NOTE: THIS IS GREATLY IMPROVED SECOND VIDEO VERSION
Related articles!! Thanks Lee Kernich !!
www.oldbikemag... GREAT ARTICLE
www.speedwayand... Great article..
World M/Cycle road Champion on 'Gilera' 1955 Geoff Duke toured Australian
Capitals including Adelaide in Early Jan 55. Adelaide put on an
Australian TT race to celebrate the tour on the Gawler AirStrip Nth of Adelaide;
a up and down Race in searing 107deg Heat!
A full programme 250, 350 and 500cc races were held [all recorded in part here}
Geoff brought his team and the winning 500cc 'Gilera'. Beautiful!
Jim Thurmer Adelaide M/Cycle Dealer & Enthusiast
Filmed it with good Filmic access. Included is also NEW
second camera footage at the end.
My father started the film with A 'Tillbrook ' 'Adelaide' Racing M/Cycle!
an Adelaide original Product that was also competing.
NOTE: THIS IS GREATLY IMPROVED SECOND VIDEO VERSION
Excerpt from article linked above::
"Adelaide was the next port of call, but with a total ban on public roads racing still in force by an Act of Parliament, the only suitable venue to be found was Gawler airstrip. Even obtaining the use of this rugged site was difficult, and only the intervention of the directors of the Adelaide Children’s Hospital (the charity which would benefit from the meeting’s proceeds) saw permission granted for its use. Even so, as Gawler was officially an emergency site in case of bad weather for the main Adelaide airport, a proviso was that aircraft still had right of way!
But again, race day turned out to be a scorcher, with the hot gusty winds blowing dust and dirt in all directions. With 16,000 spectators crammed into the confines of the airstrip, it took some time to erect extra barriers for crowd control, meaning that practice was restricted to four laps. Duke found the Gilera wheel-spinning in top gear down the gravel-strewn straight, and was rather unimpressed with the whole set up. In the 500cc race, Keith Campbell had the crowd jumping for joy as he took the early lead. Although the Gilera clearly had the speed, Duke had his hands full with Roger Barker, who would constantly slide under the maestro on the slippery corners. With the air full of dust, Duke’s Gilera ingested a gritty mixture, knocking a few hundred revs off the top end, and he had only managed to catch Campbell as the race reached its final stages. The Victorian was far from beaten, but just when a thrilling finish was looming, the gear lever of his Norton dropped off and he was out. The heat was so intense that both Campbell and Barker needed medical attention and were unable to start in the Unlimited event. Duke also declined to start. His number one machine was off song after its diet of Gawler grit, and he was unwilling to use his spare Gilera (the bike used in the World Championships by Irish star Reg Armstrong) so early into his tour. His decision caused much consternation amongst officials, but Duke was adamant. In the end, just six riders took the start for the Unlimited."
1 окт 2024
