Great shot of the start of the Huthchinson 100 in the last pic, don't recognise too many;
John Cooper, John Williams, Peter Williams and maybe Pat Mahoney next to Peter?

Alan Barnett #37 on the 'macci

Salut Philippe,
Nouméa est un peu loin pour pouvoir venir aux prochaines Coupes mais la qualité de vie doit compenser cela !
It's not Rodney but as you guessed, mister "Rubber bones" and the man sitting is Ray Pickrell.

Yes and Kel Carruthers and Kent Andersson .

Kel Carruthers #30 , and Kent Andersson with #27


edit : beaten to it again

Not sure if the unfaired suzuki engined bike, that Pat Mahoney is sitting on, was quite ready to ride. The bike only has one front caliper!

Yes, it's Alan Barnett


By pilotesdelegende at 2008-12-25
Alan at the start of the french GP , Le mans 1970.


By pilotesdelegende at 2008-12-25
Alan a few seconds before the Hutchinson 100 1970 start.


By pilotesdelegende at 2008-12-25
Alan, a few laps after...

Well spotted young Nige , it probably didn't have a chain as well

not too bad thanks,feeling fairly well at the moment,fingers crossed.

Good , pleased to hear that Hope you enjoy the rest of Christmas

Check in the other pics, the left fork leg has the caliper on the rear, must have only had one side of leg available. And agree with Ray Pickrell in the chair, must have been after the "Smartie threw a Trident at me" trip to South Africa.

Have checked it GD and noticed as you say ....but I still agree with Nige

Evening chaps, hope your all well and enjoyed the festivities?
This pic is it Santiago Herrero & Kel Carruthers?


Great pics!!

I don't you can see in the Sheene shot the caliper on the right side sitting on top of the disc, and as GD says the left behind the fork leg, for some reason? was that the design!!?

I agree but who are you ??

Notice Kent Anderson in his original white / red helmet colours, that he passed on to Jarno later, along with his new(ish) full face Bell helmet.

I think Buster you will find that it's differant 'bikes one being water cooled , the other air

WWW? I had an email from the rider on the Blue RG tonight, but who is he and who are the others!!?

Photo Copyrighted to Graham Etheridge, racebikepics.

Yes I realized that, but the forks are the same. with knobs on!!

Merry Christmas or Hannukah or whatever you choose to celebrate!

The rider on #67 is Alan Irwin and the Blue RG could be Dave Griffith??? maybe???

MO

Hi Mo, indeed both correct, #51 is more difficult!?

I think it's Dave Hall IIRC. Does seem strange to see Barry with a tie on. He point blank refused to wear one as far as I can recall.

Amazing pic's. Thanks!!

Ooh-er ! That's because the bike Pat's sitting on is a Kawasaki ! I'll get me coat......

I have a vague recollection that the answer to that was simply that they used two standard right-hand side fork "bottom" parts ( fourreau in français ) from a production, road standard machine ( Commando ? GT 750 ? H2 750 ? ) which was single-disc equipped , on the right hand side only - and if you think a minute, the only way to fit the caliper on the fixation bracket from a right-hand side fork bottom used on the left hand side , is to turn it around backwards ( my god, is that understandable ? I'm afraid my technical english is showing its limits there )

WOW....... what a fantastic shot of the second greatest rider of all time. I love it. Many thanks

Can you give the initials for #51?
Looks like 'Digger' Gardner? in the background #3

What ...Digger?? The 3rd greatest rider of all tme?

Who would be you #1 greatest rider Jarno?

Vale Vale Vale.....what a weapon.

I am interested (as a mainly car guy, who you guys in the know would rate over time, as the top 10 racers, my more casual observations would include Mike the Bike, Ago, Barry, Minter, Dunlop and Ivy. This post is prompted by the last few saying about Wayne Gardner, just for my interest, as I have my opininion about car drivers, but I am missing great chunks of time with bikers.

Mike yes...Ago no...Barry no...Minter no....Dunlop a big no.... Ivy yes........And digger Gardner put bikes on the map Down under......A true legend.

Interesting response, why no for Ago and Dunlop? I am not being contentious here, I just am lacking in your knowledge, and bow to it

Umm... an interesting one! Due to the fact that i wasn't born until 1968, missed quite a few of the legendary riders of the 50s, 60s and early 70s (Duke,Hailwood,Sarrinen etc.), its hard to form an opinion of these from reading other peoples opinions, but have no doubt about their utmost brilliance.
As a kid Barry Sheene was my hero(other than my dad obviously! ) Coming back from those crashes took a special kind of will to win. Looking back Kenny Roberts really took GP racing to a different perspective (although disliked him at the time, due to the fact that he was beating my favourite! )
Freddie Spencer, awesome talent, but became too lazy and not hungry enough.
Wayne Gardner, unbelievely hard b*stard, always entertaining to watch, never gave up.
Wayne Rainey would have to be up there on my list, ultimate professional, even when the Yamahas weren't at their best.
Doohan, similar to Ago, right bikes, right time, although both legendary riders too.
Then Rossi, very special, not much to sat that hasn't alredy been said.. just brilliant.

So for me my top 3 are; #1 Rossi, #2 Barry Sheene, #3 Wayne Rainey

Thanks for your reply, I have seen all those you mention (on T.V.) but have not been to a bike race since 1968 (does that age me ) and I saw Mike a few times in the '60s. I formed an opinion on him that was never to change, be it car or bike, Brands, Le Mans or I.O.M., he could cut the mustard! I saw him on the 250-6 Honda, just an amazing talent, left all of the other riders for dead, and (IIRC) they were on bigger bikes! I would have included Dunlop because of his I.O.M. wins, but did that make him too much the specialist? Tony Pond (sadly departed) could pedal a car around the Island like no other, but he could drive brilliantly elsewhere also. Always an interesting topic, other peoples observations

If I were to chose a top ten, I don't think Barry Sheene would be part of it, no matter how much I liked him. Hailwood definitely, and Ago, too. Don't forget the pre-war aces, Stanley Woods or Jimmy Guthrie. Freddie Spencer on pure talent, yes, but he was missing some other ingredients. Jarno's career was perhaps too short, and that goes for some other major talents, too, like Ray Amm, Bob McIntyre, Gary Hocking and so on. John Surtees had a spotless career on two wheels, added another two too soon. Doohan and Roberts were two exceptional riders, no doubt. We can't ignore Geoff Duke, or Masetti, Pagani, Serafini, the Continental aces. And what about the smaller classes, the Redmans, Ubbialis, Nietos? Why, there's Schwantz, Read, Ivy, Ballington, Mang and Ekerold, where do you stop?

May I throw a spanner in the works: Anyone ever heard of Billy Huber?

Interesting topic yes, but we must bear in mind that trying to name the "greatest" or "best ever" or whatever rider will always be to a great extent a matter of opinion, and also of personal emotional feelings - so let's remain civilised and not take that too seriously - I've never put my ass on a real race bike anyway, so who would I be to post a valid opinion about a racer's ability ? All I ( and most of us here ) could say is "my favorite is..." or " the one I liked best was ..." but that's all we're entitled to judge . There are a few folks around on this thread who have ridden at top international level and whose opinion I would of course take very seriously, but outside of those we must be careful not to get carried away by our personal opinions .

Now, you want to know my "best" list within my interest time bracket ( 1970-1995 ) ? Kenny Roberts , Kevin Schwantz, Mick Doohan , Wayne Rainey, Gregg Hansford, Freddie Spencer and Max Biaggi ( unpleasant as he may be ) . My "prefered" rider ? Barry Sheene, by miles....... My "less successful natural talent"? Christian Sarron . We could go on for hours... But then, I never saw Jarno, Mike Hailwood or Santi Herrero ride for real......

Hello gentlemen, Iam off till tuesday.
Here some more shots of the Hutch 100 of 1970.
The 250 race start.


By pilotesdelegende at 2008-12-25


By pilotesdelegende at 2008-12-25


By pilotesdelegende at 2008-12-25

Great pics again Henri-Michel !

Now, on the front row we've got Mr X ( on a Chat Yamaha ? ) , then Kent Andersson , Phil Read, Barry ( what is he riding ? ) , and one Mr Chatterton for sure , on another Chat Yamaha.

"Jules" Marzowsky with the swiss cross on his helmet ?

Morning #51 MS.

Vic Camp Suzuki maybe?

Morning Graham,

Your PM box is full, of Phil messages again! not able to send one to you.

Nigel

Sorted!

I was thinking Bultaco

Morning/Evening all ( and you Buster )

You are right. Hansford was special. # 4 for me.

Doohan......nah.

#33 Cliff Carr?
Interesting that only one rider has the full face helmet (Bell) who I think is Martin Sharpe.

Do they still race Brands in the reverse direction, if not when did they stop? I bet Paddock was peculiar going uphill

Morning Stirling Hows your head ?

Early '70's IIRC I think the configeration was enjoyed by the majority - riders and spectators alike

For what its worth, I think Mike Hailwood is the greatest ever, for these reasons, he won on road and track, many GP's in his day were road courses, so not just a TT man, and rode more than one class in a day.
Of the modern era, Valentino Rossi, is way out in front,
But my favorites for personal reasons would be,
Jarno
Lawson
Dunlop
Sheene

Gee thanks