My tortured memory is indicating it may be an actual race photo from the hotly-contested Chesterfield Series that ran around that time. By the way, I can recall Jeff's tour of NZ racing an RD350, with Warren Willing on a TD3 and Murray Sayle on I think a TR2B, when was that Jeffrey, must have been 72/73 ?

Not this time Jules....makes a change though!!

Thats correct but 74 Xmas wasnt it? First time we meet up and we are still mates 35 years on! Murray and Jeff wore plastic Top Hats the whole time, fashion at the time IIRC

You're good at this GD. Yeah, as is shown, the Chsterfield 'Superbike' series ran in parallel, at least at Amaroo, with a series of match races, with the local blokes having to qualify on the day. I was there but remember nothing of these races, probably becusae I was head down arse up trying to get a 'orrible T 500 Suzuki to run properly for the lower level races.

The pic could well be Kosher but something about it is making my fake antennae twitch slightly..... Who are the Laverda and CB 750 pilots?

Just guessing again, but it could well be Vic Vassella on the Laverda and Clive Knight on the CB750. Vic disappeared off the scene for ages but is back racing again, he was at Broadford with us a month or so back, nowadays rides a Norton twin and a sidecar, but I think he still has the odd gallop on the same Laverda. By the way, I drove alone from Perth to Melbourne in three and a half days to have a ride at that one (3500km), and my mate flew over on the Thursday with his lady, we raced all weekend then I flew home Sunday night, and they toured back to Perth, arriving the following weekend. Sure is a big place.....

And Stu, must have been earlier that the Top Hat tour was on, because the Marlboro Series started at the end of 1973.

Blimey, thats like going from Darley Moor to Lydden about nine times.... Yes, its Vassella and Knight. So what are you swinging your leg over nowadays...bike wise that is?

An easy WWW? but wasn't there a big fuss made about this guy riding this bike back then? I cant remember the exact details,.... anyone? :\

Photo Copyrighted to Graham Etheridge, racebikepics.

Obviously Michael Rougerie, Silverstone, 1979? don't know about thebackground story though.

1978 Nigel.

Yeh it was xmas 72, first met Stu and a few other people that are still friends, i had a few rides on a RD, think it was owned by a guy by the name of Keith Tinney, good times,we wont mention the TOP HATS.
The races at Amaroo used to be rolling start in these match races, so this picture was on the first lap up the straight, have seen similar pics before, so not staged.
3500km between race tracks, the joys of racing in Australia

I too forget the details but I do seem to recall a fuss over something. I think he got the ride after Pat Hennen was injured in the IOM. Can´t recall him riding at Silverstone, although I do remember him on the bike at Spa for the preceeding Belgium GP, where, if my memory serves me correctly, he grabbed pole position. I do know he suprised a lot of people.

I think Barry got him the ride as he was Belguim expert and IIRC it was to take points from Kenny?

I can't remember the story behind it if it's 1979 - maybe Suzuki gave him the ride to improve Bazza's WC chances?

In 1978 Wil Hartog got the second Heron Suzuki after Pat Hennen's accident (saw him on it at the Powerbike Int. at Brands in October, still remember being embarassed at how Fred Clark went on and on about the exact pronunciation of his first name while interviewing him on the p.a.!), and continued with a works bike in 1979 and 1980 with his own blue/white colours rather than Texaco/Heron red & black.

In 1977 there was controversy when Bazza lent Rougerie his spare bike for the Belgian GP at Spa after Rougerie's blew up - the year before Bazza had managed to snaffle all 3 of the 1976-spec RG500s as his 'no. 1 bike', his 'international bike' and his 'British meetings bike', while John Williams got a standard production bike, so Suzuki weren't pleased that their other factory riders couldn't get one while Bazza lent one to a privateer. (Parrish was on a standard RG in 1977)

Paul M

Ah!! that was it Paul, getting my years muddled up. :\

Yep, it's a fair old drive, and to be honest, hairpin bends aren't a big feature of it ! There's a straight between Balladonia and Caiguna that's 146 km long..... riding a CB350 Honda, very similar to Renzo's, in post-classic (1972 cutoff) Junior, you have no show against the TR3 Yamahas, especially around Phillip Island, but if you get your finger out you can nail one or two of the less enthusiastically-ridden Yamahas, and of course, now and again it RAINS..... at Broadford, they put P/C 350s in with Forgotten Era (1980 cutoff), so you had TZs, a Z500 Kawasaki, a couple of RD400s and a big mob of nutters on LC Yamahas, I could stick on the end of the line of them and ended up knocking a couple of them off during the weekend. Big surprise of the meeting was the emergence of Australian historic racing's bright new star : the Jerry Kooistra-built, CB72-based Hondas formerly raced by the great Bill Horsman until his retirement, are now being piloted by a 32 year old ex- GP 125 rider, Adelaide mortician Mandy Beales, who gave everyone a big eye-opener by winning 11 of 13 races in Classic 350 and 500 classes and winning Man of the Meeting. She's out again at the Historic Roadrace nationals in a couple of weeks at Wanneroo, and this time will be challenged by the likes of Kiwi Dave Cole, newly-crowned World Superstock 1000 cup winner Brendan Roberts, who's enetered on a G50 Matchless, Neil May (Molnar Manx) and others, but the bikes are very quick and she rides them beautifully, so I believe she can see them off.....we shall see.....

Dammit, now that I am in the southern hemisphere like our OZ and NZ friends I don't get a chance to answer Picblanc's quizzes which pop up while I'm sound asleep !

Seriously though, Paul has gotten it quite right and the pic can't be from 79 . I would just add that at the 1977 Belgian, Barry did lend his spare bike to Rougerie ( as a seemingly purely friendly gesture ) but for practice only, in order to enable him to qualify - Michel was back on his own yellow-and-red-striped RG for the race, in which he had a race-long battle with Barry until his bike blew up a few laps from home .

In Belgium 1978, both Michel and Will Hartog got a factory Heron-liveried machine, which they kept until the end of the season. Hartog had a couple of wins, and Virginio Ferrari was also lent a factory bike for the season-closing Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, which he won first time out . Sadly, although he featured very well, Michel failed to score the win that may have garanteed his future as factory rider ( both Hartog and Ferrari got factory Suzuki's for their own teams for 79 ) and, despite the great hopes he had, and also Barry's official support, he found himself back as a privateer for the '79 season- and frankly, his career never really recovered from then on, until his death mid'81.

post 2559 chaps ;) Good extra info as usual Philippe.

Sorry Graham

Don't think i've put this on --Mr Fugee will, when he arrisses from his slumbers tell any way WWW while I retire :yawn: :yawn:

Wes Cooley, Patrick Pons and Freddie Spencer, Daytona....uummm.......79??

I think its the year Patrick won it 1980?

Hi Jeff you just caught me :yawn: :yawn: OK correct correct correct and guess what incorrect it's 1980 night night --or in your case good morning

You still with us

Belgium GP 1977 at Spa-Francorchamps, the 500cc race:

31. Michel Rougerie - 11. Steve Parrish - 41. Teuvo Lansivuori

Sound like great fun Shame it's not a bit ( ) nearer to Boston or I deffo get for a look

Fantastic pic. Who has the right line????

I'll go for Tepi Jeff

Too right ! If that's La Source, then Rougerie is an optimist....

I thought the same Jeff..there wasnt really a right line was there? From a Suzuki nuts point of view, doesnt Stavro's factory bike look so much better than the other private RG's. Lovely lines.

And with the mudguard almost touching the fairing, pulling a bit of a dseperate up the middle? Despite this, should Parrish's end of career report card said 'Should have tried harder' ?

But he managed to get through, and had a long fight with Barry for first place, untill one of the pistons get stuck.

First round, all hard on the brakes for La Source.

Yup i'll go with that Russ .But he's pretty good in the com. box I reckon

It looks like Pat Hennen has decided to try & avoid running into #19 as well...
and Stavros, by his own admission on those commentaries often refers to his aversion to hurting himself.

#19 (you know who he is ?), he don't likes pushing from behind , so Pat had to go off the brake for a moment to step aside.

Stavros seems to like the short way around La Source, not to bad i suggest.

Fastest lap in the race was from Barry with 3.50 min. = 221 km/h, in 1973 i needed 2 min. more to go around the 14120 meter circuit, these guys have 450cc more.

Hotdog on #19; don't know 33 tough....

Paul M

Alan North?

Yep I think it is Alan on my old RG that his sponser brought from me at the end of 1976. Spot the arrow on his helmet

Yeah, I agree, he's entertaining and obviously knows what he's talking about, unlike the antipodean character with him who's winging it most of the time.

Yeah I agree , having said that I like the pair, and the sense of humour, it is wayyyyy better that the moronic tones what we get over here ( sometimes dont even get GP coverage... the Leguna Sac mot gp wasnt ven aired yet the AMA superbike round ( I think the same weekend ) was and yes Freddie ( fast) of course has that southern Drawl and no eye candy like Suzie perry
while Iremember I would like to find out if its possibe to get Uk events ( and Moto GP ) on NTSC DVD with STavros, Charlie and suzie so if anyone knows I would be really grateful

Who would this antipodean be????

T'aint you young Jeff but that well known former ??? GP star Charlie Cox

Who the ---- is Charlie Cox, never heard of him!!!!!!!!
We have Nick Harris and his side kick on Fox Sports and i am not sure who does it on our Channel 10

I've been reading these pages enthralled. When I was young in NZ, I used to attend the Marlboro series races, and in later years the Swann series in Oz (and Easter races at Bathurst). I idolised some of the posters here, and in '75, or maybe '76, I got to interview some of them for a regional NZ sports newspaper, while at the Wanganui round. I've only got my memory for documentation these days, but I recall standing on the corners where Pat Hennan was on the throttle before everyone else always. Stu had glowing things to say about Hennan, then as now, when I spoke to him, and Hennan himself was pleasant, open and approachable, even to the kid I was then. Pat had TR750s some years, RG500 the last from memory, and damn they were exotic, as were the TKA bikes that Hansford and Murray Sayle rode. Randy Mamola was an attendee, probably another few names I can't remember that went on to greater things. Were Jeff and Warren Willing also there, TZ700s(?)? Thanks for the memories, guys.

yeah sounds like the cr*p we get I remember the harris guy obviuosly as he has the name of frame builder ofver in the uK that used to help me , but as you say he has a side kick and some of the banal sh1t they spout from their mouths, believe me guys in the UK you don't know how lucky you are with the gentle banter that chalie and stavros get up to.
Jeff do you ever get any commentaries from the US with Freddie S and Ralph Shaheen? obviously the knowledge side is good with Freddie? There isnt the banter going on that there is with the team in the UK IMO . does all this make sense?

No..... You been on the single malt tasting session again Julian?

Jeff, Channel 10 gets Greg Rust, who's the in-house motorsport guy and Daryl Beattie. Credit where it's due, Rust is enthusiastic, doesn't spout about what he doesn't know and obviously Daryl's knowledgeable and a bit of a character. He's not Bazza, but who is?

He is a former British Championship Touring car racer,....I think him and Parrish work well together and are quiet amusing, I enjoy their commentary.
Funny enough Cox/Parrish only do the MotoGP race, the 125 & 250's are done by Nick Harris & ? Emmett I think? on the BBC digital service (Red button)

Nick Harris is a journalist, has been for years, having done commentary on the radio long before MotoGP/Grand Prix's were on telly regularly,he did BBC radio when the only GP coverage was on EuroSport
He has nothing to do with and not related to the Harris brothers that are just up the road from me in Hertford.

Welcome to Zumeto.

Yes a belated welcome from the other old codger