SMARTIE’S SWEET VICTORY
I wonder how many people like me, who read the MCN race coverage of the Imola 200 on Wednesday, April 26, realised then just what a significant moment in motorcycle history – and more importantly in Ducati history – Paul Smart’s victory had created?
I clearly remember our pub chat on that Wednesday night being one of shock that Ducati had won, but also delight that it was Smartie who had done the deed!
Looking back at MCN’S coverage of the race, you get the sense that everyone else was in shock at what he achieved at Imola. Norrie Whyte’s opening gambit in the race coverage read: ‘Not given any serious chance at the beginning of the week, the local factory whose headquarters at Bologna are only 20 miles up the autostrada, shook the favourites with a devastating performance. From the first practice session on, they dominated the drama-packed event.’
Some 70,000 spectators turned up, I guess most of them expecting to see Agostini on the shaft-drive 750cc MV take the prize money, but even Smartie was gobsmacked when he realised he’d just won £4500 including bonuses for laps led (that’s £53,000 in today’s money). No wonder he shouted: “Hell, I’m rich,” during the victory celebrations – and that was before Ducati boss Fredmano Spairani announced they would be giving him the bike!
The coolest thing was reading Smartie’s guest column in the same issue, publicly thanking Barry Sheene for turning down the ride. You could almost hear Smartie in his cheekiest voice, saying the words on the page. ‘Thanks Barry. It’s the best turn you’ve ever done me,’ he wrote. ‘Barry Sheene, who is my lovely little brotherin-law, would have been riding my bike and had his hot little hands on the seven million lire that I won. I haven’t seen him yet, but I wonder if he had a shot at kicking himself.
‘He didn’t think the Ducatis would be very competitive and, I must admit it, neither did I. Originally, I was going to have to my Triumph for the Imola race but that fell through. When Barry turned Ducati down, Vic Camp, who handles them in this country, suggested my name to the factory...’
No wonder Ducati were happy. In the week leading up to the event, MCN reported in their preview that the firm was trying to get Morbidelli to give their 125GP rider Gilberto Parlotti permission to ride the bike. And the main story was all about Agostini and MV taking on the British triples.
I guess no one thought the Ducatis would have the speed, but what a fairy-tale ending it turned out to be. And 50 years on, it’s still one of the great stories of motorcycle history.
Enjoy the issue