Nice to see Ralf back on a 250, replacing Leonov who is injured. Toby & Jules are saying he was a mechanic for the team from the start of this season and so when Vladimir got injured he was the natural choice (at 43!).. However Wikki says he actually bought MZ in partnership with Martin Wimmer at the begining of the year. Anyone know the truth? I find it hard to believe the owner of MZ is getting weekend work as a mechanic, but I also find it hard to see Ralf being a mechanic after his career.. No offence to mechanics, but surely Ralf would be more likely to be employed as an engineer?

Any other ex-racers who have stayed in the game as mechanics or engineers? Lucio Cechinello springs to mind, think he is now at Aspar.

Yes, Waldmann, Wimmer and Wimmer's wife, Martina Häger have bought MZ, at least what is still existing....must be a hell of a challenge to get it going again on a profitable base. Ralf worked for Kiefer, the team he is riding for, last year but I don't know in which capacity and he is still engaged in their junior team. Don't know how he can handle it with his duties at MZ, of course.

Edit: Ex-Racers as engineers, too many to mention I suppose: Helmut Fath, Harald Bartol, Warren Willing, Gilberto Milani, Horst Owesle, Bill Lacey, Joe Craig, Herbert Rittberger.....

I saw Ralf in the paddock at Donington today wearing an MuZ shirt. It was great to see him bck on track!

Kel Carruthers, Warren Willing, Skip Askland come to mind. will have to go away and have a think.

Jerry Burgess and Mike Sinclair

Hang on gang , how about me old mate Norman White ??

The late, great Joey Dunlop was his own mechanic, with great success of course, until he picked up big time sponsorship from Honda GB amongst others, even then he preferred to prepare his own bikes

And Toni Mang went from being assistant to Sepp Schlogl in Dieter Braun's team in the late 60's to Multi-World Champion

Seen in qualifying on saturday:


(my copyright)

More on the GP and Donny to follow, if anyones' interested.


Paul M

Yes please Paul!!
Nice picture too!

Unfortunately, during all the years Ralf rode in the GP previously when I was there, I never took a photo of him.........

This is the first year since 1994 that I've been to the GP, and I wasn't impressed with the organisation, even allowing for the building work-in-progress. Even though we'd bought our tickets in advance, we had to queue for 50 minutes as there was only one gate to the Exhibition Centre entrance with a harrassed girl scanning barcodes; while people wanting to buy tickets had to join another queue half a mile long for the only sales office. And they think they're running the F1 GP next year..........

Anyway, here are a couple of blokes who qualified on pole and then binned it:





Paul M

Glad you enjoyed it Paul Great pics though

Of course I didnt mean Lucio, I meant Gino Borsoi who is now at Aspar and always looks happy as larry when their boys do well. Bet he would love an Italian on one of their bikes though!

ex GP500 racer Peter Goddard went from racing YZR500's and RGV500's to spannering as did TT racer Trevor Nation

Am I right in thinking that Goddard is now a technician with Ohlins suspension?

As for riders-turned-mechanics, there's Redamo Assirelli who was an Italian and European Superbike Championship contender back in 97/98 also doing a few WSB wildcard rides, now working as Luca Scassa's chief mechanic I believe.

Not sure about Goddard, but do know that Simon Crafar became a Ohlins techy. That was before his big enduro crash this year, where reports had said thathe had broken his back, does anyone know how he is progressing?

Spoke to Simon's cousin a month or so ago and he said Simon was back in Barcelona and making good progress. Everything working, he said. A very lucky man, by all accounts.

I met Peter Goddard at the WSBK round at Miller earlier this year. He works for Stiggy Honda (although could be an Ohlins rep there, the lines are blurred).

And of course one of the most successful "crossovers" was Kel Carruthers. 1969 250 world champ and then six moree titles as a crew chief with Roberts and Lawson.

Mo

Toni Mang and Sepp Schlogl have been back in the GP paddock a couple of times this year with (now) double German 125 champion Marcel Schrötter. Schlogl tunes the bike (which obviously flies!) and Mang is team manager/rider coach. They will be full time next year, funds permitting.

Others ex riders working for teams now are:

- 70s 500 rider Gianni Rolando - not with a team but a supplier company
- Jacky Hutteau - at all GPs and looks after Elf fuels
- French Superbike rider Florian Ferracci works for Aprilia and now also mechanics for one of the Red Bull Rookies
- 125 rider Manfred Geissler works with Suzuki
- 80cc GP winner Herri Torrentegui is manager of Efren Vazquez
- 125 world champion Emilio Alzamora is manager of Marc Marquez
- Nobby Uedi has a young Japanese Daijiro Hiura in the Rookies Cup (and his Japanese Championship team)
- Pier Luigi Aldrovandi and Maurizio Massimiani were both mechanics in recent years but I think are no longer in the paddock
- 125 rider Adi Stadler works for Honda
- Maurizio Vitali is the AGV helmet rep.

Eskil Suter as well.

Gary Cowan worked for team Roberts as a data technician.

To my mind one of the greatest racers that were coming of age....

Wasn't Gary riding a Team Roberts 250 when he had that horrible Daytona accident?

I seem to recall Roberts saying in the press that Gary would always have a job as long as he (Kenny) was in the racing business