The Good Oil Volume 24 Number 6 June 2016 Inside President s Report Page 2 Les Diener Points Page 3 Race Secretary s Report Page 4 Tale of two racers Page 7 Draft minutes May meeting Page 9 Calendar/Classifieds Page 14 DAVO MAKES TT HISTORY Last year David Johnson became the fastest Australian racer in TT history. This year he became the fastest rider of a British motorcycle at the TT on the Norton V4.. Page 5 Photo s in this issue are courtesy www.historicmotorcycleracing.org
HMCRRSA OFFICE BEARERS 2013/2014 PATRON: Mal Pitman President Trevor Henderson 8384 5284 (h) 8249 3300 (w) 8241 0529 (fax) Vice President Danny Ahern 0407 826 951 (m) Treasurer Dean Watson Secretary Chris Hayward Competition Secretary Danny Ahern 0407 826 951 (m) Social Secretary/Librarian Geoff Grant 0422 413358 geoffpgrant@hotmail.com Newsletter Editor Hamish Cooper 0419 039010 (m) cooper.hamish@gmail.com Committee Members Club Delegates Club Address General Meeting Venue (third Thursday of each month) Honorary Life Members Paul Walker Tony Tildesley Stuart Penn Neil Watson Bob Balestrin Phil Baughan Road Race/MSA PO Box 311 Campbelltown SA 5074 MSA Office 251 The Parade BEULAH PARK Peter WESTERMAN (Deceased) Richard RAKE Danny AHERN David MANSON Len SMITH Ken LUCAS Doc WATSON (Deceased) Trevor HENDERSON Phil BAUGHAN Len DYSON (Deceased) Les Bell 0412 816 677 8278 5464 Committee Meeting (first Tuesday of every month) 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2007 2009 2013 Not much racing but plenty of meetings lately. On May 24, Andy McDonnell & I, plus a cast of thousands (exaggeration) attended an Onkaparinga Council meeting to discuss the proposed Sellicks Beach races. Brenton Matters presented the case for on behalf of MSA, and was then grilled by the Councillors prior to a vote being taken and approval given. It made Channel 7 News next night and front page of the next edition of the Southern Times Messenger. HMCRRSA would be more than happy for it to be a success, but we seem more concerned of pitfalls than some other enthusiasts. Dan Ahern and I went to the My Laps presentation in the Gillman Motocross Clubrooms which, with short notice given, was very poorly attended. A good system, but not for us! PRESIDENT S REPORT 2 Then Brenton Matters called a meeting of Presidents and Vice-Presidents to discuss MA s proposal to adopt a unitary system of governance, basically meaning that MA would run everything and the State LCB s would lose their independence. In the light of MA s difficulties in management, the feel of the meeting was that we shouldn t rush down that path before MA shows more stability and efficiency. After all the above our recent Committee Meeting seemed like a return to normality. I m sure we all have Neil and Dean, and the rest of the Watson family, in our thoughts with the passing of their mother, Ruth, widow of our much-loved Elder Statesman, Doc. Our sympathies, fellas! Trevor Henderson, President
LES DIENER SERIES POINTS 2016 Atujara Collingrove 20/3/16 Accumulative Rider Age Machine Bike Age Runs Results Rider Age Points Bikes Age Points Points Total Rider 1 Chris Lang 61 BSA 500 61 9 1st 90 25 61 61 237 Rider 2 Chris Pash 58 CZ 400 41 9 1st 90 25 58 41 214 Rider 3 Clayton Tilbrook 27 Yam RDLC 36 9 1st 90 25 27 36 178 Total 629 Atujara Mac Pk Seniors 8/5/16 Riders Age Bikes Age Accumulative Rider Age Machine Bike Age Race 1 Race 2 Race 1 Race 2 Points Points Points Total Rider 1 Chris Pash 58 Suzuki 500 44 1st 1st 25 25 58 44 152 Rider 2 John Strauss 72 CZ400 42 2nd DNF 20 0 72 42 134 Rider 3 Ken Ball 54 Yam RDLC 36 7th 8th 14 13 54 36 117 Rider 4 Chris Lang 61 BSA 635 75 1st 1st 25 25 61 75 186 Total 589 1218 HMRRSA Collingrove Rider's Age Bike's Age Rider Age Machine Bike Age Runs Results Points Points Points Points Points Total Rider 1 Otto Muller 71 Adler 62 9 1st 90 25 71 62 248 Rider 2 Ross O'Neill 63 BSA B31 61 9 1st 90 25 63 61 239 Rider 3 Scott Elliott 50 Yam IT 250 36 8 2nd 80 20 50 36 186 Mac Pk Seniors Total 673 Accumulative Rider Age Machine Bike Age Race 1 Race 2 Race 1 Race 2 Points Points Points Total Rider 1 Danny Ahern 59 Matchy G50 54 3rd 3rd 18 18 59 54 149 Rider 2 Dan Gleeson 56 Norton 750 54 DNF 2nd 0 20 56 54 130 Rider 3 Murray Johnson 60 Manx 500 54 4th 5th 17 16 60 54 147 Rider 4 Neil Watson 62 Velo Mac 350 79 1st 1st 25 25 62 79 191 Total 617 1290 3
FROM THE COMPETITION SECRETARY Well winter is here and that means a break for moi racing my G50. It doesn t mean a break from lots of other stuff though! The committee is working hard at a few things, we are endeavouring to update our website and make it a bit more of a moving thing. Luke Charleton is a key cog in the project and to that we all thank you. I am drafting up the sup regs for our titles at end of year. I am hopeful we can go nearly completely electronic for entries which will be good as I will be able to read riders info far easier. The Nationals are on in Tassie 19 th and 20 th Nov and I know a few from our club are going to that. For those that are not we have again been invited to participate in the Motorsport Festival at Victoria Park on that same weekend. Like last year it is a two day event and the organisers are keen for us to have 20 motorcycles out there participating. If you are keen let me know and we will do our best to put on a good show. Winton was on a couple of weeks ago and I know Dan Gleeson went over there to try his chances. He enjoyed it and had fun. Looks like Sellicks will be on in February 2017, not sure what involvement I ll have, although I had drafted a set of sup regs whilst on the working committee. Will keep all posted as things come on song. The talk is the event will rely heavily on early commitments from riders and then pre sales of patrons to watch the event with crowds capped at 10,000 pre-paid per day of the two day event. July sees the 24 Hour Trial so if you get up there I ll look out for you, I am pretty sure I ll be helping at the Ducati checkpoint again with my mate Paul Hoey and others. Had a couple rides on my trail bike too with the bro, so keeping my eye in. Meantime enjoy your sheds fettling etc. Danny Ahern, Competition Secretary TREV S TITBITS: A GENUINE HISTORIC MACHINE Of those at May s Mac Park Seniors, how many took notice of #78 in P2, Class C and 125 events? The BSA side-valve of 635cc was entered in P2 and ridden by Chris Lang of Atujara Club, who is one to beat in the Historic section at Collingrove Hillclimb. Chris s BSA certainly was no concours contender, but had a patina that well-used bikes do. This machine had been campaigned by the late Ray Christie and carried Ray s #78. Murray Williams bought the bike from Jackie, Ray s widow, on the understanding that it would never be restored but retained in original condition. Subsequently, Chris bought the bike from Murray, as Murray knew Chris would maintain Jackie s wish. Ray always called this bike Agra (short for agricultural). Ray Christie won the first Laurie Boulter Motocross, of 2 hours duration, and 3 in total. Ray rode in several motorcycling disciplines, and even raced Super Modifieds at Rowley Park Speedway, as well as running Main Motor Wreckers on Port Road, Beverley for several years. Alan Wallis remembered Ray arriving at scrambles when practice had all but finished, kitbag of tools on the tank and asking if he could have a couple of laps. A vivid memory for me is a Short Circuit meeting run by WRE Club that had a gully which killed the hopes of any slider-type machines. Ray arrived with an iron-engined 350 BSA and beat Peter Heywood s 500 Matchless Metisse in the first race. Ray did eventually ride a Greeves for a while in the mid-70s. My thanks to Richard Metcalf for reminding me of the history of Ray and his BSA, which I hadn t twigged to when Chris rolled up with his bike. So a bit of history, and memories of a well-loved competitor, shared the track with us at Mac Park. RIP Ray Christie. Thumbs Up and change right, Trevor Henderson #55. 4
DAVO TAKES THE NORTON INTO THE TOP 10 AT THE TT David Johnson didn t know what to expect when he fronted for the first practice at this year s Isle of Man TT. After 15 years of racing in Europe he d signed for Norton because he was looking for a different challenge for TT 2016. Last year he became the fastest Australian on the course with a lap average of 131.595mph. This year he was playing it cautiously to start with as he was riding a MotoGP-spec engine noted for its violent power delivery. The Aprilia V4-engined Norton had been raced at the TT for the past two years by fellow Australian Cameron Donald, who switched back to Honda this year. We did loads of testing but you never know how it s going to work until the first time you hit Bray Hill in practice, said Davo. Typical of the TT we never finished a lap in the first three practice sessions. This circuit is so hard on motorcycles. The biggest problem was the MotoGP-spec electronics fitted to the bike for this year s TT. The team discovered they were too sensitive for the bumps and jumps on the TT circuit. There was a lot of tweaking to be done but on the Thursday practice I did four laps in a row including two at 127mph average and one at 128mph including a refuelling stop (the previous best lap in a race had been 124.6mph), he said. 5
Davo took this form into the first big race of TT week, the six-lap Superbike race. He made TT history, lapping at 130.872mph to become the fastest ever rider of a British motorcycle and finished in seventh place. To underline his performance he beat Kiwi TT legend Bruce Anstey, who was racing a Honda MotoGP V4 replica RC213, by 9.5secs. Davo then retired from the Senior on Friday after three laps, with an engine fluid leak. He had just completing his fastest lap of the race at 130.3mph and was on target for a top-five finish. It was a disappointing end to what was shaping up as another great result. Before the race he had spent several hours at Jurby airfield's test track reworking the V4 Norton. "We d done loads of suspension changes and it was a completely different bike," he said. He followed this up with a 129.093mph lap from a standing start in the last Senior practice. This placed him seventh fastest in a field of 55 riders and within a split-second of a possible top-five finish. Despite the disappointment Norton has high hopes for both its V4 racer and Johnson. "It's taken us five years to turn the corner," said Norton team adviser and TT legend Mick Grant. Norton factory owner Stuart Garner was also upbeat. "Davo's done a mega job and we can't thank him enough," he said. "We're developing our own V4 engine for next year's TT." 6
TALE OF TWO RACERS: ADVENTURES OF DAN G AND PRES TREV Dan Gleeson and Jane attended Historic Winton s 40 th birthday party on May 28-29. A highlight was the row of Harleys and old Indians. There was a race between them on both days and the Harleys won. It was a good weekend with car racing as well as motorcycles. There were a lot of displays, including muscle cars from the 1970s, and 106 entries for the motorcycle races. Pics by Jane. 7
Meanwhile, Trev Henderson dusted off his old ESO speedway bike and vintage leathers and headed to Mildura over the long weekend. He stayed with long-time members Cyndie and Rob Kempton. Trev did battle in the Mildura Motorcycle Club's annual Wintersun Classic Speedway Championships. Great weather and great racing and I got on the podium!, he reported later. Third place in the 2-valve over-50yrs solo class was a great result. Photos above show Trev in the pits and, far right, accepting his sash. Pics by Claire Harmon. 8
Draft Minutes of the General Meeting of the Historic Motor Cycle Racing Register of SA (incorporating the 2015 AGM) held at the MSA clubrooms on Thursday, May 19. The meeting opened at 8.00pm with 19 members attending. Apologies: Visitors: New members: Minutes of previous meeting: Business arising: Ronna, Claire, Joe Ahern, Otto Muller. N/A N/A. Moved Dan Ahern, Seconded Brian Stuart, Accepted by members via show of hands. None Reports: President s report Trevor provided commentary on the earlier MSA promoted FMX event the incurred substantial financial losses. Phil to speak on the matter later in the meeting. Secretary report Promotional advertising received for various rider related goods including leathers and exhaust systems These primarily from overseas entities quality and reputation unknown. Treasurer s report (April) Dean reported incomings and outgoings for the month. A significant amount of monies held in the Business online account was transferred into the term deposit account for a 9 month term. Dean provided account balance total for the combined accounts. Members who are unable to attend monthly meetings were reminded to contact Dean if up to date account balance details are required. Comp Secretary s report Wakefield Park s (NSW) 40 th Anniversary meeting I being promoted. This event will be promoted to club members once the Supp Regs are released. Overview of the recent Mac Park Seniors race meeting provided. General consensus was that it was very well run and received positive feedback overall. HMCRRSA riders performed very well with many trophy winners. 9
Promotion of the upcoming Adelaide Festival of Motor Sport for 2016 via the Good Oil was discussed. It will be a two day feature again this year and members are encouraged to nominate to exhibit their race bikes. My Lap sports timing promotion via MSA was discussed. Dan and Trevor attended the promotional event at Gilman and Dan provided an overview of the meeting. There was a poor turn out from other affiliated clubs. MSA has already purchased the Control Box unit and is encouraging clubs to purchase the transponders. HMCRRSA unlikely to purchase these since it wouldn t be beneficial for the single event we run each year. MSA/RR Committee Phil reported that the MSA AGM was recently held. Phil expressed concern that he as a Sport Manager (road race) wasn t on the list for attending this meeting! He nevertheless attended along with Chris Hayward (HMCRRSA). The meeting requested that the Secretary (Chris) write a letter to MSA asking why this was the case. Phil provided a detailed overview of the recent FMX event at Murray Bridge which was the subject of much concern on the part of affiliated clubs, particularly concerning the substantial financial losses incurred. The following discussion amongst members concerning this event and the role MSA played in promoting the same was universally critical of the overall management of this event. The following motion was subsequently put to the meeting:- The Secretary draft a letter to MSA on behalf of the club expressing dissatisfaction with MSA s involvement in promoting events and concern over the subsequent financial losses incurred following the FMX event at Murray Bridge Proposed Dean Watson, Seconded Phil Baughan Motion carried unanimously via show of hands Phil provided a detailed overview of the My Laps timing system. Phil reported that there has been some concern amongst club re the My Laps timing system proposal supported by MSA. He outlined MSA s rationale behind their decision to purchase the $5000 lap controller. 10
A general discussion followed. The general consensus amongst the meeting was that HMCRRSA would not at this stage consider purchasing transponders. An update of the Sellicks Beach race meeting proposal was discussed. It was generally agreed that the business case for such a race meeting should be categorized as being a high risk venture. It was highly unlikely that HMCRRSA would financially support this proposal although in kind logistical support would be considered. A number of Rule Change submissions were discussed. Further discussion took place re a proposal to amend restrictions re Ethylene Glycol based coolants in radiators. It had been argued that some modern coolants (that currently do not comply) do not pose a rider hazard in the event of a spill onto the track and are a much more effective cooling agent than water alone. Nevertheless this amendment proposal has been rejected. Another earlier issue involved the use of E85 fuel in place of the current 100 (Ron) maximum requirement for period 5 and 6 machines. Phil reported that this proposal is still under consideration. General business A donated tee shirt featuring the 2006 Nationals at Mt Gambier was free to any club member. Trevor requested expressions of interest from any members who might be interested. Onkaparinga Council are continuing to be lobbied re the Sellicks Beach race proposal. Phil reported that there was to be a Face Book campaign to promote the Sellicks Beach Motor Cycle Classic proposal next week. Davo Johnson competing in the North West 200 had a rear tyre disintegrate at 200mph. The event was broadcast via (BB live NW200). Ambulance SA s revised (reduced) ambulance cover was discussed. It seems that SA policy holders will no longer be covered for Ambulance transport outside SA. This will impact those members who travel interstate to attend race meetings. Further updates will be provided at subsequent meetings. Meeting closed at 9.40pm. 11
Draft Minutes of the Committee Meeting of the Historic Motor Cycle Racing Register of South Australia held on June 7, at MSA Clubrooms. The meeting opened at 7.30pm Present: Trevor Henderson, Danny Ahern, Chris Hayward, Dean Watson, Neil Watson Bob Balestrin, Paul Walker. Visitors: None Minutes of previous meeting: Proposed Dan, seconded Dean. Accepted unanimously. Business Arising: Trevor identified each of the action items and progress discussed. Chris has yet to draft letter to Phil (Baughan) re the Club s request for part reimbursement of monies spent promoting the Nationals event at Mallala in 2015. Chris informed meeting that Dean had forwarded invoices on to Phil and Chris undertook to draft a letter in support within the next few days. Dan provided an update on the Sellicks Beach race proposal. He had discussed this matter with MSA informing them that HMCRRSA was happy to provide in kind support for this event but would not be providing financial support. Levis will be running the proposed event with assistance from MSA. Supp Regs for this meeting are expected to be available next month although a no run clause will be included in the event of the event not going ahead. Promotors are expecting/hoping to pre sell a maximum of 10,000 entry tickets. Committee discussed HMCRRSA s web site at length. Neil discussed concepts re publishing photos from members including historic shots. Photos of previous and past members was suggested and supported. The Gallery section has been down and Neil reported that this was an ongoing intermittent problem. Luke and Dean had discussed the status of the website and it was agreed that Luke would attend a future meeting when he returns from overseas. Treasurers Report There was no report submitted for May. Secretary s Report Chris tabled letter of support from an interested person re the Club s MSA letter of concern. General Business Dan reported that preliminary programming is about to commence for the 2016 State titles. Trophies need to be rebadged (due to last year s non allocation). Saturday 31 December and Sunday 1 January has been scheduled for this race meeting. The selection of race officials was discussed. As much as possible HMCRRSA will attempt to retain the same personnel as last time. Trevor to chase up! Dean spoke about the high number of unfinancial members. There are currently 18 on the books identified as such. Dean has attempted to contact these people via email without success. It was agreed that unless mitigating circumstances apply, these people will be removed from the membership register. Meeting closed at 10.00pm 12
Letter of Invitation. Patron Peter Sparkes President Barrie Stroud Vice President Brian Kuerschner Secretary Bill Browne Treasurer Richard Rake Editor Alan Wallis OAM Hi Folk, Allow me firstly to introduce myself before coming to the point. If you haven t already heard of me throughout motorcycling circles my name is Brian Kuerschner known better to most as Nip or Nipper. On this occasion as Vice President and self-appointed Publicity Officer of the Veteran Motorcycle Competitors Association of South Australia I write to you inviting your possible eligible Members to join OUR group. Our Members of mostly aged or older past competitive motorcyclists meet officially at our Annual Dinner Meeting planned around mid to late October to co-inside with the Classic Speedway season opening meeting at Gillman. Our Annual General Meeting is held each year in early May with an occasional Committee Meeting that generally follows an unofficial once monthly gathering for lunch at the Morphett Arms Hotel. Attendance for this social gathering hovers generally around the 35 and upwards mark for those Members with the interest of talking over old times and sifting through past historical and bygone memorabilia. Our overall Membership presently give or take floats around the 85 to 90 financial Members mark. As we are a non for profit organisation I respectfully write to you inviting any potential Members of your Club that could be persuaded to join our Membership. Foremost criteria to be eligible is for Solo riders, Sidecar riders and Sidecar passengers across all disciplines only, to have held an ACCA, MASA or official FIM license for in excess of 25 years. Membership is open to male and female past or current competitors. Our first once off Membership joining fee of $5.00 is thereafter followed by an annual $5.00 payment to remain a financial Member. Presently our Committee considers this generous enrolment figure adequate to substantiate our present existence. For this minor amount Members both metropolitan and country are entitled to receive our quarterly Newsletter and attend our Annual Dinner Meeting. Potential Members or otherwise are more than welcome to join our monthly luncheon on the first Tuesday except for November (Melbourne Cup day). In closing if I may I d like to with your support have this invitation circulated throughout your Membership perhaps to even have you provide an appropriate complimentary advertisement in your Club Magazine/Newsletter and conceivably included in a coming fixture open event program. I sincerely thank you for your time in conveying this message to your Club Members and trust that the Club prospers and continues to go forward. Many thanks and my kindest regards. Brian Kuerschner, Vice President. Veteran Motorcycle Competitors Association of South Australia. 13
2016-17 Dates Date Event Venue Nov 12 Club ride day with DOCSA Mac Park Nov 19-20 Adelaide Motorsport Festival Victoria Park Nov 17-20 2016 Aust Historic Championships Symmons Plains Dec 30-Jan 1, 2017 SA Historic Champs Mac Park Mar 23-24 Barry Sheene Festival of Speed Sydney Motorsport Park Champion ride days at Mallala 12th June, 24th June, 8th July, 31st July, 14th Aug, 26th Aug, 9th Sept, 24th Sept, 7th Oct, 22nd Oct, 25th Nov, 2nd Dec, 18th Dec Wanted For Sale For Sale/Wanted Single downtube frame to take 150cc Bultaco engine which is 375mm long Pilgrim oil pump single feed. Club Shirts $35, Caps $15, Hats $18, Mugs $4.50, Cloth Badges $10 and Stickers $2.50. Trevor 83845284 Bob 8263 9133 Buy at next club meeting 14