Classic Motorcycle Racing in Spain

 In the late spring of  2005 I received an email about a Harley Davidson XR-1000 race bike I had just sold. The email was from Mauro Abbadini from Arganda del Ray, located just outside Madrid , Spain. Mauro, an Italian living in Spain runs Classic Co. , a race shop dedicated to making Moto Guzzi, Ducati, Laverda and Moto Morini's go fast. He was looking to buy a Harley or parts for one. He bought a XR-1000 factory fairing from me and we shipped it over to him. Pictured below is one of his bikes with a quarter fairing.

After discussing our common ground, my desire to race overseas and that I was, in fact born in Madrid, an invitation was made for me to come and race with DECCLA, the vintage racing group put on events Spain for classic endurance racing. As I'd left the country when I was just three years old, I asked my mother, who is Irish, but fluent in the language to come along so that I might see where I lived as a child.  She met my late father, who was serving in the US Air Force while they were both living there. Fellow racer Chris Marshall came along as well to round out the Team 20/20 Racing effort on the 500cc Moto Morini that Mauro would prepare for us for the four hour endurance race.

It was with great anticipation that we prepared for the trip. My mother must have sent me half a dozen books on speaking Spanish, books on the history, the culture, the joy and the sorrow of Spain. I devoured it all.
We caught a flight out that September direct to Madrid. Two days in town, visiting the Museo del Prado, the Thyssen-Bornemsisza and the Sofia brought us face to face with some of the greatest art in the world. Lazy afternoons were spent on the Plaza Mayor and the Gran Via. We also made a trip to calle de Rafael Calvo, the street where we lived in the early 1960's. Much to my surprise, we met someone who lived there when we did. I felt at peace finally seeing this place for the first time through adult eyes, rather than the black and white photos that formed my memories of early childhood.

Chris and I caught the train to Arganda del Ray and visited Mauro at his race shop, Classic Co. An amazing assortment of machines, including ex-Bol 'dor Guzzi's and Laverda's filled the lobby. Mauro spoke English with a Cockney accent that came from his time spent in the UK when he was younger. We saw the 500cc Morini for the first time and couldn't help but be impressed with the effort put in to prepare it.

The next day, Chris, my mom and I piled all our belongings into the Nissan Micra rental car and began the nearly four hour trip south east to Cartagena on the Costa del Sol where we would race. We were delighted to find that the coastal town was deep in the middle of La Gran Fiesta del Mediterraneo, the Carthagineses Y Romans, a spectacular week long party to commemorate the epic battle between the people of Cartagena and the Romans. That must explain why our starter was clad in Roman Gladiatorial costume for the race.

Practice was going well as I hustled the 'big' Morini around the circuit fighting off exhaustion while trying to stay out of the way of the fast Guzzi's that dominated the big classes. In the smaller classes Bultaco were the favorites.

Teams from Italy, Germany and the UK were on hand and things were looking promising until I handed the bike off. Chris jumped on board and roared away, but was back within two laps. The bike had a right side , street pattern shift which was different from what Chris and I usually rode. I may have missed an upshift and  bent a valve when it over-revved. Chris may done the same, I'm not sure if this caused the failure. He heard a 'knock' in the engine and before long the seriousness of the issue was apparent. Despite an all-night trip back to race shop for parts, we could not salvage the situation. Algo se ha roto, no es justo ! We made the best of our practice time and put in laps on a borrowed Yamaha RZ350. We needed to find a slot to ride with another team, but all seats were accounted for and so we decided to pitch in and help crew for Mauro and his teamates on their Guzzi and Harley Sportster-based racers.

Quien gana?

                                                                               Incendio !

The British team put up a major fight with a Honda CB500 racer, but were no match for the Guzzi powered locals. After a long day in the hot sun, dinner was prepared and much fun was had as we enjoyed our hosts hospitality. There was the largest Paella I've ever seen and it was delicious. Much Sangria was consumed by all except for me, preferring to stick to my Cerveza sin Alchohol.

We were awarded the 'Long Distance Award' for our efforts, but I was very disappointed to have come so far and not get to race. We bid our friends farewell and spent the next day on the beach at Marbella on the Costa Del Sol. I seriously contemplated what kind of life I could live here and vowed to return someday.

A mad dash back to Madrid included a very intense drive where we witnessed that indeed, the 'rain in Spain, falls mainly on the Plain' is true. The month long drought had come to an end and the sky's opened up, but the mini-Micra behaved admirably despite the hours-long downpour.

Yes, it is the 'Museum of Ham' !

One final night in Madrid and before we knew it we were on the airplane headed back home. I put my headphones on as Miles Davis played the familiar notes of " All Blues".  Spain retreated into the background. I drifted off into a deep sleep. Me encanta Espana.




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1967 Ducati 250cc racer

My first race weekend was one full of surprises and wide-eyed wonderment. I went to see my first motorcycle race just a few months earlier, in the fall of 1989 at Summit Point Raceway.  I liked what I saw there: They raced new bikes, they raced old bikes, they raced all kinds of bikes. When I saw a female rider come in last place in her race, I said to my friend, somewhat stupidly, " I could beat her". Bam ! The gauntlet was thrown down and a challenge was issued. "Prove it", he said.

At the time, my street bike was a  '73 Rickman Honda CR750. I was talked out of racing that big, heavy machine in favor of something less intimidating. That bit of common sense advice may have saved my life...and the Rickman from certain disaster.

 I knew my father had a 1967 Ducati 250 in off-road trim in his barn, so my buddy Matt and I went to check it out. We swapped the dirtbike bars for clip-ons, added a racing seat and new tires. Matt was working at a shop that restored old British cars in Wilmington, Delaware and we spent many nights there that winter dreaming of what fun we would have. Very little mechanical work was needed, so we finished our work, added safety wire and number plates and I was set.

On one cold, windy March night, we loaded the bike into Matt's truck and headed to a nearby thoroughbred horse racing track that had closed to make way for a new mall. We lifted the bike over the guardrail and fired it up. Wow, it was loud!  I climbed onboard and tried to get used to the Ducati. I'd never ridden anything quite like it. It seemed very agricultural in the way it shifted as well as its heavy controls compared to the Honda I'd ridden.  In reality, they were very fine bikes once properly set up for racing and usually class winners in the right hands. We were getting ready to take some laps on the track when we heard sirens and saw the flashing lights of the security police move in from all directions. Pre-season testing had come to a close.

That first weekend, we drove to Summit Point Raceway near Charlestown and Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. We set up camp and prepared for race school the next morning. It began with class room instruction from Roger Lyle and his crew from MARRC.  They organized and ran an accredited racing school that taught all you needed to know to survive your first race. The actual races were either run by WERA of CCS at the time.

A few hours later, class broke up and we put on our gear and headed to the skid-pad for training. It was only then that my folly became apparent. Everybody was on new, or at least, somewhat new,  modern bikes and I was on the '67 Ducati. They pushed the starter button, I bump started the bike, then I started it again, and again. Geez, this was more like boot camp, me running like mad in my used oversized leathers. Phew!

More class room instruction followed, and soon it was time for our 'mock race'. We headed to the grid and prepared for the start. My heart was beating so fast I thought I'd die before the green flag was dropped. Sweat dripped down into my eyes, I blinked and off we rode, down that long straight and into turn one. Anybody who has raced the Summit Point track, also known as 'Slippery Point' over the years can attest to the ever-changing quality of surface and traction. The turns that had only one line, which bumps to watch for, etc. At the time, I didn't know any better and just assumed all tracks must be like this.



                                 

The novice aboard his Ducati 250 about to lapped by the expert rider "Ace"

Coming down the hill into a ninety degree left hand turn for the first time at race pace, I misjudged my speed and braking. I ran in way too deep, passing most of my classmates on the way in. I thought I was going down for sure. I didn't crash though, and rode on, finishing mid pack by the end. Not too shabby for an old bike and my first race.  Afterwards, my new friends and I learned the art of 'Bench Racing'. The lies flowed while we bathed in the afterglow of competition.  Amazing how fast we thought we were. Well, that was it then. I was hooked and couldn't think about anything else but racing from then on.

The little Ducati lasted for a few more races before my new friends suggested to me that I needed a quicker, more modern mount. A used Yamaha RZ350 was sourced and the then real fun began. I found out I really, really liked two-stroke motorcycles, but more about what that bike led to in the next post.
                         
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Mondial Sport

1957 F. B. Mondial 200cc Sport

photo by Michael Furman for Radnor Hunt Concours d' Elegance

 

Looking back now, I still can't believe my good fortune. I got a phone call from from someone who wanted to sell an old Italian motorcycle at my annual Chadds Ford Classic Motorcycle Auction. I asked him what kind of Italian bike and he said" Mondial".  But he pronounced it as Mon-dile. I scratched my head, then it hit me: yes, Mondial (sounds like moan-dee-al). Sure, I had heard of Mondial, a famous but little remembered Italian manufacturer here in the United States. They'd won numerous World Championships, with a stunning 125/250cc double championship in 1957. F.B. Mondial (Fratelli Boselli) produced bikes in Italy from the early postwar years until the mid-1960's.

 A couple photos of production racing Mondial In Italy 1955-57.

Mondial Sport started in 1948 when Earls Boselli hired Oreste and Alfonso Drusiani

to design twin camshaft engines in Bologna, Italy for the company. Riders Nello Pagani & Carlo Ubbialli brought fame to the marque by recording a string of victories first on the home soil, then venturing abroad.

Note the Crucifix taped to the clutch cable. We've often wondered who put it there and why.

I asked the seller to bring it over and that we'd sell it for him at the auction.  It was complete, but very worn. Chrome finish peeling, saddle torn, but all there. I promoted the bike to a number of potential buyers I thought would be perfectly suited for it. Heck, it even ran well.

Come the big day, I decided to throw in a sealed bid just in case it should fall short of my estimated selling price. Much to my surprise, bidding was very light on the bike and the top bidder stop fifty dollars short of my sealed bid.  I became the owner of a 1957 F.B. Mondial 200cc Sport model.  I think its shabby state of cosmetic condition scared off some potential buyers who wanted something less daunting to restore.

The bike was stored in my garage several months after the auction while I pondered whether to do a 'sympathetic restoration' or take the full-blown wheels-up restoration approach. One day, the bike fell off the workbench, onto my Moto Guzzi Ambassador and several other bikes while I was at work.  I was horrified when I opened the garage door that day and surveyed the damage. No choice now, I thought, given the fresh damage, than to press on with a complete restoration.

Most fifty year old bikes would be hard enough to finds parts for, but this bike was never officially imported here in the USA. An Air Force serviceman brought this and another Mondial over to New Jersery many years ago. They ended up at a salvage yard before being sold to man who brought it to auction.

Worn out rubber bits and Mondial decals, (actually transfers) would present some challenges to find. I cannot imagine how hard it would have been in the days of no internet, but I was fortunate enough to have Englishman Mike McGarry offer to do some shopping at an Italian swap meet he'd be attending that spring. As luck would have it, he found a vendor who had just what we needed and soon the parts were on their way. He also turned me on to Classic Transfers in the UK who actually had several designs in stock to choose from.

The winter months flew by as we disassembled, organized and prepped parts for painting.

When the painted bike came back to the shop, we were now ready to build it back up. The engine ran well before we took the bike apart, so we drained the oil, checked the Dell'orto Carb and added new cables and wiring to clean things up further. Most bearings were replaced, seals and gaskets were neccesary as well.

A new Silentium Muffler was fitted to replace the damaged orginal.

Detective Dupont  traces some time consuming electrical issues

when wiring the new headlight shell and ignition.

With the bits needed on their way, RBO Racing where Robyn Oswald and John Dupont stripped the bike to down and continued the work. Chrome was sent out for re-plating, polishing sent to a local Brass restoration shop, painting was handled by Doug Summers.

When the Mondial was first started up and tested, the front downpipe was so badly worn that it immediately blistered and we realized a new pipe was needed.  More time passed as we turned back to our friends in the UK to produce a new pipe. We sent over my old pipe as a pattern and  a short while later a new one was sent back to us. The last item to be address was the tires, which are an obsolete size, but a friend came to the rescue with a set of period tires with the right tread design and size. We had tried a brand new pair while restoring, but they were just too wide and lacked the correct look.

The 200cc Sport is quick, nimble and stylish in the extreme. Some Mondials of this type competed in the famous Giro d'Italia  and Milano-Taranto long distance road races in the 1950's with rider Remo Venturi and brothers Franco and Walter Villa.  In addition the factory fielded a full Grand Prix effort that resulted in ten World Championships and featured riders like Tarquino Provini and Englishman Cecil Stanford and Sammy Miller.

The 'Dustbin' fairings were functional as well as elegant. They increased top speeds by nearly twenty percent over the un-faired machines. The designs of Mondial very highly regarded then and are much prized collectibles today as well. The racing equipment, in my estimation, is one of the stand-out designs of 

it's era, a time filled with stunning achievements in automobiles and motorcycles.

1957 F. B. Mondial 200cc Sport

At the turn of the last century, as doomsday fanatics clamored on about the Y2K bug wreaking havoc, the folks back in Italy were putting together a deal to re-launch the famous FB Mondial brand. This photo shows the sleek, state of the art machine, now powered with a Honda engine demonstrating that the sporting nature of the beast.  Very few of these were made and this one belongs to a collector in Califonia.

The Honda deal came together as a repayment of sorts because Mr. Soichiro Honda himself once asked Earls Boselli to sell him a Mondial engine so that the Japanese could study the secrect of its speed. It provided lessons they would put to good use in the 1960's. Sadly, the re-birth was short-lived due to financial difficulties for the new owners of the company. Will this be the last we hear from the great motorcycle builder Mondial?  

This earlier model with plunger rear suspension and girder

forks still had its scrutineering stamp from 1955 Giro on the cases!

                                    AMA Concours, Ohio with AMA Hall of Fame member Ed Fisher