9 replies to this topic

[Sergio]

Has anyone got any information about the Indonesian rider named SAKSONO who rode Yamahas and a Suzuki TR500 in the late 1960s / early 1970s?

His full name was Sosro Atmojo ‘Sonny’ Saksono and he was born on 3rd December 1946. In his early years, he rode in Far East races such as Macau, Johore, Singapore and Malaysia. The sparse records I have found indicate that during his brief career, Saksono raced a 350cc Norton a TR-2 Yam and by 1972, a Suzuki TR500 which resulted from a purchase at Daytona.

In 1972, Saksono came to Europe and it's said that he was second at Zandvoort in a 'Grand Prix' during 1972. Maybe he raced at Zandvoort but when and in which race?

Later that year, he entered a 'Grand Prix' (?) in Czechoslovakia where on 12th August 1972 he lost his life after losing control of his Suzuki during qualifying. It is said that he crashed whilst crossing a railway line so was this actually the Finnish GP at Imatra? But neither of these dates match the records because there was no official Grand Prix held anywhere in August 1972.

I was about to admit defeat on Saksono but divine inspiration reminded me of the tremendous reach and depth of knowledge of this forum's members. I'm hoping that somebody out there can throw some light on Saksono. Maybe somebody has a photograph too!

Thanks for your help.

Edited by Sergio, 09 June 2011 - 15:29.

[Rennmax]

Some info here

http://motorsportmem...hp?db=ms&n=3935

[Sergio]

Some info here

http://motorsportmem...hp?db=ms&n=3935

Thanks for that Rennmax. I never knew the guy was called 'John' when he raced in the West. I'm now going to try to contact some of the sources quoted on the webpage.

If anybody else still has some suggestions (OK! OK!) please let me know.

Cheers

Ray

[HEMEYLA]

In 1972, Saksono came to Europe and it's said that he was second at Zandvoort in a 'Grand Prix' during 1972. Maybe he raced at Zandvoort but when and in which race?

National race Zandvoort 23-07-1972, to become a Dutch licence John Saksono raced a 500cc "Bant" Suzuki in the national class to second place, so for sure he got his license.

Report with picture from MOTOR magazine on the HEMEYLA website .............. click.

Racing Memory website ...... click ........ scroll down to Prievidza.

Edited by HEMEYLA, 10 June 2011 - 21:47.

[philippe7]

Thank you for the details on Saksono , Hemeyla.....but above that, thank you for the link to your website that I confess I didn't know..... the section where you have scanned all those "motors" magazines ( what an enormous load of work this must have been ! ) is absolutely sensational .... my understanding of written Dutch is fairly minimal, but the pictures and results sheets are priceless on their own right . Excellent, really . Do you plan to continue scanning beyond the 1972 year ?

Guys, take a look, really worth it ...

http://www.motorrace...1972/index.html


edit : actually, for the sake of accuracy, I think it's Ton Kooyman ( former Hemayla rider ) who posts on this forum under the name "Hemeyla" ( am I right ? ) ...and whom we should thank for the link to the official "Hemeyla" website of Herman Meyer

Edited by philippe7, 10 June 2011 - 23:40.

[larryd]

National race Zandvoort 23-07-1972, to become a Dutch licence John Saksono raced a 500cc "Bant" Suzuki in the national class to second place, so for sure he got his license.

Report with picture from MOTOR magazine on the HEMEYLA website .............. click.

Racing Memory website ...... click ........ scroll down to Prievidza.

Herman - you are a STAR

[picblanc]

Fantastic, will keep us busy for a while!

[philippe7]

Yeah, there are some incredible things, just noticed a picture of a "Barton" 350 triple at the London show on Jan 72 , made from a TD2 twin with one extra cylinder... just to add to the many discussions we've had in the past about who first ever built a yamaha triple from a twin ( Broad ? Kurth ? Zegers ? Trollope ? etc etc... )

Some interesting early König/Newcombe/Hiller/Eickelberg material as well, that I'm sure Tim Hana would have loved to see when he was writing his book .

Anyway, some priceless stuff...

[HEMEYLA]

Thank you for the details on Saksono , Hemeyla.....but above that, thank you for the link to your website that I confess I didn't know..... the section where you have scanned all those "motors" magazines ( what an enormous load of work this must have been ! ) is absolutely sensational .... my understanding of written Dutch is fairly minimal, but the pictures and results sheets are priceless on their own right . Excellent, really . Do you plan to continue scanning beyond the 1972 year ?

Guys, take a look, really worth it ...

http://www.motorrace...1972/index.html


edit : actually, for the sake of accuracy, I think it's Ton Kooyman ( former Hemayla rider ) who posts on this forum under the name "Hemeyla" ( am I right ? ) ...and whom we should thank for the link to the official "Hemeyla" website of Herman Meyer

You are right Philippe ........ back in time ........... click.

The link to the one and only real HEMEYLA ( HErman MEYer LAren ) is on my posts for more than 3 years now.

The scans from magazine "MOTOR" are from our friend Peter Goedegebure, the website is build and managed by Herman (with my little contributions).

We will discuss the possibilities to place scans beyond 1972, I have the race reports mostly scanned now untill 1982.

Please have a look also on our fast growing Dutch nostalgia forum http://www.deraceheldenvanweleer.nl , many "old" riders and "tuners" post there, its no problem te respond in English.

Edited by HEMEYLA, 11 June 2011 - 03:37.

[Sergio]

ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL

National race Zandvoort 23-07-1972, to become a Dutch licence John Saksono raced a 500cc "Bant" Suzuki in the national class to second place, so for sure he got his license.

Report with picture from MOTOR magazine on the HEMEYLA website .............. click.

Racing Memory website ...... click ........ scroll down to Prievidza.

Herman, this is the second or third time that you've helped me by plunging the depths of some murky waters and surfaced with gold. Your knowledge and references for this interesting period of racing history are really First Class.

It's surprising that whilst I have found some enthusiast sites and forums - mainly Indonesian and Czecho sites - mentioning Saksono's death at Prievidza, it seems to have been missed by the West's motorcycle press. I suppose the death of a little-known Indonesian rider in a 'local' race on an obscure circuit behind the Iron Curtain wasn't considered a very newsworthy item in 1972.

But your great knowledge has added another brick in the wall.

Ray

Edited by Sergio, 11 June 2011 - 12:26.