[burnel72]

Walter Zeller

Walter Zeller (c. 1928 – 1995)
was a
former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from Germany who rode for the
BMW factory racing team . His best year was in 1956
when he finished the season second in the 500cc
world championship behind John Surtees


Between 1947 and 1957, Walter Zeller of Germany
competed in the Isle of Man TT on several occasions
won three German National Championships, and earned
a Gold Medal in the 1951 International Six Day Trials.
Americans were introduced to his skill and accomplishments
during the BMW Battle of the Legends in 1993.
Walter passed away in his sleep two years later.
He was 67

Nationality German
Active years 1955 - 1957
Teams BMW
Grands Prix 7
Championships
Podium finishes 5
Career points 30
First Grand Prix 1955 500cc West German Grand Prix
Last Grand Prix 1957 500cc Dutch TT

 

[burnel72]

Mike Duff

Canadian born, Mike Duff was an excellent Grand Prix motorcycle racer of the 1960’s who won three Grand Prix in the 125cc and 250cc classes

In 1963 he married a Finnish woman and had a son and two years later a daughter. In 1964 and 1965, he rode for the factory Yamaha team. His first Grand Prix victory came at the Belgian Grand Prix 1964. In 1965 he badly broke his pelvis and left hip joint during testing in Japan and spent six long months in hospital.

In 1967 he stopped professional racing, separated from his wife, and moved to California to become an associate editor of Cycle World. He still did some racing, and in 1969 won the Eastern Canadian Championship.

From 1970 to 1978 he ran a Yamaha dealership. He also remarried and had another son. From 1978 to 1984 he worked doing specialised machine-shop work in the Greater Toronto area.

Then in 1984 Michael became Michelle. She separated from her wife, moved to down-town Toronto to start living as a woman.


Nationality Canada Canadian
Born December 13, 1939 (age 73)
Toronto, Canada
Active years 1960 - 1967
First race 1960 Isle of Man TT
Last race 1967 500cc Canadian Grand Prix
First win 1964 250cc Belgian Grand Prix
Last win 1965 250cc Finnish Grand Prix
Team(s) Aermacchi, AJS, Bultaco, Cotton, Matchless, MZ, Norton, Yamaha
Championships 0

 

[burnel72]

Steve

Terence Stephen "Steve" McQueen (March 24, 1930 – November 7, 1980)
was an American actor. He was nicknamed "The King of Cool."

McQueen was an avid motorcycle and racecar enthusiast. When he had the opportunity to drive in a movie, he performed many of his own stunts.

Perhaps the most memorable were the car chase in Bullitt and motorcycle chase in The Great Escape. Although the jump over the fence in The Great Escape was actually done by Bud Ekins for insurance purposes, McQueen did have a considerable amount of screen time riding his 650cc Triumph TR6 Trophy motorcycle. It was difficult to find riders as skilled as McQueen. At one point, due to editing, McQueen is seen in a German uniform chasing himself on another bike.

Together with John Sturges, McQueen planned to make Day of the Champion, a movie about Formula One racing. He was busy with the delayed The Sand Pebbles, though. They had a contract with the German Nürburgring, and after John Frankenheimer shot scenes there for Grand Prix, the reels had to be turned over to Sturges. Frankenheimer was ahead in schedule anyway, and the McQueen/Sturges project was called off.

McQueen considered becoming a professional race car driver. In the 1970 12 Hours of Sebring race, Peter Revson and McQueen (driving with a cast on his left foot from a motorcycle accident two weeks before) won with a Porsche 908/02 in the 3 litre class and missed winning overall by 23 seconds to Mario Andretti/Ignazio Giunti/Nino Vaccarella in a 5 litre Ferrari 512S. The same Porsche 908 was entered by his production company Solar Productions as a camera car for Le Mans in the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans later that year. McQueen wanted to drive a Porsche 917 with Jackie Stewart in that race, but his film backers threatened to pull their support if he did. Faced with the choice of driving for 24 hours in the race or driving the entire summer making the film, McQueen opted to do the latter. Le Mans is considered by some[who?] to be the most historically realistic representation in the history of the race.

McQueen also competed in off-road motorcycle racing. His first off-road motorcycle was a Triumph 500cc that he purchased from friend and stunt man Ekins. McQueen raced in many top off-road races on the West Coast, including the Baja 1000, the Mint 400 and the Elsinore Grand Prix. In 1964, with Ekins on their Triumph TR6 Trophys, he represented the United States in the International Six Days Trial, a form of off-road motorcycling Olympics. He was inducted in the Off-road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1978. In 1971, Solar Productions funded the now-classic motorcycle documentary On Any Sunday, in which McQueen is featured along with racing legends Mert Lawwill and Malcolm Smith. Also in 1971, McQueen was on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine riding a Husqvarna dirt bike. McQueen also designed a motorsports bucket seat, for which a patent was issued in 1971.

McQueen collected classic motorcycles. By the time of his death, his collection included over 100 and was valued in the millions of dollars.

In a segment filmed for The Ed Sullivan Show, McQueen drove Sullivan around a desert area in a dune buggy at high speed. Afterward, Sullivan said, "That was a helluva ride!"

 

[nigelrharris03]

Excellent research I havn't read it as that will take time just at the moment, but just scanning it quickly shows a lot of painstaking research. Great job, I'm looking forward to reading it carefully.

 

[burnel72]

John Surtees

John Surtees, OBE (born 11 February 1934, Tatsfield, Surrey) is a British former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver from England. He was 500cc motorcycle World Champion in 1956 and 1958–60, Formula One World Champion in 1964, and remains the only person to have won World Championships on both two and four wheels. He is also the ambassador of the Racing Steps Foundation.

Surtees is the son of a south London motorcycle dealer. He had his first professional outing in the sidecar of his father's Vincent, which they won. However, when race officials discovered Surtees's age, they were disqualified. He entered his first race at 15 in a grasstrack competition. In 1950, at the age of 16, he went to work for the Vincent factory as an apprentice. He made his first headlines in 1951 when he gave Norton star Geoff Duke a strong challenge in an ACU race at the Thruxton Circuit.

In 1955, Norton race chief Joe Craig gave Surtees his first factory sponsored ride aboard the Nortons. He finished the year by beating reigning world champion Duke at Silverstone and then at Brands Hatch. However, with Norton in financial trouble and uncertain about their racing plans, Surtees accepted an offer to race for the MV Agusta factory racing team., where he soon earned the nickname figlio del vento (son of the wind).

In 1956 Surtees won the 500cc world championship,[4] MV Agusta's first in the senior class. In this Surtees was assisted by the FIM's decision to ban the defending champion, Geoff Duke, for six months because of his support for a riders' strike for more starting money In the 1957 season, the MV Agustas were no match for the Gileras and Surtees battled to a third place finish aboard a 1957 MV Agusta 500 Quattro.

When Gilera and Moto Guzzi pulled out of Grand Prix racing at the end of 1957, Surtees and MV Agusta went on to dominate the competition in the two larger displacement classes. In 1958, 1959 and 1960, he won 32 out of 39 races and became the first man to win the Senior TT at the Isle of Man TT three years in succession.

Nationality United Kingdom British
Born 11 February 1934 (age 79)
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Active years 1952 - 1960
First race 1952 500cc Ulster Grand Prix
Last race 1960 500cc Nations Grand Prix
First win 1955 250cc Ulster Grand Prix
Last win 1960 500cc Nations Grand Prix
Team(s) Norton, MV Agusta
Championships 350cc - 1958, 1959, 1960
500cc- 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960


audio...
1959 MV4 Surtees
http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/galleries/soundfiles/1959 Sur MV4.mp3

John Surtees, 1966

 

[burnel72]

Ernst Jakob Henne

BAYERISCHE MOTORE WERKE

Ernst Jakob Henne (22 February 1904 – 23 May 2005 (aged 101) )
was a distinguished German motorcycle racer and racecar driver.

Henne was born in the village of Weiler, near Wangen im Allgäu. His father was a saddlemaker. In 1919 Henne was apprenticed to a become a motor vehicle mechanic. He started racing in 1923 in Mühldorf, and in 1925 he competed in the Monza Grand Prix, his first major international event. He placed sixth in the 350cc class.

Henne soon became one of the most successful German motorcycle racers. He was the 1926 German champion in the 500cc class, 1927 German champion in the 750cc class and the 1928 winner of the Targa Florio in Sicily.

Between 1928 to 1937, he achieved a total of 76 land speed world records, the last on 28 November 1937 with the 279.5 km/h (173.7 mph) on a fully faired 500cc supercharged BMW. This record stood for 14 years.

Henne was one of the most successful sportsmen in the 1930s in the company of such German greats as Max Schmeling, Gottfried von Cramm, Rudolf Harbig, Rudolf Caracciola, Manfred von Brauchitsch and Bernd Rosemeyer.

After the end of World War II, he developed a contract workshop with Mercedes-Benz. In 1991 he founded the Ernst-Jakob-Henne Foundation to help innocent victims of misfortune. From 1996 until the end of his life, he lived in retirement with his wife on the Canary Islands.

Henne died at his home in Gran Canaria in 2005 at the age of 101





Georg Meier
Georg "Schorsch" Meier (9 November 1910, Mühldorf am Inn – 19 February 1999) was a German motorcycle racer famous for being the first foreign winner of the prestigious Senior TT the Blue Riband race of the Isle of Man TT Races in 1939 riding for the factory BMW team and the first motor-cycle racer to lap a Grand Prix course at over 100mph

 

[burnel72]

Bill Lomas

Bill Lomas (March 8, 1928 - August 14, 2007)

was an English former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was a two-time World Champion and a two-time Isle of Man TT winner. He won the 1955 and 1956 350cc world championship as a member of the Moto Guzzi factory racing team. In the 1956 season, he rode the famous V8 Moto Guzzi Grand Prix race bike. Lomas was also an accomplished trials rider.
He died in Mansfield, England on August 14, 2007 from complications following a heart attack.


Nationality British
Born 8 March 1928
Active years 1950 - 1956
First race 1950 350cc Isle of Man Junior TT
Last race 1956 350cc Ulster Grand Prix
First win 1955 350cc Isle of Man Junior TT
Last win 1956 350cc Ulster Grand Prix
Team(s) Moto Guzzi, MV Agusta
Championships 350cc - 1955, 1956


info..
http://www.bikeexif.com/moto-guzzi-v8

http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/Classic Racers/moto_guzzi_v8.htm



audio
Moto Guzzi V8
http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/galleries/soundfiles/1957 Guzzi V8.mp3



Moto Guzzi V8

 

[burnel72]

Don Emde

was born into a motorcycling family on Feb. 16, 1951, in San Diego, California, to Floyd and Florence Emde. Growing up, Emde hung around the family's motorcycle dealership in National City, California. Running the dealership was a family affair for the Emdes. As a youngster, Don would help pass out AMA membership forms before weekend road rides. As he got older, he would spend time on the weekends in the shop doing everything from waxing bikes to taking out the trash. On racing weekends, Emde would go off to help his older brother, Bob, during his short racing career. Later, youngest brother David would travel and help Don. David also went on to a notable motorcycle racing career.

With his victory in the 1972 Daytona 200, Don Emde became the first son of a former Daytona 200 winner to win the Florida classic. Emde's father, Floyd, accomplished the feat in 1948 on an Indian. Don came back and won the race 24 years later. To date, the Emdes are the only father and son to have won the Daytona 200. After his racing career, Don Emde went on to become author of "Daytona 200," the authoritative book on the history of America's most famous motorcycle race.

Impressed by his performances in 1970, BSA signed Emde for the 1971 season. He was part of the huge BSA/Triumph Daytona 200 effort which included Mike Hailwood, Dick Mann, David Aldana, Jim Rice and Emde for BSA; and Gene Romero, Don Castro, Tom Rockwood, Gary Nixon and Paul Smart for Triumph. In addition to the impressive teams fielded by the British maker, all of the Japanese manufacturers (except Honda) as well as Harley-Davidson fielded factory efforts in one of the most talent-ladened lineups in the history of the race. Emde emerged as a surprise podium finisher, taking third in the 200 behind Mann and Romero. He earned two other podium finishes that season in AMA nationals (Kent, Washington, and Talladega, Alabama), but finished just outside the top ten in the AMA Grand National championship due to poor showings in dirt track events.

Financially troubled BSA unexpectedly trimmed its racing program the following year and Emde was a victim of the cuts. Emde was sent scrambling for new sponsors and hurriedly put together a ride with Team Motorcycle Weekly, with backing from Yamaha for the 1972 Daytona 200. He teamed again with tuner Mel Dinesen, using a new Yamaha 350cc two-stroke specifically designed for the 200.

The new factory Suzukis and Kawasakis were incredibly fast in practice that year, but were suffering tire problems. Emde later said he had sort of a strange inner confidence that he was going to win the race that year. In the race, Emde rode a steady pace and gradually made his way to the front of the field as attrition took its toll on the early leaders. On lap 48 of 53, Emde took the lead for good and went on to win by 100 yards over Ray Hempstead. Emde's victory marked a number of Daytona firsts. It was the first 200 victory for Yamaha; the 350cc engine was the smallest ever to win; and it was the first time a two-stroke-powered machine had won the race.

 

[burnel72]

Ray Pickrell (March 16, 1938 - February 20, 2006)

was a British short-circuit motorcycle road racer who won four Isle of Man TT motorcycle races. As a member of the Triumph factory racing team, he rode the famous racing motorcycle named Slippery Sam to victories at the 1971 and 1972 Isle of Man TT races. Pickrell teamed with Percy Tait to win the 1971 Bol d'Or 24-hour endurance race. He died on February 20 2006.


Percy Tait (born 1929)

is a former professional motorcycle road racer and senior road tester for Triumph motorcycles, where he was estimated to have clocked over a million miles of road testing. He is now a farmer specialising in award winning rare breeds of sheep.
In the 1969 Belgian Grand Prix, on the Spa-Francorchamps racetrack in the Ardennes, Tait was riding Triumph's entry for the 500cc race - a version of the Triumph Daytona developed by Doug Hele. Percy travelled with the mechanics Arthur Jakeman and Jack Shemans in an old Ford Transit van, in which the three of them also had to sleep. Percy led the world champion Giacomo Agostini for three laps to finish second to the MV Agusta at an average speed of 116 mph. Also in 1969, he teamed with Malcolm Uphill to win the Thruxton 500 endurance race.

'Slippery Sam' was one of three similar motorcycles Triumph built for the 1970 Production TT, one of which, ridden by Malcolm Uphill, won the race at 97.71 mph. The Slippery Sam name was acquired during the 1970 Bol d'Or 24 Hour Race in France when a faulty oil pump covered Tait with engine oil. In 1971 Tait and Ray Pickrell won the Bol d'Or 24-hour endurance race on a Triumph triple.

Tait was hired by Suzuki in 1976 to help develop their 500cc Grand Prix bike for Barry Sheene. In 1976, Tait won the 750 class at the North West 200 race. He continued racing two-strokes and 'Slippery Sam' in his late forties but gave up racing after a serious crash on the 'Son of Sam' production racer in the 1976 Production TT.

Nationality United Kingdom British
Active years 1968 - 1971
First race 1968 500cc Ulster Grand Prix
Last race 1971 500cc Ulster Grand Prix
Team(s) Triumph

note:
Slippery Sam
Slippery Sam is a British production class racing motorcycle that used a tuned version of the 750 cc Triumph Trident ohv (pushrod) three-cylinder engine. The "Slippery Sam" name was acquired during the 1970 Bol d'Or 24 Hour Race in France when a faulty oil-pump covered its rider, Percy Tait, with engine oil. The machine, which was on display at the National Motorcycle Museum, was destroyed in a fire, but has since been completely rebuilt.

"Slippery Sam" was one of three similar motorcycles that Triumph built for the 1970 Isle of Man Production TT. The bike was created by the engine's designer, Doug Hele, using stock frames slightly modified so as they were lower. Doug Hele joined with frame expert Rob North to produce the successful works formula 750 race bikes. One of these was ridden by Malcolm Uphill, won the TT at 97.71 mph (157.25 km/h). "Slippery Sam" won consecutive production TT races at the Isle of Man five years running from 1971 through 1975. Other riders included Mick Grant; and in 1971 Percy Tait and Ray Pickrell won the Bol d'Or 24-hour endurance race on a Triumph triple. The motorcycles were prepared for races by Les Williams and his team. (Williams went on to develop the Triumph Legend 964cc). Bert Hopwood urged BSA's managers to make a production version of the racing triple, producing 84 bhp (63 kW) at 8,250 rpm – but this suggestion was ignored, partly due to financial concerns


A cacophonous roar!! of a 1972 750-Trident :twisted:

 

[burnel72]

Kenny Roberts

Kenneth Leroy Roberts (born December 31, 1951 in Modesto, California) is an American former professional motorcycle racer and racing team owner. In 1978, he became the first American to win a Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championship. He was also a two-time winner of the A.M.A. Grand National Championship. Roberts is one of only four riders in American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) racing history to win the AMA Grand Slam, representing Grand National wins at a mile, half-mile, short-track, TT Steeplechase and road race events.

Roberts left his mark on Grand Prix motorcycle racing as a world championship winning rider, an advocate for increased safety standards in racing, and as a racing team owner and a motorcycle engine and chassis constructor. His dirt track-based riding style changed the way Grand Prix motorcycles were ridden. Roberts' proposal to create a rival motorcycle championship in 1979 broke the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) hegemony and increased the political clout of Grand Prix racers, which subsequently led to improved safety standards and a new era of professionalism in the sport. In 2000, Roberts was named a Grand Prix Legend by the FIM.

http://www.kakeh.com/nik/2/imagepages/image54.htm

Nationality US
Born December 31, 1951 (age 61)
Modesto, California
Active years 1974, 1978 - 1983
First race 1974 250 cc Dutch TT
Last race 1983 500 cc San Marino Grand Prix
First win 1978 250 cc Venezuelan Grand Prix
Last win 1983 500 cc San Marino Grand Prix
Team(s) Yamaha
Championships 500 cc - 1978, 1979, 1980

 

[burnel72]

Frederick "Freddie" Burdette Spencer
(born December 20, 1961),

known by the nickname Fast Freddie, is an American former World Champion motorcycle racer.Spencer is regarded as one of the greatest motorcycle racers of the early 1980s

After winning the 1978 250cc U.S. National Road Racing Championship, American Honda signed Spencer to ride for their Superbike team. He gained international prominence at the 1980 U.S. versus Britain Trans-Atlantic Match races when he won two legs, defeating World Champions Kenny Roberts and Barry Sheene in the process. In 1981, he split his time between the AMA Superbike series, and the European Grand Prix circuit, helping Honda develop the exotic, oval-cylindered NR500 four-stroke Grand Prix bike.

By 1982, he had been promoted full time to Honda's Grand Prix team, who by then had given up on the NR500 and developed the NS500 three cylinder, two-stroke. In 1983, Spencer won his first 500cc World Championship at the age of 21, becoming the youngest person to win the title, a distinction previously held by Mike Hailwood. The 1983 season would be remembered as one of the most dramatic title chases in the history of Grand Prix racing; Honda's Spencer and Yamaha's Kenny Roberts fought back and forth for the points lead with each of them earning six victories. The season culminated at the penultimate round in Sweden when the two riders collided on the last lap. Roberts ran off the track leaving Spencer to sprint to the finish line and victory. Roberts won the last race but Spencer finished second, securing his first world title by two points.

In 1984, Honda developed a radically new V4 NSR500 that featured the fuel tank under the engine and the expansion chambers under a false tank above the engine. Teething problems and injuries from crashes hindered Spencer's defense of his crown and he was relegated to fourth place in the championship. In spite of this, he still managed to win three times with the NSR500, and twice more on the NS500 three cylinder machine.

Nationality United States
Active years 1980 - 1993
First race 1980 500cc Belgian Grand Prix
Last race 1993 500cc Italian Grand Prix
First win 1982 500cc Belgian Grand Prix
Last win 1985 500cc Swedish Grand Prix
Team(s) Honda, Yamaha
Championships 500cc - 1983, 1985
250cc - 1985

Honda NS 500R
http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/Classic Racers/honda_ns_500r.htm


1985 Spencer

 

[burnel72]

Randy Mamola

was born November 10, 1959 in San Jose, California is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He is considered one of the most talented riders never to have won a world championship.

Mamola's first 500cc motorcycle Grand Prix race was in Sweden in 1979, riding a Yamaha. His first victory in the 500cc class was at Belgium in 1980. He went on to win a total of 13 Grands Prix, and finished second in the championship four times: in 1980, 1981, 1984 and 1987. During his Grand Prix career he rode for Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda and Cagiva.

Mamola was also well known for being a real crowd pleaser. For example, at the Dutch TT he crashed his bike during warm-up, only to return to the pits to get his spare bike, wheelying and showing off to the crowd during the main race. Another memorable moment occurred at the 1986 French GP while trailing race leader Eddie Lawson, who was too far ahead to catch: Mamola had built up a healthy lead over third place rider, Christian Sarron, and decided to pull an endo on the run-off area at the beginning of the pit straight before rejoining the race. The stunt went unnoticed by track marshals who were mere feet away but it was captured on film by photographer Don Morley. The following weekend, Morely presented Mamola with the photograph, who was thrilled it was caught on film, but Yamaha team manager, Kenny Roberts, was not. Roberts fired Mamola on the spot but eventually relented and reinstated him. After leaving the Roberts team, Mamola signed with Cagiva to help them develop their GP500 race bike. He stayed with the Italian team for three years, but lack of funds hampered the teams success. After sitting out the 1991 season, he returned in 1992 for one last year on a privately supported Yamaha. He has maintained his crowd pleasing manner, often wearing humorous wigs on camera during interviews with riders. He was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2000.

After retiring from racing Mamola did pit lane commentary work with British Eurosport before losing this role in 2009. He is also a mentor for Bradley Smith

Randy Mamola was widely regarded as one of the most exciting and charismatic Grand Prix motorcycle racers of his generation. Mamola was a consistent challenger for the 500cc world championship title throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. He won 13 Grands Prix and finished runner-up in the championship four times. Mamola ranked in the top 10 a remarkable 11 times during his 13-season world championship career. Before embarking on his world championship quest, Mamola won the AMA 250 Grand Prix Championship in 1978.

After racing, Mamola became a founder of Riders for Health, making him perhaps the leading philanthropist ever to come out of motorcycle racing.


Nationality American
Active years 1979 - 1992
First race 1979 250cc Venezuelan Grand Prix
Last race 1992 500cc South African Grand Prix
First win 1980 500cc Belgian Grand Prix
Last win 1987 500cc San Marino Grand Prix
Team(s) Suzuki, Yamaha, Honda, Cagiva

[youtube:1whsn2qm]5yxZrQJ-zZo[/youtube:1whsn2qm]

 

[burnel72]

Ruppert HOLLAUS
Italian GP 125 1954, Monza . Rupert Hollaus
(4 September 1931 in Traisen - 11 September 1954) was an Austrian
Grand Prix motorcycle road racer who competed for the NSU factory
racing team. He is the only Austrian to win a road racing World Championship.
Hollaus began his Grand Prix career in the 1953 season. In the 1954
season, he dominated the 125cc class by winning the first four Grands Prix.
Later that same year, he was killed in practice for the
Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Hollaus became the first posthumous
World Champion in 1954, in the 125cc class and was runner up to his
NSU team-mate, Werner Haas, in the 250cc class

 

[burnel72]

Fritz SCHEIDEGGER
sidecar - 26 Mar 1967

from Switzerland and owned a service station and workshop in Langenthal. He became the Swiss national sidecar champion four times from 1956. In 1958 he raced in the World Sidecar Championship and was highly competitive. In 1965 Scheidegger and Robinson won their first World Championship. The following year Fritz won again. By the end of 1966 he announced his retirement from racing but then he decided to go on for another year. The Easter meeting at Mallory Park was the first race of the season

Whilst in the lead at Mallory Park Fritz was killed instantly after crashing at the Hairpin. The crash occurred when his brake lever broke and despite trying to reduce speed using the hand-brake and gearbox he was unable to recover and avoid a massive spill

 

[burnel72]

Umberto Masetti

Umberto Masetti (4 May 1926 - 28 May 2006)
was an Italian two-time World Champion Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. In 1950, he became the first Italian to win the 500cc World Championship

Masetti was born in Borgo delle Rose, in the province of Parma.

He debuted in the Grand Prix motorcycle World Championship in 1949 aboard a Moto Morini, in the 125cc class. In the same year he also raced a Benelli in the 250cc class and a Gilera in the 500cc class.

In 1950, Masetti won the Grands Prix of Belgium and the Netherlands and defeated Geoff Duke for the 500cc World Championship. In 1952, still with Gilera, he was again World Champion, again taking victories in Belgium and the Netherlands.

In 1953 he raced in the 250cc class for NSU, but an accident at Imola prevented him from taking part for much of the season. In 1954 Masetti was again in the 500cc class with Gilera. In 1955 he divided his time between the 250cc and 500cc classes, this time for the MV Agusta factory, with whom he raced for until 1958. That year, after an unsuccessful season in the 500cc class, he retired from motorcycle competition.

Masetti then lived in Maranello, where he died in 2006.

Nationality Italian
Active years 1949 - 1958
First race 1949 125cc Swiss Grand Prix
Last race 1958 500cc Nations Grand Prix
First win 1950 500cc Belgian Grand Prix
Last win 1955 500cc Nations Grand Prix
Team(s) Benelli, Morini, Gilera, MV Agusta
Championships 500cc - 1950, 1952


audio
http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/galleries/soundfiles/1964 Gillera.mp3[/u]

 

[burnel72]

Leslie Graham

Robert Leslie (Les) Graham DFC (14 September 1911 in Wallasey - 12 June 1953) was a British motorcycle road racer who competed in the 1930s and 1940s. He won the inaugural Grand Prix motorcycle racing 500 cc World Championship in 1949.

Les Graham started racing at Liverpool's Stanley Speedway on dirt. In 1929 he entered a race on the Park Hall Oswestry circuit, riding a second hand Dot-JAP, and came second to Henry Pinnington on an AJS. For the next few years he raced a succession of Rudge hybrids with varying success.

In 1936 he managed to purchase a near new 250 cc OHC OK-Supreme cheaply, because it had dropped a valve. He rebuilt it, and entered it in the 1936 Ulster Grand Prix. After completing a lap of the Clady Circuit, the big end seized.

Afterwards, he returned to racing in the late 1940s as a member of the AJS factory racing team. He competed privately at the first post war Cadwell Park meeting, on a Norton 350, and won. In 1947, on an AJS Porcupine, he managed 9th place in the Senior Isle of Man TT[3]

In 1948 he managed a seventh in the Junior, but did not finish in the Senior. That year at Montlhery, Jock West, Les Graham, and French rider Georges Monneret broke 18 world records at speeds between 107 and 111 mph.

The Motorcycle World Championships were first held in 1949, a year before the beginning of the four-wheeler Formula One World Championship. Les was the first winner of the prestigious 500 cc class, riding an AJS Porcupine. The Championship began with Graham leading by 90 seconds in the 1st round, at the 1949 Isle of Man TT. With only a few miles to go, the magneto drive sheared and he pushed home to finish 9th. He won round 2 at Bremgarten in Switzerland and set fastest lap (in year 1 fastest laps counted for 1 point). Round 3 was the Dutch TT where he finished 2nd to Nello Pagani. He failed to finish in round 4 at Spa in Belgium. Round 5 was the Ulster Grand Prix in which he was victorious and collected the fastest lap. The final round was held at Monza in Italy where local hero Nello Pagani on a Gilera won. A rider's best three finishes counted. Graham had 2 wins & a second, Pagani had 2 wins & a 3rd. Graham took the title even though Pagani's overall score was higher.

In 1950, Graham finished 3rd behind Italian Umberto Masetti (Gilera) and new star Geoff Duke (Norton) of England. He also competed in the 1950 International Six Days Trial held in Wales on an AJS 350.


Nationality British
Active years 1949–1953
First race 1949 500cc Isle of Man TT
Last race 1953 500cc Isle of Man TT
First win 1949 500cc Swiss Grand Prix
Last win 1953 125cc Isle of Man TT
Team(s) AJS, MV Agusta
Championships 500cc - 1949


AJS was the name used for cars and motorcycles made by the Wolverhampton, England, company A. J. Stevens & Co. Ltd, from 1909 to 1931, by then holding 117 motorcycle world records. After the firm was sold, the name continued to be used by Matchless, Associated Motorcycles and Norton-Villiers on four-stroke motorcycles till 1969, and since the name's resale in 1974, on lightweight, two-stroke scramblers and today on small-capacity roadsters and cruisers.

 

[burnel72]

Ernst Degner
(most amazing cold war spy story)

Ernst Degner (born Ernst Eugen Wotzlawek on 22 September 1931 in Gleiwitz, Upper Silesia, Germany - died 10 September 1983 in Arona, Teneriffe, Spain) was a German Grand Prix motorcycle road racer.

Degner joined the Potsdam Motorcycle Club where he met Daniel Zimmermann who had built an exceptionally fast 125cc racing motorcycle based on the DKW RT125. It was called the ZPH in recognition of its designer and engineer (Daniel Zimmermann), its rider at that time (Bernhard Petruschke) and its mechanic (Diethart Henkel). The ZPH proved faster than the East German factory IFAs (later renamed MZ) whose machines were also based on the DKW RT125. Degner started racing and Zimmermann provided him with a ZPH engine which Degner used in the East German 125cc Championship.

His racing successes on the ZPH were noted by the MZ team manager, Walter Kaaden, who signed Degner to ride the factory MZs for the 1956 season. Degner raced successfully for the East German manufacturer which used two-stroke engines, for which Kaaden had discovered principles regarding how sound waves and expansion chambers affect engine tuning. He won the 1957 East German 125cc road racing national championship, and scored his first world championship victory at the 1959 125cc Nations Grand Prix at Monza. He ended the season ranked fifth in the 125cc world championship and fourth in the 250cc world championship. In 1960, he improved to third in the 125cc world championship.

After the Berlin Wall was built in August 1961, Degner arranged the escape (Republikflucht) of his family from the GDR on the weekend he was racing in the Swedish Grand Prix at Kristianstad. In that race he could have secured the 125cc World Championship for himself and for MZ, but his engine failed early in the race. Ironically, his main rival for the 125cc World Title, Honda rider Tom Phillis, also failed to finish the Swedish race. After the race, Degner hid in the trunk of a car and defected to West Germany via Denmark.

After the MZ team had discovered his defection, the East Germans accused Degner of deliberately destroying his engine in the Swedish race. The East Germans' accusations resulted in Degner's East German racing licence being revoked. This prevented him from racing a borrowed EMC 125cc racer in the final 125cc World Championship round in Argentina. Had he won that race, he could still have been crowned 125cc World Champion.

In November 1961, the Japanese company Suzuki hired him and he moved to Hamamatsu, Japan to work in the Suzuki race-shop over the winter. Using the specialist two-stroke knowledge he had gained at MZ, Degner designed Suzuki's new 50cc and 125cc racers. The following year, in 1962 Degner won Suzuki's first World Championship in the 50 cc class.


In November 1963, Degner crashed his Suzuki 250cc racer at the Japanese Grand Prix held at the Suzuka Circuit. The fuel tank burst into flames and Degner suffered horrific burns which required over fifty skin grafts.

As a mark of respect, the double-apex right-hand curves past the esses
where Degner had crashed so badly were named Degner Curve. Degner returned to the Suzuki team to race in September 1964, and won the 125cc Japanese Grand Prix. He won three more Grands Prix in 1965 before retiring from motorcycle racing at the end of the 1966 season.

After dabbling with single-seater car racing, he worked for a spell as Technical Manager at Suzuki's German importer in Munich. He then moved to Tenerife where he ran a car hire business. It was there, in 1983 that he died under mysterious circumstances. Degner had become dependent on medication after his crash in Japan, and his death possibly occurred from an overdose. Rumors persisted for years that Degner committed suicide or that he was murdered by the East German secret police (Stasi) to avenge his defection.


Ernst Degner
Nationality German
Active years 1957 - 1966
First race 1957 125cc German Grand Prix
Last race 1966 Isle of Man 50cc Ultra-Lightweight TT
First win 1959 125cc Nations Grand Prix
Last win 1965 50cc Belgian Grand Prix
Team(s) MZ, Suzuki
Championships 50cc - 1962


info
http://www.classic50racingclub.co.uk/Ernst Degner/Ernst Degner.htm

Listen to the BBC Radio 4 program The Ernst Degner Story
http://www.classic50racingclub.co.uk/Ernst Degner/BBC Radio 4_2012_0213_The Degner Story.wav


Listen a 1964 MZ 350
http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/galleries/soundfiles/1964 MZ 350.mp3




STEALING SPEED:THE BIGGEST SPY SCANDAL IN MOTORSPORT HISTORY

How Ernst Degner Sold MZ Two-Stroke Secrets to Suzuki Motorcycles

MZ Motorcycle Racing Two Stroke - Walter Kaaden - Ernst Degner
[youtube:1a7omeav]JoXA_tCHJJ0[/youtube:1a7omeav]

Ernst Degner and Walter Kaaden story
[youtube:1a7omeav]6qvgWyYs4gc[/youtube:1a7omeav]

[youtube:1a7omeav]PvdG1qNEX30[/youtube:1a7omeav]

Degner brought the Kaaden technology to Suzuki, and became champion of the world

Being the second largest motorcycle factory in Japan, the Suzuki Factory spotted the growing overseas market for small capacity motorbikes and decided to exhibit their products in the famed Isle of Man races. Notice that the first Suzuki 50cc engines had a strong resemblence to the MZ race- engines of Walter Kaaden

1960: THE SUZUKI TEAM

1967: SUZUKI RK 67, 1st, 2nd & 3rd AT THE 1967 50cc TT.

Walter Kaaden

(1 September 1919 – 3 March 1996) was a German engineer who improved the performance of two-stroke engines by understanding the role of resonance waves in the exhaust system. Working for the MZ Motorrad- und Zweiradwerk part of the Industrieverband Fahrzeugbau (IFA), he laid the foundations of the modern two-stroke engine. His understanding of gas flow and resonance enabled him to make the first engine to achieve 200BHP/litre with his 1961 125cc racer. His motorcycle engines were ridden to 13 Grand Prix victories and a further 105 podium finishes between 1955 and 1976.

Walter Kaaden was born in Pobershau, Saxony, Germany. His father worked as chauffeur to the sales manager at the DKW factory. At eight years old he attended the opening of the Nürburgring racing circuit, a formative event to which he later attributed his enthusiasm for engineering.

Kaaden studied at the Technical Academy in Chemnitz. In 1940 he joined the Henschel aircraft factory at Berlin-Schönefeld working under Herbert A. Wagner, the designer of the Hs 293 radio-guided rocket-propelled missile. Despite many reports to the contrary, Kaaden did not work on the V-1 flying bomb (the Vergeltungswaffe 1, Fieseler Fi 103) nor under Wernher von Braun on the V-2 German rocket program during the Second World War. From 1943 he worked at the Peenemünde Army Research Center on the Hs 293 project as a 'flight engineer'. But the bombing of Peenemünde in World War II in July/August 1944 destroyed the facilities there. The Germans then moved missile production and testing into the secure, deep tunnel network built beneath the Harz mountains at Mittelwerk. This is where Kaaden was transferred along with the Hs 293 project.

Kaaden was working near Mittelwerk when he was captured and interned by the Americans at the end of the war. He eventually returned to Zschopau to start a timber business specialising in roof trusses that were in great demand to renovate bomb-damaged buildings. Walter Kaaden built his first racing motorcycle, based on the DKW RT125, which he raced himself in local events in his company's workshop.

In 1953, the IFA asked Kaaden to take over the management of the racing department from Kurt Kampf after the IFA 125cc racers had been outclassed by Bernhard Petruschke riding the private ZPH (Zimmermann-Petruschke-Henkel) machine whenever they had met the previous year.

Like IFA, Engineer Daniel Zimmermann (born 1902) based his ZPH engine on the pre-war DKW RT-125 which he heavily modified by adding a disc valve that allowed asymmetric port timing with a longer duration inlet phase. Zimmermann also used a new crankshaft providing 'square' bore and stroke dimensions (54mm x 54mm) and used stuffing rings to boost the primary compression ratio. However, the East German government didn't like the competition between the two East Germans and persuaded Zimmermann to reveal his engine's secrets to Kaaden. The result was the 1953 IFA racer that featured a rotary disc valve - as per Zimmermann - from 1953.

Working with extremely limited resources, Kaaden began to develop the expansion chambers invented by Erich Wolf (the DKW designer) that had first appeared on his 1951 DKW racers. In 1952 Kurt Kampf copied this DKW innovation and fitted them on the IFA racers. Kaaden used an oscilloscope to examine the resonance in the exhaust system and devised profiles to maximise the engine's efficiency. The net result of this development programme was that by 1954, Kaaden's two stroke 125cc racing engine was producing 13 bhp, more than 100 bhp/litre. This engine was further developed to produce 25 bhp at 10,800rev/min

MZ team - Kaaden far righ

 

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Tom Phillis

Australian rider Tom Phillis, current 125 cm3 World Champion, was killed on 06 June 1962 during second lap of the Junior Isle of Man Tourist Trophy when he crashed at Laurel Bank, near the small village of Peel. He and team mate Bob McIntyre were riding a new model of the Honda 250 motorcycle fitted with an increased 285 cm3 engine to compete in the 350 cm3 class. They were battling hard against the MV Agusta 350s of Mike Hailwood - who would win the race - and Gary Hocking.

That same race also claimed the life of fellow competitor Colin Meehan.

Tom Phillis was the second rider from Australia to win a World Motorcycle Championship, after Keith Campbell who won the 1957 350 cm3 title on a Moto Guzzi. And both Phillis and Campbell had the ill luck of losing their lives just the year after their success.

Tom Phillis, 28 year-old from Sydney, who always raced with a kangaroo painted on his helmet, was a well known member of the "Continental Circus" who had started his career in his twenties, riding an aged Norton-Manx in national races in NSW, Australia. His career progressed thanks to country fellow and expert rider Jack Ahearn who helped him. In 1957 Phillis finished 4th in 500 cm3 class at Easter Bathurst and won his class at Mt. Druitt. In 1958 he moved to Europe, riding a private Norton, participating for the first time in the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy. In 1959 he had his World Championship debut in the 350 cm3 Ulster Grand Prix at Dundrod.

Racing always as a privateer, by the end of 1960 he decided to stop his activity in Europe and to came back to Australia, but in 1961 he joined Honda factory team, scoring his first win in the 125 cm3 Spanish Grand Prix at Montjuïc Park, from his best competitor Ernst Degner on a MZ. During the season Phillis won also the French Grand Prix at Clermont Ferrand and the Dutch TT at Assen. Degner who had won the West and the East Germany Grands Prix at Hockenheim and Sachsenring and the Grand Prix des Nations at Monza, failed to attend the last and decisive round of the series, the Grand Prix of Argentine at Buenos Aires, Tom Phillis won the race and the 125 cm3 World title. He was also runner-up in the 250 cm3 Championship in 1961, behind Mike Hailwood, having scored two wins in France and Argentine.

In 1962 Tom Phillis participated in the Mototemporada, the famous Italian motorcycle series organized in Emilia-Romagna region, winning a race at Imola and finishing 2nd at Cesenatico. Then he scored 3rd places at Montjuïc Park and at Clermont Ferrand before going to the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy.

His close friend Gary Hocking, the defending 500 cm3 World Champion, was so affected by the death of Tom Phillis that he immediately retired from motorcycle competitions, moving to motorsport.



Tom Phillis Remembered: World 125cc Champion 1961
Nationality Australian
Born 9 April 1934
Sydney Australia
Died 6 June 1962 (aged 28)
Isle of Man
Active years 1958 - 1962
First race 1958 350cc Isle of Man TT
Last race 1962 350cc Isle of Man TT
First win 1961 125cc Spanish Grand Prix
Last win 1961 250cc Argentine Grand Prix
Team(s) Honda
Championships 125cc - 1961



Manufacturer Honda
Production 1960
Engine Four stroke, inline 2 cylinders, double over head camshafts
Transmission 6-speed manual
Weight 93 kg (210 lb) (dry)

1962 French Grand Prix 250cc, McIntyre, Phillis, Redman

1962 French Grand Prix 250cc, Redman, McIntyre, Phillis

1961 Isle of Man TT Race 125cc, Phillis

1961 Isle of Man TT Race 250cc, Phillis

1961 Spanish Grand Prix 125cc, Winner Tom Phillis

1961 Neitherlands TT Race 125cc, Phillis

1961 Argentina Grand Prix, Tom Phillis

1961 Tom Phillis, RC143

 

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Ewald Kluge

Had a difficult upbringing. At the age of twelve, his mother died and he was forced to stay at home, working for his father's company. At fourteen, he sought a teaching position but was unsuccessful and ended up washing cars, which led to an apprenticeship as a mechanic in a garage. At the age of nineteen he was made redundant and started working as a taxi driver in Dresden.

For 800 Reichsmarks Kluge bought a Dunelt motorcycle in which he entered the 1929 Freiberger Dreiecksrennen, starting first and finishing in third place. Over the next few years, Kluge rode a private DKW before joining the DKW works team in 1934 as a mechanic and backup rider. In 1935 he was made a full member of the works team.

From 1936 to 1939, Kluge was German champion in the 250 cc class and in 1938 and 1939 he was also European champion. In June 1938, Kluge won the 250 cc Lightweight TT at the Isle of Man TT by a margin of eleven minutes and ten seconds over second placed Ginger Wood. He was the first German and only the second rider from continental Europe to win the race.

During World War II, Kluge was a Sergeant in Leipzig at the school for army motorisation in Wünsdorf. In 1943, he was released from his role at the request of Auto Union, for whom he went to work in their testing department. After the war, the Russians denounced him as a Nazi and between 1946 and 1949 he was imprisoned in NKVD Special Camp No. 1.

From 1950, Kluge was once again a rider for DKW, often riding in both the 250 cc and 350 cc classes. In 1952, Kluge competed at the German Grand Prix, finishing fifth in the 350 cc race and fourth in the 250 cc race. In 1953 he had a serious crash at the Nürburgring in which he fractured his thigh, ending his riding career. Later he worked in public relations for Auto Union.

Kluge died on 19 August 1964 from cancer. He was married and had a son and a daughter.



Nationality German
Born 19 January 1909
Lausa, Germany
Isle of Man TT career
TTs contested 3 (1937-1939)
TT wins 1
First TT win 1938 Lightweight TT
Last TT win 1938 Lightweight TT
Podiums 2



The 350 cc three cylinder DKW, used by Kluge in his final race.

A DKW US 250, as used by Kluge in the 1939 season

DKW
is a defunct German car and motorcycle marque. The name derives from Dampf-Kraft-Wagen (English: steam-driven car).

In 1916, the Danish engineer Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen founded a factory in Zschopau, Saxony, Germany, to produce steam fittings. In the same year, he attempted to produce a steam-driven car, called the DKW. Although unsuccessful, he made a two-stroke toy engine in 1919, called Des Knaben Wunsch—"the boy's desire". He also put a slightly modified version of this engine into a motorcycle and called it Das Kleine Wunder—"the little marvel". This was the real beginning of the DKW brand: by the 1930s, DKW was the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer.

In 1932, DKW merged with Audi, Horch and Wanderer, to form the Auto Union. Auto Union came under Daimler-Benz ownership in 1957, and was then purchased by the Volkswagen Group in 1964. The last German built DKW car was the F102 which ceased production in 1966.

DKW badged cars continued to be built under license in Brazil and Argentina until, respectively, 1967 and 1969

 

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Freddie Frith

Frederick Lee "Freddie" Frith OBE (born 30 May 1909 - 24 May 1988 in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England)

was a British former Grand Prix motorcycle road racing World Champion. A former stonemason and motor-trader dealer was a stylish rider and five times winner of the Isle of Man TT. Frith had the distinction of being one of the few to win TT races before and after the Second World War.

He won the 1935 Junior Manx Grand Prix and then joined the Norton team for the 1936 TT Races. It was a winning combination as he claimed the Junior TT and finished second in the Senior TT as well as winning the 350cc European Championship . In 1937 he went one better in the Senior and took a brilliant win and setting the first 90 mph plus lap of the Snaefell Mountain Course.

After finishing third in the 1939 Senior he missed the 1947 TT due to a practice spill on a 500cc Moto Guzzi. Turning to Velocettes in 1948 he won the Junior Race, repeating this success a year later. Freddie also has the distinction of being the first ever 350cc World Champion in 1949 when, he won all five events of the inaugural campaign.

Freddie Frith, alongside other Riders from BSA; Ariel and Matchless Works teams, served in the army during World War 2 at the Infantry Driving & Maintenance School stationed at Keswick. They taught officers and NCOs how to ride cross-country. Sgt. Freddie Frith taught teams of four on Norton 500cc over Skiddaw in all weathers. A special treat on the last day was reserved for roadwork, following Freddie's track fast-cornering



Nationality British
Active years 1949
First race 1949 350cc Isle of Man TT
Last race 1949 350cc Ulster Grand Prix
First win 1949 350cc Isle of Man TT
Last win 1949 350cc Ulster Grand Prix
Team(s) Velocette
Championships 350cc - 1949


Velocette
is the name given to motorcycles that were made by Veloce Ltd, in Hall Green, Birmingham, England. One of several motorcycle manufacturers in Birmingham, Velocette was a small, family-owned firm, selling far fewer hand-built motorcycles than the giant BSA, Norton or Triumph concerns. Renowned for the quality of its products, the company was "always in the picture" in international motorcycle racing, from the mid-1920s through the 1950s, culminating in two World Championship titles (1949–1950 350 cc) and its legendary and still-unbeaten (for single-cylinder, 500cc machines) 24 hours at 100 mph (161 km/h) record. Veloce, while small, was a great technical innovator and many of its patented designs are commonplace on motorcycles today, including the positive-stop foot shift and swinging arm rear suspension with hydraulic dampers.