26th January - Zwartkops - Racing legend returns
author: Leon Botha
During the 1960's the names Jim Redman and Mike Hailwood who dominated the world motorcycle championships, were on everybody's lips. They became legends in their time. On the week-end of 25 and 26 January, South African motorcycle fans, especially the younger generation as well as those who remember the days when these men were in their prime, will have the opportunity of seeing one of them in action again.
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Leon Botha
Jim Redman in action
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Six times world motorcycle champion from 1961 to 1963, Jim Redman, will return to Zwartkops after 40 years, to be part of the David Piper International Race Meeting to be held there. Joining him on that weekend will be South Africans, Alex Harris, Paddy Driver and Willie Gobbler who raced against Redman in those years.
Redman who raced Honda's and Norton's in those days will participate in two historic demonstration motorcycle events at the Zwartkops SA TT on Sunday 26 January. He will be riding the TZ750 Yamaha Z1 that the late Johan Boshoff raced with in Europe and South Africa in 1976.
Alex Harris will be on a 350cc K77 Veloce that was used to win the South African Championship in 1950 and 1952, while Paddy Driver will be using the 1970 BSA Richman that the late Keith Crawford used to race on. Willie Gobbler will not be on a motorcycle, but behind the wheel of a Lotus 23B.
Their participation will form part of two days of racing that will include the Goldfields South Africa South African Tourist Trophy for Sports Cars and Grand Touring Cars that raced at Le Mans, Sebring and Daytona during the 1960's.
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Leon Botha
With Mike is John Cowie on his 980 Kawasaki at Shaws Hairpin. Mike won the race.
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Also on the programme will be the Lotus Challenge, featuring mainly the Lotus 7, and the Goodyear International Sports Prototypes that will feature and entry of some 40 cars including David Piper's Ford F3L with a Formula One Cosworth motor, the fast Lola T70 of Nigel Hulme and the incredibly fast Porsche 956 to be driven by Franz Pretorius.
The two-day programme is filled with action-packed racing, a cars in the park exhibition and an auction of historic cars. The David Piper International Race Meeting was held for the first time last year and was a great success. This year's meeting kicks off the 2003 racing season.
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Leon Botha
David Piper - racing legend
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