Going Dutch
We have had several mentions of drag racing in recent issues, so it seems appropriate to bring you Nigel Dodd’s recollections of some of those early days which took him to the Continent.
During my first year in sprinting and drag racing I noticed that, from time to time, some of my fellow riders spoke with great enthusiasm of the Dutch sprint meetings which took place. The advice was always: “You’ve got to go on one of these trips.” A good idea but, being my first season, I still had a lot to learn and riding abroad wasn’t a priority.
For the 1970 season I had built my own bike with a great deal of help from my father who could fabricate most one-off parts easily. He loved any mechanical challenge and we had styled the bike on John Hobbs’ Olympus frame design with a Fred Cooper rebuilt 500cc Triumph engine running unblown.
While I was attending an ISO sprint at Greenham Common in early April the officials made it known there was to be a Dutch trip to Rotterdam in May and anybody interested should put their name forward by the end of the day. In only its second meeting the bike had run well. Therefore, and with confidence growing, I thought: “Why not?” and added my name to the list. I didn’t think much more about it until, a while later, I received a letter saying my entry had been accepted. By now, having competed in a couple more meetings, the bike was running quite well and, apart from a few problems with the fuel system, I felt comfortable to be part of the entry.
The event was to be on May 30 at Rotterdam and we would be travelling over via Southend Airport on the Friday evening. This was great because my lifelong friend and fellow motorcycle enthusiast Mike Meadows had accepted my invitation to help for the meeting. As he lived at Tiptree it made life easy; I travelled over from Surrey on the Friday morning and we made our way to Southend later on that day, meeting up with Philip and Colin Eeles who were also entered and looked forward to what the weekend had in store for us.
The trip was well documented and publicised with a photo taken of the whole team in front of the aircraft about to take us over. After we’d arrived in Rotterdam and gone through customs, our Dutch hosts had laid on some transport to take all the bikes for overnight storage, but some willing helpers would be required to load and unload the bikes. I, along with Mike, Philip, Colin and a few others, stepped forward. What we didn’t realise was the trucks were conventional and all machines would have to be lifted up. The old saying ‘never volunteer for anything’ came to mind. Who said all sprint bikes were light!
Eventually they were all safely stored away at a filling station not far from where the meeting was to take place. We were all taken back into Rotterdam centre as by now the time was about 8.30pm. Our hosts treated us to a Dutch version of fish and chips; I remember Phil Manzano using the bonnet of a parked car as his table when the irate owner showed up, grabbed hold of the meal and, in great theatrical style, lifted it high into the air before placing on the pavement and driving off at speed. All of this took place without a word spoken. It was like something out of a comedy sketch. Eventually we were all taken on to our hotel, adding a few beers on the way. Saturday morning dawned dry and warm and following breakfast we were taken to the track for the day’s racing. We soon realised that the track was in fact a dual carriageway with one section cordoned off. The bikes were already there so it was time to get prepared.
These fuellish things
Following the briefing we then collected the supplied methanol for the day from our hosts and got ready for the first run. It was only then I noticed a problem. Prior to the meeting I had again modified the fuel pipe system, making a new Y-section pipe. But I hadn’t brazed it correctly and now fuel was beginning to drip out at an increasing rate, all over the clutch unit. Mike and myself bodged it enough to make the first run, which was an experience in itself. The spectators were lining the side of the track and the surface was bumpy as hell. At this time I was still using a Triumph gearbox instead of the favoured AMC unit, therefore missed gear changes were always a problem with this gearbox and the bumps were not going to improve things. This first run returned a time of 14.64 seconds, not in the league of the quick lads but it gave me something to build on.
In the meantime I was becoming paranoid about the fuel leak, hoping the start line marshals wouldn’t spot it when Henk Vink happened to notice our concern. He suggested we have a look in his van to see if anything would be of help – he always had time for any fellow rider. I managed to find a small piece of rubber and some tape which Mike was able to use to stem the flow to just an occasional drip.
My other runs returned times of 13.79 and 13.45, which gave me a placing of ninth in class. I remember, after setting off on one run, seeing further down the track a spectator walking across with a crate of beers on his shoulder but by the time I arrived at that point he had disappeared. All in all, it was a great day’s experience.
That evening, following a nice meal and the presentations, our hosts split the party into two groups with us single unattached lads heading off to the bars and nightspots of the town for a really good time. We arrived back at our hotel very late and a bit worse for wear. One of the lads spotted a bicycle parked next to the hotel entrance and decided it would be a good idea to take it for a ride; that was until the night porter pointed out that it was the property of the local police who were based next door and were not renowned for their sense of humour!
Sunday was taken up exploring the sights of Rotterdam before flying back to Southend in the early evening. After arrival, while loading the bikes into our modes of transport, Philip – having placed the usual wooden plank on the back of his Thames van – proceeded to load the bike, only to have the plank slip out and down on to his foot.
The injury to his big toe required medical treatment for some while afterwards and it wasn’t a good way to end the weekend.
As the season progressed, I developed the bike further, replacing that troublesome gearbox with an AMC unit and missed gear shifts became history, while the fuel system was finally sorted out. My best time achieved was 12.01 at Santa Pod. Then
the news came through that the September Dutch meeting was to take place at Zandvoort as in previous years. Having enjoyed Rotterdam so much I didn’t hesitate putting my entry in, which was accepted. Colin Eeles said he would come although Philip was due to go on the planned Santa Pod California trip. Mike was unavailable this time round but a workmate, Pete Fairman, who had no motorcycle experience, expressed real interest in coming along. Pete and I worked in the same department so our company was reluctant for us to be away at the same time.
However, it relented as long as we worked until Friday lunchtime and returned to work by 2pm on Monday. “No problem,” we thought, but the weekend had a few surprises in store for us.
In the meantime I arranged to pick up Colin Eeles from Stanwell at lunchtime on Friday, then change, pick up the bike, on to New Malden for Pete and then to Harwich.
Then, at the last moment, Philip got in touch to say the Californian trip had been cancelled and he managed to get a last-minute entry for Holland. He suggested using his Ford Thames van to pick me and Pete up on the way. Unlike myself, Philip had time on his hands on Friday morning so he decided to fit a radio in the van. What he forgot to do was to install a line fuse... By the time they got to Chertsey Bridge the wiring loom decided to incinerate itself, taking the ignition circuit with it. I wasn’t on the phone so eventually Philip arrived on my doorstep via taxi, hot and bothered, to explain what had happened.
Now the clock was ticking so, grabbing my trailer from the lock-up and refuelling the car, I loaded my own bike and headed for Chertsey to collect Philip’s bike and Colin. We battled through traffic and, once out of London on the A12, we were able to make up for lost time in my Austin Westminster 95. Arriving in Holland at dawn and cleared
through customs, we were greeted by our hosts and the bikes were taken off to the track while we were all ferried into Zandvoort for refreshments at the restaurant that would also be used for the evening meal.
At the track, the start/finish straight of the GP circuit would be used with all the bikes parked up just before the first corner. The weather had dawned overcast and cold, not improving by the time the racing was about to start. Prior to the event we were all interviewed and presented to the crowd assembled in the main grandstand, which was a nice touch. Then it was down to business.
Stormy weather
I made my way to the start line for the first run, wondering how much grip was on offer. The track was smooth and the run recorded 13.53 – not bad. But the weather turned colder and it started raining. I noticed some of the Dutch riders were changing the slicks for road race tyres for an immediate advantage. By the time of my second run it was raining heavily and I thought that if I lowered the rear tyre pressure the slick would offer more grip. There was no difference until the finish line when the back end weaved about, aided by the surface water, and I returned a time of 15.13. I was hoping for a good placing as all the supercharged bikes just couldn’t put the power down. But the meeting was then abandoned due to the weather and, with our leathers soaking wet, we were invited to a building in the paddock for the presentations. For some reason the first runs were not counted so my second run gave me fifth place in class.
I was disappointed as I felt I could have done better in the circumstances, but the bike never missed a beat in those conditions and I had gained knowledge. On reflection, it had been a really good day’s racing and I could say I had ridden at Zandvoort. It was then back to our hotel where the four of us were put in a ground floor room. We just had time to dry out before making our way back to the restaurant down the road for the evening meal and the hospitality of our hosts. A good few beers later and a trip along the spirits optics, we made our way back to the hotel. During the night I suddenly felt unwell and dashed along the corridor to a door I thought was the bathroom, only to find myself outside in the courtyard.
Dressed only in T-shirt and underpants, a cold breeze coming off the North Sea quickly brought me to my senses!
Sunday was spent clearing hangovers and reflecting on a good day’s racing enjoyed, even with the bad weather, before returning on the late evening crossing. Pete’s introduction to motorcycles concluded that we were all mad but knew how to have a damn good time. No argument there.
My third and final Dutch racing trip was in 1973 and was to be a very subdued expedition compared with the previous trips. There were several reasons for this; firstly it was being held in early April (this time organised by the Amsterdam MC) and many bikes being developed over the winter were not ready, resulting in a very low response to entry invites. This included my own bike, for, in 1972, I had replaced the Roots blower with a Shorrocks and in doing so had upset the balance and handling to such a point that performance took a step back. Contemplating changing back to the Roots blower meant the bike would not be ready. I was fortunate to have at my disposal Phil Manzano’s ‘Torquemada Two’ 650cc machine, so this was entered instead. In the meantime, the only other British entries confirmed were George Woods’ 350cc Triumph and Don East’s 650cc Triumph. Other people making the trip were Tony Weeden and his wife along with Chris Bartram, John Battley (who had loaned his van for the bikes and luggage transportation) and Phil Manzano. Accompanying me this time were my father and friend Len Frampton.
Taking the late Saturday morning crossing from Harwich and experiencing a rough passage, some of the party were not feeling too well. Around this time there had been a smallpox outbreak on the Continent and they’d had last-minute vaccinations, resulting in some after effects.
Following arrival in Holland a problem arose as Phil always loved to challenge authority and he faced up to the Dutch customs officials as they were not happy with the paperwork covering the bike carnets. At one point it looked as if the bikes would be impounded and Phil would be ‘taking a ride down town,’ but our hosts intervened and order was restored.
Memories are made of this
Sunday morning dawned overcast and bitterly cold and following breakfast we made our way to the track which was situated on a service road to an industrial estate. Spectators were already gathering, along with the regular Dutch riders. The track was damp but the biting wind would soon dry it out. Normally Torquemada Two would run without any trouble, but this time it was jinxed with problems from the beginning. A misfire developed and a change of plugs made little difference. Then the clutch started playing up, either slipping or not engaging. Prior to the meeting the original Manx gearbox, which had been damaged at Elvington in 1971, was playing up again, so had been replaced with a spare AMC unit using the original clutch. It was found later that the pushrod was incorrect, an oversight at the time, but for now I would have to suffer the pain. Then, to add insult each time, leaving the start the bike wanted to pull sideways. All in all, it was a miserable outing. My best time of 11.92 gave me fourth place with George Woods taking first in the 350 class and
Don East taking FTD. There was a brief prizegiving afterwards, then it was back to the hotel to warm up and enjoy some refreshments. We sailed back on the Monday with no problems. So ended a trip unlike any of the previous adventures.
As a postscript to all this, in July 1973, having decided to persevere with the Shorrocks on my bike, I attended the free practice on the Thursday prior to the Santa Pod international weekend in the hope of the bike showing some improvement. This wasn’t to be, with the blower vanes scraping the casing and filling the engine with debris, causing me to pull out of the meeting. In the meantime the Dutch contingent arrived; some of the party were staying over after the event and wanted to know where to pitch tents so as to explore London. In the end, Anton De Vos and his partner, along with Rob Cornet, stayed at my parents’ place. As we had enjoyed such good hospitality on our visits it only seemed appropriate to offer the same to them. Anton had come over on one of the new Kawasaki Z1 machines which, I think, he rode at the Pod meeting. On their last evening with us he offered me a go on it. It would have been rude to say no. Before I set off, Anton suggested I use the power from second gear “as you will pull a wheelie otherwise”. I took a trip down the old A3 towards Guildford sampling the power which came in quite abruptly then just kept coming, but more impressive were the brakes – I had never experienced anything like this on the British bikes I had ridden. During the ride there were admiring glances from other motorcyclists as I believe these machines had yet to arrive in the UK.
Returning home with a big smile I was greeted with the question: “Did you like that?” Only then did Anton disclose the engine was not standard and had been ‘breathed on’. No wonder the power came in a bang!
Motorcycles have a lot to offer, friendships and experiences to be enjoyed. I am just glad to have taken the opportunities of the time and the adventures offered. But more important are the memories created that can still be enjoyed today.