Part 3
Nurburgring - the racing
begins
On the journey to the Nurburgring
(the 'Ring') we had time to reflect on all that had passed during our
hectic 3 week stay with Moto Parilla. At the time of leaving Milan, we
only had entry confirmations for the Saarland GP at St Wendel, Germany,
the Budapest 'Gold Cup' meeting in Hungary and the 'Ring'. Our
provisional program for the season was to try and enter 18 international
meetings including 3 World Championship events. With only £60 now left
in the bank, this was going to be an uphill struggle!…
We were under no illusions as to our
ability to achieve any top places in International Races. After all our
tuning and lightening, our bikes were still "Grand Sport"
models originally intended for National racing; few other
manufacturers were still building pushrod engines for road racing in
1964. Aermacchi were one of the few & their engines had a 2 or 3 BHP
advantage over most 250cc Parillas.
What we hoped we would have going for us
over the growing hoard of more powerful, but often fickle, 2 strokes of
the era was 4 stroke reliability, In short our objectives for 1964
were — to obtain entries, qualify and finish!
The journey to the 'Ring' took rather
longer than planned as a consequence of poor map reading late at night!
This resulted in us taking a 200 mile detour in the wrong direction
towards 'Nuremberg' before we realised our mistake, not a good start!
Arriving too late at the 'Ring' for the
first free practise,
we were further alarmed to find the organisers had put me in the 350 and
500cc class races on my 256cc Parilla - the explanation given was that
they became over subscribed for the 125 and 250 cc races for which I had
originally applied. The blow was softened somewhat for a short period when
we were informed I would be paid an extra 50 DM's (approximately £12) per start, in these
races, subject to qualifying!
To qualify I had to complete a minimum of
3 practise laps in each class with my best lap time not exceeding 110%
of the fastest lap achieved by any competitor in the class! All this on
my 256cc Parilla, in my very first 'Continental Circus' race! Talk about
giving with one hand and taking away with the other! I began to think
someone among the organisers had not forgotten the War!
We also noticed on our arrival that there
were far more competitors in the Paddock for each class than were
permitted to start in each race under FIM rules. This meant that in
addition to the 110% lap time rule, you had to be in the top 40 or 45
qualifiers to ensure your start! This practise was to be repeated at a
number of German International race meetings that year!
Having never ridden on a road race
circuit longer than 3 miles, my first laps of the 'Mighty Ring' came as
a huge shock, the circuit seemed to go on for
ever and I began to think I would never be able to memorise the track
within the time available for practise. The cold and misty weather,
typical at the 'Ring' in April, did not help. Much of the time I rode
'middle of the road' which is a technique only used when riders do not know
where they are going!
Returning to the paddock and trying not
to look too disappointed, I was relieved to find that I was not the only
rider having difficulty in coming to terms with the circuit and
conditions that morning. After a hot drink and a good walk around the
paddock, we hit on the idea of gaining some extra practise by slipping
out on my 250 Parilla (still carrying No 10 on green plates) with the
other 250cc machines during their afternoon practise session. Half
expecting to get black flagged at any moment, this practise period was
more encouraging, partly due I am sure, to not having any 350 or 500cc riders
rushing past just as I was trying to set up for the next corner! the
mist had also started to clear at last.…
On returning to the paddock we encounter
some very mystified race officials who could not understand how an old
250cc NSU had been recorded lapping the 'Ring' at over 130 MPH, a new
lap record! Vic and I knew how, his number was also 10! With another 2 practise
sessions and with some further improvement, I just qualified
for both the 350 and 500cc races, then exhausted, slept for the next 12
hours.
With my lack of experience of the 'Ring'
I could not attack the circuit as I would a Park or Airfield circuit.
With 45 riders on the line, I had reasonable starts in both races and by
pulling a high top gear, was able to get some useful tows during the
early laps on the long straights which made up a little for my lack of
aggression in the bends. With 18th and 20th place finishes in the 350
and 500cc races respectively, I was more than happy with my days work as
we left the 'Ring' and set out for St Wendel, with the extra start
money also in our pocket.
