CHAS MORTIMER

A life well lived

TRYING GPS

Chas first dipped his toe into GP racing in 1969, heading off to Finland with his 125cc Villa. Astonishingly, he came sixth. But he was still doing plenty of races at home in ’69 – the shot above is from the Race the South at Brands.

TT GIFT EVIDENT

This is Chas in the 1970 250 TT, where he came fourth. His second year in GPS had started superbly, with a third place on the 250 at the German GP. Though he only finished five 250 GPS that year, he still came sixth overall.

FACTORY MZ RIDE

In 1971 MZ were left without a rider at the TT. Chas stepped in (he’s on the works 250 MZ in practice, above) but was prevented from racing it by an arcane bikeswapping regulation. Chas won the 125 TT, so it wasn’t all bad.

CONTINENTAL CIRCUS

GPS weren’t just about riding in the 1970s – the social life would make modern racers weep with envy. Chas made dozens of great mates – above, he’s with Swiss GP star Philippe Coulon (left) who came sixth in the 1976 500 championship.

LIFE GOES ON

It’s 1973 and Chas waits to go out at the Sachsenring on his Yamaha 125 (his mechanic is on the monkey bike). A great season for Chas in terms of results, but it was blighted by the death of Jarno Saarinen and Renzo Pasolini at Monza.

CLOSEST CALL

Chasing Kenny Roberts and Steve Baker in the 1977 250 race at Daytona, Chas outbraked himself, clipped some bales and flew over Steve Mclaughlin. His helmet came off in mid-air (you can see it on the right). ‘I was lucky to survive.’

AFTER RACING

In 1984 Chas (top right) agreed to run the Armstrong GP team with riders Niall Mackenzie (left) and Donny Mcleod, who came second in the 1986 Belgian GP. Chas now runs a leading bike transportation firm.