CELEBRATION 1969 SSDT

Rewind the clock to 1969, when the Spanish Armada had its feet firmly under the door in the world of motorcycle trials in all the major events including the Scottish Six Days Trial. Leading the way was Sammy Miller, who was the man under the microscope with his immaculate 252cc Bultaco. He had arrived as the firm favourite amongst the other 190 riders at the Edinburgh and District Motor Club Ltd Golden Jubilee Scottish Six Days Trial. The once mighty motorcycle manufacturing industry in Great Britain was sitting on the fence, watching the industry fall into a slow, painful death. As Miller looked confident, Bill Wilkinson arrived apprehensive about his week in the highlands. His Greeves had given him nothing but engine trouble on the runup to the event. What was about to unfold over the next six days was not written in the script though as ‘Wilky’ gave Greeves the glory of becoming the last motorcycle manufacturer from Great Britain to win this famous, iconic event.

After the annual ‘Weigh In’ of all the 190 machines and riders on the Sunday at the city’s Gorgie Cattle Market in Edinburgh the riders would head out of the city before travelling 150 miles north to Fort William and back to Edinburgh on the Saturday, having taken in 682 miles over the six days of action. Everyone wanted to ride in the event, and it had attracted an excellent foreign contingent of 16 riders from five countries: Canada, Eire, New Zealand, Sweden and the USA.

Day One Mileage: 159; Sections: 24 Mick Bowers would lead the riders away at one-minute intervals riding out over the Forth Road Bridge, and they would take a northwesterly route in the cold and wet drizzle as the rain came down on the way to Fort William. In a meagre scoring day, it was Sammy Miller who was once again the talking point as he parted with 11 marks to finish way off the top riders. Arriving in Fort William, the headquarters for five of the six days, the sun shone through, with even Don Smith (Montesa) looking very happy despite nearly missing the start as he had overslept. His total of just five marks lost gave him an early lead, followed by the top 20 all covered by just a few marks.

MONDAY: 1: Don Smith (Montesa) 5; 2: Peter Gaunt (Gaunt Suzuki), Chris Milner (250 Ossa) & Bill Wilkinson (Greeves) 6; 3: Jim Sandiford (Bultaco), Geoff Chandler (Bultaco), Malcolm Barnes (Ossa), Mick Andrews (Ossa), John Hemingway (Sprite), Rob Edwards (Cotton), Malcolm Rathmell (Greeves), Kenny Fleming (Montesa) & Martin Lampkin (Gaunt Suzuki)

Day Two Mileage: 66; Sections: 27 Safely in Fort William, the riders faced a much shorter day as Don Smith was happy to defend his lead with three single marks lost. Bill Wilkinson, along with Andrews, was in joint second position just two marks behind Smith. Earlier in the day Andrews’ Ossa, which had suffered a partial engine seizure on the opening day, had needed some hectic spanner work to remove the cylinder head and the extra gasket which had been fitted to up the compression ratio to give him more power for this event. Despite these changes, he was forced to get his feet down in section eight which was the second group of the day at the 1,500m summit of Grey Mare’s Ridge, his only penalty for the day.

TUESDAY: 1: Smith 8; 2: Wilkinson 10; 3: Andrews 10; 4: Chandler 13; 5: Martin Lampkin 14; 6: Gordon Farley (Montesa) 14; 7: Dave Thorpe (Ossa) 14; 8: Peter Gaunt (Gaunt

Suzuki) 15; 9: Edwards 15; 10: Miller 15. Day Three Mileage: 111; Sections: 21 On a long day, the route would be taking the riders past the famous Glen Finnan Memorial and Camp Hill to attempt a run of three groups of hazards containing eight sections. Don Smith crashed on the Camp Hill hazards, and a fivemark penalty was recorded. Sammy Miller was the man on form as he parted with just a single mark for the day on the Ravine hazards. It put the Irishman right up the leader board to finish the day on the same marks as Bill Wilkinson. He was also in excellent form; two three-mark penalties cost him dearly but despite this sixmark loss the day would see him at the head of the trial for the first time on a total of 16, the same as Miller. WEDNESDAY: 1: Wilkinson 16; 2: Miller 16; 3:

Andrews 17; 4: Smith 18; 5: Gaunt 19; 6: Thorpe 20; 7: Chandler 20; 8: Martin Lampkin 22; 9: Edwards (Cotton) 24; 10: John Hemingway (Sprite) 25. Day Four Mileage: 123; Sections: 33 The route would take the riders out to Spean Bridge and past the Commando Memorial before tackling eight hazards at Laggan Locks. It would then be the climb up to the height of 2,500 feet above sea level and the crossing of the Corrieyairack Pass. Sammy Miller took an early advantage on the hazards at Laggan Locks, parting with no marks. Bill Wilkinson had ‘Lady Luck’ shining down on him as he parted with just a single mark, when as he exited the top hazard at Laggan his chain de-railed but he was well clear of the section ends cards. On the return leg of the long day, new hazards had been introduced at Bradileig and Stob Ban, as well as on the wild moorland between the roads to Spean Bridge, taking the riders to Leitir Bo Fionn. THURSDAY: 1: Wilkinson 17; 2: Miller 17; 3:

Andrews 19; 4: Gaunt 20; 5: Smith 22; 6: Martin Lampkin 25; 7: Thorpe 26; 8: Edwards 27; 9: Farley 32; 10: Hemingway 36.

Day Five Mileage: 71; Sections: 32

A close battle was now emerging between Bill Wilkinson and Sammy Miller, with Mick Andrews only two marks behind in the hunt for his first win. Wilkinson and Miller had started the day on new rear tyres in the fight for the victory, trying to find that winning edge. At the close of the day though Miller had opened up a five-mark lead; was he about to record history on the final day of the trial? Don Smith along with Mick Andrews were both wanting to give either Montesa or Ossa their first victory and join the rising tide of Spanish winners in the SSDT. With true determination, Wilkinson had single-handedly put the brakes on a total Spanish domination at the event with the only all-English manufactured motorcycle in the top ten. FRIDAY: 1: Miller 28; 2: Wilkinson 30; 3: Smith 31; 4: Andrews 32; 5: Thorpe 36; 6: Gaunt

38; 7: Farley 41; 8: Edwards 49; 9: Lawrence Telling (Montesa) 49; 10: Dennis Jones (Gaunt Suzuki) 52.

Day Six Mileage: 143; Sections: 18

To break up the ride back to Edinburgh it was agreed to introduce what would eventually become the iconic Pipeline above Kinlochleven, and as it happened, it would eventually decide the winner. With the Greeves in second gear and working well as he left the second subsection and went into the third and final one, he made a quick push on the gear change to drop the Villiers engine down to first gear and passed through the ends cards just as the machine was running out of power. Sammy Miller went in second gear on the Bultaco knowing a clean ride would seal the victory. As he entered the third and final hazard, he was off line, and a single mark was gone before he lost momentum and a three-mark penalty was incurred. Three miles later it was all over as Miller parted with a further four marks on the rocks at Martuim, and a watching Bill Wilkinson knew he had the win in the bag. Miller would slip to third position by a single mark behind Andrews. SATURDAY: 1: Wilkinson 30; 2: Andrews 34;

3: Miller 35; 4: Smith 42; 5: Martin Lampkin 44; 6: Farley 46; 7: Gaunt 48; 8: Thorpe 49; 9: Telling 54; 10: Edwards 59. A much more comprehensive report and pictures on the 1969 Scottish Six Days Trial can be found in our sister publication Classic Trial

Magazine, Issue 28 Spring 2019.

With his concentration at 100% on Callart Falls, Mick Andrews used all his skill and determination to take the Ossa home in a well-deserved second position. A new machine had been promised with a re-designed frame and styling but it had not been finished in time, so he rode his eight-month-old model.

Winner Bill Wilkinson: “I never expected to win as the Greeves had broken down in every event for nine weeks running. They continued to replace parts with the machine in the competition department led by Bill Brooker, who was very supportive. I had suggested to Bill to have the frame chrome plated but he said the budget was not available, but to my surprise it was carried out before the Scottish. It was close at the top after day one with three riders only one mark behind leader Don Smith. He again remained in the lead on day two as Mick Andrews moved into second place. After Wednesday the first 100 riders would be moved into the second half of the entries, so number 101 would be the first man away on Thursday. Sammy Miller carried his Wednesday lead into Thursday as Smith cracked. I was riding number 54 and on the final day I rode ‘Pipeline’ at my very best. To my surprise the week had gone well with no problems from the Greeves at all. I fitted a new rear tyre on Tuesday and Thursday evening. The victory was good for me as I managed to put Miller under pressure on both Thursday and Friday. Greeves were over the moon with the win, Director Derry Preston Cobb gave me the winning machine to keep and a bonus of £50.00! Further bonuses came from Shell, Lodge, Dunlop and Renold’s; happy days”.

The youngest of the three Lampkin brothers, Martin was the highest placed rider on the new generation of ‘Micro’ machines that were challenging the invasion of the Spanish manufacturers. The 17-year-old was rewarded with the Best up to 150cc Cup on the Gaunt Suzuki.

Sammy Miller faced an uphill battle all week after a very poor opening day. He finished third with the Best up to 350cc Cup on the 252cc Bultaco after a great fightback.

Check out the crowd on the lower slopes of Ben Nevis. Gordon Farley could not find his form on the Montesa that had promised so much in the early part of 1969.

Sheffield’s Dave Thorpe has the lower-mounted front mudguard on his Ossa which transformed the physical look of the Ossa compared to the one Mick Andrews was riding. If you take a close look at his head it’s a hat, not hair you can see!

Peter Gaunt on his own brand of the Suzuki trials machine. A man of many engineering talents, he also produced other ‘Gaunt’ manufactured trials machines using a variety of engines from Ducati, CZ and Jawa, to name a few. He sadly passed away recently.

Never destined to win the event, Don Smith finished 4th and led the Montesa team to win the much sought-after Blackford Challenge Trophy for the Best Manufacturers’ Team award.

Seen here on a Bultaco, later in his trials career Sweden’s Thore Evertson would become a leading challenger at both the SSDT and European championship with a move to Ossa. He was the second-best newcomer in the 1969 ‘Scottish’.

Motorcycle News journalist Peter Howdle talks with one of two American riders in the trial, Vic Boocock. English born, he had emigrated to Northern California to become their trials champion on a Bultaco but he just missed a Special First Class award in his first SSDT.

Imported from California and ridden by Ralph Forbes this was the first ever Yamaha (Number 79) to compete in the Scottish Six Days; the model was a 250cc DT1. He was a garage proprietor from Edinburgh and also ran Northern Motorcycles in Eyre Place in the Scottish capital. The machine was originally registered in the USA and was exported to Scotland prior to the 1969 SSDT.