History of the 6 Hour - 1980

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Race Report

A truly amazing event, lets look at the CB1100R development, practice and ultimately the race, it really had everything:

PRACTICE: Honda desperately wanted another Six Hour win, Dennis Neill (Australian 'A' Grade Road Racer) was engaged by Honda Japan to develop the CB1100R to win at Amaroo Park. Dennis flew to Japan, tested the Bike, tested it at Amaroo Park and ultimately the CB1100RA made its appearance. Dennis deserved a great deal of credit for assisting the development of the CB1100R, I believe he received virtually no coverage for his 'work' internationally, the bike ultimately evolved into the all conquering CB1100RC fully faired machine in subsequent years.

The 6 Hour 1980

Left: ROCKET RON - 'CAMERA MAN' What would Rossi say if he had to take this. Right: WAYNE GARDNER/ANDREW 'AJ' JOHNSON - CB1100R

Dennis, teamed with Roger Heyes and put their Honda (Bike No.4) on pole. Ron Haslam (Honda Britain) teamed with Mr Six Hour (Ken Blake) on Bike No.2, these two 'name' teams somewhat overshadowed the team of Wayne Gardner/Andrew Johnson (Bike No.5) entered by Mentor Motorcycles and fettled by Peter Molloy. The weather on race day and mercurial riding by Wayne Gardner would surprise all.....

Suzuki had a very strong challenger to the CB1100R in the form of the GSX1100, the strongest team had to be Alan Hales/Dave Hiscock (Bike No.6), surely another equally qualified team was that of Neil Chivas/John Pace (Bike No.1).

RACE DAY: Rain, rain, rain. Big Bad Dennis Neill might have got pole in the dry, but he handed the Bike to co-rider Roger Heyes for the first stint. The rain changed everything, Wayne Gardner 'CB' and John Pace 'GSX' were in a class of there own, disappearing into the mist and rain. Gardner/Johnson pushed very hard with John Pace/Neil Chivas the only overall race competition to the end.

MAJOR INCIDENT 1: Rocket Ron Haslam/Ken Blake, should have done very well. The Honda Britain Team were adamant they knew what they were doing and they wanted to set the CB1100R front forks at a particular location in the triple clamps, Race Scrutineers directed the stock settings would apply. Ron did not do to well in the rain and dropped the Bike. Luckily the 'CB' was rideable, after repairs both Haslam and Blake soldiered on with a very suspect Bike, TV coverage showed extreme front fork flexing as both riders entered the main straight.

Sadly the Team did not place, finishing in 22nd place completing 301 laps. I never fully understood the front forks problem with Bike 2, even prior to the race. Most other CB1100R Teams appeared to be happy with the handling and front fork settings.

MAJOR INCIDENT 2: The Suzuki Team of Alan Hales and David Hiscock on paper were in with a huge chance to upset Honda's plans, Dave took the first stint in the rain and for some reason could not come to terms with Amaroo on the day. He was lapped quite early in the event. Dave was called in early and Alan went out, his efforts were staggeringly successful, in heavy rain Alan Hales rode at a pace and commitment I have never witnessed 'before or since' on a motorcycle. Alan simply passed everybody, finally really extending his luck to get 'under Wayne Gardner' at Stop Corner and I understand place the Bike on the lead lap, albeit one complete circuit behind Gardner. He lost the front end, went down right in front of Wayne and whilst uninjured, the crash broke the handlebars.

Alan somehow rode the Bike back to the pits, still on a huge adrenalin rush he explained to the TV Media what happened, cursing the handlebars repair time. Alan went away to compose himself, the Team repaired the Bike and off he went again, new motocross goggles, kitchen gloves and all, absolutely heroic stuff. Unfortunately the Team did not place, however they finished a creditable 8th place completing 313 laps.

Alan's effort remains so clear in my mind, I often try to compare today's Racers, (car and motorcycle) commitments 'in the rain' to Alan's, I simply cannot.

THE WINNERS: Wayne Gardner/Andrew Johnson kept the bike upright and held off all comers, winning with 322 laps covered, a very low lap count, bettering only the 'first' Six Hour results, (Bryan Hindle/Len Atlee Triumph Bonneville 650 on 312 laps). Clearly an indicator to the treacherous conditions. John Pace/Neil Chivas came in second 'initially' on the same lap count of 322 laps with Dennis Neill/Roger Heyes third on 318 laps.

Sadly the 'final race results' dramas dragged on for nearly a year! Ultimately the Pace/Chivas team lost 'big time' and were relegated to 32nd place, Neill/Heyes were then credited with second. Any fair minded person only needs to look at the effort put in by John Pace during some four hours of wet weather riding during the race to accept the 'final race results' were a complete farce.

The race result may have been very different given fine weather, I believe Dennis Neill would have won the race on a dry track, he was simply awesome on the Bike in dry conditions. Then again...

Thanks to Derek Hanbridge for these stories and great Photo's check out his web site for more great stories on all forms of racing both here and overseas. http://www.deejay51.com

Results


Overall

1

W. Gardner, A. Johnson

Honda CB1100R

322 laps

2

N. Chivas, J. Pace

Suzuki GSX1100

321 laps

3

D. Neill, R. Hayes

Honda CB1100R

318 laps

4

S. Trinder, D. Peterson

Suzuki GSX750

317 laps

5

R. Browne, L. Willing

Kawasaki Z750E

316 laps

6

L. Atlee, S. Gall

Yamaha XS1100

315 laps

7

J. Miller, P. Lewis

Suzuki GSX750

314 laps

8

H. Steel, I. Standen

Honda CB1100

313 laps

9

A. Hales, D. Hiscock

Suzuki GSX1100

313 laps

10

R. Cox, M. Campbell

Suzuki GSX1100

313 laps

11

J. Judd, R. Fiddock

Honda CB1100R

312 laps

12

A. Blanco, M. Feehan

Honda CB750

310 laps

13

B. Cartwright, R. Gill

Honda CB750

308 laps

14

J. Budd, P. Cawthorne

Kawasaki Z750E

307 laps

15

G. Fenton, M. Heaton

Suzuki GSX1100

306 laps

16

M. Hill, T. Discombe

Yamaha XJ650

306 laps

17

A. Sims, W. Pratt

Honda CB750F

305 laps

18

A. Scolyer, C. Bye

Suzuki GSX1100

305 laps

19

R. Phillis, G. Muir

Suzuki GSX1100

304 laps

20

M. Hone, W. Clarke

Kawasaki Z750

303 laps

21

S. Brennan, P. Harmon

Honda CB750F

302 laps

22

V. Sharpe, G. Williams

Honda CB750F

302 laps

23

R. Haslam, K. Blake

Honda CB1100R

301 laps

24

P. Walker, W. Want

Yamaha XJ650

299 laps

25

M. Thompson, R. Mingay

Kawasaki Z750

299 laps

26

J. Allen, M. Watson

Suzuki GSX750

298 laps

27

J. Coates, L. Faivre

Suzuki GSX750

296 laps

28

M. Bundy, J. Banks

Suzuki GSX750

294 laps

29

A. Veitch, J. McDonald

Yamaha XJ650

294 laps

30

G. Drew, J. Vivers

BMW R100S

293 laps

31

D. Woolley, R. Gray

Honda CB1100R

290 laps

32

S. Stephens, M. Cork

Kawasaki Z750

290 laps

33

G. Vincent, A. Thompson

Suzuki GSX1100

270 laps

Entry List

1

Neil Chivas (NSW) TBN

Suzuki Aust P/L

Suzuki GSX1100

2

Ron Haslam (UK) Ken Blake (Vic)

Bennett Honda P/L

Honda CB1100

3

Len Atlee (NSW) Murray Ogilvie (ACT)

McCulloch Yamaha

Yamaha XS1100

4

Roger Heyes (NSW) Dennis Neill (NSW)

Team Honda

Honda CB1100

5

Andre Johnson (Vic) Wayne Gardner (NSW)

Mentor Motorcycles

Honda CB1100

6

Alan Hales (NSW) David Hiscock (NZ)

Suzuki Aust P/L

Suzuki GSX1100

7

Jim Budd (NSW) Paul Cawthorne (SA)

Team Kawas Aust

Kawasaki Z750

8

Michael Cole (Vic) Alan Decker (Vic)

Team Honda

Honda CB900F

9

David Woolley (Sth Afr) Richard Borain (Sth Afr)

Gus Liu Motorcycles

Honda CB1100

10

Rob Phillis (Vic) Chris Oldfield (Vic)

Total Hunter Suzuki

Suzuki GSX1100

11

Ron Boulden (NSW) Gary Coleman (NSW)

Welbank Yamaha

Yamaha XJ650

12

David Peterson (Sth Afr) Paul Lewis (Vic)

City Suzuki *

Suzuki GSX750

14

Francis Mazur (USA) Scott Stephens (Tas)

Revs Motorcycle News

Kawasaki KZ750

15

Rod Cox (NSW) Malcolm Campbell (Tas)

Treloar M/C Wreckers

Suzuki GSX1100

16

Jim Judd (SA) Richard Fiddock (SA)

Trevena Honda

Honda CB900FA

17

Rodney Browne (Qld) Len Willing (NSW)

Midway Kawasaki *

Kawasaki K750E

18

Steve Trinder (Vic) Jeff Miller (SA)

Hornsby Suzuki *

Suzuki GS750

19

Alan Blanco (NSW) Michael Feehan (NSW)

Two Wheels Magazine

Honda CB750

20

Murray Hill (NZ) Trevor Discombe (NZ)

The Cycle Spot

Yamana XJ650

21

Greg Drew (NSW) John Vivers (NSW)

Don Wilson Motorcycles

BMWR100S

22

Brian Cartwright (WA) Rick Gill (WA)

Rick Gill Motorcycles *

Honda CB750FZ

23

Dave Hiscock, Peter Fleming

Brian Collins M/C *

Yamaha XJ650

24

Anthony Veitch (NSW) John MacDonald (NSW)

Stateline Suzuki *

Suzuki GSX750

25

Ross Pentecost (NSW) John Hughes (NSW)

Mentor Motorcycles *

Kawasaki Z750E

26

Hilton Steel (NSW) Ian Standen (NSW)

Pauletto Racing

Honda CB1100

27

Charlie Wilkie (Qld) David Wright (Qld)

Springwood Suzuki/Qld Tyres for Bikes *

Suzuki GSX750

28

Glenn Taylor (NSW) Neville Hiscock (NZ)

Suzuki Aust P/L *

Suzuki GSX750

29

Glenn Fenton (NSW) Max Heaton (NSW)

Eurotred

Suzuki GSX1100

30

Rob Scolyer (Tas) Craig Bye (Tas)

White City Car Sales

Suzuki GSX1100

31

Martin Hone (NSW) Debbie Brinkley (NSW)

Australian M/C News *

Kawasaki Z750

32

Vince Sharpe (NZ) Glenn Williams (NZ)

Team Honda *

Honda CB750F

33

Max Thompson (NSW) Richard Mingay (NSW)

Parry M/cycles *

Kawasaki Z750E

34

Terry Turner (NZ) David Burly (NSW)

Gus Liu M/Cycles

Honda CB1100

35

Michael Bundy (NSW) John Banks (SA)

City Suzuki *

Suzuki GSX750

36

Robert Reed (Qld) Peter Byers (Qld)

Thompson Honda

Honda CB900F

37

Peter Walker (NSW) Bill Want (Qld)

Highway Motorcycles *

Yamaha XJ650

38

John Allen (NSW) Mark Watson (NSW)

JB Eng *

Suzuki GSX750

39

Antonio Sims (NSW) Wayne Pratt (NSW)

Cycle City Hurstville *

Honda CB750FZ

40

Gary Vincent (NSW) Andrew Thomson (NSW)

The Bike W/shop

Suzuki GSX1100

41

Steve Brennan (NSW) Paul Harmon (NSW)

Hawkesbury Motorcycles *

Honda 750F

 

*750 Class

 

 

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