Barry Sheene and Nobby Clark got pulled over by a bike cop in Sweden. The cop asked if Barry had been drinking. He said, “Yes.” The cop then made him to take a Breathalyzer test and the results came back negative for alcohol. The cop then asked what Barry had drank, and he said, “Coca-Cola.”
Favorite motorcycle: 250cc six-cylinder Honda
Kenny Roberts was a total prankster. One night, he and Randy Mamola put a blow-up doll in Clark’s bed. Nobby saw the body in the bed and went to the front desk. The clerk assured him that he was in the correct room and even went with him to check. When the covers were pulled back, Roberts and Mamola could be heard laughing in the hallway.
Favorite racer: Mike Hailwood
Gary Hocking once made Nobby smuggle a gun that Hocking won at a race into an airport.
Favorite race: Isle of Man
Former 350cc GP World Champion Takazumi Katayama was another one of Clark’s favorites. They once bought 22 tickets to drive their van around the Nürburgring so Katayama could learn the track. He won the race.
Favorite victory: Giacomo Agostini at Daytona. The tracks of today, he says, are no challenge.
Clark still believes that oil dropped by Walter Villa’s Benelli in the 350cc race preceding the 250cc event at the 1973 Italian Grand Prix caused Jarno Saarinen’s death and that Monza officials manipulated Renzo Pasolini’s Aermacchi so they would not be charged with manslaughter.
Favorite racetrack: Nürburgring
Luigi Taveri was an absolute gentleman and never complained. Ever.
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