Joined Apr 2008
7K Posts | 3K+
Out of Nowhere
Thirty two years ago today at the Silverstone Grand Prix one of the most legendary battles/races between two World Champions took place. The BBC once had a programme called 101 Great Sporting Moments, and Roberts vs Sheene at the 1979 British GP was one of the most watched and fondly remembered event to feature in the series. But was it really the spectacle that it seemed?
Recently there was a thread debating whether riders ever put on a show for the crowd and even deliberately swap positions to please the crowd. Clearly Moto GP ain't WWF wrestling, (although it sometimes seems as farcical). There were allegations after that the classic Sheene/Roberts battle was staged and that they only agreed to race for the last four laps. I pledged to ask Parish at Laguna, knowing we'd inevitably run into him. Despite the fact we profoundly pissed him off, he still answered the question (although on reflection - it may well have been in his book on Barry).
Yes, the race was a contrived act for the crowd to raise the profile of the sport, and yes, they both agreed to race balls out to the finish only over the last four laps. I suspected as much, but it's good to hear confirmation from Barry's best mate and someone who was on the scene at the time. They were both dominant enough to steal the show and not really worry about the competition - although backmarker George Fogarty - Father of Carl, ultimately got in the way of Bazza at Woodcote costing him his drive out of the final corner and handing the victory to King Kenny.
Recently there was a thread debating whether riders ever put on a show for the crowd and even deliberately swap positions to please the crowd. Clearly Moto GP ain't WWF wrestling, (although it sometimes seems as farcical). There were allegations after that the classic Sheene/Roberts battle was staged and that they only agreed to race for the last four laps. I pledged to ask Parish at Laguna, knowing we'd inevitably run into him. Despite the fact we profoundly pissed him off, he still answered the question (although on reflection - it may well have been in his book on Barry).
Yes, the race was a contrived act for the crowd to raise the profile of the sport, and yes, they both agreed to race balls out to the finish only over the last four laps. I suspected as much, but it's good to hear confirmation from Barry's best mate and someone who was on the scene at the time. They were both dominant enough to steal the show and not really worry about the competition - although backmarker George Fogarty - Father of Carl, ultimately got in the way of Bazza at Woodcote costing him his drive out of the final corner and handing the victory to King Kenny.
