GP的由來歷史??

Wu

裡面有兩個車廠...AJS還有Norton沒看過說...他們是哪個車廠的前身啊..??

Wu

那頭南投小夥子早不知道飛去哪裡了吧= ="....
這是 匹仔在2002/11/19 下午 04:01:19時留下的留言 IP:218.184.75.242
底下怎麼到2003都出現了~預言嗎= ="...那網站圖片名稱都沒改啊=w=...

丫文

回覆給:Wu
哦哦.我現在才發現是好久之前的文章耶...Norton是英國老車廠.倒很久了....而AJS我就不清楚了

老外

http://www.motorcycle.com/mo/mcracing/gphistory.html

http://www.motorcycle.com/mo/mcracing/gphistory2.html

http://www.motorcycle.com/mo/mcracing/gphistory3.html

http://www.motorcycle.com/mo/mcracing/gphistory4.html

老外

 

The Early Years of Grand Prix Racing

By Glenn Le Santo, British Desk Photos curtesy of FoTTofinders Bikesport Photo Archieves In the Beginning ... Lincolnshire, February 25, 2000 -- It's not easy to trace the roots of motorcycle racing but what is Advertisment sure is that by the end of the 19th century organized motor racing was underway in Europe, less than ten years after the appearance of Gottlieb Damlier's internal-combustion engine mounted to a wooden frame with two principle wheels. History records that Damlier hadn't actually invented the motorcycle, his contraption was merely a test bed for his real project -- a lightweight combustion engine for motorized transport. Whatever his intentions, it wasn't long before the combustion engine he pioneered found its way onto the frame tubes of the bicycle. But such is the competitive nature of mankind that it seems likely that the very first time two of these motorized bicycles drew alongside each other, the sport of motorcycle racing was born. In 1894 these motorcycles (actually three-wheelers) were racing alongside cars in the Paris-Rouen event, a race that just might be the ancestor of road racing everywhere. In 1898 Paris became First Race? During my research I have found a number of claims to the date and location of the first recorded two-wheeled motorcycle race. The earliest claim I unearthed was at Sheen House, Richmond, Surrey on the November 29, 1897. The race distance was over one mile and was won by Charles Jarrot in a time of 2 minutes and 8 seconds on a Fournier. the host for the start of another, even more grueling test for the fledgling motorized vehicles, both cars and motorcycles. This time the destination was Amsterdam. These early races were a test not only of the infant technology of the internal-combustion engine but also of the rider's courage. Accident rates were very high, with some early races being stopped short and even banned due to the carnage. Even so, money and national pride soon entered the fray and manufacturers began to use competitive success as a marketing tool. All the components of modern racing, including organized factory teams, began to appear. Les Graham in 1952 on an MV. He wouldn't live to finish the season. National bodies began to appear in the early years of the 20th Century to organize and regulate the racing scene. Then, on December 21, 1904, during the Paris Car and Bike show, an international body had its first meeting in Paris at the Le Doyen restaurant on the Champs-Elysees. Originally known as the "Federation Internationale des Motocycles Clubs" the FIMC changed its name to "Federation Internationale des Clubs Motocyclistes" (FICM) after only one day. The organization agreed to base its operations in Paris. This organization was the predecessor of the current FIM. It was at this time, in the first five years of the 20th Century, that the Grand Prix emerged. Originally titled the "Coupe Internationale," it was named the "Grand Prix of Europe" when held at Patzau in Austro-Hungary on July 8, 1906. The Grand Prix had been born, motorcycle racing was organized, highly competitive and, then just as it is now, dangerous. But the real Grand Prix series, as we know it today, wasn't to start until much later, in 1949 after the Second World War. The Grand Prix Series is Born Carlo Ubbiali took the 125 title in 1958. At the end of 1948 meeting in London, the FICM decided to create a World Championship along the lines of today's GP series. Riders would be awarded points in the six-race annual series, with an extra point going to the holder of the fastest lap of each race. Of course, races had been called Grand Prix for years, but they were individual races. It was in 1949 that a unified series of individual races cumulating into one Champion was first held. The first ever Grand Prix World Championship kicked off at the Isle Of Man with four classes: 500cc, 350cc, 250cc and 125cc. Harold Daniell won the 500cc event at 86.93 mph on a Norton with Freddie Frith taking the 350cc race at 83.15 mph on a Velocette and M. Barrington winning the 250cc race on a Moto Guzzi at 77.96 mph. The the 500 class Champion that year, Les Graham on AJS's 'Porcupine' 500cc twin, led the race until the last lap when his magneto drive failed. He pushed the bike over the line to a 10th place but the mere act of finishing, while the position itself held no points, gained him one championship point for recording the fastest lap. It was AJS's first and last World Championship. During the first season only the top three points scores counted. For Graham this was vital and another fastest-lap point proved to Dickie Dale in '57 on a V8 Guzzi. be crucial for his Championship. At the next race in Switzerland, Graham didn't set the outright fastest lap, but the rules only allocated the extra point only to riders who finished. Graham's was the fastest lap of those who went the distance and the point was all he needed to secure the 1949 Championship when he beat the Gilera-mounted Italian, Nello Pagani, by one point: 30 to 29. Unfortunately for Pagani, the best three finishes system penalized him; in reality he scored more points overall than Graham -- 40 to Graham's 31 -- so he may have felt justifiably robbed of the title, although both riders had won two races each. But the writing was on the wall, and the four-cylinder DOHC Gileras would go on to dominate the class. Like many of the racers of his day, Graham did not live long enough to see the development of the sport over the next decade. He was killed on his MV at Bray Hill during the 1953 Senior TT. During the 1950's, motorcycle racing progressed in leaps and bounds. At the start of the 1949 season the grid was populated by machines designed in the '30's; they were no more than pre-war throwbacks. Of the manufacturers involved in racing, those from Italy and Britain enjoyed a head start due to the way the War had been fought. The motorcycle industries of Western Europe had been destroyed by the War but Southern Italy and Britain had enjoyed a different history. Little actual fighting had been carried out in Italy and factories had largely survived intact. In Britain the reliance of the War Department on motorcycles for despatch duties had kept the factories rolling, even if the designs stood pat. When racing began in the post war period, the Italians were quick to capitalize on their advantage. The factories, Les Graham and the AJS Porcupine during the 1949 Championship season. especially Moto Guzzi in the smaller displacements and Gilera with the 500cc machines, used all their technological know how on the racing circuits. Moto Guzzi pioneered the use of the wind tunnel to develop rider position and aerodynamics to maximize the engine's performance. Britain was slower to exploit their advantage and the AJS Porcupine that Graham rode to the 500cc title was a rehash of a pre-war design. Originally intended as a super-charged engine, but due to rule changes the twin was now forced to operate without forced induction. While British factories persevered with singles and twins and outdated chassis design (the Velocette that took the 350 crown had girder forks) the Italians were developing multi-cylinder engines. Norton enjoyed success, however, with the fine-handling Featherbed frame as the Italians initially struggled to harness the power of their multis. Gilera's Championship win in the 1950 500cc class was prophetic, and only Geoff Duke's talent in 1952 allowed Norton another look at the title during the '50's. For the rest of decade Titles were shared between Gilera and the emerging dominant force in GP racing -- MV Augusta. Initially the fire breathing MVs, with their powerful 500cc four-cylinder engines, proved too much for their riders. MV's problems, which led directly to the deaths of Graham and Rhodesian star Ray Amm during his factory first ride at Imola in 1955, were a product of the inability to match chassis design with engine development. But MV benefited from the defection of the designer of Gileras. Piero Remor re-invented the four-cylinder motorcycle he had designed for Gilera for his new employers. The difference between the Gilera and the new MV was in the chassis layout more than the engine configuration and design. Norton, despite clinging to the pre-war single-cylinder 500cc engine, revolutionized road racing when they developed the new Rex Mcandless frame. The twin loop, all-welded frame with a twin-shock swinging-arm Norton-mounted Geoff Duke en route to the 1952 500cc title. was nicknamed "The Featherbead" by rider Harold Daniell. The frame was simple yet effective and in the hands of Norton's new star, Geoff Duke, who debuted the Featherbead framed Manx Norton at a minor race in 1950, it won and thereafter all factory Manx Nortons were fitted with the frame. The chassis was directly responsible for Norton's ability to cling to a competitive position. The single did offer low weight, a low center of gravity and ease of accessibility that the fours couldn't match, but without its superior handling Norton's underpowered engine would have been blown into the weeds by the Italian fours. So while the Italian factories continued to struggle with chassis design, Norton retained a slim advantage. Falls at both the Belgian and Dutch rounds during the 1950 season robbed Duke of the title. His win at the Isle of Man at the start of the season, setting a new lap record, put him firmly on the racing map. The Isle of Man TT was still the premier road race meeting in the world and Duke's impressive win propelled him to instant superstar status. A mid-season swap from Dunlop to Avon cured the tire gremlins and allowed Duke to finish the 1950 season as he had began it, with wins at Ulster and Italy. But the points scoring system, now with the best four results counting, meant that the more consistent Umberto Masetti took the Title -- with two wins and two second places -- by a single point. Duke was also runner-up for the 350cc title behind the legendary Freddie Frith on the faster Velocette. In 1959, the radical, lightweight MZ two-stroke revolutionized GP racing. Next year, in 1951, Duke established his talent with a double, winning both the 350 and 500cc titles. The Norton was outpaced by the Gileras, down as much as a 10 mph at top speed. Duke made up for this by using the Norton's superior mid-corner speed to the maximum, a sign of his courage. Remember, proper safety measures were still twenty years away and most of the circuits were no more than closed public roads with unprotected street furniture and walls at almost every corner. In 1952, at the Swiss round, Norton lost their new rider, Dave Bennett, when he crashed out on a corner and hit a tree. Duke himself had made one of the first moves towards better safety in 1950 by being the first rider to turn up for a race in one-piece leathers. In 1952 Duke fell midway through the season while racing at a non-championship event in Germany. The fall cost him the 500 title, though his four straight wins at the start of the 350 season helped him retain the 350 title. Umberto Masetti fought a season long battle with MV Augusta-mounted Les Graham and Norton-mounted Reg Armstrong to win the 500 title for Gilera. But crashes and mechanical breakdowns played almost as much part in the fortunes of the riders as their riding, with both Masetti and Graham scoring no points at four rounds. Libero Liberati during Gilera's final Championship in 1957. The 1953 season marked the start of a new phenomenon in Grand Prix racing that was to reappear several times throughout its history -- the rider's strike. At the German round held at Schotten, a tree-lined course that even included cobblestones on some downhill corners, top riders united in a strike. Supported by their teams the strikers included Duke, Amm, Anderson, Doran, Cleman and Kavanagh. It was a revolutionary step, quite literally, and it was to mark the beginning of a long struggle with the ruling body, the FIM, over safety and working conditions at most major circuits. Remember, the reason why the "paddock" is named so is because it was just that, a field normally used to graze cattle roped off for the riders to park their vans and bikes. At the end of 1952 Duke had lost patience with the Norton management as they procrastinated on the development of their own four, a move that historians will no doubt cite as pivotal in the demise of the British motorcycle industry. It was a situation to be echoed many times in the future as talented designers and engineers had their race- and market-winning designs stuffed away by company accountants and lawyers as they short-sightedly drove their firms to collapse. In the 1960's Japanese factories exploited this weakness on both the track and particularly in the marketplace while the Italians exploited it on the track but failed to turn it into a real commercial advantage in sales. It took the Japanese with their modern manufacturing processes and aggressive marketing to do that. With this in mind, Duke left Norton in 1953 to ride for Gilera. It wasn't a popular move with die-hard British racing fans but Duke was no fool. He knew that Norton's glory couldn't be sustained on the Manx and the Italians were running away with their technological prowess -- the Gilera produced 68bhp against the Norton's 54bhp. It was a shrewd move and Duke was rewarded with a World Championship. Gilera dominated the 1953 season with all the top three places in the Championship going to Gilera riders Duke, Armstrong (who had also defected from Norton) and Italian rider Alfredo Milani. Taniguchi on a Honda. The Euro-centric motorcycle racing establishment laughed at first. Today they bow. Duke and his Gilera dominated the next two seasons with five wins and a 20-point final advantage in 1954 over Norton-mounted Ray Amm. In 1955 it was Duke and Gilera again at the top, this time with fellow Gilera-rider Armstrong as the runner-up. However, MV was beginning to tame their beast and former Gilera pilot Masetti came in third. While MV Augusta had begun to make their mark in 500s, in the 350cc class Moto Guzzi had already made theirs, taking the 350 title in '53, '54, '55, '56 and '57. It took two future racing legends to end both Gilera and Moto Guzzi's ownership of the 500 and 350 Championships -- one was MV Augusta the other was John Surtees. Both Surtees and MV had a little help from the FIM, who had suspended Duke for the first two races in 1956. On his return at the Belgian round, Duke put in the fastest lap and led Surtees until a collapsed piston forced him out of the race. They were hard-fought battles and while these machines may seem dated and slow when compared to today's fire-breathing two-strokes, the riders rode them to the absolute limits both of in terms of their own courage and the machine's mechanical limitations. In Germany Duke's Gilera and the V8 Guzzi ridden by Bill Lomas swapped places for the lead in a mighty battle -- only to have have riders to drop out almost simultaneously with mechanical failure. This time it was Gilera-mounted Armstrong who benefited with a win; Surtees had fallen in the 350 race and broke his arm. Despite missing the last three races, Surtees had done enough with his three straight wins at the start of the season and took the 500 title, both his and MV's first. The magical V8 Moto Guzzi 500 had so much promise but it was never to be translated into GP success. The bike often led and even posted fastest laps, but it rarely finished the Taniguchi Redux. Honda 125's were considered slow, but their reliability allowed them to take the TT in '59. race ended and subsequently failed to get into the top 10 at the season's end. Reliability, or the lack of it, was to shape the '56 season, so much so that BMW secured second place in the Championship despite rider Walter Zeller failing to win a single race. The 1957 season started without Duke, who had been injured in a pre-season race. The first race, in Germany, was won by Gilera-mounted Libero Liberati, with Zeller taking third place on the boxer-twin BMW behind Duke's replacement Bob McIntyre on the Gilera. Dickie Dale finished fourth in the TT on the V8 Guzzi in a race that saw the first ever 100 mph lap, set by McIntyre on his way to his only GP win. Surtees bought the MV home in second place, in front of another Gilera piloted by Australian Bob Brown. Liberati and the Gilera eventually took the tile that year, with Duke absent until the last two races and a Surtees distracted by being pressed to develop a six-cylinder racer for MV that offered no improvement over the four. The next year, 1958, was a turning point for the GP series. It started with the banning of the famous "dustbin fairing" and the resignation of Gilera, Moto Guzzi and Mondial from the GP scene -- factories that had taken the 1957 season 500, 350 and 250 Championships. The Italian factories had failed to turn GP success into sales and, combined with the mounting costs of GP racing, this forced them to quit. Thus the field was laid bare for MV, who, along with other lucrative industrial interests, could afford to indulge their corporate egos in the GPs. The factory took all four classes that year and both the MV-mounted Surtees and John Hartle topped the 500cc class. Surtees also clinched the 350 title with Hartle again runner-up. Tarquinio Provini took the 250 title and the 125 series was won by Carlo Ubbiali. But 1958 belonged to MV and Surtees, with the British rider winning all six 500 races he contested and six out of seven races in the 350s. Bill Lomas on the powerful but unreliable Moto Guzzi V8. Lomas and Geoff Duke fought a pitched battle to take the '56 German round. However, the pace was too fierce and neither rider managed to finish. Duke started the season on the BMW twin, a bike that simply didn't suit his style. He parted company with the factory mid-season. More fundamental changes occurred and 1958 was the year that marked the beginning of the end for the four-stroke GP racer. A small factory from East Germany, armed with the revolutionary designs of Walter Kaaden and rider engineer Ernst Degner, entered racing. The factory was MZ and their second place in Germany and win at Sweden forced the skeptics to take notice of the very real threat posed by the lightweight and radical two-strokes. 1959 was also MV's year, with the red and silver machines taking all four classes again and Surtees again winning the 500 and 350 titles. But the real story was elsewhere. 1959 also marked the beginning of the end of the European domination of GP racing. It was also a year when the two-stroke MZ put itself firmly on the map with second place in the 250 Championship. The little firm from Zschopau wasn't the only one to shake the sport because two other great names debuted that year. You wouldn't have guessed it at the time, indeed the marque that started to race in that season was openly mocked by racers, mechanics and journalists alike. The name that was painted on the side of the rather slow 125cc twins that nevertheless proved reliable enough to carry off the team title at the TT that year was Honda. Also, a 19-year-old appeared in the record book as the youngest ever Grand Prix winner, taking the flag at at Ulster. His name: Mike Hailwood. Both Hailwood and Honda were names that few would be able to ignore for the next decade.

老外

 

The Early Years of Grand Prix Racing, the 1960's

By Glenn Le Santo, British Desk Photos courtesy of FoTTofinders Bikesport Photo Archives Lincolnshire, March 24, 2000 -- In 1960 the motorcycle industry was turned on its head. The car had gone from a Advertisment being a luxury item to a cheap-to-manufacture mass produced commodity that became more and more accessible to ordinary people in Europe and the USA. This fundamental change effected the European motorcycle manufacturers the most. They had outdated designs, outdated manufacturing processes and, frankly, outdated management mindsets. The Japanese, while ridiculed when they first showed up on the scene, were ready to exploit this weakness, both in the market and in racing. 1960 Honda returned to racing in 1960 with two new bikes: a new from-the-ground-up 125 and a four-cylinder 250. Other manufacturers had presented fours before, and the Italians were still racing them, but this bike, more than any other, was the future of motorcycling. Many of Honda's later models, both production and race-bikes, can trace their lineage right back to the fours of the early sixties. The Europeans didn't give up without a fight and MV Augusta in particular showed that they weren't yet beaten by taking every single 500 cc crown for the entire decade. But they couldn't have done it without a little help from the genius of two riders, Hailwood and Agostini, who between them took eight 500 cc titles that decade. Indeed, it took the Japanese until 1975 to win the blue ribbon Grand Prix class when Agostini won on a Yamaha. The first year of the decade also marked the end of another brilliant motorcycle racing career when John Surtees hung up his one-piece leathers to concentrate on car racing. He left MV Augusta at the end of the 1960 season, having won both the 350 and 500 cc classes, going on to become a World Champion in the four-wheeled GPs, a feat never yet matched by any other man. The same year also saw the retirement of Ubbiali, the winner of a record nine World Championships. He also won two World Titles in his last year in 125 and 250 classes, giving MV Augusta all four crowns in 1960. The glory may have been all MV Augusta's but the times were changing. MZ and Ernst Degner had taken third place in the 125 series on a two-stroke and the Honda four ridden by Jim Redman had run fourth in the 250s. Hailwood was a lowly sixth in the 500s on a Norton, fifth in the 250s, on both Ducati and Mondial and 10th in the 125s on a Ducati. 1961 As the harsh realities of the new economic order began to bite deep, the racing world was shocked by the departure of the factory-supported MV Augusta team. Benelli and Morini followed suit, although both u-turned and returned to the fray later that season. In their place the FIM saw the participation of Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki, both entering the 125 and 250 classes that year. Honda led the Japanese charge with six 250 cc four-cylinder machines, some on loan to privateers and others fully factory supported. Meanwhile, MZ continued to lead the two-stroke advance with the Kaaden machine being ridden by the talented Degner. However, the strictures of the Communism were too much for Degner and he plotted to defect to the West. At the Swedish Grand Prix he made plans to leave the Soviet-supported system. While traveling to the race his wife and children were smuggled across the border into West Germany. His plan was to win the round, and thus the title on the MZ125, and then slip away on the 'wind-down' lap into a waiting car. However, the machine let him down, leaving him without a bike for the last, crucial round in Argentina. Degner decided to ride an EMC and had one shipped to Argentina for the race and he lead the Honda mounted Phillis by only two points. Unfortunately the EMC was 'lost' by the Argentinian customs and poor Degner had to sit out the race and watch Phillis take Honda's first ever 125cc GP title. Degner did defect, however. It wasn't Honda's only title that year. Hailwood had already clinched the 250 title aboard a four that wasn't one of the full factory bikes. Instead it had been lent to him by the British Honda importer who had also supported Bob McIntyre and John Hartle. Honda's official team consisted of Redman, Phillis and the Japanese rider Kunimitsu Takahashi, who became the first Japanese rider to win a World Championship race with a victory at Hockenheim. However, Count Augusta had also changed his mind about racing, allowing Rhodesian talent Gary Hocking to ride various 1960 bikes. Hocking was clearly outpaced by the Hondas in the lower capacities so he concentrated his firepower on the 350 and 500 classes, winning both titles. Hailwood's rides on the smaller Hondas had so impressed Count Augusta that he signed the young Brit for the last few rounds in the 500 class. Hailwood responded with some class rides, fighting Hocking all the way in some memorable battles and he won on his first time out on the mighty four, at Monza, disproving the theory of the time that it took several rides to master the Italian fours. 1962 If anyone still doubted that Honda had truly arrived in GP racing their doubts must have been dispelled in 1962 when Honda clinched three World Crowns in the 125, 250 and 350 classes. Redman took the 350 and 250 titles, while the Swiss rider Luigi Taveri romped away with the 125 title after six wins in eleven rounds. A new class was added to the roster in 1962: The 50cc tiddlers had moved up to World Championship status. It was a move, that, with the help of the defecting engineer and rider Degner, took Suzuki to their first ever World Championship. It was more than just a first for Suzuki as it marked the first Championship by a Japanese factory two-stroke. This was maybe even more of a sign of things to come than the domination of the middle capacities by their rival Japanese factory, Honda. Degner had taken the hard-earned technology developed by the MZ factory with him to Suzuki, who had the budget and the R&D facilities to fully exploit his ideas. If any one event can be pointed to as a seminal event in the history of Grand Prix motorcycling, it is this one. Degner's defection and his subsequent move to Suzuki handed the Japanese the technology that would eventually dominate Grand Prix racing in all classes. It was Kaaden's brilliance in devising an exhaust port of an appropriate shape to separate the intake and exhaust functions of the two-stroke motor that led to the huge increases in horsepower and fuel efficiency, turning the strokers from smoky no-hopers to the screaming machines we know today. Hailwood's defection to MV Augusta hurt Honda, but not too much. They still managed to field a world class team as Hailwood romped off to his second title, this time in the 500 class. In the 125 class Takahashi looked set to become the first ever Japanese World Champion. Unfortunately, a horrific near-fatal crash at the Isle of Man put an end to his career. The TT also claimed the life of the popular Honda rider Tom Phillis who was killed after crashing his 350 Honda. Gary Hocking, a close friend of Phillis, won the 500 TT but was so shocked by his friend's death that he quit motorcycle racing, handing the 500 title to Hailwood. Ironically, Hocking died a year later while racing cars. 1963 Honda started the 1963 season with a feeling of superiority. They felt that they had the 125, 250 and 350 classes tied up before the season began. However, it was to prove more difficult than they expected. Suzuki, Morini and Yamaha all had plans of their own and they almost proved too much for the mighty Honda effort. In 125s Suzuki started the year with a new from-the-ground-up 125 cc two-stroke twin. It proved to be a little cracker, so fast was the new bike that Hugh Anderson, from New Zealand, rode the bike to a 16-point victory that season. With only eight points per race for a win and results from only seven of the twelve rounds counting, his margin of victory was massive. Honda was totally outpaced, so much so that they went back to the drawing board and returned with a four-cylinder, 125 at the last race of the season at Suzuka. Redman, riding the fantastic new Honda, was still beaten by Frank Perris riding a Suzuki. In the 250s things were even hotter. Tarquino Provini entered the season racing for Morini on the Lambertini designed 125 DOHC single. While outpaced by the four-cylinder Honda, the Italian bike was lighter and leaner, an advantage that Provini was to use to maximum effect. It wasn't all down to the machine though, as Provini also managed to beat the Hondas at the fast Hockenheim circuit with an average speed of 116.26 mph (187.10 kmh). Morini missed the TT, which was won by the Honda-mounted Redman. The London-born Rhodesian had a battle on his hands all the way though, being pressed hard by the new Yamaha 250 twin -- another two-stroke -- ridden by Japanese newcomer Fumio Ito. The amazing Yamaha shocked the gathered motorcycle press by clocking 141 mph (227kmh), 10 mph (16 kmh) faster than the Honda along the Highlander stretch. Only a bungled fuel stop, lasting 55 seconds versus a more-usual 30 seconds, cost the Yamaha rider the race by only 27 seconds. The next round, the Dutch TT, was again won by Redman. Ito then responded with a victory at Spa-Fracorchamps, with the Morini-mounted Provini second. Redman failed to score. The Championship moved onto Ulster with Redman leading Provini by two points, 26 to 24. Ito was third with 20 points. Redman responded to the challenge with a decisive win over Provini. Ito failed to score another point until Suzuka, the final race of the season, handling over the Championship battle to Redman and Provini. It was a battle they were to fight to the very end. Unfortunately nationalism reared its ugly head, this time in the form of the East German authorities inexplicably refusing a visa to Provini. The race was won by Hailwood on a one-off ride for MZ. Alan Shepherd, also MZ-mounted, came in second, ahead of Redman. But Provini wasn't finished, and although he found himself eight points behind, he won both the Italian and Argentinean rounds while Redman finished second. His win at Monza was a particularly popular won for the fanatical home crowd who cheered the Italian rider and his Italian bike every centimeter of the way as he battled with Redman on his screaming four-cylinder Honda. Politics again played a part at the final round at Suzuka, where the two rivals lined up at the grid with an equal point total. Provini, suffering from ear-problems after the flight, had his Morini impounded by customs for several days. Then Suzuka officials a refused to allow the Italian out to learn the circuit before official practice unless he paid a hefty circuit rental. The race was one of the best of the sixties. Redman was on a new lightweight four and beat the Yamaha-mounted Ito by inches after a three-way battle between Ito, Redman and Read, riding for the first time on a works Yamaha. The hapless Provini could only manage fourth and Redman took the title, leaving the Morini team wishing they hadn't missed the Isle of Man TT. Suzuki was less lucky. The factory fielded an impressive team mounted on 'square-four' two-strokes, but the machines proved unwieldy, with Degner crashing out on lap one and getting badly burned when his bike burst into flames. Redman had also carried off the 350 title, this time after a season long battle with the MV-mounted Hailwood. It was the second of Redman's four consecutive 350 titles. The 500s belonged to Hailwood. On an MV Augusta Hailwood snubbed the threat of rival Gilera with wins at the IOM TT, the opening 500 race, a retirement at the Dutch TT followed by six wins at the last six races. Matchless-mounted Alan Shepherd rubbed salt into the Gilera wounds by beating Gilera rider Hartle as he took the runner-up spot on a bike that differed little from the British firm's production racer. The 500 class was suffering from a lack of modern machinery: The Italians and British teams soldiered on with five- or even ten-year-old designs, still unaffected by the Japanese technology seen in the other classes. Tire technology also significant advances in 1963. So called high-hysteresis rubber had been adopted, a carry-over from car racing. While this high-grip compound increased cornering grip for cars at the cost of straight-line speed, on bikes -- with less rubber in contact with the road -- the drag on top speed was negligible but the gains in the cornering came at a time when the higher performance of the new engine designs made more demands of the chassis and tire technology. Dunlop also introduced a new range of triangular tires. With more rigid tread patterns that resisted flex better than the ribbed predecessors these tires had much bigger contact areas when leaned over, improving the available grip and allowing riders to open the throttle earlier through the turns. However suspension technology still lagged, and most bikes of the day, even Japanese factory bikes, still relied on British-made suspension units. 1964 The 1964 season started with an even stronger effort from the Japanese. Phil Read, riding the new RD56 Yamaha, became team leader when Ito injured himself in a crash at a Malaysian non-championship race. There was to be another Honda versus Yamaha battle of titanic proportions, this time between Read and Redman. Provini left Morini to race on Benelli's new four. Provini's gamble fell on rocky ground as the four showed its lack of development despite a win at his first race in Spain. While Read and Redman swapped wins all season long, Read wrapped it up at Monza despite Honda fielding a new six-cylinder 250 for Redman. Honda's gamble attempt almost paid off as Redman lead the race from the start, only to slow near the end and ensuring that the title went to Yamaha and Read. Of note was a young Italian, riding for Morini, who finished fourth. His name: Giacomo Agostini. However, Redman and Honda made it three in a row after being practically unchallenged for the 350 Championship. In 125s the four-cylinder Honda proved too much for the Suzukis. Swiss rider Taveri beat the determined efforts of Redman (also on a Honda) and Anderson (Suzuki) to wrap up the title. Anderson consoled himself, and Suzuki, for that matter, with another 50 cc title, beating the Irishman Ralph Bryans aboard his 19,000 rpm Honda twin. In the 500 class history continued to stand still, with Hailwood and MV Augusta taking yet another title. Incredibly Norton came second, ridden by Jack Ahearn with Matchless filling out the next five places. Both bikes were fifties throw-backs and, in marked contrast to the high-tech multis of the smaller bikes, sported only one piston each. Hailwood won seven races and missed the other two. 1965 By 1965 it had become obvious to Honda that the 250-class two-strokes were proving too much for their four-stroke multis. The Japanese two-strokes had improved by leaps and bounds: They were fast and nimble and attracted top riding talent. Honda concentrated their firepower and R&D budget on the 125 and 50 cc classes. All the same, it was Suzuki that stole the march in the 125s that year, with Anderson winning the first four races aboard the much-improved 125 cc twin. Teammate Perris was not far behind, scoring two firsts and enough second and third places to clinch the runner-up spot. Read, on a Yamaha water-cooled twin that was similar to the 250 RD56 he also raced for Yamaha, had a moment of glory, winning at the TT but failed to score in any other round. Meanwhile, the Honda team led by Taveri went nowhere until the appearance of a five-cylinder bike in the season finale at Suzuka. Consolation for Honda came in the shape of the 50cc title, won by Bryans on the 20,000 rpm RC115 twin. In the 250 class Honda's decision to run only one rider cost them dearly. Redman missed the first two rounds, suffered a mechanical DNF at the third and could only watch as Read ran away with a season opening four wins in a row. Even Honda's six-cylinder magic was no match for the ascendant two-stroke twins. Mike Duff on his Yamaha backed Read all the way, finishing second. Yamaha also showed their future hand by debuting a four-cylinder two-stroke 250 at Monza. Only a misfire prevented Read from winning the race, handing victory instead to the Provini's four-cylinder four-stroke Benelli, much to the obvious delight of the local crowd. In the 350 class MV's answer to the multi-cylinder threat from Honda was simple. They presented a bike with one less cylinder -- the new three-pot DOHC 350 -- and equipped themselves with two of the best riders of the decade, Mike Hailwood and the new-kid-on-the-block, Agostini. The young Italian was a formidable force from the start of the season, winning his first GP of the season at Germany on the triple. The stunned Redman fell off his Honda trying to catch the ultra-rapid Italian, but ignition trouble, resulting from the failure of the contact-breaker spring in the Japanese round handed the title to Redman. The two had entered the round on equal points, Redman's second behind Read was enough to clinch his fourth and final 350cc World Championship. Mike Hailwood won the 500s yet again for the MV Augusta team but had grown restless and accepted a Honda ride for the next season. Agostini took the runner-up spot, also on an MV. The 500s still lagged behind the other classes in terms of technology and competition, the bikes that followed the Augustas around the tracks were still a bunch of privately entered British singles. They were state-of-the-art singles, but way off the pace, relying on superior handling to stay close to the powerful Augustas. Third place that season found Paddy Driver on his own Matchless-powered special. The lack of development suffered by the British racing bikes was mirrored throughout the entire industry, where the consumer was still offered the same diet of underdeveloped singles and twins that had been around for too long. The management of these once-proud British companies failed to realize the very real threat that the multi-cylinder Hondas and two-stroke Yamaha and Suzuki racers presented -- not just on the track but also on the showroom floors. These Japanese race bikes were merely precursors of the machines that were to swamp the market and all but destroy the European manufacturers. 1966 This was the year that Honda entered the 500 fray with a four-cylinder four-stroke. Riding the new 500 was Hailwood, an established 500 cc Champion, along with long-time Honda stalwart Redman. The bike was fast but not enough development had been put into the chassis to exploit the power advantage that the Honda enjoyed over MV, ridden again this year by Agostini. The three diced for the wins until Redman fell during the rain at Spa, breaking his wrist while chasing Agostini. Hailwood battled with the conditions and his ill-handling Honda until gearbox problems ended his challenge. It was said that the bike handled so badly that Hailwood would get off the bike after a race in a furious mood. Agostini was now so far ahead of Hailwood for the Championship that even Hailwood's three wins at the last six rounds failed to do the trick for Honda. Agostini held on for his first 500 cc title and MV's incredible ninth successive 500 cc World Championship. Agostini would go on to win the 500 title seven times in a row. In the smaller classes Honda faced even stiffer competition from Yamaha, Suzuki, MV Augusta and, in the 350 class, Aermacchi. They had an ace card, however, in the form of Hailwood. His battle with Agostini in the 500s was mirrored in the 350s, but this time it was the Honda-mounted Briton who prevailed, with Ago having to settle for second on his MV Augusta triple. Italian Renzo Pasolini came in third. Hailwood also dominated the 250cc class as reigning champion Read struggled with an ill-handling, four-cylinder, two-stroke Yamaha. Despite missing the best part of the season through injury and subsequent retirement, Redman clinched third for Honda. Yamaha's new RA97 water-cooled twin ridden by Bill Ivy seemed a match for the five-cylinder four-stroke Honda ridden by Taveri, but Taveri prevailed to finish the season with a narrow points lead. Suzuki made it four championships in five season when Hans- Georg Anscheidt switched from Kreidler to Suzuki for his first World Championship in the 50cc class. 1967 Honda realized the inevitability of the advance of two-stroke racing in 1967. They knew they simply couldn't continue trying to match the obvious power to weight advantages of the nimble two-strokes simply by adding cylinders to their four-stroke machines. They dropped out of the 50cc and 125cc events and concentrated on the three bigger classes. In the 250 series Honda ran a six-cylinder bike ridden by Hailwood and Bryans. The pair also rode Honda sixes in the 350 series. For 500s Honda fielded Hailwood on a four, meaning that Mike had to ride an incredible 31 Grands Prixes that season, of which he won 16, including three at the Dutch TT in a day and three at the IOM TT in a week. In the absence of Honda the 50cc class was dominated by Suzuki. With Anscheidt taking his second World Championship in the class, Suzuki's filled the top three places. Meanwhile Suzuki in the 125 class proved no match for the rapidly improving Yamahas ridden by Bill Ivy and Phil Read. Ivy beat his teammate Read by scoring an impressive tally of eight wins out of twelve races. Read took two of the remaining victories, the other two fell to factory Suzuki riders Yoshimi Katayama and Stuart Graham, who finished fourth and fifth respectively in the 125s. Graham was third behind teammate and runner-up Katayama in the 50cc class. The 250s again provided breathtaking racing with Hailwood and Read battling it out during the entire 13 race season. By now Yamaha had made significant chassis improvements to the 'square-four' two-stroke, allowing Read to exploit the power advantage the Yamaha had over the sixes from Honda. The pair finished on an equal tally of 50 points at the end of the season, with Hailwood shading Read into second place only because he had five wins to Read's four. In the 350 series life was a little easier for Hailwood, as Agostini's MV Triple was simply no match for the mighty six-cylinder, DOHC Honda. By midway through the season Hailwood had won six of the eight rounds to take an unbeatable lead. The 500s proved another tough battle for Hailwood. This time he fought with Italian superstar Agostini and his 500 cc Augusta triple. Like the 250 series, this also went to the wire at the last round in Canada and again like the 250s ended with the two rivals tied for points. Both had five wins each season so the Championship was decided on seconds, but this time it was Hailwood who had to settle for the runner-up trophy -- Ago's three seconds beat Hailwood's two. The pair were again followed by a British single in a distant third, and this time it was Hailwood who had proved his endurance just as much as the endurance of the 80 hp Honda engines but riding the 500 took its toll on the easy going Brit. He was never happy with its wild handling. The chassis balance put too little weight on the front tire, leading it to understeer coming out of corners and weave violently. Even Hailwood was unable to master the traits of the chassis and was often foul tempered after wrestling with the machines for the duration of a race. Races were still largely held on road circuits so imagine the stress endured as riders fought with both rivals and their own machines around circuits lined with curbs, trees, stone walls and lamp posts. 1968 Honda shocked the racing world by announcing they had turned their backs on Grand Prix Racing. A winter studded with tantalizing rumors of six-cylinder 125s, V-8 250s and six-cylinder 500s came to an abrupt end on February 21 with a headline on the front page of Motor Cycle that read simply "HONDA QUITS". A press release spoke of a stringent economy drive caused by worse than expected profits the year before. Cynics claimed Honda quit because they were finding it harder to win, others later suggested the company had quit in preparation for the launch of some of their most important road bikes ever to be released, notably the CB750 four. Whatever the reason, the sixties had brought Honda great success. They may have failed to win the 500 class but they did gather up 140 Grands Prix wins and 16 World Championships in the years 1961 - 1967. To say that the 350 and 500 classes were decimated by Honda's announcement is an understatement. The series was left with the almost farcical spectacle of Agostini winning by margins of one minute and 20 seconds ahead of the pursuing packs of British singles. MV regained supremacy in the 350 class with ease and the 500 class belonged also to Agostini and the MV. Over the next four years Ago won every 350 and 500 race he finished and in 1968 Ago won every single 350 and 500 race of the season. The effect must have been demoralizing for the other riders. At the start of the season it seemed that the four-stroke Benelli four and the four-cylinder Jawa two-stroke might at least give the MV a run in the 350s. Alas, the apparent threat proved to be nothing of the sort and both bikes played a distinctive second fiddle to the MV. For the promoters and track owners, this could have spelled the end of the FIM GPs. They were saved by the fierce competition that arose between teammates Ivy and Read at the 250 and 125 level. The 250s were incredibly close, so close that at the end of the season Ivy and Read couldn't be separated by points, positions or even number of races finished with points. To decide a winner the total time taken in the four races in which both riders had finished -- the Dutch, East German, Czech and Italian rounds -- was calculated. This gave the win to Read by just two minutes and 5.3 seconds. Read beat Ivy by a far wider margin in the 125 Championship, with a six point advantage when the results of the rider's best five rounds were calculated. In the 50 cc class, the title again went to Suzuki and Anscheidt. 1969 The decade drew to a close with yet more glory for Augusta and Agostini. He easily won the 500 title, though he may have had more of a fight for the 350 crown had it not been for the untimely death of Bill Ivy. While practicing at East Germany the Jawa engine seized, killing the talented and respected rider. Ivy had finished behind Agostini at Hockenheim and Assen and looked like he might be able to threaten the supremacy of the MV. In the absence of a factory-team effort from either Honda or Yamaha, Benelli, with the help of the talented Australian Kel Carruthers, won the 250 class, the last time a four-stroke motorcycle claimed the crown. The season followed the by-now-regular-flavor of the quarter-liter class by going to the wire. Carruthers had to finish ahead of Championship leader and factory Ossa-mounted Santiago Herrero to clinch the title. Carruthers rode a perfect race to win both the day and the year at the dangerous Yugoslavian Opatija circuit on the Benelli. In the 125 class the absence of the mighty Honda and Yamaha factories threw the series open to some new names. This time it was the turn of another Japanese factory, Kawasaki, to put their name on the GP silverware. Englishman Dave Simmonds beat Bultaco, Suzukis, MZ, Aermacchi and even Maico to win the title. The 50 cc series had also been thrown open after the departure to car racing by the three-time Champion Anscheidt. His place was taken by a new name -- Angel Nieto on the Spanish-made Derbi. Nieto was to continue winning Championships for many years to come. The sixties had changed the face of motorcycle racing. The two-strokes that had dominated the smaller capacity classes were to rise to even greater heights in the next ten years. The sixties were over and the seventies were coming and the sport would make another quantum shift as bikes got more powerful and riders even more professional.

Honda Powers the Japanese Into the Swinging Sixties

老外

 

The Early Years of Grand Prix Racing, the 1970's

By Glenn Le Santo, British Desk Photos courtesy of The Kel Carruthers Collection and www.kennyroberts.com . Lincolnshire, June 07, 2000 --It was a time of flared purple trousers and pop stars in silver suits. It was a time of petrol crisis, punk rock and economic unrest. It was the Seventies. In motorcycle Grand Prix racing things were equally revolutionary. Advertisement The two-stroke motorcycle took over as the dominant force and riders began getting down on their knees, for the corners. The Seventies was the dawn of knee-down cornering, but they didn't get on their knees for the organizers. For the likes of the FIM, the riders had a special one-fingered hand signal that showed they wanted some control over their own destinies. 1970 The decade started as the last had finished; with Giacomo Agostini and MV Augusta winning everything on the 500s and 350s. The awesome combination of Italian Superstar and Italian Superbike won every single Grand Prix in the two classes, bar one, the last of the year held at Montjuich. In the 250cc class, Yamaha was back in front with Englishman Ron Gould beating fellow Yamaha rider Kel Carruthers to the top spot. Dieter Braun won the 125s on a Suzuki and Angel Neito retained the 50cc championship for Spanish firm Derbi. In the 250 class a young Finish rider named Jarno Saarinen quietly finished fourth, giving little hint that he was the guy who was about to change the face of GP riding forever. 1971 In 1971 the Finish student, Saarinen, informed three different bank managers of his intention to further his education that year. Unwittingly, they all coughed up the cash for his education not realizing that he was going to be doing his learning not on campus in Finland, but in the paddocks of the famous Grand Prix circuits of the world. Agostini was again the 500 champion with eight wins from the first eight rounds. Having secured both the 350 and 500 titles before the last three rounds, he decided to take some test drives in F1 Ferraris, keeping his future options open. This was his sixth 500 title in a row and his tenth championship altogether, taking him beyond the previous record of nine by both Ubbiali and Hailwood. He was now the undisputed King of the Grand Prix paddock and hugely popular in Italy. Behind him in the 500s were two Suzuki mounted riders, Keith Turner, who finished a distant runner up in the championship, and Rob Bron, one point behind in third. The Suzukis were serving notice of the way things would be later that decade. The 350 title also belonged to Ago, but this time he had a real rival, it was that student from Finland on his privateer, bank-loan supported Yamaha. Saarinen delivered a mid-season wake up call to the almost complacent MV factory at Brno by beating the almighty Italians and their super-hero rider, Agostini, who failed to score at the round. Saarinen followed it up with a second behind Agostini in his home round at Imatra, Finland, and won again in, of all places, Monza towards the end of the season. Kel Carruthers aboard his Yamaha 250 In the 250s, the Yamahas were also showing their potential. But embarrassingly for the factory the title was won on a privateer bike in the hands of Phil Read. The Englishman had fallen out with the factory after several incidents in the 1968 season when Read refused to allow Bill Ivy to win the 250 class. The enigmatic Read was often accused of having an ego bigger than his cars, he turned up at the races in a gleaming Rolls Royce. Despite his privateer status he managed to afford the services of top tuner, Helmut Fath, and his team arrived at the races in a large race transporter marked, The Phil read Castrol Team." Nevertheless he was still down on speed on the factory bikes and only won with a mixture of hard racing and good luck. In 125s a young English rider by the name of Barry Sheene narrowly missed the championship which eventually went to Angel Nieto on the Derbi. Sheene was leading the championship going into the final round at Jarama but only managed a third place behind Nieto, who won in front of his home crowd despite being injured while second place went to Chas Mortimer. Nieto failed to wrap up the 50cc title at the same round after crashing on the first lap while challenging title winner Jan de Vries on his Kreidler for the lead. 1972 Ago won the 500s yet again, but his dominance, and that of the MVs, was slipping. The four-strokes were finding it increasingly difficult to cope with the power of the Japanese strokers. Chassis technology was unable to tame the fire breathing engines and , coupled with the lack of reliability, held the Japanese bikes and their riders back. In the end, Ago's string of eleven wins from the thirteen round series made it look easier than it was. It was in the 350 class, where the Yamaha chassis had to cope with less brutal power outputs, that the Yamaha looked increasingly strong. Especially in the hands of Saarinen, who was now a full factory rider. Saarinen came second in the title and beat Ago to the flag at Germany and France, and again at Brno where Ago failed to finish. Presumably Saarinens success allowed him to repay the bank managers he had duped the previous season! MV Augusta was shocked enough by the performance of the Yamaha team to return to their drawing boards mid-season and produce an all-new bike to help Ago retain the title. In the 250 class consistency paid off for Saarinen, who won four races and finished well in five more. It was enough to secure the title for the likeable Fin after a season-long battle with fellow Yamaha factory rider, Gould, an Aermacchi man, Pasolini. Saarinen had also started the year with a win at the Daytona and Imola 200 races. Neito won the 125s after the death of early championship leader Gilberto Parlotti on the Isle of Man. Nieto won the 50s by the narrowest of margins. He was level on points with de Vries at the end of the season so the pair were separated by the season's aggregate times, which put Neito ahead by only 21.32 seconds! 1973 Phil Read, fed up with struggling to beat the factory teams on his privateer bikes did the sensible thing and joined them. When he signed for MV, the Italian favorite Agostini must have thought Read was there as a support rider to help the Italian win yet more titles. He couldn't have been more mistaken as Read, never a great one for following team orders, seized every chance that came his way to beat Ago. To the dismay of the Italians, and Ago in particular, Read took the 500 title that year, Read's first of two 500cc titles. Ago's reaction was to sign for Yamaha the following year, an act that many Italians found very hard to stomach. Jarno Saarinen had won the first two 500 rounds on an in-line four-cylinder Yamaha two-stroke. At the third round he had battled lap after lap with MV-mounted Read only to lose out when his chain snapped. His career was tragically ended in a massive pile-up at Monza in the 250 race, when both he and Pasolini were killed. Agostini had some consolation in the 350s, which he won for the sixth consecutive year. But his victory wasn't an easy one as Finnish rider Tepi Lansivuori won three races aboard a Yamaha. In 250s it had began to look like Saarinen would dominate the championship, with the Fin winning the first three rounds. But his death meant that the way was clear for Dieter Braun to add to his championship tally aboard his privately entered Yamaha. The 125 series was won by Kent Andersson who had returned to race at Sweden, his home country, with his leg in plaster after a crash at Assen. Derbi had withdrawn from racing leaving the field open to the Kreidlers with Dutchman, de Vreis, taking the championship. Perhaps because of the carnage that was a feature of that season, de Vreis retired from riding at the end of the season, having secured two World Championships during his riding career. The season had been one of tragedy, confusion and controversy. Factory riders had boycotted the Isle of Man on the grounds of safety. At Opatija in Yugoslavia they had ridden but not given their best, and none of the factory stars finished in the points. Many riders, including several top stars, were killed or badly injured throughout the season. Jarno Saarinen was certain to be a multiple World Champion across the classes until his death at Monza. Before GP racing lost the Finnish star he had given them something that would stay in the racing scene until the present day. He is the rider usually accredited with pioneering putting down the inside knee in the middle of a corner, although other riders, notably Sheene and Roberts, were to be most famous for the knee-down style. The problems with safety lead to riders being more vociferous in their protests, with organized protest and mass representation to the masters of the sport, the FIM. 1974 Despite his move to Yamaha, Agostini failed to regain the 500 title in 1974. Read won the title again, although with only four wins. His MV team-mate, Italian Franco Bonera, was runner up. But this year the title chase was different, with much more competition and many more riders looking likely to win than in previous years. Agostini, who missed a round after crashing in Sweden and breaking his shoulder, finished fourth behind Finish Yamaha rider, Teuvo Lansivuori. The Yamahas weren't the only bikes that looked capable of ending MVs dominance that year. Suzuki presented a very real threat in the form of their four-cylinder two-stroke 500 combined with the up-and-coming Barry Sheene. The darling Every English housewife, Sheene, finished sixth in the title that year. Suzuki debuted the square-four version in France that year; the same bike that was to become a regular race winner later in the decade. MV were missing from the 350 class that year, handing Agostini his fourteenth World Title, this time on his Yamaha. Dieter Braun finished second, also riding for Yamaha. In 250s Yamaha didn't have it all their own way. Harley-Davidson had bought the struggling Aermacchi factory and re-badged the racing bikes with the Harley name. They employed the Italian, Walter Villa, whose modesty and quiet nature was a contrast to the massive egos that paraded in the paddock during the decade. The Italian did his talking on the track, beating a horde of Yamaha riders to win the championship. Dieter Braun scored his second runner up spot of the season. Yamaha made it two championship wins that season with the help of Swede Andersson in the 125 class. Derbi rejoined the fray with Nieto riding to third in the championship behind Yamaha mounted Bruno Kneubuhler from Switzerland. The tiddlers were again completely dominated by Kreidler with another Dutch champion, this time Henk van Kessel who took the 50cc title. Safety was again an issue. Lousy weather and pitiful safety precautions that included an appalling lack of straw bales led to another rider's strike at the Nurburgring. The FIM reacted with attempts to punish both riders and the organizers at that particular round. The repercussions were felt for the rest of the season, yet more minds were being focused on the safety issue. It wasn't going to go away and an increasingly powerful and vocal breed of rider would ensure that safety would be top of the agenda for the rest of the decade. 1975 The four strokes dominance of the 500 series ended in 1975. Agostini and Yamaha won the 500cc title that year, the first time ever a two-stroke had taken the blue-ribbon series. MV was finished, despite the best efforts of Read to rescue them. He finished the season in second place, the highest place MV was to enjoy for the rest of the century. Suzuki's four continued to improve and Sheene was improving with it, winning at Assen and Anderstorp. Sheene however finished sixth in the title, not the highest Suzuki, that honor went to the Finish rider Teuvo Lansivuori who finished fourth behind Japanese Yamaha man Hideo Kanaya. The 350 title saw the first ever teenage GP champion in the form of hotshot nineteen year-old Venezuelan, Johnny Cecotto, who beat Agostini into the runner-up spot. The season was a Yamaha benefit with the all the top fourteen championship places held by Yamahas. Harley-Davidson continued their unlikely dominance of the 250 class. The Italian built bikes were ridden to first and second in the series by Walter Villa and Frenchman Michel Rugerie. Walter Villa, who had been seriously ill prior to the start of the season, won the title despite actually scoring fewer points than his team-mate. Rugerie fell victim to the unpopular scoring system that only counted the six best results of the year. So despite being more consistent than fellow Harley rider Villa, the Frenchman had to make do with second, something that must have rankled him for the rest of his life! The 125 championship was taken by Morbidelli and their hard-man rider Italian Paolo Pileri. The Italian had made a name for himself in the previous season when he came second in the 125cc class at the Czech round against all odds. He had fallen in the previous 250 event and broken his collarbone. Then, leading the 125 race by a huge margin he ran out of petrol 200 meters from the line and was forced to push home - broken collarbone and all. He finished a heroic second, just half a second in front of the third place rider. Derbi were back in the 50cc class but without their darling countryman Angel Nieto. The Kreidler team-manager had signed the multiple champion who rewarded him, and the Kreidler team, with yet another title win. 1976 Suzuki's ever-improving 500 was again in the hands of the young British rider Barry Sheene in 1976. Sheene was fast and free, on and off the circuit, and had an impressive season taking five wins from ten rounds. Because the regulations still selected the best six wins from the season Sheene's count was near perfect at the close of the season. It was his first of two World 500cc titles. Suzuki was the bike to ride in 500s that year and only Agostini, who had defected back to MV Augusta, stopped Suzuki from packing out the top ten positions of the table that year. Teuvo Lanisvouri again had to settle for a runner-up spot. Third place was occupied by Pat Hennen. The American, also riding for Suzuki, became the first ever American to win a Grand Prix 500 race when he beat Lanisvouri in front of the Fin's home crowd at the Finnish GP. His win was prophetic since he was the first of what was to become an unstoppable wave of American riders who would soon be dominating the 500 class. Yamaha had a poor season, their in-line four was down on speed compared to the Suzukis and star rider Cecotto struggled all season long. All the top 500 riders refused to race on the Isle of Man, handing the win to British privateer Tom Herron on his Yamaha. It was the last time a GP Championship round was ever run on the famous, but dangerous, Island circuit. Agostini had refused to race there since the death of his close friend and 125 rider Gilberto Parlotti at the Verandah in 1972. His boycott gained support over the years, until many riders would refuse to give their full commitment, or even ride at all, at the I.O.M. round each season. Tragically, Parlotti himself had only competed the 1972 race because his arch-rival that season, Angel Neito, had refused to go. Parlotti saw it as a chance to gain a crucial advantage in the series. Sheene himself had also not ridden there since crashing a 125 at Quarter Bridge in 1971. Tom Herron, the winner of the last ever 500cc Grand Prix round at the Island, was some years later killed at another road-based race, the fast and equally dangerous North West 200 in Northern Ireland. At the end of the 1976 season the FIM had little choice but to strip the I.O.M. races of World Championship status. The British round was to be held at Silverstone in 1977. In 350 Harley-Davidson continued to clean up the honors. Villa gave the Italian built bike its first World title in that class, followed by Johnny Cecotto riding a Yamaha. Villa also took the 250 title that year, again on a Harley-Davidson. Takazumi Katayami, the most successful Japanese rider of the decade, was an impressive runner up in his first season as a 250 GP rider on his factory Yamaha. Morbidelli retained the 125 crown, this time it was Pierpaolo Bianchi who clinched the title ahead of the formidable Neito, this year riding for Bultaco. The Neito and Bultaco combination was enough to win the 50cc class pushing the Kreidler of Herbert Rittberger into second spot. 1977 The Americans continued to mount a determined assault on the 500 class. This year Pat Hennen was joined by the bespectacled Steve Baker. Hennen, like Sheene, rode Suzuki but Baker was part of a renewed effort from Yamaha. The new Yamaha was campaigned that year by Baker, Cecotto and Agostini, but Sheene and the Suzuki proved too much for them all. Sheene's win gave him his second World Championship at the 500cc level and Britain's last that century. The rest of the decade would belong to America at the GP500 level. Steve Baker did get his factory Yamaha into second place in the title and also won the Formula 750 title for the Yamaha. They rewarded the American sacking him at the end of the season! The 500 class was leading the way in bringing GPs back to life. The retirement from the sport by Honda and Hailwood, and the somewhat boring nature of MV Augusta's dominance of 350 and 500 racing had seen the sport wane in popularity. The racing garnered less interest both from the factories and the spectators. Barry Sheene changed all that by making the sport very popular in the UK with a combination of race wins and television appearances. All over Europe attendance was up, the racing was much more spectacular and the Americans were coming, bringing a new level of professionalism, and with it, money, to the sport. They also further bolstered the growing rider's movement. Sheene had tended to be happy with his lot, doing very nicely from racing and various spin-off activities that included lucrative prime-time television advertising appearances for a well known brand of after-shave. But in 1978, newcomer, Kenny Roberts, was keen to campaign for both his own safety, as well as those of the under-represented privateer riders. In the 350 class Japan enjoyed their first ever GP champion. Yamaha test rider Takazumi Katayama rode the three-cylinder factory machine to victory five times in 1977 to become the first-ever Japanese road racing GP World Champion. He had become the first Japanese rider to win a Grand Prix race when he won in Sweden in 1974. But, in a move that was typical of Japanese factory thinking at the time, the unfortunate star was recalled home to his testing duties to ensure he wouldn't develop any delusions of grandeur. He wasn't allowed to return until 1976. Yamaha must have been less concerned about inflationary egos in 1978 as they let him compete in 500cc class aboard a factory bike despite his winning the 350cc championship in 1977. British rider Tom Herron finished second behind the Japanese star, also on a Yamaha. In fact, all top ten 350 places were occupied by Yamaha this year. In 250s, Harley finally lost their grip on the series, Villa being able to do nothing to stop Morbidelli factory rider and Italian postman Mario Lega from taking the title honors. Newcomer Franco Uncini beat Villa into third place, both men rode for Harley-Davidson. Katayama was best Yamaha in fourth. The 125cc title was retained by Bianchi and Morbidelli when Angel Neito claimed the 50cc crown for the third successive year and his second on a Bultaco. 1978 The honeymoon for European racers was over. A Venezuelan and a Japanese racer had already claimed the 350 class earlier in the decade and now the European dominance of the 500 class was to fall. In fact, no less than three titles, in the 500, 350 and 250 classes, were to go to non-European riders that year. In 500s it was a case of the Yanks coming and, in particular: Mr Kenny Roberts, or King Kenny to you and the rest of the paddock. Not only did Roberts win the title but he did it at his first attempt, sweeping away the British housewife's heart-throb, Barry Sheene, into second place. Roberts won four times, with three runner up spots, compared to Sheene's tally of only two victories. Kenny Roberts took the shine off Britain's Mr. Sheene, a shine that Barry never recovered. It was the first of three successive titles for Roberts, who had already dominated road racing and Flat Track racing back home in the USA. His Flat Track experience gave him an edge in the days when tire technology had yet to catch up with the sort of horsepower the world's top tuners were able to squeeze form the big Japanese two-strokes. Roberts had adopted the mid-corner knee down style and later claimed to be one of the first riders to race with Duct tape attached to his leathers to decrease friction when his knee touched the tarmac. He would then use his knee as the third wheel when cornering, holding the sliding bike up with his knee. Sheene also used the technique, but the 27 year old Roberts was clearly in a class of his own when it came to controlling a spinning and sliding rear wheel. Kenny's involvement in the European racing scene brought with it the interest of the American racing fraternity and some of the ordinary fans that had watched Roberts riding around the dirt ovals. Although officially a World series, the GPs were still largely a European indulgence, for that's where all of the races were held except one - the Venezuelan round at the start of the season which had been introduced in 1977. To make matters worse for Sheene, Roberts effectively won the title at Sheene's home track, Silverstone. Going into the round, Sheene was only three points behind of the Californian. The race started dry but a rain shower caused havoc. Roberts and Sheene pitted to change from slicks to rain tires but Roberts' Yamaha crew did a better job at getting their man back out onto the track. Privateer rider Steve Manship elected to miss the tire change and carried on racing. Sliding his slick-shod motorcycle to a second place behind Roberts, splitting the two rivals and pushing Sheene further down the Championship leaderboard. Sheene was unable to recover. Roberts now only needed to race for good finish at the final race at the Nurburgring, whereas Sheene would need to win to retain his title. Sheene must still be rankled by a costly error by his team earlier that year at Imatra. Sheene had complained of vibration problems to his mechanics after a qualifying session. He asked his team to swap the crankshaft, saying that it was faulty. The team ignored Sheene's inherent mechanical abilities and refused, having already put a new crankshaft in the bike prior to the session. In the race, Sheene DNF'd - with a broken crank! He lost enough points to mean his season was a year-long game of catch-up. In the 250 and 350 classes, Rhodesian born South African resident Kork Ballington swept away the competition on his Kawasaki's. Ballington had used his domestic production racing experience as a springboard to gain entry into the British racing scene. He raced an over-the-counter Yamaha twin for several years before taking a well-earned place in the Kawasaki squad. He rewarded the relative newcomers to the GP circus with a double title win. Kenny Roberts added a fourth in the 250s to his 500cc crown, finishing behind Australian Greg Hansford, who took second, and Patrick Fernandez from France in third. MBA and Lazzarini took the 125 title, with Bultaco again winning the 50s, this time with Spaniard Ricardo Tormo taking the honors. It was another year of politics and Kenny Roberts had as much to do with that as the championship itself. His take-no-prisoners style wasn't restricted to the track. After the French Grand Prix he marched into the organizers office and, with the help of a translator, began to demand his prize money. "Tell the man I want my money," said Kenny smiling sweetly to the official through his translator. "I don't have it," the official replied. "Then tell the man he's an asshole and that everybody in this (expletive deleted) mother (expletive deleted) of a sh*thole is an asshole and that I'm gonna rip his worthless throat out," continued Roberts, smiling sweetly all the time. The translator didn't know the French translation for all of that so he merely said, "Mr. Roberts would like his money now if that is possible." "He'll have to wait until after lunch. Come back later," came the reply. Mr. Roberts then explained that he wouldn't be leaving until he got his hundred dollars in prize money although it was, in itself, hardly worth waiting for. The counter official didn't need a translation; there was something in Kenny's eyes that did the translation for him. The official reached across and opened the cash box and gave the American his hundred dollars. Kenny didn't need the money, his wallet already contained more cash than the official's box. But to him the matter of principle counted more than the cash. Roberts was no fool. He knew that if 150,000 people paid $10 each to attend a race there should be more in it for the riders than a few hundred bucks. He also knew that there was enough money in the sport to do something about the laughable conditions the racers had to compete in. The riders were still obliged to risk their lives for peanuts on street circuits whose surfaces included cobblestones and railway lines where the street furniture was often "protected" by only a few ragged straw bales. Sometimes that level of rudimentary protection wasn't even there. 1979 The last year of the decade again belonged to the non-European contingent. Roberts overcame injury to win the 500 title again. At a private Yamaha test, the American had crashed heavily and suffered a crushed vertebrae, leg injuries and a broken foot. The injuries might have put an end to some careers. Kenny had never even been seriously injured previously in his racing career but he was determined to make a recovery. Roberts missed the first round and Sheene took advantage of this by winning, followed by Virginio Ferrari, both on Suzukis. When Roberts lined up for the next round, nobody expected the battered Californian to pose a threat, let alone win. But win he did and his victory must have shaken the opposition; this American guy was hard! Roberts battled all season with Ferrari, Sheene, Cecotto and Hartog. But all three of his rivals suffered misfortune or injury. Cecotto broke his kneecap, Hartog his arm, and Sheene fell victim to his mechanics again. At Assen a mechanic fitted his front discs incorrectly, causing Sheene to loose braking efficiency during the race. Sheene was forced to pump his brakes for the entire race distance, causing him to fall back to twelfth, out of the points. Meanwhile, Ferrari and Roberts forged ahead but Ferrari eventually crashed, twice, at the final race, handing the title to the determined Roberts who had finished third after being run off the track by a back marker. The race of the season, if not the decade, was the penultimate round at Silverstone where a race-long battle saw Roberts edge Sheene into second place by only three-tenths of a second in front of a massive, but disappointed, British crowd. For the entire race distance the pair swapped paint and position. Each lap the crowd would see a different bike in front. At the flag, it was the familiar yellow and black Yamaha of Roberts that won by a whisker. The season saw more riders taking organized direct action. The Belgian round was boycotted by all the top riders due to the dangerous surface. At the British round, the 500 and 250 riders all announced that they wouldn't race in the FIM-backed series the following year. For Roberts and many other top riders, it seemed obvious that the FIM wasn't capable of organizing the GPs properly; so they decided to do it themselves. They hired journalist, Barry Coleman, to oversee their own answer to the GP circus, which they called the World Series. If they could get the top tracks, the best riders and the factory machinery, then the FIM would be left with nothing but a handful of privateers racing on the street tracks, and they would soon defect to the better-organized rival series. In the end the World Series didn't happen. The owners of Hockenheim, who had previously agreed to support the series, crumbled due to fear of being ostracized by the German racing federation. But the near-coup had done the trick. At the end of 1979 the FIM announced that, because of the threat posed by the World Series, they were putting up the prize money. The start of twenty years of substantial reforms was underway. The British Grand Prix also saw the return of Honda to GP racing. The long-awaited NR500, with its twin conrod, oval pistons and eight valves per cylinder, the NR had already been cruelly dubbed the "Never Ready" due to the long delays in getting it to a championship race. Mick Grant and Takazumi Katayama failed to make an impression. The bike was lackluster and, despite the huge budget and resources that Honda poured into the project, the bike was never even nearly competitive at GP level. Kork Ballington and Kawasaki won the 250 and 350 titles again. While at 125 level, Neito cruised to yet another title winning eight of the thirteen rounds, this time riding for Minarelli. The 50cc class was won by Lazzarini on a Kreidler. With the Seventies drawing to a close, the GPs were changing for ever. The racing was close and both the bikes and riders were extremely fast. The gap between factory and privateer bikes was getting wider and the manufacturers again saw the benefit of using the GP circus as a marketing tool. The era of the race-replica was dawning, when road bikes would start to mimic the styling, and even the technology, of the Grand Prix machines. The World Series didn't happen but it forced the FIM to wake up and re-evaluate their approach to the sport, and the riders in particular. The riders had shown they had more than talent, they had political muscle. The sport was impossible without their input. They rightly pointed out that the spectators would follow them, not the establishment, and without them the organizers would have nothing left to organize. Another change had overtaken the GP world in the late Seventies; the European riders had lost their collective grip on the silverware. The Eighties would herald a new era of internationalism and professionalism in the sport. The GP circus had moved on, it was now a multinational business.

On your knees for the Seventies!

老外

GP History, 1980's

By Glenn Le Santo, British Desk Lincolnshire, August 28, 2000 -- Advertisement The 1980 Grand Prix decade was a late-comer. The first two rounds of the 1980 season had been cancelled but, when the racing got underway, it was under the auspices of the FIM. The World Series threat had all but vanished and the season started with substantial increases in prize money in place. At the end of the Seventies, the Americans had served notice to the Europeans. They had made it clear, through riders like Kenny Roberts, that the Americans were coming. The Eighties would prove that they had arrived in force with an incredible depth of talent. 1980 In 1980, the Great British hope, Barry Sheene, had to move over to make room for a young American named Randy Mamola. While Mamola enjoyed a factory ride on a Suzuki, Sheene was forced to ride a privateer Yamaha. The 500 class also saw the return of Kawasaki with a disc-valve four cylinder two-stroke housed in a monocoque chassis. This was one of many machines during the Eighties that would demonstrate that constant technological advancement was needed to stay competitive in GP racing. R&D budgets would be stretched as factories tried to maintain a lead in the important GP arena. GP race wins sold bikes and the glory of a championship was reflected on the marque that achieved that glory. Mamola repaid Suzuki's faith by winning his first 500 race at the Belgian GP with Roberts, who had won the first three races, struggling in third with suspension problems. At the end of the season Suzukis were all over the leaderboard with Mamola a commendable second on his factory bike. Fellow Suzuki rider, Marco Lucchinelli, did enough to clinch third in front of Unchini, also Suzuki mounted. But Kenny Roberts won his third straight 500 title thanks to his strong start. The next Yamaha was Cecotto in seventh. Roberts had changed the face of 500cc racing. His knee-down technique was not the only difference in the way he rode a 500. His dirt-track experience also meant that he wasn't afraid to use the knife-edge power of the 500 engine to spin up the rear wheel. Less concerned with high corner speed, Roberts concentrated on getting the bike turned so that he could get the awesome power of the machine down and fire the bike up the next straight. There was no doubt that the chassis technology was still far behind the engine technology but Roberts was able to overcome the deficiency with his sliding style. In the 250 and 350 classes the factory Kawasakis looked set to dominate but one man on a privateer 350 Yamaha ruined Kawasaki's plans for a double. South African, Jon Ekerold, fought his way to the top of the table on his Yamaha after a season-long battle with Anton Mang ended with a one second victory for the South African at the German veteran's home circuit, Nurburgring. It clinched the title for Ekerold and put him into the history books as a genuine privateer who took on, and defeated, the might of the factory teams. Mang was left to console himself with a 250 title, won after rival and team-mate, Kork Ballington, missed the final round due to illness. The 125 title went to Bianchi on an MBA and the tiddler class was won by Lazzarini on a 50cc Iprem. 1981 Roberts was back, still on a Yamaha, to defend his 500cc title against the increasingly serious Suzuki threat, but in 1981 the American's luck ran out. He suffered suspension failure at Salzburg and missed the Imola round due to food poisoning. This left the battling Suzuki duo of Mamola and Lucchinnelli out in front of the title race. With Roberts falling back in the title race the scene was set for a final round showdown between the two Suzuki factory boys. The rain fell at the final round in Sweden and Mamola, later to be an acknowledged rain-master, struggled to keep his pace finishing thirteenth, outside of the points. Lucchinelli, who had been nine points clear of the American going into the round, did just enough to clinch the title, finishing ninth. Roberts was third in the title chase with Sheene fourth in a season with several historical markers. Teenager Freddie Spencer took the ill-fated four-stroke Honda NR500 out for its final race at the British Grand Prix. It broke down and Honda withdrew it from GP racing. Sheene's win at the final round also marked the last time a British rider won a 500 race. The 350 and 250 double went to Kawasaki and Anton Mang who, this time, was able to dispense with Ekerold's Yamaha challenge. Angel Neito (Minarelli) made it ten championship wins with a fourth 125cc title while another Spaniard, Ricardo Tormo, took the 50cc title for Bultaco. 1982 This was a season of new bikes, new technology and new hopes. Honda had bought the number one plate in 500s by employing reigning champion Lucchinelli to ride the brand new 500cc triple. The Honda set-up also included the hard-riding, soft spoken American, Freddie Spencer, Japanese test rider Takazumi Katayama and Freddie's ace card, the talented tuner Erv Kanemoto. This V3 had a distinct advantage over the heavier fours. Yamaha realised this and responded with a V4 for Roberts. But it was too little too late for Yamaha and Roberts who, despite a strong start ended the season in fourth place -- his worst result since he joined the series in 1978. But, despite the threat posed by the formidable opposition on their newer, better machines, an Italian Suzuki rider shone through for the title win. Franco Uncini, for so long a top privateer, repaid Suzuki with a hard-fought tile win. Freddie Spencer's third place fnish in the title chase on board the Honda three was a sign of things to come, for both Honda and Spencer. New Zealander, Graeme Crosby, upheld Yamaha's honour with second in the championship after both Roberts and Sheene suffered mid-season injuries that ruined there title chances. The British GP claimed them both, Roberts with injuries to his knee and a finger in the race but Sheene's price was much higher. The British rider was testing the new V4 bike during an open practice session and collided with Patrick Igoa's 250 at over 100mph. The resulting injuries were terrible; Sheene had multiple breaks to both legs and one arm, adding to the toll that a 170mph crash at Daytona in 1975 had already taken on his body. Amazingly, Sheene was back on a Suzuki in 1983. Sheene later sued the Silverstone circuit owners over the incident. The 500 class was by far the dominant class in the GPs by now, but this didn't mean the racing in the lower capacities was soft -- far from it! After another hard-fought season, Anton Mang, won another 350 championship, the last ever as the class was dropped for 1983. The 250 title was won by Frenchman Jean-Louis Tournadre who beat Mang by one point. Both titles were decided at the final race in Hockenheim. Angel Nieto racked up yet another GP title, this time in the 125 class on a Garelli. Kreidler mounted Swiss rider, Dorflinger, clinched the 50cc title as a result of Lazzarini's DNF at Misano. 1983 Although Sheene returned after his 1982 injuries on a factory-supported privateer Suzuki, the real British hope now rested with Rocket Ron Haslam on a full-factory Honda. But Rocket's Honda was second fiddle to the real Honda hope for glory, and a first ever 500cc championship, in the shape of Fast Freddie and the Kanemoto-tuned 500 triple. Roberts was again riding the Yamaha V4, but a lack of winter testing severely hampered his challenge, and the bike suffered all season from handling problems. Despite his problems, Roberts was to fight a season long battle for the title with fellow American, Spencer, and won four out of the last five rounds. A crucial moment in the title chase came at the penultimate corner of the penultimate race in Sweden when Spencer forced his way past Roberts in a daring and controversial overtaking maneuver that proved pivotal. Both riders ran into the dirt, although they stayed upright, after Spencer dove inside of Roberts at the apex. Roberts claimed it was a dangerous move he wouldn't have tried himself, even for the title. Going into the last round, all Freddie had to do to beat Roberts was finish one place behind him. Roberts won the last race (and his final 500cc race) but Spencer just tailed him to second place and his, and Hondas, first ever 500cc GP title by a margin of only two points. Spencer's title win made him the youngest man ever to wear the 500cc crown at only 21. It was the last season for Roberts who retired to take up a new career as a race team owner. Another American, Eddie Lawson, was also drafted into the series, riding for Agostini's Yamaha squad. Lawson finished fourth behind top Suzuki finisher, Randy Mamola. The top four places belonged to Americans and a Japanese rider, Takazumi Katayama further rubbed in the ending of the European hold on the top class with a fifth place on his Honda. Top European was Frenchman Marc Fontan on a privateer Yamaha. The 250 class was won by Carlos Lavado who beat Frenchman, Christian Sarron, in a season that boasted eight different winners. Nieto won an incredible twelfth title aboard a Garelli 125 with two rounds to spare. The last ever 50cc championship was clinched by Stefan Dorflinger again on a Kreidler. 1984 The season started without Kenny Roberts, although there had been one last Spencer Vs Roberts dual at Daytona. At Daytona Spencer had dubuted the new V4 Honda that he would ride in the Championship that year. Although Roberts was gone, the "California Mafia" lived on in the form of Lawson and Mamola. It was to be Lawson's, and Yamaha's, year. The Honda was fast but a cruel blow ruined Honda's, and Spencer's, chances at the first race in South Africa. Spencer's rear wheel, made from carbon fiber, collapsed in the closing moments of qualifying, flinging the Louisiana rider down the road and tearing ligaments in his right ankle. Mamola didn't start the race; he hadn't been able to agree terms with Honda for a contract. Eddie Lawson took advantage of all Hondas problems by winning in the rain on the new twin-spar framed OW76 reed-valve 500. Spencer wasn't fit until round four and was by now out of the hunt. Lawson got three firsts and three seconds from the first six rounds and was cruising to an almost certain title win. By race three, in Jarama, Mamola had a ride but the delay cost him dearly. He rode a great season to finish only 32 points behind Lawson. Mathematically, with 15 points available for a win, Mamola might have had a chance of a 500cc title but it wasn't to be, and the likeable American was never to win a championship at the 500cc GP level. Mamola battled with team mate and fellow Honda triple rider, Raymond Roche, all season. Roche clinched third in front of Spencer who eventually ditched his V4 in favor of the established V3 machine in a last ditch attempt to regain his championship. Unfortunately, a non-championship crash at Laguna Seca resulted in a broken collarbone and ended his chances for 1984. Christian Sarron won the 250 title for France on the French-entered Sonauto Yamaha, squeezing out Rotax-mounted Manfred Herweh. A certain Wayne Rainey from California finished eighth in the 250 title. Angel Nieto racked up an incredible thirteenth GP title aboard the 125 Garelli with two rounds to spare and celebrated by going on holiday and missing the Anderstorp race! He must have wished he'd stayed on the beaches as he broke his wrist, ankle and a finger when he crashed out of the last round. Stefan Dorfliger celebrated the 50cc championships upgrade to 80ccs by winning again, still riding a Kreidler to make it three titles in a row. 1985 This was Spencer's year. Honda entered him in both the 250 and 500cc championships and he rewarded them with an incredible double. The petulant star had a hard season that was probably responsible for many of his later struggles as it left the young racer exhausted and somewhat burned out. Honda ran a vast 500cc squad with Spencer as the main rider on revised NSR500 V4. Haslam, Gardner and Mamola supported on the factory NS500 triples. Spencer was the lone rider of the new NSR250 which wasn't made available to any other rider. Lawson rode the latest version of the V4 Yamaha, the OW81, this year with Michelin tires. The tire swap was a success but Lawson complained that the bike was poorly carbureted. Franco Uncini and Sito Pons rode the stop-gap Suzuki square-four while Rob McElnea rode a Heron (Suzuki's UK importer at the time) supported Suzuki. While the star of the year was Spencer with double titles was Spencer, there were other riders who distinguished themselves that year. Gardner's joint fourth in the title with Haslam showed that the Australian was a serious talent for the future. Lawson's carburetion problems, which made the Yamaha difficult to start, in an era when races were still push-start affairs, cost him dearly. He could only watch the clean-starting Honda with Spencer aboard disappear to an early lead as his Yamaha coughed and sputtered on the grid. Spencer had the 250 title wrapped up with two races left, so he withdrew from the class to concentrate on the crucial 500 battle which he also wrapped up with one race to spare. Christain Sarron finished the season in third behind Lawson, on another Yamaha. Angel Nieto's unsuccessful move into the 250 class gave someone else a chance to win the 125 title. The chance was taken by Fausto Gresini, riding for Garelli. It was the Italian manufacture'rs fourth consecutive title. Dorflinger also celebrated four in a row with another 80cc victory, this time on a Krauser. Also in the 80cc class, Angel Nieto raced for Derbi at France that year, scoring his 90th, and final, GP win. 1986 After the glory of 1985, this year proved a dreadful season for the kid from Louisiana. He spent the off-season suffering form a virus that he had trouble shaking off. He returned for pre-season testing in 1986 thinner and weaker than ever before. He tried to build himself up in the gym, a place he hadn't frequented in the past but it seemd to work. He returned to racing in Spain looking fit and muscular. But he had a new problem, he had started to suffer from arm-pump where the riders loose feeling due to the stresses on the arms from constant acceleration and braking. It was to plague him all year and it forced him to retire from the first race of the season at Jarama. Freddie had lead for the first fourteen laps but he was never to lead another lap, or win, at a GP ever again. Later it was discovered that Spencer was suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome. Freddie Spencer retired from racing in 1987 at an age when most GP500 riders would be starting to hit their peak. Even a series of ill-fated comebacks that stretched to 1993 failed to bring on the old shine that was the real Freddie Spencer. It was Wayne Gardner who first benefited from Freddie's demise, winning his first ever GP at Jarama after Spencer pulled out. But Freddie's problems were also in some part Wayne's. Now the Australian found himself the lone Honda V4 rider pitted against a host of Yamaha talent. Lawson and McElnea rode for Marlboro Agostini while Mamola and Baldwin raced for the Lucky Strike Yamaha team. Suzuki still labored on with the outdated square four but had the new XR70 V4 nearly ready. Ron Haslam and Elf were trying to change the face of the sport with the experimental V3 Honda-engined bike that featured a hub-centre-steering front end. Unfortunately the bike wasn't competitive at a time when the factory bikes were benefiting form huge R&D budgets. A start line incident where Gardner was rammed and injured while attempting to push-start his Honda led the F.I.M. to introduce clutch starts in 1987, something many riders had been campaigning for for several years. Sheene, especially, used to complain about the handicap push-starting presented riders returning from injury. At the close of the season the title belonged to Lawson, who had won seven races compared to Gardner's three, Mamola took third. WSB fans should note the tenth place finisher of the year; no less than Pier Franco Francesco Chili. The 250 class was hotting up with lap times getting ever closer to the 500cc class. Venezuelan star, Carlos Lavado, clinched his second 250 title for Yamaha, ahead of Honda's Sito Pons. In the 125s Luca Cadalora and Fausto Gresini were team mates at Garelli. This didn't stop them battling for the title on track. Cadalora got the better of the battle for his first ever GP title. A similar battle raged in the 80cc class between Derbi riders Martinez and Herreros. Martinez was the eventual winner by just nine points. 1987 This season saw a return to Japan for the first time in twenty years. The GP series was truly becoming a world series both in the location of racing and the riding talent. Mamola had dealt with his early career rain problems and won an impressive race at the rain-lashed Suzuka circuit, riding on Dunlops on a Roberts Yamaha. Gardner inherited the second spot when Mamola's team-mate, Baldwin, crashed out with only four laps to go. Lawson's race was a disaster. His team put him out on intermediates, thinking conditions would improve, then withdrew him from the race when he came in to change tyres. There were so many crashes that, had Lawson re-entered the race, he was bound to have scored vital points. Niall McKenzie crashed out of third place on the last lap, having taken pole on his Kanemoto-prepared Honda. Spencer was already out with a pre-season injury. Only an unlucky mechanical problem at Hockenheim stopped wild-riding Gardner from winning the next five races. He was way ahead of the field and looking set for his first ever title. He ended the season on seven wins, ahead of second place man Mamola and the only rider to have scored in every race that season, brushing aside his reputation as a crasher. Mamola's three wins were enough to put him one point ahead of the less consistent Lawson at the close of the season. The 250 class didn't go according to plan for Lavado. He crashed pre-season ruining his form for the championship and throwing away Yamaha's chances. Honda, who had a been leasing NSR250s to teams and riders, dominated the series. All the top five riders rode Hondas. The title went to Toni Mang. Aprilia entered the GPs for the first time and had an early success when Loris Reggiani won at Misano in San Marino in front of a delighted Italian crowd. Almost a home victory for the new Italian team. Garelli and Fausto Grescini narrowly missed a place in the history books in the 125s. Grescini crashed out of the final round having won all the previous races, his title his consolation for missing a place in history next to Frith, Surtees, Redman and Agostini for 100% season success. Martinez had the 80cc title almost as well wrapped up with seven from ten wins on the Derbi. 1988 This year an Australian was riding with the number one plate on his bike. Wayne Gardner deserved the honor after last season's brilliant showing. But he was going to have to work hard in '88 to keep it. The Californians were out to get his prised plate. Lawson was now joined by Wayne Rainey, a talented young man from the same town as the Roberts family, Modesto. The other famous Californian, Mamola, was now Cagiva mounted; but other new stars were shining in the paddock. Notably Kevin Schwantz from Texas on the Pepsi-sponsored Suzuki V4. Kevin Magee joined fellow Australian Gardner in the paddock. Gardner was riding Honda again and was raring for a fight with arch rival Yamaha rider Lawson. But the season was to go Lawson's way after a tough season full of crashes. The bikes were fierce missiles. The power of the top V4s took some taming. And in the heat of a race even the best pilots stepped the wrong side of the line and were quickly bitten by the viscous bikes they rode. All the top riders were now sliding mid-corner. Power sliding was a necessity on these bikes; the riders would spin up the rear tire to straighten the bike's exit form a bend, allowing them to get that awesome power down for the straights. New kids on the block, Wayne Rainey and Kevin Schwantz, quickly showed they could ride this style as well as any of the more established GP stars. Kevin's riding was perhaps the most entertaining, but he tended to pay the price with crashes. However, Schwantz served notice by winning the opening round at Suzuka, much to the delight of Suzuki. Magee won at Jarama and the third rookie, Rainey, also had a debut win at the British GP which was held for the second year running at Donington Park. The year produced some marvelous racing that was close and hard. Perhaps the most crucial battle was at Paul Ricard. Lawson was recovering from a damaged shoulder which he dislocated at Rijeka during qualifying. He entered the round 20 points in the lead. A titanic battle ensued on track between Gardner, Lawson, Sarron and Schwantz. Gardner looked to have a crucial win sewn up when he struck mechanical difficulties. He limped home in fourth, his Honda overheating. Lawson clinched the win from Sarron, but the Californian was only 46 hundredths of a second in front of third place Schwantz. Gardner only had a mathematical chance of the title after Lawson won two of the next three rounds to Gardner's single victory. But Argentina was canceled, handing the title to Lawson. The Best Rookie award went to Rainey, his third place was down to consistency. It was a warning of what Mister Perfect was capable of. By contrast, Schwantz finished eighth with mid-season crashes and bad knees. Defending 250 champion Anton Mang was forced into retirement by a first round shoulder injury. That left the way clear for Spaniard to Sito Pons (Honda) to win not only the championship but also the hearts of the Spanish nation. The title was won after a season long battle with fellow Spaniard Juan Garriga (Yamaha). Spanish racing success was to galvanise the public and bring a passion for racing to the country that flourishes to this day. Spain enjoyed further success, and reason to support the GPs in the 125 and 80cc classes. Jorge Martinez Aspar won both titles for the Spanish Derbi team. Another Spaniard, also riding for Derbi, slipped into the record books with a second in the 80cc title, this one was named Alex Criville. 1989 Yamaha was delivered a blow in the off-season when Lawson, with one eye on the bank book, took an offer he couldnt refuse and moved to Honda. Lawson found himself riding a monster. The NSR was powerful and fast, reputedly the fastest on the track. But it was a brute and the power threatened to tie the chassis in knots and tear the tyres to shreds. While ace-tuner Kanemoto got in with the job of improving the chassis and calming the power delivery, Lawson got on with His job winning races. But he had more than the brute-force of the Honda engine to deal with. Wayne Rainey, riding for the Roberts team with Magee, was his real threat. Agostini's team had suffered the loss of Lawson so much that Ago grasped at straws by hiring the returning Spencer. The season developed into a long battle between Rainey and Lawson. Gardner, disgruntled at being joined by Lawson in the Rothmans camp could only look on dismayed as the two carved up the championship between themselves. But it was a difficult year. The championship was increasingly under pressure form the growing World Superbike series. The riders revolted, refusing to race at Misano, claiming that it was too dangerous in the wet. The race at Spa was also rain-hit and the organisers made a major muck up of it after restarting the race twice, something expressly forbidden in the rules. The race result then had to be changed, with half-points being given for the positions at the end of the second leg. Schwantz was not pleased, having risked all in the third leg and crashed out while leading a race that was for nothing. Schwantz crashed a lot, and it was to cost him any chance he had of mounting a serious title challenge; he had the skill and courage he needed, but not the consistency. Gardner also crashed, this time breaking his leg in the third round at Laguna Seca. This left the title battle firmly between the Californians, Lawson and Rainey. Rainey pushed Lawson all the way but even his consistency crumbled under the pressure the old master of cool himself Lawson was putting on the rookie. Wayne led into the last half of the season, with Lawson snapping at his heels. Rainey also led going into the final race, at Goiania in Sweden, with a 6.5 point lead. But Kanemoto's work on the Honda helped Lawson to close the gap, which had once been 16 points wide, and meant that he had a real chance in that last race. The pair fought for the lead, way out in front of the pack until Rainey made a rare mistake and high-sided out of the race. Lawson had his fourth 500 title, the first rider to win four since Agostini and the first to win consecutive 500cc titles since Roberts. The season also saw the debut of Mick Doohan in the 500 series, riding an NSR in the same team as Gardner and Lawson. His riding belied his rookie status; he looked a natural on the bucking and sliding NSR. He must have benefited from the presence in the team of both Kanemoto and Lawson but you can't deny his talent. He finished third in Germany behind Rainey and Lawson, his best result of the year and a sign of what was to come in the nineties from the thunder for down under. Another Californian made his mark in GP racing in 1989. This time it was a little guy named John Kocinski who scored two seconds while riding part time on a Yamaha. Sito Pons did his bit for Spain and Honda by winning his second 250 title in a row with a clear margin over second place Reinhold Roth, also on a Honda. The 125 class had another Spanish winner, and yet another name that was to become so familiar in the nineties. This time it was a JJ Cobas bike ridden victory in the series by Alex Criville. The last ever 80cc championship was clinched by yet another Spaniard, making three Spanish Champions in one year. Manual Herreros took the Derbi to yet another GP title. The nineties finished with bikes producing far more power than ever before. It also finished with a number of names just starting to appear in the record books that would become household names in the next decade: John Kocinski, Mick Doohan, Kevin Schwantz, Wayne Rainey, Alex Criville and Pier Francesco Chili. The Nineties would take up where the Eighties left off and GP racing, with the help of the above roll call, would rise to the challenge thrown at it by the new WSB series. Back to Top Back to Part I: The Early Years of Grand Prix Racing Back to Part II: The Early Years of Grand Prix Racing, 1960's Back to Part III: The Early Years of Grand Prix Racing, 1970's Back to Racing Features Back to Motorcycle Online

The Eighties: Technology, Politics and Americans

雪克邦邦

我看MOTO GP   的時間很短~~~~


不過看F1就比較長了~~~

我從96~97年開始看的~~~

隔年最偉大的車手洗拿就在我面前死掉~~~

感覺真怪阿~~~~~屋屋屋屋~~~~

舞劍影

當初的MV Agusta真是可怕.....義大利人的賽車成績都很輝煌

老外

我上面貼的是 1950-1980 年代的 GP 歷史

要是點選圖片格就可以看到圖片了

從早期的 MV 到 後來的本田 還有那些偉大的 80年代車手 Schwantz, Rainey, Doohan, Kocinski, Lawson... 等等... 

Wu

嗯...那AJS到底是啥..??