American ace Cal Rayborn’s Harley ahead of Ray Pickrell’s
Triumph triple in a British v USA match race series
Mike Hailwood’s BSA leading Gary
Nixon’s Triumph at Daytona
John Player Nortons battled it out with the
Triumph Tridents and BSA Rockets. This didn’t
last of course, and when, in 1973, Barry Sheene
won the first Formula 750 championship on
a Suzuki two-stroke triple, the future looked
grim for the big four-strokes in road racing.
When the last chapter of competitive British
race bikes peaked, things were looking good.
At the 1971 Daytona 200 in America, there
were ten starters on three-cylinder BSA and
Triumph machines, and they filled the first three
places at the finish. That same year the BSAs
won the LeMans Bol d’Or, and the 750 British
Championship, together with a host of other
prestigious races. But time was running out,
and in 1973 the ailing, loss-making Triumph-
BSA company merged and became Norton
Villiers Triumph. Norton on the other hand had
combined with tobacco company John Player
in 1972. The sponsorship deal gave Norton a
much needed cash injection. It enabled them to
produce better bikes with increased power, better
brakes and handling. The trademark monocoque
chassis and alloy wheels on the John Player
Nortons were examples of the development
work possible with the extra financial support.
Although it withdrew sponsorship in 1975,
John Player continued to support major
motorcycle race meetings in Britain.
The JP Norton team for 1972 included Phil Read,
Mike Hailwood at Daytona in 1971
and Peter Williams. Other riders who raced the
bikes during the four year period included Tony
Rutter, Mick Grant, Dave Croxford, and John
Cooper. Perhaps the most notable achievement
was the Formula 750 event at the 1973 Isle of
Man TT, when Peter Williams won with Mick
Grant in second place, both on JP Nortons.
Although the Formula 750 World Series was
instituted in 1973, it did not acquire official
World Championship status until 1977, by which
time the two-strokes had taken over, and the
glorious sound of the BSA-Triumph triples and
the Norton twins had faded into history.
The short and turbulent Formula 750 years
produced an interesting spin-off for motorcycle
enthusiasts. Norton produced road-going replicas
of the race bikes. The JP Norton Replica had the
same Commando engine and distinctive John
Player livery as the race bike. There were several
independent specialist workshops such as Paul
Dunstall and the Thruxton experimental shop
producing extras such as tanks, fairings, exhausts,
and other goodies to give the basic Commando
a racetrack look, and improved performance. The
three-cylinder engine used in the BSA Rocket, and
Triumph Trident road and race bikes also attracted
a lot of attention from the specialist workshops.
Overall the last act for the big four-strokes was a
noble experiment, which was to ultimately come
to life again with the more stable Superbike class.
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