Race of the North - Oulton Park Sat 9th Oct 1976
#1
Posted 23 December 2010 - 22:24
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#2
Posted 23 December 2010 - 22:42
#3
Posted 23 December 2010 - 22:51
#4
Posted 23 December 2010 - 23:01
Was it sidecar racer Dave Powell?
Did it also involve Gary Bryan ?? , now of RGB Weslake fame ??
#5
Posted 23 December 2010 - 23:13
New Zealand rider Rod North was killed after accident at Oulton Park when he crashed in the Avenue in between Old Hall Corner and Cascades. The accident happened in the second half of 1976. Rod had traveled to Europe with his brother Warren and fellow New Zealand rider Dennis Ireland to compete in the 1976 Tourist Trophy and remained in the United Kindom after the race.
Could this be the rider, does his name appear in the programme?
There was also a sidecar fatality, the result of which was the compulsory identity tag for riders and passengers. Cannot remember the date of this, the name Pete Hardy comes to mind.
#6
Posted 23 December 2010 - 23:44
Coincidentally a couple of days ago I was browsing through the Bernard Murray website linked to in the "Sheene 500 TZ for sale" thread and there is a scan of a results sheet from the 350 race of the 1976 "John Player Grand Prix" at Silverstone where the 3 Kiwis ( Dennis Ireland, Warren and Rod North ) are listed in consecutive finish positions ( the three last I'm afraid ) - which means that they were traveling together from circuit to circuit, but also during the races
#7
Posted 23 December 2010 - 23:48
#8
Posted 24 December 2010 - 01:26
I had a browse through Motorsport Memorial (http://www.motorspor...index.php?db=ms). They note:
New Zealand rider Rod North was killed after accident at Oulton Park when he crashed in the Avenue in between Old Hall Corner and Cascades. The accident happened in the second half of 1976. Rod had traveled to Europe with his brother Warren and fellow New Zealand rider Dennis Ireland to compete in the 1976 Tourist Trophy and remained in the United Kindom after the race.
Could this be the rider, does his name appear in the programme?
There was also a sidecar fatality, the result of which was the compulsory identity tag for riders and passengers. Cannot remember the date of this, the name Pete Hardy comes to mind.
I think the sidecar fatality you refer to was the big accident in 1971 in which 3 racers lost their lives and Gary Bryan was seriously injured. It was this that led to the introduction of ID tags. They were around before 1976 as I started racing in 1975 and we had them then.
#9
Posted 24 December 2010 - 02:17
The one in '71 involved (I think) Pat Oliver and his passenger, (Peter Pritchard)? at the August Bank Holiday meeting.I think the sidecar fatality you refer to was the big accident in 1971 in which 3 racers lost their lives and Gary Bryan was seriously injured. It was this that led to the introduction of ID tags. They were around before 1976 as I started racing in 1975 and we had them then.
You're correct about the ID tags also.
#10
Posted 24 December 2010 - 11:00
The one in '71 involved (I think) Pat Oliver and his passenger, (Peter Pritchard)? at the August Bank Holiday meeting.
You're correct about the ID tags also.
And Pat Sheridan & Phillip Smith both lost their lives, I had seen them both the day before at Race of Aces @ Snett.
#11
Posted 24 December 2010 - 11:06
#12
Posted 24 December 2010 - 17:20
Hi Guys Paul you are spot on with your comment I beleive a trail of oil was nearly all around the circuit and bad weather which prevented them getting the circuit fit for racing I had some friends who was racing in that meeting and they said it was bad. And like someone said it must have been bad because in those days it was extremely rare for a meeting to be abandoned.If I remember correctly they abandoned the meeting due to a combination of oil down on a wet track which culminated in the tragic accident to Rod North.
Mark