9 replies to this topic

[MPea3]

i was as big a motorcycle racing fan as i was an F1 fan back in the late 60's and early 70's. one of my heros was a harley racer named Cal Rayborn, having met this gracious gentleman at the atlanta mile in 1972. while he wasn't the magician on dirt that he was on pavement, i still remember his putting on a good show that day. i also saw him race at road atlanta, where he showed his true magic.

i think he earned the respect of some of the british bike fans in 72 when he managed to hustle his non-works HD 750 around brands for a win in the transatlantic match race series.

he was killed in New Zealand in 1973 at the Pukekohe track, and i was wondering if anyone could shed any light on that track or the circumstances of Cal's death for me.

[Don Capps]

Wow, somebody else who attended the bike races at Road Atlanta!

[Darren Galpin]

Track Length: 1.752 miles

Located 30 miles south of Auckland, this track was a replacement for the Ardmore circuit and was built inside a horse-racing track. It was used for the New Zealand GP and national meetings between 1963 and 1966, and saloon car races thereafter. The loop (shaded at the left of the map) formed the basis of the club circuit. In April 1966 the circuit was used in an anti-clockwise direction for one race, but this was never repeated due to a lack of run-off area.
For 1967, the track missed out the loop and held again the New Zealand GP. Chicanes were added in 1974.

[ehagar]

He died before my time, but I gather that he was considered among America's greatest riders. Here is a nice little Biography:

http://www.ama-cycle...yborn/index.asp

[David McKinney]

Raybourn took a F5000 Lola T192 to New Zealand with him on that ill-fated trip. He didn't get a chance to race it, though I think he had raced it in the US

[cabianca]

Believe he was on a two-stroke, perhaps a Suzuki. Supposedly, because he wasn't used to two-strokes, he didn't keep one finger on the clutch at all times. Bike seized, causing the resultant fatal accident. Had he been interested, I think he could have been the first American to really do something, before Kenny Roberts.

[Jim Thurman]

I grew up in San Diego and there is a great motorcycle racing heritage there. Cal Rayborn was covered fairly well in the local newspapers. My family had moved back to San Diego a few months before Rayborn's fatal accident, which received a tremendous amount of coverage.

Something that is often forgotten is that Rayborn had dabbled in four wheel racing and was planning to switch to auto racing full time. He impressed there as well. He only drove in something like three or four SCCA Regional races and IIRC, he won in either his first or second time out and wound up winning something like 3 of his 4 starts. There were reports of Gurney helping him out and he had an Eagle lined up for F5000 competition. Reportedly, the only reason he went to New Zealand was to either satisfy sponsors or make a last payday before the full time move to cars for 1974.


Jim Thurman

[MPea3]

yes, he [B]WAS[B] riding a suzuki, i know that, after riding HD's for his entire racing career.

i also remember that he was moving to cars. while very gifted as a rider, we certainly wasn't typical rider in size or build. most riders then were tiny guys, more like jockeys. some of them, such as don emde and jody nicholas, looked too small to be on the bikes they rode. rayborn on the other hand, looked to be 5-10ish and built like a boxer, probably weighing close to 180 pounds. he certainly stood out from the others as far as his size, and to me, as far as his kindness.

[Milan Fistonic]

This was published in the December 14, 1973 edition of Motoraction.

Motorcycle Record Holder to Contest Stuyvesant Series

Motor cycle Land Speed record holder and U.S. Motor Cycle Champion, Cal Rayborn, has announced that he will be contesting the coming Peter Stuyvesant $100,000 Motor Race Series.

Rayborn, who has over the past years established himself as probably the world's most versatile and successful motor cycle road race rider, is now going motor racing in a big way.

His recent motor cycling history includes two wins at Daytona (1968-69). He travelled to Britiain in 1972 to contest the Trans-Atlantic races winning three and finishing second in the remaining three.

For his exploits on road circuits, one mile dirt tracks and his 265 mile an hour land speed record for motor cycles, Cal Rayborn was voted the coveted "Rider of the Year" for 1973 by the U.S. publication "Cycle Magazine".

In 1968 Rayborn turned his hand to car racing, driving a Chevrolet Transam Camaro. With this car he took a number of top placings in U.S. regional and international events.

For the coming Stuyvesant series, Rayborn will be driving a Lola 5000 car which has been modified at considerable cost by Dan Gurney.

Over the past few months the car and engine have been completely rebuilt. A second engine has just been completed and tested as a spare, ready for the first race at Levin.

For several years a works rider for the Harley Davidson Company, Rayborn is expected to compete in a couple of selected motor cycle meetings, providing they do not conflict with his car racing efforts.

[MPea3]

Milan Fistonic: great stuff, thank you