841 replies to this topic

[peterd]

Hmmm, could be onto it there, Philippe. At a guess, I'd have said the bloke sitting in the van could be one of Dale Wylie's brothers...

Was thinking of a Wylie, Brett or Barry? And I did wonder if the bloke in chair is John Woodley, though those socks do not look air force issue...

[GD66]

for what its worth...i would guess that the rider/bike depicted on the graphic is probably Cliff Carr
my friend owns one of his old H1R race bikes which is a drum brake model which was updated by Dan Hanebrink
it features the most exquisite mag wheels 12 spoke and billet calipers branded MONOBLOCK.the bike in the graphic is very very similar to it

That's actually "Monotrack" and Dan Hanebrink made a GP500-style triple with a snowmobile motor under that name, it may have even had a belt primary drive. He later calmed down a little, segued into more realistic steeds, and was Cliff Carr's backer on the black and gold Kawasaki he raced there for a couple of seasons. Another slightly eccentric tryer who fell through the cracks...

The identity of the rider of the #26 H2R is discussed much earlier in the thread...

And Peter, John Woodley may be the mystery guest, for sure the shades and the build fit the frame...but the walk socks ? Scarey...

Edited by GD66, 31 August 2010 - 13:27.

[skeeternz]

I took some photos of the 76/77 Marlboro Series in both Pukekohe and Gracefield. Crosbys Z1R (H), Woodley with 2 RG's from memory a new model and an older one. Kanayas works Yamaha in the Puke pits on grass with a small tool kit - imagine that today! Hansford went round the outside of several bikes at turn 1 on the KR750. Rick Perry the NZ born Aussie on the other KR (P)

Edited by skeeternz, 02 September 2010 - 06:47.

[skeeternz]

Apologies for the previous upload. Here is the shot of Croz's Z1R in the Pits at Puke. Note his production Z1000 in the background.

Edited by skeeternz, 02 September 2010 - 06:45.

[philippe7]

Apologies for the previous upload.

Apologies????? What on earth for ! Those are very interesting photos, thank you and welcome to the forum !

[philippe7]

I took some photos of the 76/77 Marlboro Series in both Pukekohe and Gracefield.

I think it is rather the 77/78 series actually - but it's only a detail .

[Hasselhoff]

[GD66]

Lovely pic, Hass.

[picblanc]

Great photos Skeeternz

[philippe7]

Lovely pic, Hass.

....taken and originally posted on this thread by Ian Dawson , aka "The Chow" .

[Hasselhoff]

Oops. Sorry I didn't have time to search back thru the pages, I will be more careful next time.

[philippe7]

Hass, my post wasn't at all in a critical mood, nothing wrong with re-posting pics ( specially brilliant ones ) I just feel it's better to name the author, specially when ( like in Ian's case , or Redneb, or Merv or skeeternz .... ) we have been offered personal, rarely ( if ever ) seen before photos .

[stuavant]

Was thinking of a Wylie, Brett or Barry? And I did wonder if the bloke in chair is John Woodley, though those socks do not look air force issue...

Brett Wylie it is..

[Hasselhoff]

I don't think this one has appeared before, but farked if I can search thru 10 pages to find out.......sorry.

[philippe7]

Yes, it appeared, but lost among many pics on a programme page... Two US guests from the 75-76 series !

[stuavant]

I don't think this one has appeared before, but farked if I can search thru 10 pages to find out.......sorry.

Phil McDonald and X

[philippe7]

X being Mike Ninci, mentioned earlier in this thread for his supposed hippie looks .....

[stuavant]

X being Mike Ninci, mentioned earlier in this thread for his supposed hippie looks .....

Did we have someone downunder called Phil Franks? Hippie came to mind

[skeeternz]

Great photos Skeeternz

Thanks - I was about 19 at the time and didn't have a decent lens. I have been carting a box of bike mags and programmes from house to house for 35 years and its great they are of some use. I have found a couple of older Marlboro series programmes which I will scan soon. I think I have a tee shirt somewhere. I also have some old Revs and AMCN articles. I remember talking an aunty into letting myself and my cousins to lend us the family car from Auckland to drive to Pukekohe to watch my first Marlboro series when Stu had the Nikko Bakker TZ750 - what a great machine. Nothing like a TZ750 on full noise coming down the front straight. I also remember Stu at Gracefield on I think a TZ350 one year going into the esses on one wheel. I thought it was a mistake and he would crash but he did it every lap! Paul K

[skeeternz]

I have scanned some old programmes etc. The Ceramco GP programe has a lot of Marlboro series info. the info on Dale Wylie was from a now defunct NZ magazine. He was the first winner of the series. More to come!

Edited by skeeternz, 17 September 2010 - 07:45.

[skeeternz]

Dale Wylie the first Marlboro Series winner.

[picblanc]

Posted on behalf of Glenn Ducey.

[philippe7]

Well, I'm about to start a personal tradition of spending the two last weeks of January each year in New Zealand , but it seems I will need to move a few weeks ahead in 2013 !

Oh, and thank you skeeternz for this brilliant contribution !

Edited by philippe7, 17 September 2010 - 09:05.

[peterd]

Well, that's the first weekend in 2013 sorted, then.

Great initiative, Mick.

Look forward to hearing more details.

[philippe7]

This would be from the 74-75 series if I'm not mistaken, then ....

Phil Mc Donald and Randy Cleek on their first visit . And this gentleman Phil Frank mentioned a few posts above.

Murray on his second visit, as he told us earlier in this thread riding the ex-Hurley Wilvert H2R , previously used in Australia by Pat Hennen and fettled by George Vukmanovitch.

Young "Geoff" (sic) Sayle on his first visit on a TZ350 . Placed 4th overall at Timaru .

Ron Toombs announced, but as far as I know never came ?

The three Indonesian protégés of Dale Wylie's , only two eventually arrived ?

Croz as an "emergency" (!) entry on a 500 Kawasaki, and Barry Sinclair, a relative of Mike's maybe ?

Gary Boote, younger brother of John, both on 700 TZ's , placed 2nd at Timaru .

Unusual machinery announced for Ginger Molloy ( 391 Harley-Davidson ? ) and even more so for Keith Turner ( 500 Benelli !!!!) any thoughts or details about what those machine were - or were supposed to be ?

Anyway, great stuff

[GD66]

Ron Toombs never did show, the series organisers would combine actual entries with their own wish list, and a few possibilities added, pretty much each year. Sadao Asami never appeared either. Hendra Tirtasuputra came a couple of times, and was pretty quick, winning a support race at Gracefield : both Sarsito and Sidarto Sa did come but were woefully slow, I had Dale Wylie ranting at me on race morning at Bay Park for allotting them grid postions that weren't befitting of International riders, but I think he was just trying to be a good host, whereas I had to sort the grid with the quickest riders to the front (no qualifying in those days).
Croz didn't ride the H1R much, but was certainly on it at Gracefield. Ginger's alleged large Harley never appeared (didn't even exist at that time, probably) but he'd raced an RR250 and again the organisers were probably hoping, by some miracle.... similarly, Keith Turner had become a dealer after his return from Europe, including Benelli in his showroom, and while we had a couple of years of innuendo that a works 500 four would be appearing, it never eventuated. Keith did race a Benelli, but it was just a 650 twin in the Castrol 6 Hour production race at manfield, and he binned it in turn 1 early in the event.

Edited by GD66, 17 September 2010 - 22:09.

[philippe7]

Thank you for your input Glenn

Also noticed Piers Forester on that entry list - and he must have arrived since I remember Stu mentioning him in one of the first posts of this thread . Now, that was an unusual character . I'm not sure everybody's aware of his bio so I'll permit myself to copy below the entry about him from the Motorsport Memorial Website ( shortened by me of the car racing part and unnecessary accident details ) http://motorsportmem...index.php?db=ms

Equerry to the Queen Piers Edric Weld-Forester was the son of Charles Robert Cecil Weld-Forester and Lady Moira Rosamund Butler, daughter of James George Anson Butler, the fifth Marquess of Ormonde.

A former boyfriend of Princess Anne and a close friend of Prince Michael of Kent, Forester was a character in British road racing, where he was popular because of his playboy image. Despite his aristocratic background he never conformed to the leisure of high society and dedicated almost all his life to excitement and hazard, experiencing motorcycle and car racing, bobsleigh and free fall parachuting.

Forester was also a close friend of Barry Sheene, Sheene shared Forester's Chelsea flat for seven months following his 1975 Daytona crash.

Piers' career started on four wheels, in 1968, aged only twenty-two (............)

In 1971 Piers Forester took the license to ride racing bikes and just one year later he won a long distance rally riding his Norton Commando from Paris to Iran. Meanwhile he continued competing in car races. In 1973 he married Georgina Youens, but he lost his wife very soon in 1974, when she perished in an air crash in Paris. It was after this accident that Piers moved quite stably to motorcycle racing, becoming a regular in the Formula 750 World Championship, where he took a start even at Daytona. He was awarded the best newcomer award in the 1977 Northwest200, the Ireland most famous road race, which was won by Mick Grant on a Kawasaki.

Piers Forester died on 30 October 1977, during a BRC Formula 750 race at Brands Hatch. ( .....................)

[marlboro2013]

Well, that's the first weekend in 2013 sorted, then.

Great initiative, Mick.

Look forward to hearing more details.

hey guys , we are underway with plans , the track is booked and it will be 40 years since the 1973 series kicked off.

[GD66]

Good stuff Mick, keep us informed. I've been in touch with three racers from the time, and all are interested. For many people, those Marlboro Series years were like a time capsule of heightened reality, where our otherwise-ordinary lives became, for five or six weeks, the focus and the hotbed of world motorcycle racing. And bloody good fun !
Well done on the initiative of getting it off the ground.

Regards GD

[rodprice]

Good stuff Mick, keep us informed. I've been in touch with three racers from the time, and all are interested. For many people, those Marlboro Series years were like a time capsule of heightened reality, where our otherwise-ordinary lives became, for five or six weeks, the focus and the hotbed of world motorcycle racing. And bloody good fun !
Well done on the initiative of getting it off the ground.

Regards GD

Is it coincidental that the date fits well with the Wanganui 60th anniversary?

[peterd]

And then there's the Phillip Island meeting a couple of weeks later in January...

[stuavant]

hey guys , we are underway with plans , the track is booked and it will be 40 years since the 1973 series kicked off.

Sounds like fun!!!! It will be a pity that Warren Willing and self can't share a joint with Mike the Bike behind the stage at the Town Hall again but we will make do

[marlboro2013]

Sounds like fun!!!! It will be a pity that Warren Willing and self can't share a joint with Mike the Bike behind the stage at the Town Hall again but we will make do

Should be great fun for everyone, the plan is evolving we have been offered TZ750's and RG 500 MK6's for a parade lap or race .......
all we need now is expanding leathers !!

Mick

[marlboro2013]

Good stuff Mick, keep us informed. I've been in touch with three racers from the time, and all are interested. For many people, those Marlboro Series years were like a time capsule of heightened reality, where our otherwise-ordinary lives became, for five or six weeks, the focus and the hotbed of world motorcycle racing. And bloody good fun !
Well done on the initiative of getting it off the ground.

Regards GD

GD , send me an email and we will put you on the list. mick.ruane@honda.co.nz

[marlboro2013]

Is it coincidental that the date fits well with the Wanganui 60th anniversary?

No coincidence at all , Pat Hennan is apparently coming to Wanganui in Dec 2012 for the 60th Anniversary of the Cemetry Circuit we will do all we can to get Pat here for the Marlboro 2013 Reuniion. We have been working on this since the Tommy Mcleary Appreciation night in Chch last year round August, Stu Avant , Warren Willing , Dale Wylie, John Boote , Mike Sinclair and many more attended , one night in a bar was not enough time to talk about those days and hear the stories about the hard riding and fun days when two stroke triple, twins and fours were the weapons of choice, The response has been fantastic , we have booked Ruapuna and are working on a 2 day program , this will be posted within two weeks.
We see the event as being a Reunion / Festival / Racing of TZ 750's and RG500's with riders old and new and most of it all it will be fun for everyone.

Regards Mick

Edited by marlboro2013, 21 September 2010 - 20:57.

[LamboNZ]

No coincidence at all , Pat Hennan is apparently coming to Wanganui in Dec 2012 for the 60th Anniversary of the Cemetry Circuit we will do all we can to get Pat here for the Marlboro 2013 Reuniion. We have been working on this since the Tommy Mcleary Appreciation night in Chch last year round August, Stu Avant , Warren Willing , Dale Wylie, John Boote , Mike Sinclair and many more attended , one night in a bar was not enough time to talk about those days and hear the stories about the hard riding and fun days when two stroke triple, twins and fours were the weapons of choice, The response has been fantastic , we have booked Ruapuna and are working on a 2 day program , this will be posted within two weeks.
We see the event as being a Reunion / Festival / Racing of TZ 750's and RG500's with riders old and new and most of it all it will fun for everyone.

Regards Mick

Looks like you could be onto something really special here Mick.
Would be great if we could also help you out with the support races with our new races series initiative http://www.facebook....69006008?ref=ts , as its not that far removed from what you are doing, also have two of the original riders from the Marboro series on our registration (Trevor Discombe and Murray Delacy)

Cheers, Nigel

[marlboro2013]

Nigel , Thankyou for your offer of support , we would love to have any bikes at the Reunion that were racing during the Marlboro era ! Trevor Discombe and Murray Delacy would be warmly welcomed to attend. Keep in touch as things progress. Mick

[skeeternz]

Found this old shot in an album of Stu and his new TZ750 at Puke I think.

Edited by skeeternz, 26 September 2010 - 07:30.

[GD66]

They keep coming...is that Mike Sinclair looking after you, Stu ? Len Willing sitting down feeling pretty ordinary in the background, and that'd be me with arms folded in the Marlboro t-shirt I reckon...

[stuavant]

They keep coming...is that Mike Sinclair looking after you, Stu ? Len Willing sitting down feeling pretty ordinary in the background, and that'd be me with arms folded in the Marlboro t-shirt I reckon...

JP Orban's bike over the back. Mike and I had parted company by then and he was heading towards Pat's camp. Have a guess who my wrench is, champion guy to be honest.

[GD66]

Tee-hee, Vince French then. Any clues as to the owner of the yellow hat ?

[LamboNZ]

Found this old shot in an album of Stu and his new TZ750 at Puke I think.

The Nico Bakker framed machine too I think?

[philippe7]

Tee-hee, Vince French then. Any clues as to the owner of the yellow hat ?

....and to the one wearing the " Gauloises - Cigarettes de France" T-shirt which I can only imagine having been brought to NZ by someone who'd been on the '76 european grand prix trail ( the pic is from the 76-77 series, right ? )

[stuavant]

....and to the one wearing the " Gauloises - Cigarettes de France" T-shirt which I can only imagine having been brought to NZ by someone who'd been on the '76 european grand prix trail ( the pic is from the 76-77 series, right ? )

I was wondering who it was as well, maybe someone with Pat Hennan. George Vukmanivich behind me I think....

[skeeternz]

The Nico Bakker framed machine too I think?

Yes that is the Nico Bakker bike. What happened to it? Was that the one Discombe raced later on? I have now bought a scanner so can upload some articles. Unfortunately I think I am out of photos for now. Interesting to see the brake caliper position which is near to modern bikes. Compared to the RG with large brake calipers up front.

[stuavant]

Yes that is the Nico Bakker bike. What happened to it? Was that the one Discombe raced later on? I have now bought a scanner so can upload some articles. Unfortunately I think I am out of photos for now. Interesting to see the brake caliper position which is near to modern bikes. Compared to the RG with large brake calipers up front.

We bought the Lockheeds in the UK along with the chassis from Nico. Mike Sinclair built it from a new donor TZ750 and as you can imagine it was a good unit. I have some pic's somewhere of it half built. Maybe next year I will learn to scan and download . Not sure what happened to it, be interesting to know its history.

[stuavant]

Yes that is the Nico Bakker bike. What happened to it? Was that the one Discombe raced later on? I have now bought a scanner so can upload some articles. Unfortunately I think I am out of photos for now. Interesting to see the brake caliper position which is near to modern bikes. Compared to the RG with large brake calipers up front.

We bought the Lockheeds in the UK along with the chassis from Nico. Mike Sinclair built it from a new donor TZ750 and as you can imagine it was a good unit. I have some pic's somewhere of it half built. Maybe next year I will learn to scan and download . Not sure what happened to it, be interesting to know its history.

[fil2.8]

Maybe next year I will learn to scan and download . Not sure what happened to it, be interesting to know its history.

And insert your post just the once , Stu

[picblanc]

Just taken the liberty to do a little photo shopping on this great photo posted by Skeeternz, hope OK.

[skeeternz]

Wow - the photo has come up really well. I should have another scan - still getting the hang of it.