As the 1975 TT approached the question again arose, would Mike Hailwood’s outright lap record of 108.77mph from the 1967 Senior finally be broken?

The rider tipped most likely to achieve this was gritty Mick Grant from Wakefield, who had taken his maiden TT victory in the 1974 Production 750cc race aboard ‘Slippery Sam’ Triumph Trident.

Contracted to ride factory Kawasakis, he arrived in a rich vein of form, leading the prestigious MCN Superbike Championship on a three-cylinder 750cc.

Joining him was team-mate, Barry Ditchburn, a short circuit specialist but not an accomplished road racer.

Grant was fastest in practice with a lap of 106.95mph in the Wednesday evening session, establishing him as the man to beat.

The weather played havoc, with sleet and snow sweeping across the whole of the British Isles on the Monday of race week. The five-lap 350cc Junior and three-lap 500cc World Championship Sidecar races were postponed until Tuesday.

No races were held on the Wednesday and a damp start to Thursday delayed the start of Grant’s first race of the week, the six-lap 500cc Senior, until midday.

In damp and dreary conditions, leaderboard changed constantly. Grant had problems early in the race with the bike not pulling properly in top gear and intermittently running on two cylinders, but he held second place behind Chas Mortimer, with John Williams third - both 350cc Yamaha mounted.

John Williams passes the crowds at Braddan church en route to winning the Classic TT on his 350cc Yamaha twin with a prize of £1,500
John Williams passes the crowds at Braddan church en route to winning the Classic TT on his 350cc Yamaha twin with a prize of £1,500 (-)

A lengthy pit stop at the end of lap three dropped Mortimer down the leaderboard and Williams took over the lead five seconds up on Grant. The latter moved into a four-second lead on lap five, extending to a comfortable 30s on the final lap (with the fastest lap of the race at 102.93 mph), as Williams encountered issues with his Yamaha twin.

It proved to be Grant’s first international TT success and Kawasaki’s second grand prix win. Mortimer recovered to take the final spot on the podium.

Friday, the final race day of the week, and the island was bathed in glorious sunshine.

Grant retired at the end of the opening lap of the 250cc Lightweight race, which Mortimer led from start to finish, with Derek Chatterton runner-up and John Williams third.

The so-called blue riband race at that time was the open capacity International Classic with a prize fund of £1,500, the richest race in TT history at the time.

Riding No12, Grant lapped at 107.85mph from a standing start, breaking the 21-minute lap barrier to become the third fastest rider in history behind Hailwood and Giacomo Agostini.

He led John Williams by 28 seconds, overtaking his closest rival on the road to lead on the road by Ballaugh on lap two and by more than 40s on corrected time.

Clearly on a mission, the Wakefield man ran wide after the tram lines at the Bungalow and almost clipped the hedge on the left. By the end of the lap his lead was 51s and loud cheers went up from the Grandstand when commentator Peter Kneale announced that the Kawasaki ace had set a new absolute course record of 109.82mph with a time of 20min 36.8sec.

When the announcement was made, Mike the Bike, who was spectating with his great friend, journalist Ted Macaulay, and snarled with tongue in cheek displeasure, “b*****d”.

Tony Rutter lapped at 107.88mph (20.59) on his Eric Offenstadt cantilever-framed Yamaha to set the fastest lap on a 350cc and move into second place. Grant pulled in for a quick 15-second pit stop at the end of lap two to top up the thirsty triple. By Ballacraine, he had regained the lead on the road with Williams up to second place as Rutter had also pitted.

But it was not to be Grant’s race as a stretched drive chain snapped at the Gooseneck on lap three and, bitterly disappointed, he was forced to retire with the consolation prize of being the new outright Mountain Course lap record holder.

World champions Rolf Steinhausen and Josef Huber at Ballacraine on their way to winning the 500cc sidecar race
World champions Rolf Steinhausen and Josef Huber at Ballacraine on their way to winning the 500cc sidecar race (-)

Williams and Rutter swapped positions for the lead until Rutter coasted to a halt when the drive chain came off the sprockets on lap five after leaping Ballaugh Bridge.

This left Williams with a comfortable lead of four minutes at the chequered flag over popular Warwickshire pig farmer, Percy Tait on the ex-Teuvo Lansivuori factory Yamaha-4, with Suzuki-mounted Charlie Sanby taking third place after Isle of Man resident and 1972 Junior Manx Grand Prix winner Ken Huggett crashed on the final lap at the Black Dub, sustaining serious leg injuries.

This was the first of John Williams’s two Classic TT victories, with a repeat performance 12 months later on a 750cc Suzuki triple.

Mick won seven TTs in all, his first in 1974 and last in 1985 in the Production class. He secured two Senior wins in 1975 and 1981, two Open Classics (1977 and 1978), plus the Formula One in 1980. Three were on Kawasakis, two on Suzukis, and one apiece on Honda and Triumph machines.

Retiring as a competitor after the 1985 TT, at the age of 41 (a relative veteran 40 years ago), the only two riders quicker than him at that time were Joey Dunlop and Rob McElnea.

The other TT winners in 1975 were Charlie Williams (350cc Junior), Rolf Steinhausen and Jan Huber (500cc Sidecar), and TT stalwarts Siegfried Schauzu and Wolfgang Kaluch (750cc Sidecar).

The 10-lap two-rider Production TT event took place on the Saturday at the end of Practice Week. The 750cc class winners were Alex George and Dave Croxford on the aforementioned ‘Slippery Sam’, 500cc: Charlie Williams and Eddie Roberts (Honda), 250cc: Chas Mortimer and Billy Guthrie (Yamaha).

PAUL COPPARELLI

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