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A correpondent writes:
That the author of the - Cal Rayborn: story should be made aware of some facts!
It is my understanding that Cal was primarily in New Zealand to gain experience in racing a single seater racing car that he had shipped out here. The bike rides were being used to help pay for the single seater racing, evidently there was very little money and in fact after his death the car had to be sold here in order to try and get some money for his widow.
He rode a New Zealand built TR500 Suzuki in practise at Pukekohe and he and his father in law decided overnight to change the bike over to alcohol fuel in order to make it more competitive. This move was not recommended by the top New Zealand tuners present at the meeting simply because Rayborn and his father in law did not appear to really know what they were doing. Changing from 100 octane fuel to alcohol on a 2 stroke can be risky because of the likely hood of engine seizure and a great deal of testing needs to be undertaken before it is safe to race on.
At the inquest into his death evidence was given that during the race the bike was heard to be \"pinking\" as it came across the top of the hill at Pukekohe.
Sure enough on the second lap the bike seized going into champion curve which is a very fast corner and Cal was killed. It was a sad end to a guy who was probably one of the best rider\'s the US has ever produced, but it was not the fault of either the bike or the race circuit that he died. It was not a non-descript race or circuit as is implied.
I believe that had he lived, New Zealand\'s Geoff Perry would have been the best rider in the world at that time.
Sadly everybody connected with motorcycle racing in New Zealand seems to have forgotten this absolutely fantastic rider!
Update:
Daryl New (of nzMCNews: writes:
Everybody has not forgotten Geoff (Perry).
Every year at the Auckland round of the Nationals his memory is commemorated by the running of the \"Geoff Perry Memorial\" (the Senior TT).
And more info from Ray Witham:
I cannot believe how time flies Rayborn was a super-hero when he came to NZ. At the time of his death he was 33 and was the holder of the world motorcycle speed record. He made his road racing name in the trans-Atlantic series in 1972. A few years earlier he became the first (and probably to date the only) rider to lap the entire field in the Daytona 200 and the first to average over 100mph for the entire race and all that on a Harley-Davidson.
He was killed riding an air-cooled 500cc Suzuki. It was his first time on a Suzuki and I\'m sure the first time he had ever raced a two-stroke.
The meeting at Pukekohe was the second round of the then newly-created Marlboro Series.
Thanks for your input guys. - Bill W.
