Racing

Laverda Corse Report - Magione

Laverda Corse at Magione                                                                                           click on thumbnail to launch photo gallery

Laverda Corse were out in force on the weekend of 8-9 May at the Autodromo dell Umbria in Magione,near Florence. The team’s pit garage was shared by three of Giovanni Laverda’s university friends who had entered a 750 Honda into the 200 mile event. Their Honda expired in practice with four bent valves and Laverda Corse regular Hermann Ansorge stepped in and loaned the boys his spare Barcelona 500cc.

All three Laverdas qualified in the top three slots of the 500cc class and it looked as if a Laverda 1 , 2 and 3 might be on the cards. However, endurance racing rarely goes to plan and in the early stages of the race  Luca, one of the students, crashed Hermann’s bike heavily at the end of the start and finish straight. The damage was extensive but fortunately the rider emerged unscathed.

The next race casualty was the bike ridden by Laverda [snr], Dixon and Ansorge.  A persistent misfire saw the bike delayed in the pits for almost 20 minutes as Piero  Laverda worked tirelessly to solve the problem.  After removing the carbs no less than three times in an intense scramble to get the bike running properly Piero eventually declared that the needle valve was the culprit.  A replacement was installed and Bob Dixon rode the remaining 45 mins of the race to bring the bike home second in class. The other team bike ridden by Pietro Manzalini and Francesco Greggio was ridden faultlessly to a well deserved win consistently lapping much faster than many of the 1000cc entries.

Championship standings in the UEM Vintage Endurance Cup remain the same with Manzalini and Greggio in 1^st place and Ansorge, Laverda and Dixon lying 2^nd. Next race; Rijeka in August, next team appearance; The Goodwood Festival of Speed.