Roadholder 370 - October 2018

40 T his book details exactly what it says on the cover. 'Motorcycle Racing with the Continental Circus, 1920 to 1970' is a new title from the pen of Chris Pereira. For those of you (which did include me) who don't know, the 'Continental Circus' was a term originating from Graham Walker, describing the travels of the pre-WWII riders competing in European Grand Prix races. British manufacturers took the opportunity to get publicity from results in these events. Generally, the book breaks the decades into separate chapters and it's very noticeable that pre-WWII, two British manufacturers were dominant: Norton and AJS, with a smattering of Velocette and Rudge machines cropping up. Norton is by far the most mentioned marque in the entire book, even allowing for the decline in successes during the late '50s and '60s when the German, Italian and then Japanese machines stole the limelight. It's also interesting to note that Norton started to regain good results as the Italian and Japanese abandoned works racing in the mid '60s. Most riders mentioned in the book were European 'privateers' who travelled throughout Europe, many of whom I didn't know but there are also quite a few who were or were destined to become 'household names', e.g. Peter Williams. They primarily made a living from the 'start money' paid for simply getting away from the start line; this money varied considerably. It's interesting (and alarming) to read of the high accident rate throughout this period. The protective clothing used was nowhere near as good as today's with predominately cork helmets and thin leather clothing. The race courses varied considerably and medical and general facilities were often somewhat ‘primitive'. The Saltzburg (Austria) track included a section of cobbled roads leading to sections of autobahn. Travel to the Eastern Bloc countries in the '50s and '60s was difficult and it was interesting to read that quite a few Western riders incorporated a bit of smuggling in their endeavours. MZ get quite a few mentions and it's also interesting that Jawa and CZ were a force to reckon with during the early '60s. British manufacturers never really embraced sub- 350cc racing where the likes of NSU, Bultaco, Ducati and, later, Honda and Yamaha became dominant. Sidecar racing gets numerous mentions and our own Vice President, Stan D. features in the '50s sidecar sections. Norton performed well in sidecar events but BMWwere generally the force to be reckoned with. Although the dominant post-WWII British bikes were the 350 and 500cc Manx Nortons, the AJS 7R, Porcupine and Matchless G45 and later G50 are frequently mentioned. By the end of the 1960s, many of the circus circuits had closed (Switzerland closed all its circuits following the Le Man tragedy in the mid '50s), and the rise of other race formats and world championships etc. resulted in the 'circus' style of competition virtually disappearing. This highly recommended 96 page hardback book contains numerous photographs (predominantly b&w) and is published by Veloce @ £19.99 (UK). ISBN 978-1-787112-74-2. See: www.veloce.co.uk motorcycle racing with the continental circus Mark Woodward