Yeh the good old days, push, then hope your bike fired up and you didn't get run over.

I guess you guys might know the answer to this one? All the visible grid is standing by the side of their bikes & this was normal with the 500 class, whereas on the smaller bikes some riders paddled.
I know it was a knack & depended totally that it fired, otherwise you were stuffed.
Can you remember when it first took off ? I guess from the moment someone did it well, everyone was tempted to have a go, such was the advantage.

sometimes it was the only advantage you got against the factory stuff but how come they always fired firsttime in the paddock and yet on the grid they became sons of bitch's..shouldnt you be working mate?

Indeed I should Still got a yellow monster to unmask, but you were in the mail box

It’s Daytona 1973 - pages 322 & 323.

Mark Brelsford (L) and Larry Darr ® apparently. Looks like two Harleys

Thanks everybody ( and Graham too ) I think we've got most of them although there are a couple missing ( which I don't know )

This number 17 wears a helmet that looks a lot like a Chatterton one - Derek scored points that year , could it be him ? The bike doesn't look like a Yamaha ......

And this number 30 on the left of Gunnarson .... Roberto Gallina ?


Finally, Graham has correctly identified number 25 on the green König as Reinhard Hiller...that specific race did showcase a very unique event ( I think ) that this rider was involved into....does anybody know what it was ?

I think it was the first time (and maybe up to now the only time ) father (Ernst Hiller 3rd) and son (Reinhard Hiller 6th ?) scored points in the same Grand Prix

Reinhard Hiller is still around riding in classic events - here's a pic from this years 'Statdtpark Revival' in Hamburg

No don't think its Derek Chatterton, though, I think he had all green or all blue leathers that year? , the rider in the pic looks to tall? and has a BOERI sticker on the bike, I dont think Chat used BOERI? unless someone knows differently?
#30 looks like a Kawasaki?

Great pic Stefan, also nice to see that the bikes can run unsilenced in Germany as of the period.

Great book it is too!!

Also I noticed that only three of the visible riders are pushing from the right side, the rest on the left?

Could that be an eary shot of John Williams? I seem to recall him in a set of leathers similar to those, and the helmet design could be an early version. John was quite tall, and he did campaign a 350 yam in the 500 class IIRC, although I´m not sure if he was doing GP´s in 1973. Maybe someone else would know.

Thanks, Graham ! Actually it is strange that they can run unsilenced as this event was in a park in the middle of Hamburg. Same is true for Schotten.

Coming back to the picture of the starting grid of the 500cc GP in Hockenheim 1973 and the rider of the black bike with #17 - could it be another König ? Maybe Horst Lahfeld ?

Certainly has the high bellied look of a Konig..... looks blue on my monitor, though...

Again very similar leathers to ones that John used, but his helmet even in the early years had a white W.
I enlarged the pic as much as was possible, and there are thin black swirls on the front top? Like a flower/Rose?
It does look more Konig than Yamaha, its a dark blue.

#17 Ted Jansson 500 Konig Maybe?

Hi Graham , I would of got Ron Storey :\ , but alas it will teach for being away for a couple of nights each week!

Looking at the belly pan I think you´re right.

Ahhh!! thought you would of done.
Try the other guy on the RG500 just after that post, coz not even a nibble from anyone yet on him?..... :\

No, I'm struggling with that one, are the leathers with what looks like Yamaha significant?

Can you give the initials yet?

Yeah Graham I think we need a clue of some sort leasr

Dont forget!,moto gp starts TONIGHT! at 18.00 hrs on eurosport live

Not downunder it doesnt!!! The races in the US and South america are at painful times, around 4.00am I think. Reckon Indy will be interesting

I cant give you the solution :\ but i give you a marvellous 500 Konig picture

http://www.mc24.no/getfile.php/Innhold/Kla...1000x671%29.jpg

With few others
http://www.mc24.no/article.php?articleID=950&categoryID=124

Stu, 125s at 2am, 250s at 3:15am, GP at 5am Sydney time..... guess you'll be spending the night logged on to TNF, mate....

Found this picture of Horst Lahfeld on a König on Pierre Gabrielle's site (Annees 70 section)

http://homepage.mac.com/pierregabriele/NavCircuits.htm



Same number and leather's, only the helmet colour is different

Stefan, that picture on Pierre's site is most probably taken at french GP at Charade in 1974 - which would explain why Horst had bought a new helmet , but had kept the previous year's leathers ( riders then didn't change suit every other weekend as they do now )

I think #17 is Kurt-Harald Florin on König.

Right, Stefan ! Not only was it the only occasion so far that father and son scored points in the same Grand Prix , but it seems to be the only time ever that a father and son did actually take part in the same race.

I know there was a lot of hype some years ago about a project to give Ron Haslam a 500cc Wildcard to compete in a Grand Prix ( french ? british ? ) where his son Leon was taking part in the 125cc class, but firstly it didn't happen after all , and secondly it would have been the same "Grand Prix" but in a different category ....whereas in the Hiller case , they were both on the same starting grid

To stick to "World Championship" status events, the only thing that compares in my books is when Yvon Duhamel took part to a Bol d'Or in the mid-90's on a semi-factory Honda, teamed up with his two sons Mario and Miguel....and they actually came close to winning !

Well, it would help if somebody had a practice times sheet for that race....but that's maybe asking a bit much


By the way, did you notice the bike that Eric Offenstadt is using ? It's his own built 500 "SMAC" . While some people in britain were busy at the time adding a 3rd cylinder to a 350 Yamaha twin to make a 500 , Eric went the other way round, he chopped a cylinder off a 750 H2R Kawasaki and fitted that nice little twin in one of his own monocoques....

The other way around, where is Rolf Rott ?

The colour of the bike and the helmet colour would fit (see the linked pic from Imatra)

http://www.classic-motorrad.de/db/Florin/K...orin-Imatra.jpg

Yep thats him, helmet and bike the same, with new leathers for 1973 looks like?

No to leathers, initials are SJ.

Hi crew , i'm trying to research the Schirtfinkle 3-stroke racing team and only have a few piccies and a bit of text I believe they appeared at several meetings (normally turning up a day late ) anyway this is works rider Hugh Jarse checking the tarmac in '68/9 have any of you any info or piccies ??

This is Schirtfinkle chief engineer Mike Hunt and PR lady Betty Swallocks at the launch party of the SF1 (road version shown)

Can't help much with Schirtfinkle research, only thing I know is the sequence of strokes:

1 - intake
2 - cough
3 - exhaust

Those Schirtfinkles really were a story of "if only"!! what might of been with the right backing or right rider.
Hugh Jarse really was the wrong size for the tiny Schirtfinkle...now this guy would of been ideal?
Doug Lunn, big bike or tiny rider,... which!?

Photo Copyrighted to Graham Etheridge, racebikepics.

...followed by Old Jack on the Jada and Alberto Pagani on the MV

Oh blow I knew they had forgotten something !!

It turned out to be,
1-Inhale
2-Cough
3-Exhausted
That was the rider just trying to fire it up with a push start! :\

I believe later they experimented a bit, and tried a quarter-to-three-stroke for a time. Anyone with details?

Meanwhile , at a secret ( so secret they all went to the wrong place !!!) location engineer Mike Hunt works rider Hugh Jarse and his new continental team mate Benght Dik check the machine ready for the off !!!

Yes they did!... but that was a no go as tea break was at half past two!

Yes that rings a bell

Ah Mr Fu did our Doug have to fall off to get off !!

Shall we have an easy WWW? try this one then?

Photo Copyrighted to Graham Etheridge, racebikepics.

... but the wrist pin turned out to be the Achilles heel!

Looks like an early HonkyTonks (i know that and i`m a girl !!!! ) from Andys other half AKA "i`ve met James Toseland ya know!"