John Williams: Part 2
A PRIVATE MATTER
The continuation of the story of JW, a rider’s rider who was as popular in the paddock as he was talented on track.
Despite the interest from Yamaha and Honda, it was Suzuki who John lined up with in 1976 and it saw John and wife Margaret give up the life of the privateer, replacing it with the more luxurious comforts of a factory-backed rider. He also had an eye on his future though and included a gents’ boutique amongst his business interests.
Back to the racing and the season started in the worst possible fashion at the Daytona 200, when a high speed spill, due to a brake fault, left John with a fractured skull and injured ankle, forcing him to miss the opening round of the Formula 750cc world championship in Venezuela. His toughness and determination meant he was back racing much quicker than the specialists and doctors thought though and by the French GP at Le Mans, late in April, he was back in the saddle and beginning to learn how to ride the new, four-cylinder 500cc Suzuki. Having qualified in sixth, a great start saw John tuck into second spot behind Johnny Cecotto, although he continued to suffer a problem with the location of the lower pair of exhaust pipes which were touching down on the tarmac when cornering. The problem reared its head again during the race and although he’d been able to sort things out the first time it happened, he got caught out on lap 15. Sheene had taken the lead by then and
John decided to go with him, overtaking Cecotto around the outside. However, the exhausts dug in again and down he went once more. It didn’t do his damaged ankle much good but worse than that was the blow to his confidence. Luck deserted him again at the Austrian Grand Prix a week later when Bruno Kneubuhler crashed through the Esses which resulted in a number of straw bales being brought onto the circuit and on the racing line. With marshals also on the track, John’s concentration was disturbed and he crashed out of fourth place with another hospital visit revealing his ankle was broken. It was actually an old break but enough to warrant being put in plaster. He was still struggling to come to an agreement with the ACU with regards to his start money for the up and coming TT and the news that he might miss the event due to his broken ankle didn’t help his bargaining position. However, thankfully this wasn’t the case and he was fit for the TT where the rest, as they say, is history, although given how John’s season had gone thus far it came with its fair share of drama!
Making history – the 110mph lap
That year’s TT was the last that would count towards the world championship and a practice lap of 107.51mph made John favourite for the Senior TT race win, despite problems with the 500cc Suzuki seizing regularly due to running too cool. Being top of the practice leaderboard though put him in confident mood ahead of the Senior whilst a lap of 109.15mph on the 750cc Suzuki-3 put him second to Mick Grant’s Kawasaki for the Classic. John and Grant left the line together in the Senior but by Ballacraine John was eight seconds clear and the win already looked a near formality, although no one could foresee what cruel luck lay in store for the unlucky Williams. At the end of the first lap, John clocked 20m26.8s which was not only a new 500cc lap record but also a new outright one too – and the lap of 110.71mph saw him etch his name in history as he became the first man ever to lap the 37.73-mile Mountain Course at more than 110mph. That put him an impressive 44s clear of Tom Herron and with his second lap being a sensational 112.27mph it seemed he was having a trouble free run. That was far from the case though as he’d been in trouble from the start with the clutch failing to operate from Ballacraine on the opening lap and then, to make matters worse, with less than two laps to go his steering damper had also broken. Despite this his lead was almost three minutes so he decided to keep going but a selector fault then made it almost impossible to change gear or even for John to know what gear he was in. By good fortune he was able to find bottom gear for both Ramsey Hairpin and the Gooseneck but at Governors Bridge on the final lap and with the chequered flag within sight, the engine stalled. John had to push the big Suzuki for those
JOHN AND GRANT LEFT THE LINE TOGETHER IN THE SENIOR BUT BY BALLACRAINE, JOHN WAS EIGHT SECONDS CLEAR AND THE WIN ALREADY LOOKED A NEAR FORMALITY, ALTHOUGH NO ONE COULD FORESEE WHAT CRUEL LUCK LAY IN STORE
agonising 600 yards home and he collapsed at the line totally exhausted, the end result being seventh rather than the coveted race win. He admitted that his confidence at the TT was still at a low ebb, despite setting the aforementioned outright lap record, but he finally got his breakthrough in the Classic race which saw him take victory with another 110mph+ lap. Poor weather pushed the race back to Saturday but John led from start to finish to take his fourth TT win by a commanding 1m24.8s from Alex George. Hitting form on the Island was one thing but it was in the short circuit Grand Prix races where John wanted to prevail. He’d already shown that he had the pace to run at the front and at each race he’d been on the leaderboard battling for a good place and he’d learned very quickly how to ride the 500cc Suzuki. It was still a new machine to him though, although sixth place in the searing heat at Assen was a welcome step in the right direction. A week later he accomplished his racing dream by winning his first Grand Prix in Belgium. The event saw drama on the second day of practise when Phil Read failed to appear at the circuit and the curtain came down on his Grand Prix career, but John qualified in a solid sixth place albeit almost six seconds slower than pole man Sheene. However, when it came to the race, John completed the opening lap just ahead of his illustrious team-mate with Marcel Ankone in third and the trio were still disputing the lead at the end of the third lap. The British pair soon shook off the spirited ride of the Dutchman and for the remainder of the 10 laps, there was never more than 50 yards between them. Everyone expected team leader Sheene to be in front as they came into view at the end of the final lap but Barry wasn’t there and John was on his own. Coasting towards the line, John kept looking anxiously down the road to see where Barry was and dawdled for as long as he could but when it became clear Barry was in trouble, his Suzuki-4 suffering from fuel vaporization issues, John wisely decided he couldn’t wait any longer and crossed the line to win his first ever Grand Prix. A reluctant race winner, John was almost embarrassed to have won in such a manner but his pace could be seen by the news he had set the fastest lap of the race at 135.601mph, close to Sheene’s lap record, and had set a new race record of 133.489mph despite having slowed so much on the way to the line. The Suzuki team naturally revolved around Sheene but John had no complaints. “Why should I?” he said. “Barry’s proved himself to be a great rider since he’s been with Suzuki. I’ve been with them just five minutes. But there’s no discrimination in the squad. Barry usually tests the new ideas because he’s had enough experience to know if they work or not! If they are better, John Newbold and I get them too.”
Saved by Sheene
The win in Belgium proved to be John’s last points of the season though, leaving him in a slightly disappointing ninth overall but fifth in the MCN Superbike Championship, which included podiums at Mallory Park and Brands Hatch, as well as seventh overall in the Transatlantic Trophy Races again proving his short circuit credentials. A heavy spill in qualifying in Sweden saw him knocked unconscious and, having swallowed his tongue, it was only the quick thinking of team-mate Sheene that prevented John’s condition being worse. Barry stopped his machine and ran to the stricken Williams, loosening his helmet and, after removing dirt that had found its way into his mouth, pulled John’s tongue free. It was a great act of sportsmanship by Sheene although it meant John missed the final Grand Prix races of the season. After a mixed season, it was perhaps no great surprise to see John return to privateer status in 1977, albeit with one of the best teams on the grid, although not before he was named as sports personality of the year for 1976 by the Liverpool Echo. The change for 1977 saw him join forces with Burton upon Trent businessman Dave Orton of Appleby Glade and he provided John with an impressive range of machinery that included 350cc and 750cc Yamahas, as well as a new 500cc Suzuki. Having missed the meeting in 1976, John was back at the North West 200 in 1977 with the day blessed with glorious sunny conditions and he led the opening Superbike race from the word go, setting a new lap record of 122.97mph in the process. However, with the chequered flag waiting for him at the end of the six laps, he agonisingly ran out of fuel just 400 yards from home allowing Mick Grant to take the win. His fortunes picked up considerably though for the remainder of the day and although Kiwi newcomer John Woodley shattered the record books in the 500cc race, he went out with a holed piston on the penultimate lap leaving John clear to take the win from Steve Parrish, who had ironically replaced him at Texaco Heron Suzuki, and George Fogarty. Grant led the feature Superbike race early on but he soon dropped back after stopping due to fuel escaping from the rear breather onto his rear tyre and John swept to his second win of the day from circuit newcomer John Newbold who had the consolation of setting a new outright lap record of 124.06mph. Suzuki GB loaned John 500cc and 700cc machines for the TT where he was again expected to be challenging for the race wins given his performances the year before and although he felt a 115mph lap was a possibility for the leading contenders, luck deserted him during race week. With just two rides at the 1977 TT, John’s hopes of a Senior race were over before they’d even begun with the bike seizing at the Highlander just a few miles after the start of the first lap and he was then forced to stop on the opening lap of the Classic after a rag used to cover the radiator in the warming up area wasn’t removed. The temperature had risen considerably by the time he reached Braddan on the opening lap and he stopped to remove the offending rag before steadily continuing on his way. Amazingly, he was up to fourth place at the end of the lap but trying hard to make up the time lost, he crashed out at Creg ny Baa on the second lap, fortunately without injury. Just as he had done at the North West 200 though, John again grabbed the headlines at the Ulster Grand Prix and he opened his account for the day with third in the 350cc race after battling with eventual race winner Tom Herron, Ray Mccullough and circuit newcomer Jon Ekerold for much of the race. His first win of the day came in the 500cc race which he won with ease and, aided by a new lap record of 115.04mph on the Appleby Glade Suzuki, a near flawless ride saw him come home almost two minutes clear of former sponsor Bill Smith. His race record of 113.41mph was almost 2mph quicker than the old lap record but better was to follow in the 1000cc race. A hint of rain was in the air when John and Roger Marshall made the early running but John soon seized control of proceedings with a new outright lap record of 117.424mph.
As Marshall dropped back due to having lost fifth gear, Tony Rutter and Dave Potter moved up to second and third respectively, but John wasn’t to be denied yet another international road race victory and he took the win from Rutter by 4.4s. On the short circuits, John only contested selected Grands Prix but still scored points in Sweden and Belgium although a damp British Grand Prix, held for the first time at Silverstone, looked like it would give him at least a podium. Sixth in qualifying, John ran inside the top four for much of the race and when Parrish crashed out at Copse, he suddenly found himself in the lead. However, just when a second GP victory appeared to be his, he slid out at Becketts although an excellent third place in the earlier 350cc race which saw him battle all the way to the line with Olivier Chevallier, did make up for the disappointment. Elsewhere, fifth in the Shellsport 500cc Championship, which included victory at the final round of the season at Brands Hatch, meant it had been another good season for John. Unsurprisingly, he remained with Appleby Grade and Orton for the 1978 season when he also had the use of a 250cc Yamaha along with a Honda Britain Formula One machine to make it a busy season for the now 31-year old. The year started well with some strong rides in the early season MCN Superbike and Shellsport Championship rounds seeing John score solid points and occupy a top six position in each so he was in excellent form once more when he headed across the Irish Sea to the North West 200. As it turned out, he only had one finish to show for his name at the end of the day but after stopping at York Corner on the opening lap of the 500cc race, he went on to put in an heroic ride. Rejoining the action in 14th place, he tore through the field and after lapping at exactly the same speed as what he had done the year before, he took a superb third place in what would prove to be his 11th and final NW200 podium. Onto the TT and whilst Mike Hailwood stole all the headlines on his way to winning the opening Formula One race, John more than repaid the faith shown in him by Honda Britain with an excellent second place. Another podium looked on the cards in the Senior race when he held onto third place going into the fifth lap but a water hose split on the Cronk y Voddy straight forced him out. He also failed to finish the Junior when he got caught out by the damp surface at Braddan Bridge on the opening lap but he was back to his best for the Classic race where he opted to use the 500cc Suzuki instead of the bigger 750cc Yamaha. With two Classic victories to his name in the last three years, John was hungry for the win but so too was Mick Grant who’d had a torrid week. As it turned out, the combination of Grant and the 750cc Kawasaki would be too strong for John and his smaller 500 but he pushed hard all the way, as seen by a personal best lap of the 37.73-mile circuit of 113.17mph. Grant slowed in the closing stages due to the rear brake caliper working its way loose but although John ate into the lead of the Yorkshireman, he held on and John had to settle for second place and a 13th TT podium. More strong rides on the mainland followed with John now also a regular top four finisher in the newly introduced Formula One Championship and he was again firmly expected to be at the forefront of the results at August’s Ulster Grand Prix. The six-race programme got underway with John disappearing into the distance in the 500cc race and although Tom Herron broke the lap record in pursuit, John had a 20 second cushion at the end of the 12 laps to repeat his victory of the year before, his sixth in total at the event. Fourth place followed in the Formula One race and he then shot off into the lead on the opening lap of the 1000cc race with Dudley Crammond and Herron in hot pursuit. Tom took over the lead from John on lap three but disaster then struck the latter as he crashed out at Wheeler’s on the fifth lap. At first, there didn’t seem to be cause for concern with John and he was taken to hospital with what seemed to be relatively minor injuries to his arms and ribs. However,
his condition deteriorated overnight and John G, as he had become tagged over the years, sadly lost his fight for life. It was perhaps ironic that one of pure road racing’s biggest supporters would lose his life at one of his favourite circuits and the sport undoubtedly lost both a likeable character and one of the best ever racers to come from these shores. John left behind a wife Margaret and three-year-old son Nicholas. He’s fondly remembered to this day by all those who knew him, whilst his achievements at the Isle of Man TT are rightly recognised with the John Williams Trophy having been awarded every year since 1979 to the rider setting the fastest lap in firstly the Formula One and more latterly the Superbike race. The Motocourse annual paid tribute to John and they couldn’t have described him more perfectly when they wrote: “John was an exceptional motorcyclist and an irresistibly likeable man. Those who knew him were humbled by his courage, marvelled at his ability and were unfailingly charmed by his modesty; he was a nice man and everyone knew it.”