SuperBike Magazine July 2020
The July issue is packed with awesome content to keep you busy over the remaining days of July. We are hard at work putting our August issue to bed!
The July issue is packed with awesome content to keep you busy over the remaining days of July. We are hard at work putting our August issue to bed!
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1975 - Ray McCullough leads Mervyn<br />
Robinson at Ballakaighan, 350cc race<br />
qualified.<br />
Large crowds in brilliant sunshine witnessed<br />
Steve Jolly in his first full year as a professional<br />
road racer carry off the Championship<br />
title. Jolly beat second place finisher, TT star<br />
Selwyn Griffiths, also on a Matchless, by<br />
nearly half a minute, with the ever-popular<br />
Keith Heckles third. Rising star Stan Woods<br />
brought a 250 Yamaha into a highly creditable<br />
fourth spot ahead of Brian Steenson on<br />
a 350 Aermacchi.<br />
1969: Sidecar Championship Added & British<br />
Championship comes to Billown<br />
Charlie Freeman gave notice of his intention<br />
to win back the Sidecar Championship after<br />
a two-year absence by capturing the opening<br />
six-lap race. Freeman, a great respecter, and<br />
admirer of the course had little to spare at<br />
the finish over Bill Currie, Triumph, second<br />
1976 - Joey Dunlop - Ballabeg on<br />
his way to the Solo Championship<br />
and Peter Williams, BSA, third.<br />
In the Championship race Freeman<br />
grabbed the lead before the first corner<br />
followed by John Patrick, Triumph, Williams,<br />
Currie, Robin Williamson, Triumph, and Roy<br />
Hanks, BSA. For two laps Williams and<br />
Currie hotly disputed second but neither<br />
could threaten the supremacy of Freeman.<br />
A slipping clutch ousted Williams’<br />
chances and at the halfway stage a bent<br />
valve relegated Currie to a final fifth spot.<br />
Hanks moved up to second but was nearly<br />
a minute down on Freeman at the end, with<br />
Williams third and John Worthington, who<br />
bravely pushed the Scitsu the last quarter<br />
mile, fourth.<br />
During the all-important 350 British<br />
Championship round a lap scoring error<br />
saw the chequered flag shown a lap<br />
early to race leader Derek Chatterton and<br />
second placed Bill Smith, both on Yamahas.<br />
Martin Carney, Padgett Yamaha, Selwyn<br />
Griffiths, George Fogarty, and John Graham<br />
however all raced on to complete the 12<br />
laps. Chatterton though was able to breathe<br />
a sigh of relief after a meeting of the ACU<br />
stewards decided to base the results on 11<br />
laps.<br />
1975: McCullough goes into the 90s<br />
It was to be one of the Southern ‘100’s<br />
favourite visitors, Ray McCullough, who in<br />
1975 was to become the first man to lap the<br />
Billown Course at over 90 mph.<br />
The Sidecar Championship race was to<br />
be the 100th race of the Southern 100 since<br />
the first race in 1955, misfortune followed<br />
Hilditch and Littlemore into the Sidecar<br />
Championship, after leading for eight laps<br />
they were again side-lined, this time by a<br />
burnt out clutch. During the early stages<br />
Mick White and Philip Oliver, 850 Westlake,<br />
pressed the leaders hard but an argument<br />
with a pavement coming out of Church<br />
Bends on lap four curtailed their progress<br />
and they didn’t seem the same again, finishing<br />
down in seventh spot. Hall and Minion<br />
took over the lead vacated by Hilditch to<br />
beat R Philpott and M Buxton, Weslake, by<br />
18 seconds, they also pipped third finisher<br />
Mick Worltey and Ralph Crellin, 956 HDW,<br />
on the final lap. A domestic scrap for fourth<br />
place between Keith Griffin and Malcolm<br />
Sharrocks, 850 Weslake, from George Oates<br />
and John Molyneux, 680 Konig, ended with<br />
the former pair gaining a split-second<br />
advantage.<br />
1976: Joey winning debut<br />
Diminutive Ulsterman Joe Dunlop, on his<br />
first visit, proved the sensation of the 1976<br />
series with two second places and a third<br />
in Wednesday’s qualifying race, then most<br />
important of all, a magnificent victory in the<br />
Championship race, shattering both lap and<br />
race records.