[CR]Picture of the day track racing

(Example: Production Builders:Peugeot:PX-10LE)

From: "Toni Theilmeier" <Toni.Theilmeier@t-online.de>
Date: Tue, 3 Aug 2004 09:42:29 +0200
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: [CR]Picture of the day track racing

Hi Aldo, nice scene, that. The tank you´re enquiring about must be an oil tank for a manual oil pump. Hard to tell because of the low resolution of the picture, but I´m pretty certain. The engines portrayed are most likely to be Anzani vee two cylindres, and early models of these still had manual oil pumps equipped with huge oil tanks which would quench the engines´ thirst for oil in their lost lubrication systems. In 1923, tolerances seem to have improved so that less oil would have been needed.

Before the war, stokers had to fiddle with a whole array of levers in front of them, but it seems that these machines here are much less cluttered than before: They obviously are fitted with magnetoes as there are no batteries and coils shown, carburettors made huge leeway during the Great War; no pre-heating equipment now, nor any of the levers and things needed to control the flow of gases.

It seems that the main task for the stoker now is to constitute a windbreaker, and to transmit the rider´s wishes to the real leader of the team, the tandem captain, who would take most, if not all, tactical decisions.

In professional paced track racing, most championships would have an "open" part so that the international racers would have a chance to earn their share, too. One must keep in mind that pro track pacing was the first fully professionalized sport, with all riders having to earn their livings. Overheads were high, what with having to pay pacers and facing travelling cost every weekend. Also frequent crashes had to be compensated for; there was no insurance to pay for hospital or repairs.

What I´m also pretty certain of is that the whole scene is weird. In 1923, no professionals I know of would still have used motor tandems as pacing machines. They went out of fashion (because of high cost for the machine and paying two pacers) in about 1905, with the exception of Dutch crack Piet Dikkentman who used them right up to 1914 and Bavarian champion Thaddy Robl who employed his two pairs of pacers up until his demise in 1908. These two could afford to do so because they were by far the most successful riders of their era. Doubtlessly, using motor tandems was their USP, so to speak.

However, I do not know much about French rules governing track racing during the twenties having specialized in German racing pre-1910. I have lots of material for this, there´s even a 150 page manuscript in my bottom desk drawer somewhere. I feel confident in saying that I can answer any question about my special field, but 1923 France tracks seem to have been much, much different.

Regards, and do keep up your fascinating work in uploading all these wonderful fotos,

Toni Theilmeier, Belm, Germany.