Classic TT bikes deliver epic racing

Published Feb 9, 2015

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By: Dave Abrahams

Cape Town – Right now it's the middle of what we are told is a particularly miserable winter in the northern hemisphere, so it cannot have been less than a pleasure for the English, Scottish, Irish and Finnish competitors in the South African Tourist Trophy to find themselves basking in the Cape's summer sunshine at the second and final leg of the series at the weekend.

The stars of the Historical Motorcycle Group parade were undoubtedly six-times world champion Jim Redman - now 83 years old - smooth and understated as ever on a borrowed Ducati TT2, Finnish Suzuki star of the middle 1970s Tepi Lansivuori (69) on a lethally quick and ear-shatteringly loud Suzuki TR750 (basically a scaled-up Grand Prix machine built for the short-lived Formula 750 series), Isle of Man TT star Mick Grant on a Suzuki RG500 square four Grand Prix bike and Team Incomplete's Honda RC181 500cc four

The high-revving Honda must have seemed like science fiction to early 1960s riders whose idea of fast was a single-cylinder Manx Norton of less than half the RC181's power – and yes, Team Incomplete's Ian Groat had a Manx Norton there for Jimmy Guthrie so that the fans could appreciate the difference.

What was more striking about the Honda though, was how compact it was; rider for the day Clive Strugnell never came to terms with the RC181's cramped accommodation and battled consistently to change gears. On the few occasions when he got it revving hard enough to run on all four cylinders, however, its voice was unmistakably authoritative.

SA MOTORCYCLE TT

Parading was one thing; the two SA Motorcycle TT races, however - with an international championship and a Scotland versus South Africa team challenge at stake - were a serious matter.

Former British Superbike champion Ian Simpson put his Suzuki GSX-R750 on pole with an electrifying 1m18s qualifying lap, with Graeme van Breda (Suzuki GSX-R1100), local hero 'Danie van Killarney' Maritz (on the same Suzuki GSX-R750 that won him the 1986 Regional title) and David Bolding on his Suzuki Katana “Big Bertha” making up the front row - all under 1min20s!

And it was Simpson who grabbed the hole shot when the lights went out for Race 1, taking Van Breda and Maritz with him in a three-way fight that went all the way down to the line, including at least three changes of position on the final lap alone.

Maritz was leading going into Turn 4 on the last time around, only to be balked by a back marker; he went round the outside but Van Breda and Simpson dived inside and got better drive on to the back straight. Not even kamikaze late braking into Turn 5 could get Maritz close enough to try a pass in the final corner and they finished in that order, with 0.774sec covering all three.

Bolding and fellow Capetonian John Kosterman (Suzuki GSX-R750) were next home, just ahead of a four-way battle for sixth between Van Breda’s father Les (a former SA champion) on a Suzuki Katana, Brit Gordon Grigor (Suzuki GSX-R750), Rod Gray (another former SA champion) on a Suzuki GSX-R1100 and visitor Mike McSkimming, also Gixer-mounted.

Sadly, Van Breda overdid it and crashed out in Turn 1 on lap six, leaving Grigor, Gray and McSkimming to come home in that order within 1.316sec.

Jimmy Guthrie (Manx Norton) and Ian Groat (Matchless G50) were the only entries in the Pre-64 class; former Manx GP winner Guthrie got the best of their duel to claim line honours.

RACE 2

Maritz’s 750 simply had no answer for the machines of Simpson and Van Breda in the second outing; Simpson took command from the start, setting the fastest lap of the day (1m17.306s) on lap two, and coming home eight seconds ahead of Van Breda and 19 seconds ahead of Maritz.

But not many were watching anyway; behind Bolding, who had another lonely run into fourth after tangling with some of the back markers, all eyes were on a race-long battle for fifth between Kosterman, Grigor, Peter Labuschagne (Suzuki GSX-R750), McSkimming and Gray, which ended in that order after a number of robust overtaking moves, all of them finishing within less than 8.2 seconds.

Guthrie knocked six seconds off his personal best to show Groat the way home and remain the only unbeaten rider in any class of the SA Motorcycle TT series.

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