58 ClassicRacer
CLLAAASSIIICRACERPEOPLE
JimmyBBBuuuccchhhaaannnaaalllsorode aPotts 350ccaaat
Errol,inthe 500ccraceagaiiinstttrrriiidddeeerrrsssooonnn
500Manx machinesand variousotherlarger
bikes. Even using the350cc, Jimmymoved
up from12th on thefirst lap to finishavery
goodsecondbehind Alastair King(500Manx).
TheManx GrandPrix wasnextfor the
Pottsteam.Bob wouldgoasmechanicand
pitassistant forJimmyBuchan, who would
be pilotingthe Pottsmachines. At the start
of the week only the Potts500 wasonthe
Island forJimmy. Bobwas planning on using
the350 at Charterhall on Sunday,August
26, but in the end he didnot runthe bike
due to the trackbeing floodedfromheavy
rain. A100-yard sectionof the trackwas
floodedby twofeet of water! Even so, the
organisers ran 1.5-milesprints,but Bobdid
notcompete. He brought the 350 PottsManx
to theIslandonthe Monday. At theManx,
Bobtold Jimmyto“Enjoyyourselfand don’t
fall off” prior to the practiceperiod.Bob also
said that “The machine’sfor ruggedScots,not
promenade Percys,”when talkingaboutthe
350 to Jimmy.
Practicewent relativelywell forJimmy,
as he wasabletotop both350cc and500cc
timingsheets against stiffcompetition from
thelikes of AlastairKing,Bob Andersonand
Alan Holmes.Theonly hiccup wasabroken
valvespringon Jimmy’sSenior mount, butlittle damagewasdone and the bikewas
easily repaired.
TheJuniorrace went well forJimmyand
hisPotts Manx,whichresultedinvictoryat
an average speed of 88.54mphfromEddie
Crooks.After Jimmy wascongratulated on
hisremarkable recordatthe IOM,hismodest
replywas,“Ayebut lookatthe goodbikes
I’ve had!”At the prize-giving,Jimmythanked
Joeand Bobfor their helpand the “loan of
themotor”.
Things went just as well in the Senior race,
as Jimmywon once morefromBobAnderson
andAlan Holmes.Hehad wonthe double
Manx GP on PottsManx machines!When
Jimmyhandedthe bikesbacktoBob after the
racing, Bobstated, “There’s nothing to beat a
double scotch!”
ThePotts team wastohave agood
meeting at the ScarboroughInternationalin
September.JimmyBuchanwas to ride the
Potts250 afterhis Manx GP successand Bob
wouldberidingthetwo larger machines. In
the250cc classJimmyrode to agoodfourth
behind Dave Chadwick’sMV, BrianPurslow’s
NSUandTedFenwick’sMoto Guzzi.His
ride wasnot withoutincident, however, as
he decided he wouldbeabletogoflat out
throughthe bottom straight. Whenhe tried it
he hadamassiveslideand nearly lostcontrol
in abig way.MYTHIRDANDLASTLITTLE-KNOWNITEM
ISTHATASHADOWYINDIVIDUAL, ONE
JOEPOTTSMAY, THOUGHUNSEEN,PLAYA
VERYMAJORPARTINTHESENIOR.
In the 350ccclass final Bobwon fromPeter
MurphyonanAJS.The 500cc finalwas a
huge battle between Bobonthe PottsManx
and GeoffDukeonthe WorksGilera. Geoff
hadthe Scarborough specificationGilera,
whichfeaturedsmaller carburettorstomake
it moredrivable.Inthe early part of therace
Bobtook the lead, but comingout of Mere
hairpinhehad abig slideunder acceleration
and nearly high-sided his bike. On the fourth
lap Geofftook the lead, but wasonlyableto
get past due to Bobmissing agear-change
coming out of Mount hairpin.Bob wasclose
behindGeofffor the rest of the race, in the
end finishinginsecond place.
Afterthe race Boband Geoffswapped
bikes forthe lap of honour; Geoffriding the
PottsNorton andBob the Gilera.After the
lap Bobwas accidentally givethe winner’s
laurels, as he wasstill astride the Gilera.It
wasatthismeeting thatGeoffasked Bobto
ride forGilera in 1957.
Thefollowing dayBob tookhis machines
to CadwellPark forhis first time at the
Lincolnshire circuit.Inthe 250cc classhewon
on the Potts250 fromPercyTait and George
Catlin. In the 350ccclass Bobcouldonly
managethird, whileinthe Seniorhe finished
second behind John Hartle. Meanwhile,
in Scotland, CharlieBruce wascontinuing
his goodform by winning the250cc class
at Errol.
At Silverstone’s Hutchinson 100meeting
thereweresix races (two foreachmajor
class) rammedinto the dayfor Boband the
Pottsmachines.Thefieldwas full of top class
riders, withthe Works Nortons of Hartleand
Brettthe main threatinthe bigclasses and
Cecil Sandford and hisMondial inthe 250cc
class. In the 250ccraces, Bobfinishedsecond
in the first race behind Sandford and third in
the second(250cc BMCRC Championship)
behindSandford and Dave Chadwickonan
MV.Inthe 350cc BMCRC Championshiprace
Bobfinishedsecond behind Jack Brettbut
aheadofJohn Hartle.Left: LtoR,JoeWoollams,Bob,JoeandVic
WilloughbyatNorthRoadinBellshillwiththe
panniertankedPottsmachine.Right:Manyspoilstothevictor,asisusualin
theracinggame,butBobknewthattocontinue
thewinningwayswouldtakeateam-upwith
someonelikeJoePotts. Thesmilesaysitall
aboutthevalidityofthatdecision.052 PottsMcIntyrePart two_SEP.indd 58 31/07/201709:35:26