By: Dave Abrahams
Cape Town - Graeme van Breda won both races for pre-1989 Isle of Man TT machines in the Killarney leg of the international historic racing series at Killarney on Saturday - but that doesn't mean he had it all his own way.
The reigning ZX-10R Masters Cup champion, riding Suzuki GSX-R750 no.41 in the gallery, was chased all the way by Scottish rider Ian Simpson on a Suzuki XR69 endurance racer and former SA champion Gavin Ramsay, on a Suzuki GSX-R1100 - that's him dicing with legendary multiple SA champion Rodney Gray in the lead picture.
Noel Haarhoff, who'd won both races at Zwartkops the previous weekend and qualified third at Killarney, couldn't make the start line at Killarney due to problems with his Suzuki GSX-R750. That left 2000 World Endurance champion Peter Linden on the Phase One GSX1200, former Grand Prix rider Peter Labuschagne (Suzuki GSX-R750) and Gray on a Suzuki Katana to fight it out for fourth.
After an epic three-way battle they finished in that order, within less than 1.6 seconds. Linden and Gray were also the first riders home in the Pre-1983 class, while Alan Duffus brought his Yamaha TZ750 - the only pre-1975 machine in the field, home 18th overall despite gear selection problems; it's bike no.24 in the gallery.
Duffus' iconic Yamaha then stalled on the grid before the start of Race 2; usually an easy push-start, this time it proved recalcitrant so, rather than punish the transmission any more, he pushed the bike off the grid and retired.
That didn't affect the leaders, however, as Van Breda, Simpson and Ramsay took off at a pace that would have won them national titles when these machines were new. Van Breda moved away in the closing laps to win by 2.355 seconds, but third was in dispute right down to the wire, with Simpson getting the nod at the line by just 0.042s.
Haarhoff sliced through the 30-strong field from the back of the grid to finish fourth, less than two seconds behind the battle for third, while Linden put in another superb ride on the GSX1200 to finish sixth behind Labuschagne, and first in the Pre-1983 category.
HISTORIC MOTORCYCLE GROUP
The parade laps run earlier for racing motorcycles too rare and valuable to race saw some iconic motorcycles lapping surprisingly briskly; it was explained later that racing motorcycles of a certain age (particularly two-strokes) become ill-tempered if ridden too slowly.
Among the stars of the show were Alan Walker's immaculate 1975 MV Agusta 750 (bike no.2 in the gallery) and John McKerchar's Suzuki RG500 of the same vintage, a 500cc, disc-valve, square four two-stroke good for about 75kW at 11 200rpm - and a decibel level that would give today's Noise Police a heart attack!
Four decades ago these were among the fastest motorcycles in the world, and watching them today evokes enormous admiration for the brave men who rode these unpredictable beasts.
No less evocative were a clutch of "Elsies" - Yamaha RD350LC street-bikes that dominated the production racing scene in the late 1970s, including John Craig on his recently restored 1980 model, one of the first at Killarney and the actual machine on which he raced at the time.
With 36kW (in standard trim) on less than 150kg and a power band like a light-switch it could run rings around clumsy four-cylinder bikes twice its size and it remains a cult bike to this day.
The youngest bike bike on parade, however, was also the biggest disappointment, as owner Alan Walker opted not to make any lap record attempts on the irreplaceable Ducati Desmosedici. But even trundling round at half-power, the big V-four made all the right noises, leaving the crowds in no doubt of what new-millenium Grand Prix machinery is all about, just as the Duffus Yamaha and McKerchar's Suzuki had done for the two-stroke era.