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Wynne Talk |
Steve Wynne Tells the Inside Story (page 3) "Having got the bikes early meant I could prepare them very carefully, reworking the heads with larger valves and changing pistons, ignition, clutch and most importantly the gear cluster, which was the real achilles heel of a racing Ducati at that time. This was achieved courtesy of a contact of Mike's from his F1 car days, Hewland Gears, who made all the gearboxes for the British F1 teams. But whereas this service would normally have commanded a five-figure fee, such was the esteem Hailwood was held in by car people as well as bikers that Mike Hewland redesigned and manufactured the new gear ratios free of charge, and the information was passed on to Ducati equally gratis, for them to incorporate much of the design into future road models."
"During pre-race testing and TT practice our Sports-tuned engine proved fast and reliable - Mike topped the TT F1 leaderboard with a new lap record at 111 mph, yet was convinced he'd only done 105 mph or so because the Ducati felt so easy and relaxing to ride. Two race engineers had turned up from the Ducati factory to observe and help out, Franco Farne and Giuliano Pedretti. Farne became concerned over the high mileage this engine had done in practice, so persuaded me to fit a new one they had brought over with them, which Mike did a solitary lap with on Friday night, the day before the race. In the event, though good enough to win the race this proved much slower than our motor, and blew up when the bottom bevel gear on the rear cylinder disintegrated just as Mike shut off to cross the finish line and win! I didn't even know this till I got the bike home, because under FIM pressure there was a strict noise control at the TT that year, and all the finishers were supposed to be tested at the end of the race. There was some doubt whether the Ducati would pass, even with the Triumph silencers we'd grafted on to the Lafranconi exhaust meggas, but the noise meter man didn't fancy being lynched for being the one to disqualify Hailwood after his famous TT comeback win, so as I pushed the bike back to the parc ferme I was greeted with the rhetorical question that "the engine won't start, will it?!" to which I was happy to agree - except that, had I but known it then, it was quite true!!" "I've never considered myself to be superstitious, but this was one occasion that makes me wonder. Though it was a dream come true to win a TT, and especially with Mike Hailwood riding my bike, the pressure and responsibility were immense. I had many hundreds of letters before the race from Hailwood fans, many threatening to hold me personally responsible if Mike were to be killed or injured - honestly! Motor Cycle News printed a photo of the bike back to front without the bodywork on, which gave the mistaken impression the sump plug was wired up the wrong way: this caused 40 or 50 people - not just two or three! - to write or phone telling me of the apparent error. The atmosphere throughout practice was electric, because Honda were going all out to retain their title, and besides Phil Read had the likes of Tom Herron, Tony Rutter, John Williams and Helmut Dahne on their own works bikes or on dealer entries, with only our Ducatis and Chas Mortimer on a Suzuki to stop them. But there was some good natured banter between Read and Hailwood, and just before the start of the race, Phil came over to wish Mike and myself good luck, and in typical cheeky form suggested I ought to support him by wearing a Phil Read T-shirt! I did in fact take off my Sports Motorcycles/Hailwood T-shirt and spent the whole of the race in the pits apparently supporting our greatest rival, till at the end of the last lap, Mike's light came on at Signpost Corner miles in the lead, to tell us we were almost home and dry. Only then, realising I still had the Phil Read T-shirt on, did I start to take it off to don our own team colours, ready to welcome Mike as the victor. But Giuliano Pedretti, the Ducati works mechanic, stopped me as I did so: "Keep it on," he said, "or it may cause bad luck." I wonder to this day, if I'd removed the T-shirt, would the timing gear have broken at Governor's Bridge just a few hundred yards from the finish, instead of just on the line?! Am I superstitious now? Maybe just a little...." * * * * * |
