Putting in the hours at Donington
This May meeting proved how popular classic endurance racing has become
Historic Endurance racing is really taking off in Britain. This year the European Classic Series (ECS), launched in 2013 added a British round at Donington Park. A four-hour race at Snetterton in 2015 sparked the movement in this country, spearheaded by the Endurance Legends organisation (EL).
At Donington, EL staged the pioneering event in conjunction with the Classic Racing Motorcycle Club (CRMC). ECS regulars joined enthusiastic new UK teams, with 50 bikes lining up for the Le Mans-style start of the four-hour race. International Classic GP and Lansdowne Cup rounds also ran in the two-day meeting.
Fours hours is nothing like the traditional 24 hours of European Endurance racing, but it still demands effective teamwork. Slick pit work is vital for fuel, oil or tyre replacement stops and machines must be both fast and reliable. Teams have two or three riders per bike, with individual riders limited to 45-minute stints.
Endurance races are unpredictable and eventful by their nature – and Donington was no exception. The 1166cc Harris Suzuki of Belgium’s polished Team Force led convincingly for 60 laps before being slowed by a misfire, and other top teams dropped out, including fastest qualifiers Team Alf’s Endurance (1170 P&M Kawasaki). Victory went to Britain’s 2016 ECS champions Neate Racing with a Honda-powered Harris Magnum MKI. Safety cars were deployed twice while crashes were dealt with and two teams were penalised for overtaking while the cars were out on track.
VAN DIJK LAVERDA, ECS CLASSIC 1000
Gijs Van Dijk, whose family business has been dedicated to Laverdas since the late 1960s, has taken his team to Classic Endurance successes, including a class win at Spa last year. His three-cylinder 1000cc engine gives a claimed 110bhp. “I replaced the 180° crankshaft with my 120° type, also reducing the weight by 2.5kg. It’s faster that way,” Gijs said. For cornering clearance, the alternator is ahead of the crankcase on the right, driven by a belt. The team had a tough time: when gearbox trouble struck, a UK Laverda owner came to the rescue with a close-ratio cluster. Martin van Rultenbeek, co-riding with Peter Jansen, fell off in qualifying, breaking a scapula. He was replaced by British classic ace George Hogden-rusling, faster round Donington than the Dutch riders. In the race, the orange triple led its class by four laps, but a primary chain change cost time and worsening transmission troubles saw it parked only 18 minutes short of the four hours.
TEAM CLASSIC SUZUKI, ECS MAXI CLASSIC
The stunning Katana GSX1100 fielded by Steve Wheatman’s historic Suzuki equipe was built through Suzuki Vintage Parts with help from the Katana Owners Club. Its riders were two popular pastmasters, Jamie Whitham and Steve Parrish, along with MCN’S Michael Neeves. Parrish’s previous endurance outing was in a 1980s Thruxton Grand Prix d’endurance, while Whitham was a member of Suzuki and Yamaha teams in 24hr marathons in his racing career. A 16v GSX1100D engine was bored out to 1170cc, chassis geometry slightly altered and suspension uprated by K-tech. Qualifying sixth, the team looked set for high placing but its race ended ignominiously when Whitham fell off on lap one. Under Endurance rules, he was excluded for leaving the machine. To continue without being classified was a possibility, but the team said gravel had got in the engine.
MUZZI MOTO, F1 CLASSIC
“We haven’t got the most horsepower, but I bet we’ve got the most torque at 94lb ft,” proclaimed Ian O’reilly, team principal of Muzzi Moto. Their booming V-twin, a tribute to US Guzzi tuner Dr John Wittner, has a two-valve Le Mans MKIV engine enlarged from 949cc to 1064cc with weight taken off the flywheel and German Silent Hektik ignition. The chassis replicates a 1980s Tony Foale frame made for Moto Mecca, copied by Wittner and Moto Guzzi. Two of the riders who took second place on it in the 2015 Snetterton four-hour race were riding: Glen English (see p48) with current Lansdowne Cup holder Alan Firmin. “After riding a Manx it’s like a double-decker bus with handlebars,” said English. “You hardly need to change gear and it is f***ing quick.” They led the F1 Classic class until gearbox failure struck less than 15 minutes short of the four hours.