He led the next race atImatra in Finland despite havingstarted the race with a worn set ofbrake blocks but eventually thebrake failed and he retired after afall. Anderson won the race to retainthe championship but Ralph had thelast laugh when he led a Honda 1-2-

3-4 finish at Suzuka in Japan. His1964 rides on the 125cc fourgarnered him four third and onesecond placings - a good result as histeam-mates Redman and LuigiTraveri had first pick of machines.

Nineteen sixty five was Ralph’sannus mirabilis. The 125cc fours were

outclassed by two stroke technologyemployed by Suzuki, MZ and Yamahaand the Ulsterman concentrated onthe 50cc machine that Honda haddeveloped. Power output was uppedto 13 bhp and safe revs were 21,000.Ralph was joined by team-mateTaveri in a two-pronged attack

Ralph sitting on Ray McCullough’s 1971 QUB Yamsel on which he beat Barry Sheeneand won the 1971 UGP 250cc race.

Ulster Road Racing in Focus Issue 54 7

designed to relieve Hugh Andersonand Suzuki of the world crown. Thisresulted in a season long battle withAnderson and Degner, but withvictories in Germany, France andHolland and a crucial second in japanRalph wrote his name in motorcycleracing history as the only GP WorldChampion from the Emerald Isle.

Nineteen sixty six saw the demiseof the Honda challenge for 50ccworld honours. Ralph won in the Isleof Man and Taveri in Spain andHolland but Suzuki rider Hans-GeorgAnscheidt proved too good on thefaster circuits. In the 125cc Class herode the 125cc five cylinder Hondaon occasions and finished third inthe championship behind Taveri andBill Ivy (Yamaha). Ralph recalled thatthe 125cc five was anothernightmare due to the difficulty insetting up the five carburettors andhaving to slip the clutch gettingaway from slow corners.

At the end of 1966 Honda decidedto concentrate on improving theirfour stroke lightweight machines inan effort to combat the newgeneration of water-cooled twostrokes. Honda offered Ralph whatwas in effect a year long period onthe sidelines, or a six cylinder 250ccin support of Mike Hailwood in hisquest for 250cc, 350cc and 500cchonours. What he got was a 1966machine, the services of onemechanic, one engine and a warningto limit the revs to 17,000 !! He wonin Germany and Japan and helpedHailwood to win the title by winningthe German race and relegating Phil

Read to second place. Ralph also hadoutings on the 297cc Honda six inthe 350cc Class and won at Monza.However despite having to ride thebike set up for two stone heavierHailwood in the Ulster Grand Prix hescared the pants off GiacomoAgostini by finishing a mere tenseconds behind the three cylinderM.V.Agusta. After winning the finalevent of the season in Japan Ralphhad high hopes of securing newmachines with which to contest the1968 season again with Hailwood.But the inscrutable Japanese hadother ideas and blandly announced

that development work on fourstroke machines was beingabandoned. Instead the pair werebeing offered the loan of existingmachines on condition that theywere only ridden in non-championship events. Ralph wasloaned a five cylinder 125cc and a sixcylinder 250cc while Mike had a297cc six and a 500cc four. Ralphenjoyed a carefree season being ableto negotiate his own finances withrace organisers while not worryingabout championship points. At theend of the season Honda wanted thebikes back and he borrowed a 125cc

Ralph and Jim Redman at the NW Cavalcade in place of the cancelled race meeting.

Ralph leads team mate Taveri in the 1966 50cc TT at Quarter Bridge - Pic courtesy Bill Snelling (FoTTofinders)


five and a 250cc four from the now-retired Taveri for the early seasonItalian meetings. After severaloutings he broke a wrist go-karting

and was sidelined for the rest of1969.

In 1970 Chester dealer Bill Smithassembled a team comprising

himself, Ralph and Tommy Robb toride race-kitted CB 750cc Hondafours in the Daytona 200 in America.This resulted in another nightmarefor Ralph when he crashed his bikein practice and watched it burn. Hestarted the race on Bill Smith’s bikebut broke a cam chain after only fivelaps. At the age of 29 Ralph decidedon one more race to end his racingcareer. Again Luigi Taveri loaned hima nine year old Honda 250cc thatcarried him to what was the mostpopular win on the north coastcircuit. Ralph continued to rideMontesa two stroke machines intrials until 1990. Having moved toScotland in the mid 1960’s he starteda car panel replacement companythat expanded to provideemployment for one hundred andtwenty people. It was not all workand Ralph’s hobbies included deepsea fishing and shooting with thelocal gun club.

In his later years Ralph embracedHumanism. This is not a religion in

A happy group of Tommy Robb, Stuart Graham, Jim Redman and Ralph.

Ralph on song winning his last race at the NW on the Honda 4.


the accepted sense, rather a way oflife that dates back to the ItalianRenaissance during the fourteenthcentury. Humanists include atheistsand agnostics who make sense ofthe world using reason, experienceand shared human values. They takeresponsibility for their actions andbase their ethics on the goals of

human welfare, happiness andfulfilment. They seek to make thebest of the one life they have bycreating meaning and purpose forthemselves, individually andtogether.

Ralph passed away from cancer athis Ayrshire home on August 6th2014, aged seventy two. Family and

friends celebrated his life andachievements at a gatheringconducted by a Humanist Celebrantbefore his cremation at Mason-hillCrematorium on August 21st 2014.This was followed by a traditionalIrish-style wake in an Ayr hotel - afitting tribute to one of Ulster’sfavourite sons. Barry Sewell

Ralph in good company with top riders including Ray McCullough and Taveri.(Pic Simon Thomas collection)

Catching a stingray on one of his deep-sea fishing trips.

On the exclusive Honda 6.Ralph enjoyed Trial competitionas much as road racing.

Negotiating Governors Bridge in the 1966 50cc TT(Pic Bill Snelling Fottofinders)

On the potent Honda 6. His last road race win on the 250cc Honda 4 at the NW.


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VAUXHALL 2015 NORTH WEST 200

The 2014 North West 200 event was more than alittle bit special when our special breed of localriders produced top drawer performances to carry

home seven of the eight prestigious winners awards.Lee Johnston came of age in his road racing career witha brace of victories, also matched by Alistair Seeley andMichael Dunlop while his brother William chalked upthe final win in a race-to-the-line Superbike race. The flyin the ointment was Kiwi, Bruce Anstey, who lived up tohis well documented reputation by winning theMilwaukee Supersport race.

With all these high profile riders entered again for thismagnificent event it looks like last year’s final result sheetcould be surpassed by our own home grown talent. Again it isbacked by Vauxhall Cars and to do battle with the visitors we

have Alistair Seeley, William and Michael Dunlop, LeeJohnston, Stephen Thompson (along with Dan Kruger onBMW’s), ex GP star Jeremy McWilliams and Ryan Farquhar backon the big bikes again. The legion of visitors includes JohnMcGuinness, Ian Hutchinson on a rare MV Agusta, MichaelRutter, favourite Dean Harrison accompanied on the well-runMar-Train Team by Gary Johnston, Peter Hickman, Keith Amornow on the big bike and many more. David Johnston fromAustralia is the highest profile newcomer and his ability is sofar unknown. Throw in a few more visitors with unknownpedigrees and several of our local riders and there is a mixwhich will keep the host of spectators on their toes for theentire week.

The racing programme begins on Thursday PM with thefirst three races and concludes on Saturday with the full sevenrace programme

Baked in sunshine and ready to go - a great scene.

Tyco partners William Dunlop and Guy Martin are back in force again. Alistair Seeley (34) will have stiff opposition again this year.


Guy Martin Alistair Seeley Dean Harrison Keith Amor

This bevy of riders will be enough to set any meeting alight.

Local stars Ryan Farquhar (77) and Jeremy McWilliams(99) will hope to lead the Supertwins race as in 2014.


The Metzeler Ulster Grand Prix, the WorldsFastest Road Race, has been underconcentrated planning since the 2014

edition finished last August and this year’sprogramme promises to be bigger and betterthan ever before. The hard working Dundrod &District Motorcycle Club have been involved innot only updating safety regulations and facilitiesbut also promoting this high profile eventthroughout the world. This historic Dundrodcourse has changed little since the Ulster TTSports car racing in 1950, and the UGP in 1953,and is only for real road racers with its demandsat the Rock Bends, Irelands, Tornagrough andQuarries - this is not for the faint hearted.

The Dundrod 150 races on Thursday of the Bike Weekare very popular with the locals as it gives them anopportunity to perform in front of their own partisansupporters on a course ridden by many of the worldsgreatest racers - Agostini, Hailwood, Duke, Bryans,Read, Ivy etc, as well as our own top champions -Herron, McCullough, Robb, Dunlop, Reid, Creith,Cowan, etc. The Newcomers list gets bigger every yearfor this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Metzeler is proud to be the overall sponsor againand along with the host of sponsors lining up itpromises to be another Prix not to be missed - thesuperb TV coverage is beamed to many overseascountries which underlines the demand for this greatshow.

With ticket sales already up on last year and thedemand for hospitality greater than ever before earlyapplication can be recommended. All the worlds’ toproad racers will be on show again and the interest inseeing something which is not in every country makes itreally special. See you in August at the World’s FastestRoad Race which is on the up and up in popularity.

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The traditional Easter weekendraces at Bishopscourt andKirkistown opened the 2015

season with a real blast of goodweather and excellent racing. Boththe MCRRCI and Belfast and DistrictMotorcycle Clubs deserve greatcredit for staging these slickly runevents which gave a great openingto the season. The early seasonTrack Days and visits to Spain meantnothing as it is testing under raceconditions which really put themachines under proper testing.

With so many good young riders hereat present the racing was first class.Many of the top short circuit riders had

other commitments over at Doningtonand so the road racers had a field day. AtBishopscourt Derek Shiels carried off theEnkalon Trophy after a win and a secondplace in the featured Superbike races,with Gerard Kinghan in second andAlistair Kirk in third. William Dunlopcarried off both Walter Bell Superspportraces in real style while Michael Rea hadno opposition in the Supersport Cupraces. Christian Elkin and MarkMcConville won both their races in theSuper Twins and Stock Twinsrespectively.

The largest crowd at Kirkistown formany years once again saw a great day’sracing, run perfectly by the B & D Club.Again the regular road racers came outon top with Jamie Hamilton picking up

victories in the Superbike and SuperTwins races. IFS sponsored Robert Englishclaimed the first Supersport race afterearly leader William Dunlop slid off atthe chichane but he redeemed himselfby taking a clear second race win, aheadof English in second spot. Derek Shielscrowned a great weekend by winningthe Mayor’s Trophy, ahead of StephenThompson and Alistair Kirk.

The future of short circuit racing had areal boost when two of our countries’top riders arrived with their children tostart racing - Michael Swann with his sonScott and Eugene McManus with his sonEugene - if they turn out anything liketheir fathers then the future looks reallybright as both the fathers were top shelfracers in their own era.

SHORT CIRCUIT RACING Start of the Superbike race with Alistair Kirk (9), Alan Bonner (122), Jamie Patterson (10), Gerard Kinghan (4) and Derek Shiels (82)ready to go.

Jason Lynn (38) and Christian Elkin (8)in the Supersport Pro race.

Tight formation at the chichane.


Alistair Kirk (9) had a great race with Gerard Kinghan (4) and Derek Shiels (82).

William Dunlopcame to griefafter the start ofthe KirkistownSupersport race.

Nikki Coates.

Eugene McManus’ will make a great team.

Mark Glasgow (50) holds Tommy O’Grady (241)and Charles Stuart (25) at bay in the SuperbikePro race.


Battle for position at the start

Cody Nally Michael and Scott Swann Billy McKinstry and ChristianElkin

Chris Dowds and William Dunlop

Joseph Loughlin (27) battles with Matthew Hazlett (19).

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conditions apply, participating dealers only or visit www.peugeot.co.uk. A guarantee may be required. Over 18’s only. Roadside Motors Lisburn is acting as a credit broker and is not a lender. Finance provided by and written quotations available from PSA Finance UK Ltd t/a Peugeot Financial Services, Quadrant House, Princess Way, Redhill, RH1 1QA. We will introduce you to a limited number of lenders to fi nance your purchase. All offers available on qualifying vehicles ordered and registered between 1st April 2015 and 30th June 2015 or until such time as they may be withdrawn by Peugeot at its complete discretion. ^Maximum 37 month period. 208 Style 1.2 VTi PureTech 3dr including metallic paint, includes £500 Peugeot deposit contribution, customer deposit £1,728, 36 monthly payments payable, optional fi nal payment £5,453, annual mileage 6,000. Excess mileage charges may apply. The information and images here are based on the current technical data when published. The equipment shown is factory fi tted or available as an option at extra cost, depending on the model. As part of a policy of continuous specifi cation improvement, Peugeot reserve the right to modify the technical equipment, options and colours at any time.

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NEIL ROBINSON MEMORIAL TROPHY RACEMost of todays young riders

have never heard of Neil‘Smutty’ Robinson but he

was a rider held in high esteem bymotorcycle racers from all over theworld. After winning the 250cc BritishChampionship and then winning theUGP Formula 1 World Championshiprace in 1986 ahead of Joey Dunlop ,Neil lost his life in a crash atScarborough the following month.

In 1987 Neil’s top sponsor, Jim Finlay,agreed to run a Neil Robinson MemorialTrophy Race alongside his already

established Sunflower Trophy meeting,under the auspices of the HillsboroughMotorcycle Club. The initial race was wonby Joey Dunlop while the second yearWorld Superbike legend Carl Fogartylifted the trophy. After 1988 this eventwas shelved but the Mid Antrim revived itagain this year when their own MidAntrim 150 was cancelled for the secondsuccessive year.

This year’s Memorial race wascomplimented by a full programme ofraces , held at Bishopscourt in idealconditions. In a close, exciting feature raceit was Dromara’s Alistair Kirk who lifted

the Trophy, just two seconds ahead ofGerard Kinghan and Stephen Thompsonin quick succession. Double victories werethe order of the day when Kirk again puthis name on the top step of the bothSuperbike Races, Christian Elkin in bothSupertwins races, Alvin Griffin in bothLightweight 400cc races, Andy Brady inboth Pre-Injection races and BarryDavidson in both 350cc Classic races.Antrim’s Robert English had to settle forsecond place behind Jason Lynn in the firstSupersport race but reversed the positionsin the second race. All in all a good day’sracing with close battles in all classes.

Chris Campbell from Belfast.


Paul Demaine (12), Eoin Collins (121) and Paudine Keohane (95) at the chichane.

Paul Robinson (18) leads Adam O’Boyle (23) and EugeneMcManus in the Moto 3 / Lightweight race.

Alistair Kirk, winner of the Neil Robinson Memorial Trophy.

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FACES AT THE RACES


The road racing season began on Saturday 25th Aprilwith the top riders using it as a practice to set upbikes and blow off the cobwebs for the North West

200 which is just a couple of weeks away. The goodweather helped and it was a meeting of double successes

throughout the day. Team of the meeting was the Tycooutfit of Guy Martin and William Dunlop who chalked updoubles apiece in both Superbike races and bothSupersport races. Barry Davidson also chalked up adouble in the Classic section, in the 350cc and 500cc races.

ROAD RACINGStart of the Open race with Derek McGee and Michael Dunlop leading the charge.

William Dunlop passing backmarker Stephen Degnan on his away to a Supersport win.


(Above) Derek McGee (86), Derek Shiels (82) andMichael Dunlop (3) on the first lap of the Open race.

(Right) Stephen Thompson.

(Below) Paul Jordan (22) avoids a faller at the firstcorner.


(Above) Double winner GuyMartin.

(Right) Guy martin and MichaelDunlop giving nothing away.

(Below) Dean Harrison (2) andWilliam Dunlop (6) lead thesecond wave in the Open race.


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A series of images of World Superbikeleader JONATHAN REA from Co Antrim.

Ulster Abroad


Leading a high class field at Assen.

The full team were in top spirits after his second win at Assen.


We have always had a group of impressivemotorcycle tarmac racers which could matchany other country in the world and once again

another one has climbed the ladder of fame - JonathanRea. He comes from a great family tradition of racingand is the latest star to shine in one of the two mostcompetitive classes in the world, The World SuperbikeChampionship. After another brace of wins in Assen henow leads the World Championship by a lorry load ofpoints and he is looking really good on his change ofmachinery from Honda to Kawasaki. We look forwardto the rest of the season and pin our hopes onJonathan climbing the top step at the end of the year.

With the high profile BSB and other championships nowin full swing a clearer picture re performances is starting toappear and most of our Ulster riders are still showing frontrunning form, just like 2014. Eugene Laverty is back in thetop Moto GP series again but this time is racing at the verytop class. His attitude of ‘Softly, softly catchy monkey’ is thebest way to go for future success. Alistair Seeley, Glen andAndrew Irwin, Joss Elliott, Andy Reid, etc., are all settlinginto their own individual classes, posting podiums already soearly on in the season. Unfortunately Carl Phillips and CodyNally on the MWR Racing Team had slide-offs at Doningtonand their minor injuries sidelined both for the second roundat Brands but it will not be long before they will be makingwaves again at the front of their own classes.

(Top Left) The Mar-Train team after Dean Harrison’ssuccess at Scarborough.

(Left) Marshall Neill back for more of the same.

(Above) Glen Irwin at Donington with Norma deBidaph from Gearlink.

The BSB Superbike riders celebrate the beginning of another season.


For the first twenty five years oftheir existence the Isle of ManTourist Trophy Races were so

much the preserve of English, Irishand Scottish riders, and English-made machines, that they qualifiedfor inclusion with such traditionalAnglophilia as cricket at Lords,tennis at Wimbledon and soccer atWembly. But change is inevitableand in 1937 Omobono Tenni (MotoGuzzi) became the first all-foreignpairing to dent British supremacy onMona’s Isle. Ewald Kluge (DKW)repeated the dose in 1938 andGeorg Meir hammered home thelesson by winning the 1939 SeniorTT on his supercharged BMW.

The aftermath of the SecondWorld War stemmed the foreignonslaught before Dario Ambrosiniwon on his Benelli in 1950. NSU,BMW, Mondial and MV Agustacaptured the lion’s share of the spoilsas the fifties advanced and foreignrider/machine wins became an

accepted fact of life - andthere was no respite asthe 1960’s arrived. Thesun was rising in the Eastand Honda, in anamazing short period oftime since it’s Isle of Mandebut in 1959, servednotice that a Japanese TTwin was imminent. MikeHailwood duly obliged inthe 1961 125cc race andthen, in 1963, the unthinkablehappened - a win in a TT race on theSnaefell Mountain Circuit by aJapanese rider on a Japanesemachine.

Racing fifties first achieved worldchampionship status in 1962. Britainwas by then a spent force as amanufacturer of motorbikes - bothracing and otherwise, and it was leftto the Japanese and Germans toprovide potent machinery.

Honda had a delightful miniaturegrand prix bike with a single cylinder

engine, sporting geardriven overheadcamshafts operating fourvalves. The gearbox wasin unit and containedeight ratios and thepower unit ran at 14000rpm to produce 9.5bhp.Suzuki fielded an aircooled single two strokecomplete with a disc inletvalve. Power output was

106bhp at 11000rpm. Kreidler ofGermany produced a very interestingmachine. This was a two stroke withthe cylinder laid horizontally. Twocarburettors were fitted with a discinlet valve mounted on each side ofthe crankcase. What really set themachine apart was its transmission.In addition to the four speedgearbox controlled by aconventional foot pedal, a further 3speed box was driven from theoutput shaft of the four speeder.This second cluster of ratios was

SUZUKI”S T.T. HISTORY MAKER

Suzuki teamsters Ichino, Itoh and Morshita - Isle of Man 1963.

by BARRYSEWELL


charged by a twist grip control on the left handlebar, thecombined effect of both boxes gave a choice of twelveratios - barely enough for the intrepid rider to keepwithin the impossible narrow poser band between 13200and 14000rpm.

The 50cc championship got off to a good start in 1962.A lot of the interest stemmed from Ernst Degner the MZrider who had defected from East Germany at the end of1961 bringing with him years of know-how in the designand preparation of racing two strokes. In taking hisexpertise to Suzuki in Japan Degner unwittingly alteredthe course of motorcycling history. The combination oftechnical and riding ability enabled the likeable EastGerman to win the 1962 50cc World title with victories inthe TT and three other classics.

For 1963 the little Suzuki pushed out 11bhp and with anine speed gearbox an additional 6 mph was available.The Hamamatsu factory arrived for the fourth WorldChampionship round in the Isle of Man with only one winby Hugh Anderson at Hockenheim to its credit. The twoclassics in Spain and France had been won by Kreidler’sHans-Georg Anscheidt.

There were no Honda ‘works’ entries and the race wasa two-sided contest between the Kreidler’s of Anscheidtand Alberto Pagani and the Suzuki’s of Degner,Anderson, Bert Schneider, Mitsuo Itoh, Michio Ichino andIsao Morishita. During practice the lap record took apounding. Degner upped it to 75.94 mph. ThenMorishita, Itoh and Anderson all lapped faster and theNew Zealander left it at 78.09mph. In the final practice

Ichino and Morishita giving an impression of a horde of angry hornets on their Suzuki fifties at the 1963 I.O.M. TT - SignpostCorner.

Mitsuo Itoh - winner of the 1963 TT 50cc race.


session Degner was back on top withan incredible 79.06 mph thus makinghim a firm favourite to repeat hiswin of the previous year.

With only 18 starters out of 33entrants the detractors of 50ccracing had a field day with themagazine ‘Motor Cycle’ remarkingthat ‘there was not even a womanamong them for added interest’.This was a reference to the 1962event when Beryl Swain became thefirst female to ride solo in a TT race.But the pundits were wrong and the1963 50cc TT proved to be one of thebest of the seven race Manx Series.

Pagani, Anderson, Anscheidt andDegner howled off with a soundakin to a million angry hornets.With the little egg-cup sized engines

evenly matched and capable of 100mph everyone vied to outdo thepack on every corner. On the firstlap Anscheidt even tried to passAnderson in mid-air at BallaughBridge and succeeded. Fifty percentof the Kreidler challenge vanishedwhen Pagani cooked a plug leavingAnscheidt to battle it out with theSuzukis.

The West German had pulled out alead of 100 yards when he reachedKepple Gate on the first lap, anindication of the usefulness of a 12speed gearbox on the climb upSnaefell. The Suzuki’s on the otherhand had ann advantage in sheerspeed and at the grandstandAnderson was just behind theKreidler. Degner was third on the

road and all of the first six hadbeaten the 1962 lap record.Needless to say the leader board wasmade up of ‘works’ machines andthe first private runner was IanPlumridge on the only four stroke inthe race, a production Honda. Hewas over five minutes adrift of thesixth man.

On lap two Anderson, Degner andAnscheidt fought tooth and nail forthe lead. At Kepple Andersonforced his way into the lead but atSignpost Anscheidt out braked histwo Suzuki mounted rivals to takethe lead. At the end of the lap thefirst five riders had bettered the firstlap time and Degner had clipped 14seconds off his time. Then on thefinal lap Degner made his effort tobreak clear but then slowed withignition problems and he wascaught by Itoh. After Ramsey theJapanese screamed up the mountainand picked off Anscheidt who hadproblems with his machine’ssuspension. Thereafter Itoh blastedpast Anderson and won by 27seconds at an average speed of78.81 mph. Degner posted thefastest lap of the race at 79,10 mph.The ‘works’ machines still runningfilled the first five places andPlumridge in sixth spot did not evenqualify for a bronze replica. Furtherdown the list of finishers in seventhplace was a promising newcomer bythe name of Bill Ivy. He rode a‘special’ prepared by Frank Sheenewhose son Barry was to achievefame on the grand prix circuits inlater years.

So ended a historic TT race.Eventually the 50cc class died anatural death due to the lack ofspectator interest. A few relativelyslow machines spread out over morethan 37 miles did not generallymake for cut and thrust racing. Buton the classic circuits fifties racingwent from strength to strength. Theclass survived the FIM rulingrestricting the number of cylindersto one and the gear ratios to six andon smooth and flat circuits the resultwas a colourful and excitingspectacle.

What a pity that the FIM rulingstifled technical innovation and therumoured 4 cylinder 50cc Hondanever saw the light of day.

The Suzuki entourage, Isle of Man 1963.


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My first experience ofworking for the mediawas in 1966. A certain

Mr Norrie Whyte, well known toUlster race fans, gave me a callfrom ‘Motor Cycling’ magazine(based in Fleet Street at thattime) and asked me to cover theupcoming Cookstown 100. Thatturned out to be successful andthen in June of that year I wasasked to join Motor Cycling’sphotographic team for the TT.

In 1967 ‘Motor Cycling’ mergedwith ‘The Motor Cycle’ and Icontinued to cover Road Races,Scrambles and Trials all over Irelandand the Isle of Man. It was a round-the-year association.

Photography in those early dayswas much more demanding than it istoday - My Pentax SL was manualfocus, didn’t have a light meter andthe lenses screwed into the body. Allof the cameras used film and it was acase of rushing home from wherever,

into the darkroom and only afterdeveloping, fixing and washingcould the results be viewed.Occasionally, a would take a quicklook immediately after fixing andbefore washing.

No one knows everything aboutphotography and I would admit thatI am still picking up things today. Inthe early days I owed a lot toBeresford Martin, known to all inracing circles as ‘Bertie’. Hisknowledge was unsurpassed andwhen I tell you that he never used aseparate light meter it will explainjust how competent he was. Bertiewas an unassuming type of personand never really talked about hisdays as a footballer with Glentoranand Tottenham Hotspur.

Sadly, at the end of September1983 The Motor Cycle’ then renamed‘Motor Cycle Weekly’, became acasualty of a depression seriouslyaffecting the motor cycle industryworldwide and so the end ofpublication that had traced theindustry and sport since March 1903.Editor-in-Chief at the end time wasMick Woollett, a good friend to mesince his time with ‘Motor Cycling’.

Having had the privilege of beeninvolved during a golden era inmotor cycle sport and then up to thepresent, I sat down to consider 10riders that had left a lastingimpression during that golden era.Hence: Mike Hailwood, GiacomoAgostini, Ralph Bryans, Tommy Robb,Sam McClements, Ray McCullough,Joey Dunlop, Brian Steenson, PhilRead and Bill Ivy.

In considering who was thegreatest there are really only two

names in the hat, Hailwood andAgostini. Although Ago won 15world championships to Hailwood’s9, the latter won his across 250cc.350cc and 500cc whereas Agostini’swere confined to 350cc and 500cc.

Also, Hailwood’s privateerescapades were outstanding, not tomention his legendary comback tothe IOM TT in 1978 winning on aDucati 900SS after an 11 year gap.

I had originally included Read andIvy for their sheer entertainmentvalue during the so called feudbetween them. However, when onelooks at Phil Read’s credentials I feelhe would be stand alone in thirdplace. He did win 7 worldchampionships - 125cc (1), 250cc (4)and 500cc (2), the latter being on MVAgusta machinery. Bill Ivy only wonone championship, the 125cc in 1967although his career was cut shortwhen he was tragically killed at theEast German Grand Prix in 1969.

The remain six riders are all localand are there for varying reasons.

TOP TEN

RIDERSRowland White

Ray McCullough Tommy Robb

Sam McClements Mike Hailwood


Ralph Bryans had a great careerwith the works Honda team andwon the 50cc World Championshipin 1965.

Tommy Robb, probably the mostversatile of all the home growntalent, competed in every class andwith tremendous success. Hepersevered as a privateer before andafter his sojourn with the worksHonda team. Tommy also rode amultiplicity of machinery - NSU,Honda, Bultaco, Yamaha, Seeley.

Brian Steenson, after bouncing onto the local scene had his debut inthe Isle of Man Tourist Trophy in1968. One year later he scored aremarkable 2nd in the Junior TT,riding an Aermacchi behind GiacomoAgostini’s MV Agusta. Brian wasoozing with talent and provedhimself a match for the best.Unfortunately his life was cut shortand we were left wondering whatmight have been.

Joey Dunlop’s career is legendary -5 Formula One WorldChampionships, 24 Ulster Grand Prixwins and 13 North West victories.Not to mention the countlessnumber of victories in many otherRoad Races. His death whilecompeting in Talin in 2000 brought acloud over the local racing scene formany years. Well known for hischarity work, he was awarded anMBE followed some years later by anOBE. A really greatcharacter.

Ray McCulloughnever really venturedtoo far beyond localshores but hisundoubted talentshone through whenthe big boys came totown. Highlight of hiscareer was winning the1971 250cc UlsterGrand Prix in thecompany of Phil Read,Jarno Saarinen, DeiterBraun, Kent Andersson,Gunter Bartusch, PeterWilliams, Rod Gouldand Gyula Marsovsky.In all Ray had 7 UlsterGrand Prix wins and 3at the North West. Raywon a catalogue ofother Irish Road Races

and additionally recorded 9 wins atthe IOM Southern 100 but nevercompeted at the TT.

Sam McClements, perhaps theunsung hero. A formidable recordincluding; 21 Irish and UlsterChampionships, 57 Irish Road racewins, 19 TT replicas and a ManxGrand Prix win. A gentleman inevery sense of the word, Sam’s careerended one fateful day in 1989 at theCarrowdore 100. Although he livedin Bangor, Sam had relatives inCarrowdore and very much regardedit as his home circuit.

Agostino

Ralph Bryans Joey Dunlop

Brian Steenson Phil Read and Bill Ivy


The old chestnut that a camelis a horse designed by acommittee could well be

levelled at the racing motorcyclesof the nineteen seventies. Longgone are the days when thegiants of motorcycle design wouldsit alone at their drawing boardsto produce a string of worldbeaters - men of the calibre ofGuilio Carcano of Moto Guzzi andPietro Remor of Gilera and MVAgusta. However, not everyonehad it so good even in thefabulous fifties and sixties. Ladyluck persistently failed to smile onthe genius of Lino Tonti and thehouse of Bianchi.

Eduardo Bianchi was alreadyestablished as a cycle manufacturerin 1897, the year he decided to tryhis luck with the new-fangledinternal combustion engine. Notuntil the early twenties did his namecarry any weight outside the bordersof Italy when in 1926 a team of350cc Bianchi machines returned tothe mecca of motorcycle racing, theIsle of Man. The machines were very

advanced for the period,featuring unitconstruction and shaftand bevel to twinoverhead camshafts.Bianchi personallymanaged the teamcomprising . Maffeis,Ghershi and Arcangeli.Tazio Nuvolari, their starperformer, could not ridedue to an injury. Themachines, designed byAlbino Baldi, all finished the race in13th,14th and 20th positions,defeated only by the rigours of themountain circuit. During the nextfive years this double-knocker 350ccproved to be the fastest machine inits class. In the meantime ErnestoGuesa designed a road-going 171ccoverhead valve job in which all themoving parts were reputed to run ontaper roller bearings. Thus started atrend which was still evident in themarque three decades later.

In the early 1930’s Baldi producedanother winner in the 498cc singlecylinder OHC racer. This was riddento victory by such illustrious names asGiordano Aldrighetti, Dorino Serafini

and Alberto Ascari. As thedecade drew to a close apersistent rumour hintedat a potential Bianchiworld beater. Themachine was shown atthe Milan show inSeptember 1939 - of493cc it sported fourcylinders across theframe. A Webbercarburettor was fittedand a Cozette

supercharger was mounted atop thegearbox. A plunger-type springframe and pressed steel blade forkswere used. Power output wasquoted at 80 bhp at 7500 rpm.However, the whole plot was nomore than a public relations exerciseas the Italians must by then have hadan inkling that there would not beany Classic motorcycling racing in1940. And so, like several otherpotentially great motorcycles of thetime, the blown Bianchi four neverfired in anger.

Surprisingly the Bianchi factorysteered clear of any form ofcompetition in post-war days.Although the 175cc Tonale sports

BAD DAYS AT BIANCHI

Top - 1961 Ulster Grand Prix. Bob McIntyre exits the Hairpin before retiring with gearbox trouble.

by BARRYSEWELL


model was modified and developedfor racing in the mid 1950’s in Italianevents, the factory used themotocross scene as a springboard tothe Grand Prix circuits. The machinewas a 400cc single cylinder, singleoverhead camshaft model of whichsix were built to contest Italianevents. One was loaned to Terry Hill,the Northern Ireland Bianchiimporter, and it shone briefly as agrass track mount. In the interimBianchi had benefitted by thedecision taken by Gilera, Moto Guzziand Mondial to quit Grand Prixracing at the end of 1957. Mondialengineers, Patoni and Tonti, decidedto stay in the racing game - Patoni asa manufacturer of his own machines(of which the vertical twin threefifties and five hundreds weresuccessful in the mid-1960’s in thehands of Fred Stevens) and Tonti asrace chief at Bianchi.

Tonti-designed 250cc and 350ccdohc twins first appeared in the 1960Classic events. British star DerekMinter partnered Oscar Perfetti onthe smaller models in the Isle of Manwith Ernesto Brambilk on the biggermachine. This began the Bianchi runof atrocious luck on the grand prixcircuits. Minter ground to a halt atSelby with a seized engine leavingPerfetti to struggle home in ninthposition. Brambilla retired his 350ccwith a broken valve spring.

Thereafter the gremlins struck with avariety of baffling annoyances thatnevertheless spelt the differencebetween success and abject failure.For example Tonti must have beenlivid when Brambilla’s fuel tank tapvibrated shut in the heat of athrilling tussle with Gary Hocking’sMV four in the Italian Grand Prix.When team-mate Gianfranco took upthe chase he too was sidelined with abroken oil pipe. Thus 1960 closed ona dismal note with not a placegained in any championship round.

The Bianchi factory disregarded

this poor showing and gave Tonti ablank cheque to produce a winningcombination of rider and machine in1961. However, not even the pairingof Bob McIntyre and one of thefastest 350cc’s of the season coulddeliver the goods. Tonti’s newmachine was the acme of paralleltwin engine design. Tonti drewheavily on an analysis of 350ccdesign in the previous decade. Thisrevealed the early dominance of thetraditional British single cylinderVelocette and Norton. These were inturn bettered by the ultra-

Bob McIntyre rounds the Hairpin in the 1961 UGP.

At Pond Park grass tracker Noel Bell gives the Terry Hill Bianchi an airing in 1960.


lightweight streamlined Moto Guzzithat put a premium on goodhandling, road-holding and braking.Then followed the period ofdominance of the four cylinderGilera and MV Agusta which reliedon brute power to carry the day.

Tonti’s creation was a middle-of-the-road design. It incorporatedmany ingenious features coupledwith the finest workmanship andminute attention to detail. Theengine bristled with ball, taper andneedle roller bearings to reducefriction losses - in fact bearingswithin bearings were usedextensively. The valves seateddirectly in the aluminium cylinderheads, adequate precautions havingbeen taken to minimise valve seatwear. Provision was made in thecombines for conversion todesmodromic valve operation(shades of early problems withhairpin-type valve springs) andchanges could be rung to convertthe six-speed gearbox to a fivespeeder by simply removing one pairof pinions and changing the selectorcam drum. The 65mm bore by52.5mm stroke engine delivered 48bhp at 10,000 rpm good enough for150 mph on a gearing of 5.2 to 1(Hockenheim) and 125 mph on 6.3 to1 (San Remo).

In addition to McIntyre, fellow ScotAlastair King, Alan Shepherd, SouthAfrican Paddy Driver and ErnestoBrambilla were engaged to ride themachine. Unfortunately the superbdesign features of the engine did

not extend to the frame althoughTonti produced a triangulatedcreation weighing a mere 20lb, poorhandling on bumpy bends proved tobe one of the machinesshortcomings. This combined withminor teething troubles kept theBianchi out of the winners circle butthe bike’s impressive pace wasdemonstrated at the TT, the Dutch,Italian and East and West Germangrands prix. At Hockenheim’s speedbowl McIntyre and Brambillawaltzed into a one-two lead butafter three laps both were out withshattered pistons. In theTT Mac was10 seconds up on Hocking;s MV fouron the first lap when a gearboxlayshaft broke. As the seasonprogressed reliability improved andMcIntyre scored a second place atAssen and a third at Saschenring.Alastair King was second at Dundrodbut the big effort came at Monzawhen five machines were entered. Aveil is best drawn over this outing infront of thousands of partisansupporters. First Brambilla retiredwith carburation problems when inthe lead. Then King’s ignition failed,McIntyre had brake trouble andDriver’s battery fell to pieces. OnlyAlan Shepherd finished fourthbehind MV mounted Hocking andHailwood and Gustav Havel on theJawa twin.

One can imagine Tonti’s feelings atthe end of this disastrous season andthereafter he never had theopportunity to field a top-notchrider in classic events. Silvio Grasetti

and Remo Venturi soldiered on until1966 scoring consistently but neverat the top level - not surprising whena white hot battle was being wagedbetween Honda and MV Augusta.The fates relented occasionally. Oneexample was at Imola in 1963. Infront of screaming fans Venturi tookon Geoff Duke’s team of resurrected1957 Gilera fours ridden by DerekMinter and John Hartle. In the faceof overwhelming odds the Italianrode a well judged race to leadHartle home after Minter tried toohard and fell.

The 350cc machine also appearedin 500cc guise with a capacityvariously quoted at 440cc and 486cc.This version was as unlucky as itssmaller brother. Eventually thefactory tired of playing second fiddlecalled a halt to its racing activities.Lino Tonti moved on to freshpastures. He designed the 500ccLinto that used a horizontal twincylinder engine incorporating manyAermacchi parts. Ridden by topprivateers Albert Pagani, JohnnyDodds, Keith Turner, Jack Findlay andGyula Marsovsky, it was still pickingup places in the early nineteenseventies. Good enough to carryMarsovsky to second place in the1969 world championship it washowever a fragile and expensivemachine to maintain.

It was then well in keeping withthe engineering standards set byLino Tonto, a man who contributedmore than his share to the science oftwin cylinder racing engine design.

What might have been - the 1939 Supercharged four cylinder Bianchi.


The new season opened withthe MCUI/Enkalon Clubmeeting at Bishopscourt on 4th

April in dry, sunny conditions. Theabsence from the entry of JamesConroy, concentrating on getting hisnew 600 Yamaha fine tuned,promised more open racing. As itturned out, Barry Davidson on SamDempster’s fleet 350 Honda turnedout to be the man to beat. In eachof the two races Barry swept to thefront early on and set the pace.Initially Alex Conroy broke awaywith him but was unable to bridgethe gap and at the flag Barry had acomfortable three second buffer.George Stinson, Mark Johnston andNicky Lamb completed the first six.Mark Johnston, on an ex-GeorgeStinson Honda now owned by MarkMcCaul,, made an impressive debutin the class and I confidently expecthim to be further up the ranks as theseason progresses and he becomesmore familiar with his machine.

Keith Millen was the easy winner ofboth Forgotten Era races by aconsiderable margin.

The famous red, black, silver and whiteracing colours of the Hugh O’Kane racingstable returned to the scene atBishopscourt when born-again racer, JoeO’Kane debuted a beautiful 350 TZ. Inthe Forgotten Era Class. The spoils weredivided evenly between Joe and GaryMiller in this class for runner-up andthird place with Gary getting the verdictin Race One and Joe returning thecompliment in the next race.

Race two looked very much like more-

of-the-same, but Alex Conroy went withBarry Davidson who was not able tobuild up the safety cushion he had inRace One. Throughout, Nicky Lambnibbled at Mark Johnston’s less than onesecond advantage for fourth place, butwasn’t able to do anything and theymaintained station to the flag. PeteSimpson and Sandy Brown exchangedplaces until, late in the race, Sandy’sHonda slowed, allowing Pete tocomplete the top six.

Bishopscourt 18th AprilThere was a much larger turnout of

Classic and Forgotten Era machines atthe Road Racing Club’s meeting on 18thApril. The presence of Robert McCrumon Alistair Henry’s big Weslake ensured

that the others were riding for therunner-up places, as Robert won as hepleased. Barry Davidson followed Roberthome in both races and his impressiveand silky-smooth riding style is always atreat to watch. The Dempster-tuningand Davidson-racing partnership is aparticularly formidable one on either theroads or the circuits. Barry is one ofthose very versatile riders who is fast,irrespective of the circuit or conditions.

Once again, Keith Millen dominatedthe Forgotten Era Class winningcomfortably from Joe O’Kane and KenParkes. Brian O’Neill won the 500 Classin both races which saw the retirementof both Alex Conroy and Gary Jamison.All in all a lively start to the Short Circuitseason. Paddy Hoey

Classics Scene

Sam Kinkead (9) holds off Davie Hastings (36)and Thomas Hogg (18) in the Junior Classic race.

Ken Parkes(78) and MarkJohnston in arace longbattle.


Barry Davidson ishaving a great startto the season.

Bobby McMullen leads Freddie Stewart (2) and Billy Lyle.

Nigel Moore on CleaverBrown’s bike in the cavalcade.

Keith Millen.


(Above) Robert McCrum

(Right) Alex Conroy

(Below) Gary Miller


PAUL CRANSTON

If anyone deserves accolades for a great career inmotorcycle racing then it is without doubt DungannonsPaul Cranston. The start of his illustrious career began

back in 1977 and since then he has been Irish Champion inseveral classes. A genuinely top sportsman he has been aperfect example to the younger riders throughout hiscareer.

One of the older generation he never complains and gets onwith his racing on both roads and short circuits and has kept hishonourable team for many years. I think he deserves a mentionand a big thanks for all his years of entertaining the public in thetop classes and he is not ready for the Classic brigade yet.

Paul in action at Tandragee in 2013.

A real family man seen herewith his daughter at the UGP.

A flying start atthe 2014 UGP.

Mixing it on theclimb up Mill Roadin the 2014 NW.

Hard to beat on roads or circuits.

With his right hand helper on the UGP grid.

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