Mike Hailwood & Ducati 900 NCR TT F1 –test Oulton Park 1978 for IOM TT F1 -photo

Description

WE
ARE
CLEARING OUT OUR ARCHIVES!
Up for auction is a superb and rare photo of the magnificent
Mike Hailwood
, seen in action at the circuit of
Oulton
Park
in
Great Britain
. He is testing his legendary
Ducati 900 NCR
with which he would
WIN
the historic and epic
Isle of Man
TT Formula 1 race
of
1978
! Mike Hailwood was a really true motorcycle legend. During his career he achieved
76 Grand Prix victories, 14 Isle of Man TT wins and 9 World Championships!!
Mike is riding the
Ducati 900 N.C.R.
as tuned by Steve Wynne of Sports Motorcycles from
Manchester
. It is the famous bike that the then 38 years old Mike used for his amazing T.T. F1 race victory of
1978, in
which he once more wrote history. His last appearance on the
Island
was 11 years before that. Many did not understand why he took the gamble to return, and on top of that with the relatively unknown Ducati racer. Mike knew better, the “Champion of Champions” fully lived up to his nickname!
The beautiful classic lines of the 900 N.C.R. Ducati had made an impression on Mike the year before. “This is the kind of old fashioned bike I understand –wouldn’t mind doing another TT on this!” according to Mike. And so he did, and won the T.T. F1 race in
1978 in
an impressive way!
Mike broke in 1978 the existing laprecord of Phil Read
by no less then 14,4 kmph (9mph) to a new lap record of 177,097 kmph (
110,686 mph
). His average speed during the race was with 174,502 kmph (
109,064 mph
) incredibly high. Mike won the race with a lead of 50 seconds before Phil Read on his Honda four cylinder factory racer. Mike’s Ducati reached the finish line no moment to soon. The bevel drive of the engine broke when Mike shut the gas when he crossed the finish line for the last time…
The
Ducati
motorcycle factory has an old and interesting history. In 1926, three brothers, Adriano, Marcello and Bruno Ducati, founded Societa Scientifica Radio Brevetti Ducati in
Bologna
to produce vacuum tubes, condensers and other radio components, becoming successful enough by 1935 to construct a new factory in the Borgo Panigale area of the city. Production was maintained during World War II, despite the Ducati factory being a repeated target for Allied bombing. Meanwhile, at the small Turinese firm SIATA (Societa Italiana per Applicazioni Tecniche Auto-Aviatorie), Aldo Farinelli began developing a small pushrod engine for mounting on bicycles. Barely a month after the official liberation of Italy in 1944, SIATA announced its intention to sell this engine, called the "Cucciolo" (Italian for "puppy," in reference to the distinctive exhaust sound) to the public. The first Cucciolos were available alone, to be mounted on standard bicycles, by the buyer; however, businessmen soon bought the little engines in quantity, and offered complete motorized-bicycle units for sale. In 1950, after more than 200,000 Cucciolos had been sold, in collaboration with SIATA, the Ducati firm finally offered its own Cucciolo-based motorcycle. This first Ducati motorcycle was a 60 cc bike weighing
98 lb
(
44 kg
) with a top speed of
40 mph
(
64 km/h
) had a
15 mm
carburetor giving just under 200 mpg (85 km/L). Ducati soon dropped the Cucciolo name in favor of "55M" and "65TL". When the market moved toward larger motorcycles, Ducati management decided to respond, making an impression at an early-1952 Milan show, introducing their 65TS cycle and Cruiser (a four-stroke motor scooter). Despite being described as the most interesting new machine at the 1952 show, the Cruiser was not a great success, and only a few thousand were made over a two-year period before the model ceased production. In 1953, management split the company into two separate entities, Ducati Meccanica SpA and Ducati Elettronica, in acknowledgment of its diverging motorcycle and electronics product lines. Ducati Elettronica became Ducati Energia SpA in the eighties. Dr. Giuseppe Montano took over as head of Ducati Meccanica SpA and the Borgo Panigale factory was modernized with government assistance. By 1954, Ducati Meccanica SpA had increased production to 120 bikes a day. In the 1960s, Ducati earned its place in motorcycling history by producing the then fastest 250 cc road bike available, the Mach
1. In
the 1970s Ducati began producing large-displacement L-twin (i.e. a 90° V-twin) motorcycles and in 1973, released an L-twin with the trademarked desmodromic valve design. In 1985, Cagiva bought Ducati and planned to rebadge Ducati motorcycles with the lesser-known Cagiva name (at least outside of
Italy
). From the 1960s to the 1990s, the Spanish company MotoTrans licensed Ducati engines and produced motorcycles that, although they incorporated subtle differences, were clearly Ducati-derived. MotoTrans's most notable machine was the 250 cc 24 Horas (Spanish for 24 hours). Ducati is best known for high performance motorcycles characterized by large capacity four-stroke, V-twin (90° twin-cylinder) engines featuring a desmodromic valve design. Modern Ducatis remain among the dominant performance motorcycles available today partly because of the desmodromic valve design, which is nearing its 50th year of use. Desmodromic valves are closed with a separate, dedicated cam lobe and lifter instead of the conventional valve springs used in most internal combustion engines in consumer vehicles. This allows the cams to have a more radical profile, thus opening and closing the valves more quickly without the risk of valve-float, which causes a loss of power, that is likely when using a "passive" closing mechanism under the same conditions. While most other manufacturers utilize wet clutches (with the spinning parts bathed in oil) Ducati uses multiplate dry clutches in many of their current motorcycles. The dry clutch eliminates the power loss from oil viscosity drag on the engine even though the engagement may not be as smooth as the oil bath versions, and the clutch plates can wear more rapidly. The chief designer of most Ducati motorcycles in the 1950s was the late Fabio Taglioni (1920-2001). His designs ranged from the small single-cylinder machines that were successful in the Italian 'street races' to the large-capacity twins of the 1980s. Ducati introduced the Pantah in 1979; its engine was updated in the 1990s in the Ducati SuperSport (SS) series. All modern Ducati engines are derivatives of the Pantah, which uses a toothed belt to actuate the engine's valves. Taglioni used the same Cavallino Rampante as identified with the Ferrari brand on his Ducati motorbikes. Ferrari had chosen this emblem of courage and daring as a sign of respect and admiration for Francesco Baracca, a heroic World War I fighter pilot that died during an air raid in 1918.
Mike Hailwood
is one of the greatest racers, if not the absolute greatest, racers of all time. He was known as "
Mike The Bike
" because of his natural riding ability. Later in his career he went on to compete in Formula One auto racing, becoming one of the few men to compete at the Grand Prix level on motorcycles and in auto racing. Mike Hailwood was born at Langsmeade House Great Milton in Oxfordshire, His father, who also raced in the pre-World War II era, owned a large motorcycle distributorship and young Hailwood was raised in relative affluence. He began riding at an early age, starting on a minibike as a small boy. He learned to ride in an eight-acre field near his home and wore an oval track from the constant laps he rode on Sunday afternoons after church. He was educated at
Pangbourne
College
, but left early and worked for a short time in the family business before his father sent him to work at Triumph motorcycles. He married Pauline Barbara Nash on
11 June 1975
and had a son and a daughter. Hailwood first raced on
22 April 1957
, at
Oulton
Park
. Barely 17, he finished in 11th place, but was soon winning on a regular basis. By 1961, Hailwood was racing for a Japanese upstart factory named Honda. Riding a four-stroke, four-cylinder 250cc Honda, Hailwood won the 1961 250cc world championship. In 1962, Hailwood signed with MV Agusta and went on to become the first rider to win four consecutive 500cc World Championships. After his success with MV Agusta, Hailwood went back to Honda and won four more world titles in 1966 and
1967 in
the 250cc and 350cc categories. Hailwood is perhaps best known for his accomplishments at the renowned Isle of Man TT. By 1967, he had won 12 times on the infamous island mountain course including three straight wins during the 1961 event. He won what many historians consider to be the most dramatic
Isle of Man
race of all time, the 1967 Senior TT against his great rival, Giacomo Agostini. In 1968, Honda pulled out of Grand Prix racing, but paid Hailwood £50,000 (equivalent to over £620,000 or US.1m at 2006 prices) not to ride for another team, in expectation of keeping him as its rider upon return to competition. But Hailwood would never return to motorcycle racing on a full-time basis, instead electing to pursue a career in auto racing. While he never attained the success in cars that he had on motorcycles, Hailwood became a respected driver in Formula One and World Sports Cars. He won the 1972 Formula Two European title and earned a podium finish at the 24 Hours of LeMans. He participated in 50 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting in the British Grand Prix on
July 20, 1963
. He achieved two podium finishes, and scored a total of 29 championship points. Hailwood earned the admiration of fans and fellow drivers when in the 1973 South African Grand Prix, he went to pull Clay Regazzoni from his burning car after the two collided on the second lap of the race. Hailwood's driving suit caught fire, but after being extinguished by a fire marshall he returned to help rescue Regazzoni, an act for which he was awarded the George Medal, the 2nd highest gallantry award that a British civilian can be awarded. He left Formula One after being injured at the 1974 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring. In 1978, after an 11 year hiatus from motorcycling, Hailwood performed a now legendary comeback at the Isle of Man TT. Few observers believed the 38 year old would be competitive after such a long absence. Riding on a Ducati 900 NCR, he was not only competitive, but managed a hugely popular win. He raced the following year at the Isle of Man TT before retiring for good at the age of 39. He retired with 76 Grand Prix victories, 14 Isle of Man TT wins and 9 World Championships. He was awarded the Segrave Trophy in 1979. The FIM named him a Grand Prix "Legend" in 2000. He was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2000 and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2001.
It is a superb and rare photo, and this is your rare chance to own it.
The size is perfectly suited for framing as it is large: ca. 8 x 10” (ca.
20 cm
x
26 cm
).
Shipping costs will only be $ 7.00 regardless of how many photos you buy.   For 5 or more photos, shipping is free!
(Note: A. Herl, Inc. does not appear on photo, for ebay purposes only)
No copyright expressed or implied. Sold as collectable item only. We are clearing out our archives that we have gathered from various sources.
All items always sent well protected in PVC clear files
and board backed envelopes.
We have photographs that came from professional collections and/or were bought from the original photographer or press studio! They are all of professional and excellent quality.
After many decades of professionally collecting photographs and posters we are clearing out our archives. They make the perfect gift and are perfectly suited for framing. They will look gorgeous unframed and will be a true asset nicely framed with a border. They are a gorgeous and great asset in every home, workshop, workplace, restaurant, bar or club!
First come - first served. And you can always contact us for your requests. Please ask any questions before the auction ends.