Oz VI

Here's a link to a podcast of a number of interviews conducted at The Island Classic:
http://www.motopodcast.com/podcasts/MotoPod_2014-02-12.mp3

Christina Divigard 00:01:35, a sidecar passenger and logistician for the 'East Coast' Americans (THANKS, Christina)
Dave Johnson 00:20:30, An Aussie who raced the Paton at P.I. and has raced many times at the IOM TT
Dave Roper 00:39:50, some old guy who won't go away
John McGuinness 00:57:33, winner of 20 IOM TTs, second only to Joey Dunlop
Kerry Smith 01:29:27, Jersey Girl, who raced a Team Giannini CB350 Honda at the Island Classic
Kurt Lentz 01:45:34, AMA expert roadracer in the '70s & '80s; owner and tuner of a TZ750 raced at P.I.
Levi Day 02:03:59, a 20 year old Aussie up and comer who flies on Jerry Kooistra's incredibly fast CB77 Honda
Mike Edwards 02:20:19, a British veteran who's road raced just about every type of bike available
Ottis Lance and Deano Swims 02:37:12, Co-captains of the U.S. International Challenge team at P.I.
Rex Wolfenden 03:13:55, an Aussie builder and tuner responsible for the T-Rex Hondas
Scott Clough 03:31:41, an American engine builder responsible for Dave Crussell's very fast bikes
Trevor Birrell 03:46:44, Aussie owner and sponsor of some of the bike in the International Challenge at P.I.
Simon Crafar 04:09:25, a Kiwi former World Superbike and 500 GP rider and winner of '98 British GP at Donnington park

Oz V

Here's a link to a video that Don Lange sent me of my slight indiscretion at MG corner of Phillip Island:

http://vimeo.com/87045406
The video was shot by Lars Larson.
I was totally unhurt thanks, in part, to my brand new Vanson Leathers.  They're barely scuffed.  And, as one can see, my Arai helmet never touched the ground.  I just had to get the shift lever welded up and remove the broken pieces of windscreen, and I was ready for the next race that afternoon.

Early '80s Daytona

A couple of people have recently sent me photos from the 'Good Ol' Days'.
Mike Gontesky sent me this photo that Sam Blanton took at Daytona I'm guessing 1983:

That's the late Karen Hornbecker  and, on the extreme left, Sandy McPherson, two of the angels of road racing.  Sandy's still at it.

Steve Sanders took these from a trip to Daytona with Team Obsolete:

Dick Mann wrenches on the front wheel while chatting with Frenchie Arnaud, a friend of T/O and brilliant machinist.

I don't know who the fellow on the right is.

I look like I've been caught in the act.

My 350 Sprint between two Matchless G-50s with an AJS 7r behind.  I believe that's that's Kurt Liebman in the foreground and John Wiman on the left.  That looks like my brother Doug who I'm talking too.  This is 1984 and probably at Roebling Road before Daytona.

Frenchie and John Wiman chat while Kurt Liebman looks on.

On the grid with Kurt Liebman, OLS BMW, Marco Polo, T/O G-50, and Phil Mahood, T/O 500 Triumph 7 Mar., '84

This is me riding a Ducati TT1 (well, oversized TT2, 706cc) in the BoTT race on the Tri-oval at Daytona passing a nasty oil spill.  I finished 5th, 9 March, 1984.

Rob Iannucci.  I'm not sure why he has the champagne as I certainly didn't win anything that year.

Bill Burke sent me this photo which I'm guessing is 1985:

On the pre-grid with G-50 1709.  I believe that's Rob Iannucci talking with Bob Barker on the left, Don Blair with his back to us and Linda Swanson on the right.  My guess is that this is from '85 as the G-50 fairing has all the stickers form the '84 TT.

Oz IV

Kenny Cummings has an excellent write-up of our trip on his blog:
http://nycnorton.com/phillip-island-2014/
Highly recommended.

Oz III

One more photo.  After the racing Sunday, we had dinner in the same Italian restaurant we had eaten in Thurs. night.  Most of the British International Challenge team happened to be there, too.  We had a brief chat with the master, John McGuiness.  He figured I would be retired by now.  Fat chance.

Photo by Kenny Cummings

Oz II

Here are some more photos from our recent trip to Australia:

Parked outside Deus ex Machina, a Honda VTR 250, a baby Monster, perhaps my ideal of a daily driver.

Also parked outside Deus ex Machina, a belt drive Peerless, someone else' idea of the ideal daily driver

Kenny Cummings at Sydney Harbour with the Opera House in the backround.

Geoff Clatworthy's shop

Geoff's killer ES-2 Norton

With a Fiat 500 at Sydney Motorsports Park, Eastern Creek, during a Fiat track day.

The control tower and front straight.  That's Don Lange on the right.

How could I resist a 'Roper Rd' sign?  That's Maurice Candy riding shotgun.

This is the abandoned Catalina Park circuit we visited in Katoomba

Kenny checking out the run off

Maurice contemplates the possibilities

The circuit is 2.1km./ 1.3mi. long

note the armco behind Don

The front straight finishing the lap

A BP sign in the old pits

A map of the Catalina Park.

A memorial to the fallen soldiers from Bathurst in the Boer War.  It boggles my mind that  colonials  in Australia would go to South Africa to fight for the Empire.  But, I guess no harder to understand than the Great War, WW II, Korean War, Vietnam War, and Malaysian War(?) that were added to this memorial.


From the Mt. Panorama Motor Museum:

a somewhat modified AJS 7R

A home made, 2 liter, 90 degree motor in a drag bike

A very original Kawasaki A1R

Maurice looks over the earlier, two valve Henderson Railway Special with a dustbin fairing

The four valve G-50 Railway Spl.

from the other side

from the back

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from the front

front brake

Metal sculpture at Thredbo

A close up.

The view from the top of the chairlift

My H-D ERTT Sprint in the garage at Phillip Island

Racing the ERTT sans windscreen after my get-off.  That's my arch nemesis, Phil Paton on a 270 Bultaco #91.  He beat me by 0.005 sec. in race 2 and I beat him by 0.003 sec in race 3.  #79 is a MT 125 Honda.  Photo by Jake Skate, jakeskateimages.com

Here I'm on Tom Marquardt's 492cc Honda CB400F.  This must be practice or qualifying as #800 (TT 500 Yamaha) and #34 (SR 500 Yamaha) finished well behind me, or didn't finish, in all the races.  Jake Skate photo, jakeskateimages.com