Knocking down the wall in Germany

Just over a couple of hours by Ryanair from my Nottingham home is the charismatic and historic City of Berlin, more importantly is the nearby race circuit of Oschersleben which last weekend hosted the fourth round of this years World Endurance Championship over a challenging eight hours.

Arriving in Germany late Friday evening I met Phill Haynes in the terminal who was on the Luton flight arriving simultaneously at Shonefeld – Phill is master mechanic for Moores Racing who contest the Hottrax Motorsport Racing Club domestically with a very effective R1 and a very rapid R6. He is also a major component in the Phaseone Endurance Team who is one of the world’s leading motorcycle race teams and is hoping to grab some points in the championship race at the German Speedweek held annually at Oschersleben.

Steadily making our way along the motorway in torrential rain and darkness we arrived at the circuit just after midnight. Saturday morning dawned dry and sunny and spent a frustrating hour collecting my media pass from the unfortunately named Welkomm Centre! It was then a matter of making myself at home in the Media Centre and being trackside for testing times. Rumours abounded that Michael Schumacher was to make his motorcycle endurance racing debut and indeed his name was there in the programme. Since his retirement from F1 Schuey has developed a reasonably successful career (I am sure he doesn’t need the money) racing a Honda Fireblade, mainly in the German IDM domestic superbike championship and has enjoyed a mix of mid field success and some crashes. His team (Holzhauer Racing Promotion) was entered in the 8 hrs where he would be partnered by team mates, the current German Superbike champion – Austrian Martin Bauer and young German hotshot Matthias (Snoopy) von Hammerstein.

More importantly was the fact that we had some Brits contesting the race who were in with a real chance of podium finishes – missing from the original entry list were Stalker and James Hayden so that left Steve Plater on the Austrian Yamaha R1, Nottingham’s Richard Cooper on the works BeEmm HP2 Sport, James Hutchins on the Diablo Bolliger ZX10R and current Spanish Supersport Champion Graeme Gowland on the Phaseone machine. Add to that honorary Englanders, brothers Damian and Alex Cudlin and Warwick Nowland all from Down Under and American Jason Pridmore who was part of Phaseone world championship winning line up in 2003. Chuck in a load of exotic machinery such as 2 Buells, works KTM RC8s, MV 1000F4, a duo of 1098 Dukes and a solitary Triumph Daytona 675 and you’ve got the makings of a right good bash.

Not wanting to rewrite a race commentary on the 8 hours – you can read this on the excellent Race24 website - http://www.race24.com/

Suffice it to say Plater + the R1 finished in second spot only a lap down on the leading Team Kawasaki France entry and these guys were only a lap ahead of the works Suzuki team from France who just managed to scrape ahead of Phaseone after Damo had a heart stopping moment out on the track in the last hour still turning in a lap of 1m 50s under duress – less than a minute separated these two outfits after 480 minutes and well done to Gowland who certainly enjoyed the race. Nowland and Pridmore on the Maco R1 rounded off the top six and the Diablo 666 machine of Hutchins + Alex Cudlin was ninth, they had spent some of the later part of the race dicing in the top ten with Cooperman’s BMW (remember the boxer twin is not a EC or Superbike and was entered in the Open class), however in the dying moments of the race Richard’s team mate – Thomas Hinterreiter dropped the massive machine and toured back to the pits – young Ricardo was ejected from the comfort of the BMW hospitality suite and shoe horned into his leathers with orders to make up some places with less than an hour to go. This he was able to do and as able to leapfrog the other works BMW HP2 bike and finish 12th overall and first in class. Testament to Richard’s natural speed and sustainable ability was the fact that the factory team manager put him out for the maximum running time allowed under the regulations and on a bike with only two riders (third man dropped the bike in training and was unable to compete) he raced on the knife edge for well over four hours of the race. To reflect back it was less than a week ago since we had witnessed Richard winning the Hottrax 6 hour race on a Co-Ordit Yamaha at Snetterton in the British Championship and he is doing rather well at BSB level in Rob Mac’s R1 Cup, the KTM series and occasionally can be found decimating the opposition at Darley Moor – when not on two wheels the pocket rocket can be seen hurling himself around the roads around Nottingham driving a Pidcock Motorcycles white van!

For the record – Schuey & Co ran their Fireblade during the race with Martin Bauer doing the lion’s share of the running continually pitting into the garage whilst the team made adjustments. Unclassified at the end having completed less that half the laps of the winners; MS did in fact get out during the dark and it would be hard for cynics not to conclude this session was regarded little more than addition testing for their German Superbike Championship attack the following day. Earlier during Friday training he managed to low side the big Honda causing no real damage to the bike, don’t know about his pride though..

After a night time punctuated by fireworks and German bikers detonating motorcycle engines to the sound of heavy metal; the dry weather turned to changeable progressing to heavy rain throughout the day. Domestic championships were on the menu for the day whilst the WEC teams packed up and decamped. In the Sidecar race Brit brothers Stefan + David Dodd were top finishers in 11th, some Australian bloke called Jackson Leigh-Smith was unclassified in the 125 race, the excellent Damo Cudlin enjoyed a second place and a DNF due to an electrical fault in the wet whilst Scotland’s own youngster Kev Coghlan had a 13th and 17th on the day in the Supersport class.

In the Superbikes it was German Jorg Teuchart who did the double on his Yamaha whilst Schumacher started both races from the pitlane or back of grid (in testing he was 13th fastest from 33 runners so he is no slouch) and in the first dry race he finished 15th after making up places early on and was unplaced in the second very wet race.

As an aside I am not a big reader of fiction work, preferring autobiographies, travel accounts, reports + research however my main companion for this trip was Prank by fellow motorcycle endurance nut Hag Hughes, as recommended to me by Endurance Racing Guru Max Sholl. As a bloke in his early fifties who never really started growing up until his forties I can identify with much of the content of Hag’s first novel and all I can say it is brilliant and you are a very sick person. His second novel is due in 2009 and both are available from Amazon.

Mid afternoon I joined the Hire Car Grand Prix back to the airport via a drive around Poland of course, to join fellow Nottingham good blokes Richard Cooper and boss at Pidcock Mark Fisher to join the countless other travellers back to the Midlands after a brilliant weekend in the East!

Alfonso does MIA on a Tuesday

Alfonso gets skidders from the skid pan

Whilst most people of working age were leafing through what Google had to offer, or waited for the arrival of the cob van - Lygo was a guest of MIA - The Motorsport Industry Association. Primed with compulsory bacon cobs and armed with a skid lid I was taken to the Rockingham skid pan in the middle of the track, one of only two such fascilities in the UK - the other being at Silverstone. With a remit of not exceeding 30 mph before 'managing' an enforced slide/spin/whatever - this was not as easy as you would imagine as the squeal of brakes, stalled engines and bad language evidenced.

Tim Harvey laughs at Lygo's joke as if he hadn't heard it before

The morning storms gave way to blue sky conditions and it was my turn to circulate at the wheel of the following cars; Lola Cosworth Track Day Sports Car, Prodrive Ford Focus RS with ADT, Prodrive Alfa Romeo Brera 3.2 V6 and the electric powered Vectrix Max Scooter. The real treat of the day were the passenger rides aboard a plethora of thoroughbred racecars piloted by some of Britains finest drivers. Former BTCC champion Tim Harvey drove Phil Millington's very trick road Audi R8, Phil from Derby manufactures performance exhaust for classic and modern cars and exports all his best pipes all over the world. Tim was a fine racenteur and a keen biker, keeping fit for his current Porsche Carrera championship by doing long enduros, a regular track day participant on an ex BSB Virgin Yamaha before he realised it was a bit of a handful. Really impressive was the fact that Tim knew all about the Hottrax Motorsport Racing Club Endurance series and had attended a couple of KRC races a few years ago - top bloke!

Nissan had kindly put a 2 Litre plus engine in the back of a very light Micra rolling chassais with brakes + steering matched to pefromance.Driver of the day was Brazilian hotshoe Tommy Erdos who I have studied at close quarters from his Formula Ford days through to F Renault finally settling on a full time career as a GT/sportscar tamer of some repute, currently doing well in the World Le Mans Series. I asked him if he liked motorcycles - he was rapid to retort NO they are mad - from a man who last month was driving down the Mulsanne Straight at 190 mph in the dark when it was raining - thanks Tommy!

£750k Merc McLaren

The ride that had me reaching for the Kleenex was with current Chevrolet World Touring Car driver and ex BTCC rapid player - Rob Huff. Rob was entrusted by the factory to drive and develop the massively tiltled Mercedes Benz SLR McLaren 722 GT - costing around £350k as it leaves the factory gates - Ray Mallock Limited spend the same amount on tricking it up ready for the track and give it to Rob to take Bigal out for a punt around the Rockingham Oval circuit. At one time I saw 273 kmp on the clock (over 160 mph) and the chicane/kink just after the start/finsih line was taken at 130 mph with a little 'lift', Rob tried his damnest to touch the perimiter wall of the oval - this was the only LHD car I sampled and can witness to the closeness to the concrete walls! Space was tight inside the car and the six point harness even tighter and jut as well because of the incredible g forces associated with breath taking braking and accelerating. I had to be extracted from the passenger seat as my grin was too big for the tiny gull wing door. The Merc has a top speed of almost 200 mph and is powered by a 5.5L ANG powerplant - only 31 were ever produces........

Nissan power car has tax disc and chases the Merc

On a serious note, the motorsport industry is big kahuna in the UK - those in the know forecast a recession and I wouldn't argue with that! MIA are all about manufacturers and service providers exploring export markets to maintain their pole position in the world - remember Phil from Derby? 65% of his business comes from beyond the Channel - get cracking you lot!

Hottrax at the Rockers

Trackday Virgins – well almost!

It’s been a while since either my son Nik or I took the track in earnest so what better way than booking a Hottrax Trackday on the Rockingham Motor Speedway International circuit in Northants. It is 7 years since I last sampled this track and that was in an Audi Quattro on the tri oval configuration at its media opening back in 2001 before the Indy Cars arrived.

Booking through the Hottrax website was easy peasy and before arriving at the track Nik and I wasted several hours watching snippets of the wrong circuit on You Tube.

Did the usual thing such as signing on with Karen, Dave delivered a light but informative briefing and by 0940 Lygo & Son were out in the Novice Class trying to emulate Rossi and Stoner. The instructors were supportive and professional and included our own endurance entrepreneur Andy Buik on a smart Suzuki. It was also good to see some of the endurance teams sampling Rockers at first hand – Advance Bike Shipping, Team Co-Ordit, Team Issor from last season and ETA Racing. With the ACU not granting the circuit a licence the only way to experience this track is by track day.

Dave went out for a spin on his 08 registered ZX10R which was also entrusted to Andy B for an afternoon session. A couple of riders did kiss the tarmac and help was on hand to get them back out or enable them to struggle home – a new gear lever was fashioned out of various nuts, bolts and bits of brackets as well as 100mm wide gaffer tape to reconstruct the errant bodywork, not deterred the rider managed one more session before riding back to Sheffield.

I had a brilliant time and am self aware enough to know I have a limited future as a full time racer, however the feeling of coming off the backing into a chicane at 80+ mph, more left handers than you could shake a stick at and (my favourite corner) the double hairpin – mega!

Hottrax have a few more visits to Rockingham – 4 July, 9 10 30 31 August, 21 Sep, 4 Oct and 1 Nov – if you haven’t tried it, shame on you.

Nik Lygo 'does' the 24 hours of Hampshire!

Over the recent spring Bank Holiday my youngest son Nik took part in a 24hr race through a wood somewhere on military land in deepest Hampshire. Concept is not dissimilar to HMRC; 4 army riders, one Harley Davidson (nee Can Am with Rotax engine). A single lap was about 6miles and the target was for the winning team to complete 200 laps.

Nik didn't sit on the bike till the previous Wednesday evening and the forecast for the race weekend was grim. Instead of transponders you ride through a small tent and a bloke with a clipboard ticks off another completed tour!

In the middle of the night and in torrential rain Nik stepped off at speed due to a wayward tree trunk, lack of vision and slippery ground conditions - he managed to return the bike to Parc Ferme where a four hour rebuild ensued, the crash had damaged the leccy start switch so getting back was a 'mare'.

Riders and bike refreshed they returned to the action and the team finished 45th out of 76 entries, the winners were a crack Dutch Army outfit with works KTMs fitted with all the factory goodies.

"same again next year, Nik?" - not arfffffffffffff

Check out a lap from 2007

www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3bFFUyn3DI

Robert Dunlop 1960 - 2008 Obituary

Less well known than his older brother, Joey – nonetheless a pure genius on two wheels adapting his style from lightweight 125 singles to the behemoth works JPS Norton rotary on short and road circuits alike.
 
Robert 47, never really lost his focus despite a near death accident at the 1994 TT; he was often happier stripping an engine rather than stuffing his machine up the inside of the rider in front to take the flag.
 
I have followed the Dunlop family’s fortune for nearly 30 years and witnessed the little man’s Manx Grand Prix win back in the eighties – I was to return this year to appreciate him returning to ride the Paton his brother rode before his own untimely death back in 2000.
  
Back in 2000 I had negotiated to interview Joey and Robert at what was to be Joey’s last ever NW200 – trouble was, few people actually got away with interviewing the Dunlops. They were more the strong silent types wanting to let their riding to do the talking - they still tolerated me snapping away throughout the week as they prepared for the races.
 
Even with the passing of the two brothers, they leave a legacy of Robert’s two sons – William and Michael as well as their cousin Sam…..
 
You will not be forgotten

An important message from Paul Wilkinson............paul@beesa71.plus.com
 
Dear Motorcycle Endurance Fanatics 

 
Amongst a small number of us I seem to have been appointed as the historian
for the Mead & Tomkinson BSA B50 Endurance Racing Enthusiasts group (if ever
there was such a thing) and after a recent first time visit abroad to meet
other 'members' I've embarked on further research.
  
So; having come across your wonderful website where there is a mention of
M&T and pictures of the later Kawasaki engined Nessie I thought I'd email
you seeking help and advice.
 
In particular I am looking at unravelling a mystery around M&T's efforts in
1971 and am looking for information relating to the Zolder 24 hour race in
August of that year.
 
I've quite a lot of UK sourced information (MCN, MCW, MCS etc) and
information in French magazines but they don't cover things very well.
 
I wonder therefore whether in your possession you might have any data from
that era or can point me in the direction of anyone who might.
 
We seem to have reached a position where we can say that between 1971 and
1975 there were at least 6 M&T BSA B50 machines but probably not more than
7! The breakdown of their current (2008) locations being UK (2), France (3),
Australia (1 or 2). I've recently seen the 2 in the UK and 2 of those in
France.
 
Our (wife and I) trip that I mentioned was to the Ton Up and Classic Bol
d'or at Magny Cours and wow what a weekend it was. The atmosphere at the
start of the evening race was great. Our French friends couldn't believe it
when we were the only two left in the stand whilst it was lashing down with
rain!! Great memories and so nice to meet people I've been communicating
with for over 15 years. 
 
Thanks for your time in reading this.
 
Paul Wilkinson
Cheshire
paul@beesa71.plus.com  

Enduro/Off Road Body Armour + Boots wanted

My son, Nik has entered a 24 hour motocycle race with the Army. That's 4 riders, 1 Harley Davidson (read CanAm) army bike and a large forest in Hampshire! Apparently you gaffa tape torches to your helmet as the bike's lights are crap - This makes HMRC 6hrs look like a trip down to the shops.

Not a man with lots of off road experience - he did blat around the back garden on his Beta trials bike with various friends hanging off the back at an early age and he was getting his knee down at Darley Moor when he was 16/17.

The event is in May and he is short of body armour (he is 6' 2" and is size large! (not a bloater like his dad, he is all muscle), boots would need to be size 12, gloves would have to be large.

He would prefer to borrow the above as he probably won't repeat the excercise - any carriage would be covered along with a decent round of drinks. He may even buy them if the price was right - knowing the extent of his bank balance I suggest all prices are modest. Failing that, if anyone knows of anywhere you can hire such stuff - or if you have any sensible advice - deal with him direct on;

07817 420073 or niklygo@hotmail.com

DAVID LESLIE 1953 - 2007

DL was an effective F3 pilot back in the Eighties

Last weekend's papers were full of details of a plane crash in Kent resulting in the untimely deaths of Richard Lloyd (Apex Motorsport) and Scot, David Leslie. Whilst Leslie is probably better recognised as an autosport journeyman with many successes in Touring Cars, Sportscars, GT's and even Historics - he was also a passionate motorcyclist.

Back in 1997 I was covering midweek testing at Donington and spotted DL testing a touring car, whilst he swapped Nomex overalls for one piece leathers he reported he had to be back at Silverstone in less than an hour for a promotional commitment for one of his sponsors. He was on one of the early Honda CBR 600 and BigAl (aka Big Head) was on a spanker R1 so I suggested we rode down to Towcester together - and I would out ride him! That was it, David kept to the less crowded roads  i.e. back roads to Hinckley via Mallory then down the A6/A34 to the Home of British Motorsport.

"Fancy a ride Alfonso?"

I am not a particularly rapid rider but I do know road craft on two wheels when I see it! We did make the journey comfortably in under an hour, including stopping off at Mallory and DL was quickly back into his civvies for a photoshoot.

He will be missed...............................  

8 days before his death David Leslie won at Silverstone in this BMW

"FOR SALE - ONE CAREFUL OWNER, ONLY USED AT WEEKENDS" - April 2008

Not wanting to turn this site into a motorcycle sales site - it is worth noting endurance related stuff that is out there for grabs!

Currently on the Uprite Bulletin Board is the C & J Contracts R1 - as used to great effect in the 2006 KRC season; at this price it is  a snip and for anyone who knows the machine - it's a minta!

For Sale – Complete Endurance Package ideally suited for Hottrax National Series
Bike is an ex Phase 1 2004/2005 Yamaha R1 World Endurance Bike in full endurance spec (no lights though). Last raced in 2006 season in KRC Endurance Series, finishing 3rd overall with 100% relaibility record over the season. Also picked up several awards for best prepared bike during 2006 KRC season. Selling bike, spares and all kit that goes with it.

Spec includes
Ohlins Superbike Forks with QR set-up
Ohlins Race Spec Rear Shock
Beringer 6-pot Endurance Spec Calipers and Iron Composite Discs
Fabrication Techniques 24L Endurance Tank with ATL dual couplings
Refuelling rig to match tank
Standard spec 2006 R1 SP motor (used for 3 races and 1 trackday from new)
Spondon Swinging arm with QR set-up.
4 sets of Dymag wheels (all with Beringer front discs, Spondon rear)
YEC ECU
Akrapovic Titanium race system
Bora Radiator
Race spec rear subframe
Power Commander
Spare 2006 R1 SP motor, 2 races from new. Totally standard.
Etc
Plus all spares that we carried for the season – spare rearsets, clocks bracket, talon rear sprockets (in sets of 4), fuel pump, 2 sets of bodywork, levers, bars and so on.
Selling for £13,500 ono

Anyone who has seen this bike will know just how well prepared and maintained it was and how well it looks and goes! For more info email me and I can send photos, spec sheet etc or phone Kev on 07974 723750 to arrange a viewing etc

Also, on our favorite aution website currently is a road registered Hinckley Triumph - a lot of bike for less than £4k - check it out: 150228170923

Not too long ago HMRC's favorite plumber had his ZX10 for sale (saw it is Silverstone last October = nice bike!)

A mug of coffee with………Russell Benney…..Team Manager, Phase One Endurance

What am I doing here?

As a lifelong devotee to anything on two wheels that carries a fair bit of speed I have been through the superbike and grand prix eras and seen riders and machines come and go; frankly it all leaves me a bit cold nowadays. The fanaticism that has stayed with me from the early seventies until now is that of endurance racing – anything from two hour sprint races to 24 hours, some teams enjoying heavy factory support to others operating with a road based machine on the back of a trailer.

To further quench my passion I approached Russell Benney before Christmas about purchasing their 2003 World Championship Winning Suzuki 1000 K3 – I personally don’t know how he can bare to part with this vital piece of history at such a reasonable price, possibly the last ever privateer machine to carry off an FIM Road Racing World Championship. When push came to shove my piggy box was not capacious enough, however, Phase One did have for sale a ‘parts bin special’ Suzuki 1000 K2 track bike thingy that was endowed with some of the bespoke clobber that was used during their blinding 2003 season. Anyone who has seen the team in action, will know they are ultra professional and well presented, I had no hesitation in procuring this bike despite already owning the ex Bob Grant Scottish Championship winning example in my garage.

It was a cold but bright January morning as I made my way down to quiet and rural Somerset to meet Russell, collect the Suzuki and kick some tyres.

Russell had enjoyed a successful solo career of his own back in the 1970s and 80s racing around Europe and further a field - at the time, England had some interest in endurance racing building on the traditional Thruxton 500 miler which always carried factory interest. He went on to form the ultra successful Phase One Endurance Racing team in 1985 which initially started out with Kawasaki 750 with Harris frame + goodies, this was followed by a Yamaha FZ750, a Honda RC30 and a return to Kawasaki ZXR750s in 1991. Fast forward to 2003and Phase One won the FIM World Endurance Championship with Suzuki 1000s and now campaign Yamaha R1s. To promote growth within the sport, as well as a progression route for ‘young chargers’ Russell developed an Academy Team with similar hardware and support to the Senior Team.

It will be no surprise that Endurance Racing can be very cost intensive, however cost per racing mile must be attractive compared with racing in British Superbikes when 3 or 4 days efforts culminate in two races of less than 30 minutes each. On the average race weekend Phase One will arrive with the bikes, spares and associated gear plus a team of 16 disciplined and trained individuals to keep the wheels moving. For 2007 there are six scheduled rounds of the championship (check out www.fim.ch), focussed on France, Spain, Germany, Japan, Qatar.

Since those heady days in the eighties, apart from the odd long distance skirmish at Donington, Brands and Silverstone, endurance racing has failed to ignite spectator’s passion – unlike the rest of Europe where this racing has a very faithful and vibrant ‘tifosi’, go to Le Mans in April and see what I mean!

For around fifteen years the KRC (http://www.krcendurance.co.uk/) have organised the National Endurance Championship, which is an ideal feeder series to either riders or teams wanting to make the big leap into the international arena. This role is now the domain of http://www.hottrax-motorsport.co.uk/

The riders for this season are the very experienced Australian pairing of Glen Richards and Warwick Nowland – both have raced at BSB level and have some long distance racing experience – they are joined by 2005 World Superstock champion, Didier van Keymeulen and testing starts in Albacete and Le Mans in mid March, prior to the championship starting in April. In 2006 Phase One finished third in the championship, don’t bet against them improving on that at the end of 2007.

Follow their progress on www.phaseone.co.uk, where you will also find an interesting link to one of the team (Mike) who has detailed his experiences in being part of the team during 2006.

Alfonso Lygo