THE HONDA CR 750 Web Site Page 4
In 1970 the Honda factory ran machine similar to John Long's
at
Daytona. The Honda factory machines were designated CR750 and
they
were highly modified. The engines were highly tuned so Dick Mann
geared
his machine up and just stayed in touch with his rivals
who soon fell
by the wayside. He was the only Honda home but was
also in first place.
The CR750 was remarkably standard but did have a special
crankshaft
as well as better pistons, con-rods and camshaft. the frame
was basically
standard as were the forks and front brakes.
Dick Mann's qualifying speed was 152.7mph which made him 4th fastest,
well
behind Gene Romero on a 3 cylinder Triumph at 157.34mph.
From
the start Dick Mann instantly took the lead but was soon
overtaken by
Romero. Romero ran off the track and the lead was
taken by Hailwood
until he dropped a valve on his BSA. Ron Grant
on a Suzuki 500 took
over but eventually seized. Gary Nixon led
until his Triumph gave
piston trouble and Dick mann quietly took
the lead. Coaxing the Honda
along Dick maintained a comfortable lead
and took the chequered flag by
10 seconds. he set a record average
race speed of 102.69mph.
Bill smith said, "the Hondas were very highly tuned with extremely
high
lift camshafts and it is not suprising that 3 of the 4 broke.
Dick's machine
had the lowest horse power of the four."
© 1997 Murray
Barnard