CONTENT

006 Archive time
Just the two for you in this issue, because we’re
introducing a new crossword competition and
for now we’re putting it where Archive 3 would
be. But what a couple of images we have for you
this time. One of them is taken in a hotel’s cheap
meeting room. Yes, really.

010 Crossword competition
New to Classic Racer, we begin our great CR
crossword competition. There’s great prizes to
win and some lovely questions to answer. You
need to know your racing world to be in with a
shot at answering these questions and winning
something very nice indeed.

012 Readers Write
Never wrong. Always right. Right as in, correct. The
font of all knowledge. Above reproach. And well
into the classic racing scene/world/memory game.

015 Paddock Gossip
Malcolm’s been beavering away to bring you the
latest chunk of what’s newsworthy and relevant
from all four corners of a paddock. Can a paddock
actually have four corners? What if it’s a round
paddock? Or kidney shaped? What then?

022 Line Art
In 1973 Kim Newcombe made history by riding
this motorcycle. The motorcycle was born from an
‘aquatic’ engine made by Konig that gave a young
Newcombe an idea to put the 493cc screaming
flat-four engine into a racebike chassi

24 Subscribe
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get your hands on the best racing magazine
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028 Eric Offenstadt’s racer unique
A monocoque chassis isn’t exactly a stand-
out idea. It’s been done before and no doubt
we will see its like again. But while we wait
for that to happen, here’s a great tale about
one man and his idea to build a bike and race
it to the top of the world (almost).

038 Ray Knight
From the page to the track to the page and
back to the track again. Landing on The
Island after getting hooked on going around
The Mountain and living many lives on two
wheels. Ray Knight’s story is varied, long and
well worth a read.

046 Mike’s Bikes: Part Two
Onwards and upwards with two wheels, the
four-wheeled sessions and the pre-return
return that happened in New Zealand.

054 Go Aussie, Go
The Phillip Island Classic was a bit different
this year. Our man Hamish and our
photographer Russell were on hand to see
what was what ‘darrrn unnderrr’.

056 Steve Wise: An AMA Everyman American
A lot of European-based fans will be aware of
Jean-Michel Bayle, the motocrosser-turned-
supermoto-er-turned-top-flight-road racer. In the
USA his equivalent was a rider called Steve Wise.
Boy, could he race. On almost any surface, too.

066 GP rivalries
Philip Wain takes a look at some of the most
famous rivalries from the golden age of 500cc GP
racing. The only thing to do in a race was beat the
other guy…

070 Barry Sheene: How I sorted the RG
Call it an XR, call it an RG. When Barry talked to CR
he called it the RG and told our man Stuart about
the ins and outs that this bucking Bronco put
him through. A determined bit of development
ensued.

078 Bathurst in the 1970s
Another era of racing that happened at Australia’s
most spectacular circuit. It delivered brilliant
performance after brilliant performance that was
peppered with wonderful viewing spots from the
adjacent hills. Hamish Cooper tells the first part of
the Bathurst story.