Gary's FLASH BACK

Gary Reid has delved into his archives from 1972, and the 1972 Castrol Six Hour Race marked the track debut of the new Ducati 750 GT. Two were on the grid; the #8 machine entered by Ron Angel Tuning for Ken Blake, and the #18 entered by Fraser Motorcycles for Gordon Lawrence and Graham Gates. Blake circulated with typical consistency to finish third in the Unlimited class, but the Fraser entry was disqualified after a post-race strip-down by scrutineers revealed the engine had received much more than a “light hone”. The first Ducati 860 had been born!