Britbike forum Forums British Motorcycle specific Brands Triumph bulletin board Gary Nixon on the 500, Loudon 1968 (pics)

Just two pics of Nixon on the 500 at Loudon, June 1968. This was the old Briar Motorsport Park, when the pits were an open lot. And that would be Cliff Guild doing the tuning. I've got a bunch more from 1968, but these were the only two with a Triumph. The others show Cal Rayborn on the Harley, and lots of shots of the 250 race, with Nixon on Yamaha; and some good shots from a CMA race at Mosport, also in June as I recall. I will work on getting them scanned and posted. Photos by David Hancock.

Great shots Kurt. I always liked the Bryar layout better than the new one. I would sit in the bleachers at turns 2&3. Great views of the start finish line & then that big right hand sweeper before they came by. Really used to enjoy them shifting going up the hill.
In 69 I was camped in a pine grove along 106 with a good sized group of cronies from the Norfolk Motorcycles crowd. Camped next to us was "The Breed" out of New Jersey. Made us a little nervous but thats a whole other story.
Again super pictures. Please post more.
Skeet

Edit - In 68 I was camped on top of a gravel bank opposite the track till the NH State Police cleared us out. Things tend to get a little fuzzie from back then due to extreme alcohol consumption on those Saturday nights.

Those are a couple great pictures Kurt! Please feel free to post more.

Fantastic! Keep 'em coming.....

Steve

Fabulous pictures, probably wouldn't see a cigarette during a pit stop now-a-days.

Thanks guys ...

Those were the days ...

I was racing a Yamaha TD-1B 250 production racer back then, I had made Amateur, so I was in the combined Amateur-Expert 250 race. I would learn a lot every time Nixon and the leading pack would lap me! I never did like that track, though, I preferred Mosport, higher speeds, sweeping turns. I remember the road-side camping along New Hampshire Rte 106, all part of the "Laconia" show.

These pictures were taken by my late friend David Hancock. David started making documentary films before he died in 1976. He was based in Vermont and made three films there. The one I recall best is "Chester Grimes, Lyndonville, Vermont." Anyone ever see it? David's filming partner Herb DeGioia has shown the films locally at times, and was teaching at Lyndonville State some years back.

Anyway, these bike race pictures are pretty big and dry-mounted, so I am carefully slicing off the excess, dog-eared mounting board and scanning them. They adorned the walls of my bike shop, the tiny store front that Arlington Motor Sports first occupied in 1969 at 1048 Mass. Ave. in Arlington MA.

Memory lane ...

Three more from Loudon (aka Laconia) AMA races, June 1968.

Cal Rayborn on the Harley 750 flathead. As I recall (need to check), Harley won the heavyweight races at Daytona and Loudon that year.




I'm speechless ...




Nixon on the factory Yamaha 250

Here are a couple signed photos by Gary hanging in BritBike Museum

Morgan How did you steal my signed picture? Mr. Nixon signed this Classic Bike magazine for me at Daytona. Had a good chat with him after the race.



Kurt here's that same race with our boy on that Yammie (CW Sept. 68) in color. Not sure which corner it was taken from. Gary came in second to Calvin in the 100 miler.



Wow, as you said that must have been one heck of a learning experience when those guys came flying by.
Skeet

Kurt, as an aside. Do you or John remember John Jacobson owner of Boston Vespa/Yamaha up on Commonwealth Ave.? I bought 2 new machines from him in 63 & 64. He was a heck of a nice guy. A few years later he sponsored a rider who was severely injured/killed during a race at Daytona and he pulled out of the game thinking it was much too violent. Never heard the full story. Any comments or thoughts? Thanks
Skeet

Hi Skeet, for sure, John Jacobson, I worked for him a couple of times, so no doubt you and I have been in the same place at the same time, sometime in a previous century. In 1964 I was partsman at his Honda shop, New England Cycle Center, later called Honda City, right next to Fenway Park in Boston (home of the Red Sox for all you out-of-towners!). In 1968 I mechaniced there (Fred Mitchell was the head mechanic). I bought my TD-1B Yamaha production racer from John and was part of the Boston Yamaha team in the late '60s that included Frank Camillieri and Andy Lascoutx.

Memory lane ... more pics to be scanned for Flickr ...

(The rider who was killed at Daytona ... Rusty ... Bradley? OK, do a search for "Rusty Bradley Daytona" for the full story.)

Great pics. Also, great story on Rusty Bradley. Here it is below.

Rusty's Story

Kurt
Thanks for posting the pics, they're great.
IN 1974 Harley won the lightweight race. The bike was a re-badged Aermacchi two-stroke twin.
The race was won by GARY SCOTT. He was fantastic!
I believe that Brelsford also had the orange and black lightweight twin, Rayborn was sadly gone.

Back then, I was racing dirt track but always came to Loudon and especially liked the lightweight race. Must have seen you each time.
My favorite of all was around 1975.
Nixon had lost his Yamaha 250 ride and was on a "Team Dirty" blue and white Yamaha.
Kenny Roberts was on the factory Yamaha.
The race was on Saturday and was several laps in with Nixon leading by a lot and it was rained out.
It was re-started on Sunday morning prior to the big race with Roberts and Carruthers having overnight to straighten things out.
They diced the entire race with Nixon winning on the last lap.
His back wheel would be in the air after coming down the long straight, braking into turn nine.
Gary then went ahead and won the feature race as well, I think on a Kawasaki, beating Roberts twice in one day.

Above from memory, may include a mistake or two.

>>steve

edited to correct "facts" that I since researched to get the years straight

Thanks, Steve, your memory's better than mine!

Except ... wasn't the the Aermacchi was a 4-stroke single, I'm pretty sure, but, then again, ...

And you can rely on an afternoon cloudburst in New Hampshire in June.

Checked 2 sources. Here's all I can find to refresh your memories. No mention of the lightweight classes. It shows your team mates in the top 10. Sure kept in real good company.



Kurt, To jog your memory once more working with John J. Do you remember a Harry Sanders. Worked up the street at the Comm. Ave. Parts Dept. Another good guy. Now owns this place up in New Hampshire.

http://www.mcsalvage.com/coopers.htm

Finally thanks for that info on the 71 race. Really sad.
Skeet

Thanks Skeet -- now I just have to find a program that lists riders' numbers, to help ID them in the rest of the pics. I'll make a a Flickr page on Loudon '68 ...

Yeah SKEET, we were camped by that pine grove on 106 that night the Breed's campfire got away from them and set a BIG pine tree on fire w/ the local fire dept showing up. Next morning my sweetie and I found a local pond for a swim and almost drowned - boy that water was cold!!

Thanks Skeet

The lightweight class IS the 250cc combined shown in your document.

Did some research and I had the year wrong in my above post as Gary Scott won the Lightweight at Loudon in 1974 on the Harley RR250.

http://books.google.ca/books?id=TO-...result&resnum=5&ved=0CCcQ6AEwBA#

It's fun to re-live this stuff with people that can remember some of it.

>>steve

OK. While Kurt is putting his unbelievable 68 pictures together let me submit this from Laconia/Louden 1967.



A bunch of things clearly stand out in my memory. This to me was Triumph at its very best. We all know the # 9 but # 16 was Dick Hammer. They went at it like this for almost the entire race. That shiney surface you see under them was a rain slicked track. Then notice the right foot, and look at those handlebars. These guys were almost flattracking on the pavement. Dick Hammer had dropped back a bit, but towards the end he started coming on real strong. No doubt he looked like he was going to catch Gary. About a couple of laps from the finish he lost it going down the front straight. Slid what looked like to me a couple of hundred feet. Got up, picked up his bike and tried to straighten his handlebars. He jumped back on and still finished 3rd. Talk about an iron man. Never seen anything like it since. :bigt

Minus -40, I'll stay away from all the other shenanigans and plead the 5th,. I don't want to deter from this wonderful thread. Plus it will trigger a lot of old stuff and I'll get nightmares. Good to have another witness though.

Bring em on Kurt.
Skeet

Skeet, agreed, great thread. Keep 'em coming Kurt!

-40 and I will try to keep this going, anxiously awaiting Kurt's pics. No pressure mind you. So here's another shot of Gary at Louden in 1965. He only placed 4th, this time.



A bunch of things stand out in my mind in 1965 other than that infamous riot. These were the inaugural races for the new track. It was also my first introduction to big time AMA racing. Wow, all of a sudden there was Dick Mann, Jody Nicholas, Bart Markel, George Roeder and of course Mr. Nixon. The list went on and on. Geezus could they ever ride and oh so smooth. All these guys I had read about were right in front of my eyes. Still being wound up from the night before my young brain almost couldn't handle it. Things like this you never forget.
Of particular interest to my friends and I was the day before and a certain Yvon Duhamel on a Ducati in the 250 race. I think he was still an amateur at this point but man was he an artist. He started near the rear as I recall, and just effortlessly wound his way up to near the front. He came in 5th, Perfection in our eyes. :bigt
All right, I'll back off for now and wait for Kurt. Its hard though, as my enthusiasm gets in the way.
Skeet

Great expectations!

Well, we were at the same races. I think '65 was my first time at Loudon, and I missed the previous years' races at Laconia in the Belknap Recreation Area. In '65 I was a spectator, then starting in 1966, I was racing there, my Yamaha, a borrowed Bultaco Metralla, a Vincent Grey Flash 500cc, and Kawasaki H1R. Once I started my own bike shop in 1969, my racing tapered off, sadly, and I started sponsoring others, an expensive undertaking.

Does anyone know what kind of brake that is on Nixon's 1965 Loudon bike? (just above) I see spokes making me think it's a half width twin-leader with air scoop? Don't remember that.

>>sb

Don't have a clue but I betcha Mr. Moderator does. C'mon John we know how much you loved this stuff. :bigt
Skeet

Well I was thinking the same thing, what the heck is that brake? It looks like the conical hub that Tri-BSA used on street bikes in 1971-72.