In This Issue: IMOLA 1972 MOTOGIRO ITALIA DESMOSEDICI RR
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
In this issue: IMOLA 1972 MOTOGIRO ITALIA DESMOSEDICI RR SUPERMOTO ITALIANE - OCTOBER 2020 MONDODUCATI DOSSIER In this issue: IMOLA 1972 04 PAUL SMART BIOGRAPHY 26 MOTOGIRO ITALIA 34 DESMOSEDICI RR 50 OCTOBER 2020 Redazione: Hanno collaborato: Franco Bartoli Giuliano Musi SUPERMOTO ITALIANE [email protected] Paul Smart Registrata presso Marco Rainero il tribunale di Firenze con [email protected] Editore: il n° 5554 il 20/02/2007 FBA - Via U. Rattazzi, 2/E/1 50136 Firenze Direttore Responsabile: [email protected] Carlo Bartoli 2 MD DOSSIER OCTOBER 2020 OCTOBER 2020 MD DOSSIER 3 IMOLA 1972 by Paul Smart 4 MD DOSSIER OCTOBER 2020 OCTOBER 2020 MD DOSSIER 5 On the occasion of the presentation of the Paul Smart 1000 Limited Edition, Ducati collected the testimony of the English rider on the “200 Miglia di Imola”, a race that saw him triumph on the Ducati 750 in 1972: here is the full text as reported in the press kit of the time. An unmissable document! Meeting the new Ducati for the first that my “ride” for the race was another old time bike, patched together for the weekend. I got on the airplane tired, having just I went straight from the airport to Modena finished a race at Atlanta in the USA. I was race track, and was greeted by a great mass not real happy as I had the long trip ahead of mechanics and race personnel in their of me to Imola for a race that my wife had blue overalls. I certainly got the message that committed me to. I was not at all sure that I something important was going on. Franco wanted to go. Farné who was heading-up the race depart- Arriving in Italy, I was surprised to be picked ment spoke a little English, and thank good- up at the airport by a big car. You know the ness there was Angela, his English-speaking ones with the curtains in the windows, the South African secretary. From them, I got car of the Direttore or something. That my the feeling that they were anticipating some- initial attitude was negative is an understate- thing very important in the works. ment, you see I was totally prepared to find We went straight to the practice circuit Paul Smart in 2005. 6 MD DOSSIER OCTOBER 2020 OCTOBER 2020 MD DOSSIER 7 in the middle”. You get pre- effort into it. It just felt slow changed before we went to conceived ideas just looking revving, like it fired every Imola. We made a few minor at a bike. I had just gotten off lamp post (well it wasn’t adjustments – footrests, han- one of the most evil handling slow, it just felt it) but still dlebars and the like and in motorcycles in the world, quick enough, and the chassis 20 minutes I went back out. in Modena, which was right by apartment blocks. Add to ment looking on. The Imola and this new Ducati made seemed to work fine. I did about ten more laps in the middle of town. The this all of the airplanes lining 200 was only days away and me think that I was stepping After the first 10 laps the and headed back to the pad- circuit was also an airport, the circuit it was very easy we were desperately short back in time. A four-stroke only thing I had to criticise dock. Remember, I was really with airplanes parked along to be totally distracted. I of time. twin? was the TT100 street tyres. tired and my mood poor, the sides of the track. This hadn’t been in Italy for a day, The first time I saw the bike So I just went out and did I wanted Dunlop race tyres, and when I came into the is the same place they used yet by midday I was at the was at the track. I thought, 10 laps. Right away I could but the mechanics were sure pits I was ready to criticise to hold a round of the Ital- Modena track, ready to test a “This thing is so long its tell the engine was the story. they wouldn’t last for the and rip the bike to bits, but ian Championship. The track brand new motorcycle with never going to go round a Ducati had obviously been 200 miles of Imola, but I as I came in to the pits was completely surrounded the entire team and manage- corner…and it’s got a hinge working hard and put a lot of kept insisting that they were I knew something was up. 8 MD DOSSIER OCTOBER 2020 OCTOBER 2020 MD DOSSIER 9 10 MD DOSSIER OCTOBER 2020 OCTOBER 2020 MD DOSSIER 11 The whole team was jump- talking to you, asking ques- and unproven thing could ing up and down, clapping tions, analysing the situation. finish a 200 mile race. The and patting me on the back. I will always remember that bike was a lot quicker than I It seems I had just broken broad smile. expected 84bhp to be and it the world Champion Agos- The bike had only just been didn’t lose power when it got tini’s lap record -- on street produced, created from bits hot during the race like the tyres! And of course stand- and pieces from the GT two strokes I had been rid- ing there was Ingenere Tagli- models that had just been ing. It made really tractable oni. He always had a smile on introduced. My feeling was power and allowed me to his face and was constantly that it was unlikely that such be more aggressive with the 12 MD DOSSIER OCTOBER 2020 OCTOBER 2020 MD DOSSIER 13 throttle. All this was a surprise to me and the new Ducati was much easier to ride and more powerful than the Triumph I had ridden the year before. There wasn’t much more to do, Ducati had it all pretty well sorted. The biggest hassle was the tyres, they just wouldn’t listen; so I just insisted, if we were down to the carcass at the end of the race, we would deal with it then. The Imola 200 The race was the biggest thing in Italy. Checco Costa’s grand event, and he really wanted every Italian manufacturer there, and all the top riders. No excuses accepted, he wanted them all there. Arriving at the track I knew a few people -- Agostini, the English riders and a couple oth- ers who were all surprised to see me there. The secrecy in the Ducati pits, Taglione’s smile and my presence occupied everyone’s thoughts. Something was up at Ducati. All the top names and teams were on hand. Agostini with his world beating MV Agusta, Villa on a very strong Triumph, Jack Findlay on a really trick Moto Guzzi, Saarinen on his Yamaha, Peter Williams and I think Croxford on the Nortons plus the extended Triumph team with Pickford and Jefferies in the saddle. There were also teams from Suzuki, Yamaha and Kawasaki. A ride on the new Ducati mounts was offered to a number of top riders, but all declined to go out on such an unproven thing. Practice went extremely well, with Bruno Spaggiari my team mate and me setting most of the fastest laps. Immediately the grumbling started by the people who had the chance to 14 MD DOSSIER OCTOBER 2020 OCTOBER 2020 MD DOSSIER 15 ians can make. Thousands of wonderful old style Grand a wheel off could have some people clogged the roadways Prix circuit, which did, and rather unsavoury conse- and it took forever to get still does run around the quences. The track was a into the circuit. Everywhere hills at the back of the old bit damp and I could see ride the bikes and chose not he was on Pole. He was the going to faze me. I didn’t you looked were race fans town of Imola. The race was this would be a sprint – no to. Much to their surprise World Champion after all, so care who they were, as long watching from any vantage run primarily on closed-off backing-off or cruising for the bikes were up front. no one argued. as they were second. point, from rooftops to the public roads and its layout the entire race. The critical Agostini’s plan was to go I wasn’t too fussed or intim- On race day I couldn’t tops of trees, everywhere encourage really high speeds. part of the circuit was the like stink and win, or until his idated by the competition or believe how many people you looked you saw a mass My only worry was rain, as Tamburello corner, the same MV broke. I think he was on my team mate Spaggiari, by there were. The atmos- of faces. the track was lined in many one where Senna crashed. Pole. I am pretty sure he was this time in my career my phere was electric and full The track is one of my places by steel Armco bar- To win, you would need to behind me in practice, but attitude was that no one was of noise like only the Ital- lasting memories. It was a riers and trees, and putting go through flat out and be in 16 MD DOSSIER OCTOBER 2020 OCTOBER 2020 MD DOSSIER 17 18 MD DOSSIER OCTOBER 2020 OCTOBER 2020 MD DOSSIER 19 the right place for the exit. It throttle situation and we totally focused on winning.