Table of contents
- Review of the Sachsenring Classic 2016 Return of the Titans
- Legends among themselves
- Incredible interest
- Oldest starter 84 years old
- High tension in the races
- Gigantic winner party in the paddock with the fans
jkuenstle.de
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Picture gallery: Sachsenring Classic 2016.
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In addition to the World GP Bike Legends, there were other highlights: beautifully preserved motorcycles, …
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… including historical pieces of cream, …
Imre Paulovits
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… World champion Jan de Vries still drives his 50cc Kreidler with virtuosity, …
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… old sports cars sound good.
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Rays on the grid, step on the gas: Freddie Spencer (# 19) ahead of Garry McCoy and Jeremy McWilliams in the battle for victory in the second race, which McWilliams finally won.
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The bon vivant Didier de Radigues is now a successful art photographer and television commentator and was looking forward to driving again.
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Old master Phil Read drove his own Suzuki from 1976 and still knows how to be celebrated by the crowd.
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Garry McCoy was able to find beautiful new sides in Saxony again.
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The older the motorcycle, the more care it needs, but the old treasures reward it with their special charisma.
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The Classic Trophy was really hot, …
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… and the little 50s racers put on a big show.
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Whether after the start or before on the grid that was besieged by many, the “Legends” always cut a good figure.
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Freddie Spencer (# 19) did a lot of leadership work, …
Imre Paulovits
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Because Wayne Gardner’s Cagiva didn’t want to run, Waldi spontaneously gave him the Suzuki for the second race, for which Gardner gave him a warm hug.
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The thunder of a 5.4-liter V8 roars from the eight upstanding exhaust pipes of the Huffaker Genie Mk8 from 1963.
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On small two-stroke engines …
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and old four-stroke machines there is a lot to screw up.
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There are few 500 king, …
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… Yamahas even more.
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Freddie Spencer was always besieged by autograph hunters.
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Jim Redman wanted to know again when he was 84 years old.
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Pierfrancesco Chili’s interest in the beautiful things in life is just as pronounced at the age of 52 …
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… like its sloping positions on the cagiva.
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After it was all over, the stars celebrated with many fans in the paddock.
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The right mix makes it: whether beauties with beautiful old motorcycles, …
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… hearty races in the Classic Trophy …
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… Nostalgic runs with GDR touring cars …
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… or just riding out on old motorcycles, the Sachsenring Classic has it all.
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Sachsenring Classic 2016.
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Sports & scene
Events
Review of the Sachsenring Classic 2016
Review of the Sachsenring Classic 2016
Return of the Titans
Content of
For many fans, the era of the wild 500 cc two-stroke engines is still considered to be the most spectacular in motorcycling. Their drivers fought fights in which the trophy and hospital were very close to one another. At the Sachsenring Classic 2016, these titans and their bikes raced against each other again.
Imre Paulovits
08/04/2016
The elderly man waves excitedly with an autograph card. The woman next to him holds a t-shirt in front of her. In the crowd, she stumbles and almost falls on the table, behind which are five middle-aged men who, with stoic calm and smiles on their faces, write numbers and signatures on all kinds of utensils or let themselves be drawn into brief conversations. There is not only something poignant about the sight, but also something funny, because in this paddock, teenage girls usually jostle in front of the vans of Valentino Rossi or Marc Márquez.
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Now the same euphoria has gripped her parents’ generation. The idols of their youth are there, within reach, an experience for many from this region that they did not even dare to hope for. Because Freddie Spencer, Wayne Gardner and all the legendary four-cylinder two-stroke engines never drove in Saxony. Their era was at a time when the motorcycle world championship on the old Sachsenring was only remembered. Only in Brno could the people behind the Iron Curtain experience the 500 heroes. To see you at the Sachsenring today is like the belated fulfillment of a dream. And then you can feel like you were 17 again.
Legends among themselves
The series, which premiered at the Sachsenring Classic 2016, has been simmering in the minds of some for a long time. When the 500cc two-stroke engines reappear somewhere, drivers and fans alike begin to indulge. Even Valentino Rossi, who is on the road with much faster motorcycles today, gets bright eyes when he stands in front of such a thoroughbred racer again. He asserts that they were the ultimate racing machines and that they gave the greatest kick of all when they were pushed to their limits – because the fine line when a sudden torque surge sets in at the tire grip limit is inherent in high-performance two-stroke engines, either can end with a spectacular slide, or with a brutal highsider. Here the wheat was separated from the chaff.
For Wayne Gardner, 500cc world champion from 1987 and still a folk hero in Australia to this day, the idea crystallized very quickly: Whenever he talked to his old racing colleagues, the conversation quickly resulted in the fact that they wanted nothing more than one Revenge for this and that fight. Racing driver’s blood doesn’t turn into water, top racing drivers have itchy fingers for the rest of their lives. When he talked to fans, they raved about the old fights and that you don’t see anything like that anymore in the age of electronics. So what could be more natural than to revive them? Gardner found an ally in Nick Wigley of Goose Live Events, which is hosting the successful Silverstone Classics, and together they brought the old bikes and their riders back onto the track in Jerez for the first time in July 2015. Because this event was a success, they decided on a series that premiered at the Sachsenring.
Incredible interest
On the German Grand Prix circuit, it quickly became apparent that they were correct in their assessment. Over 30,000 spectators came and populated the paddock and the pit roof. While this area is strictly cordoned off in the current World Championship, it was now freely accessible, and the personal experience with the drivers and the machines up close made the fans’ dream complete.
Only very few of them noticed which dramas were going on in the background. The machines belong to enthusiastic collectors today. The fact that they gave up their treasures for wild fights shows what fans they are in their hearts. But there are hardly any spare parts left for the highly sensitive bikes, and only those who once worked on them and wrote down their data know how to set them correctly. It is very complex to inject a high-performance V4 properly, and since the regulations for racing fuel have changed constantly over the years, it is impossible to get exactly the fuel for all engines for which the combustion chambers, valve timing and exhaust systems were once designed have been. The fact that seals and insulation age during the long service life doesn’t make things any easier.
Oldest starter 84 years old
Nevertheless, when it came down to it, they were all on the starting grid. Because not all drivers could find their original machines, there was a lot of scrambling. Freddie Spencer has raced for Kawasaki, Honda, Yamaha and Ducati during his career, but never for Suzuki. He made up for this at the Sachsenring and drove the RGV 500, with the Kenny Roberts jr. – whose father was his biggest World Cup opponent in 1983 – was vice world champion in 1999.
There were other interesting constellations as well. Jim Redman had won his six world titles all on Honda four-stroke engines and had already resigned when the two-stroke engines began their triumphal march in the premier class. Nevertheless, the 84-year-old, who has made Germany his second home in recent years, was enthusiastic about the idea of competing in a real race one last time, and he got the Suzuki, which Randy Mamola drove in 1979. The second oldest man on the grid was his one-time rival, seven-time world champion Phil Read. The 77-year-old Briton sat on completely authentic material, the Suzuki RG 500, with which he drove his final season in the 500 World Championship in 1976 and with which he won the Senior TT in 1977.
High tension in the races
Even the weather god was with the legends. Rain showers watered down other classes’ rides, but when the 500s hit the track it stayed dry. The sun even came out on Sunday when they all shone on the grid.
When the traffic light turned green at the races, it was over with the smile, and it got down to business. The gentlemen fought with each other like in their prime. None of them have forgotten how to drive, and many of them still drive regularly in their racing driving schools or at events, so they are not lacking in the routine. Freddie Spencer, Jeremy McWilliams, Garry McCoy, Niggi Schmassmann, Jurgen van der Goorbergh and Ralf Waldmann stood out in particular. In the first race on Saturday, local hero Waldmann made the spectators happy and won on the ex-Pierfrancesco-Chili-Suzuki from 1986, ahead of Freddie Spencer and Jeremy McWilliams. “Great, now I’ve also won at the Sachsenring,” beamed the 20-time GP winner.
Gigantic winner party in the paddock with the fans
In the second race, Waldmann then did another heroic act. The Cagiva, with which initiator Wayne Gardner was supposed to drive, ran even worse than the day before, and so Waldmann spontaneously sold his vehicle to the Australian. He could not repeat the previous day’s victory of the motorcycle, but was thievingly happy about the opportunity to really accelerate at least in this second race. The race was won by Jeremy McWilliams ahead of Garry McCoy and Freddie Spencer, and afterwards there was a gigantic winner’s party in the paddock with the fans.
The premiere of the series, which will be competing at the Silverstone Classics this year, was a complete success. “It was good that we chose the Sachsenring to kick off,” said a visibly exhausted but happy Wayne Gardner. “The enthusiasm of the spectators here is simply unique.” In the future, the Australian hopes that he can offer even more exciting sports. He would like to win a tire sponsor for his series so that everyone can drive with the same tires. So that he can step on the gas in the long run without regrets, he is also looking for more modern machine material. Jeremy McWilliams already drove the Ronax 500 at the Sachsenring, which Ronny Scheer and his team from Dresden build with KTM motocross cylinders and modern fuel injection. Gardner hopes that in the future even more drivers will be able to compete with the German machines in his series. Whether these ideas can be realized or not, we can already look forward to seeing the titans and their two-stroke bullets come back to the Sachsenring Classic next year.
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