750: Racing history

Races were always important for Laverda. Under this fact, it is interesting to note that both twins 650/750 and 1000 triple run in endurance
races before their effective marketing. Then, the Laverda 650 won the "Giro d'Italia" in "D" class, the 5th of May 1968 even when the first 650 Laverda leaved the factorythe 16th of May 1968.

Same thing for the 1000, which won the Trophée Steiermark in June 1972 even when the first 1000 leaved the factory the 30th of July 1972...
In fact, it was an excellent way to promote the product and also to test the bikes reliability in real conditions.

The first race of the Laverda twin is then the Giro d'Italia 1968. Four 650 ran the race, taken from the early bikes waiting for their marketing. The result was really unexpected for a bike which was not yet officially producted: The 650 riden by Edoardo Dossena won the race in "D" category and three of these 650 were in the top ten!

Then Laverda was sure that the bikes were reliable and powerful, and the people became enthusiastic about this first result, even when the first advertizes for the 650 Laverda just arrived in the magazines...

Then, the factory worked to prepare some bikes especially for 1969 official endurance races. Naturarly, these bikes took advantage of the cubic capacity increasing to 750 cc, of racing exhausts and racing equipment: small fairing and special seat.

In fact, these bikes were 750 "S" models, specially tuned for racing.

However, in 1969, the factory was very busy for the new bikes marketing, then it waited for the 24 hours of Oss to begin to race.

Three machines ran the race and they leaded it during the first ten hours, but they all had during the night problems of holed pistons. At a moment, two bikes stopped together for such a problem.

Mechanics were not already organized for big races and they couldn't repaired the two bikes in the same time. This was the bike raced by Massimo Laverda himself and Augusto Brettoni which started first and finished 4th.
  

In 1970, the factory decided to strike a blow, to prepare its racers on the basis of the new "SF" and above all to participate to main endurance races.
It is interesting to note that the new "Super Freni" drum brake, giving its name to the "SF" model was often replaced by the 4ls Ceriani...

The first race was in Monza. The 750 Laverda finished 1rst and 3rd, riders were Brettoni/Angiolini and Dall'Ara/Dossena.

The bikes were not very different from the standart road machines, they still have the original steel tank and no fairing (but the headlights/number plates were installed higher, mounting the headlights brakets upside-down, in order to increase the pilot protection).

Then, it was the absolute victory to the 24 hours of Oss, Laverda finishing 1rst (Brettoni/Dossena), 2nd (Hutten/van der Wal) and 3rd (De Laat/Somers).

Finally, Laverda finished to a very good 3rd place to the Bol d'Or at Monthlery (Brettoni/Angiolini) and 27th (Appietto/?), this last bike suffering of a head gasket leak.

1971 was the best year for Laverda, main races being won by the scuderia.

The bikes were some SF for the first race in April at Imola (but having already SFC engine specifications, with big valves), then SFCs since May, even if some hybrid models (SFC engine, SF equipment) were used during the year, like in Modena in September.

The reliability of the bikes was excellent in spite of the power increasing due to the SFC type head. The exhausts drawing, which were often source of problems in the past, especially for pistons, were notably well elaborated.

The results were impressive: 1rst and 2nd at Imola, 1rst and 2nd at Zeltweg, 1rst and 4th at the 24 H of Oss, 1rst, 2nd and 3rd at 24 H of Barcelone, 2nd and 14th at the Bol d'Or, 1rst and 2nd at Modena, 1rst at Vallelunga!

Pilots were Brettoni, Angiolini, Hutten, Cretti, Wittich, Loigo, Bertorello, Trebetti, Holtkamp, Borel, Schreyer, Jongetjes, Hertsens, prestigious names who helped Laverda in its racing success.

  

The factory was very optimist for 1972, which is confirmed by the victory at Imola, in April, with the SFC of Gallina/Pescucci.

But it wasn't the same thing during the 24H of Oss, where two of the three Laverda stopped for holed pistons, the third one finishing only 11th.

At the 24 H of Barcelone, the bike of Brettoni/Pescucci took the lead for some hours but crashed and stopped. The three others Laverda finished 2nd, 4th and 6th, after some minors problems and two crashes.

The 6 hours of Zandvoort stopped the enthusiasm of the Laverda scuderia: The two bikes crashed and the pilot Ron Wittich died in the accident.
The Bol d'Or was a disappointment, all the Laverda stopped for crashes and valves problems.
Then, the factory waited a lot about the Modena race and, fortunately, the Laverda finished 1rst, 2nd and 4th.
Mitigated results of 1972 began to show to the factory that a new racer was waited in order to replace the ageing SFC.

  
But the factory tried, in the same time of the 1000 3 cylinder development, to get more power of the SFC and searched for a extremely high tuning level for the engine.

Naturarly, the engines became rather unreliable and were not able to finish some races.

But 1973 was also the year of changes: The new 1000 3 cylinder marketing was a hard job for the factory, with exportations and also the first problems to solve on the perfectible Bosch electronic ignition... But undoubtly the main change was the start of the new factory, in the Breganze area, which prevented the factory to give a sufficient support to its racers.

As a consequence during the endurance season, results didn't come up to the factory expectations and the engines were often destroyed during races.
Result at the Mille Miglia of Imola, in July, was one of the best of the season but always insufficient.
In fact, the 1973 SFC was a very good machine with an impressive engine but it came to the end of its possible development.
Then, the factory decided to stop the official participation of the 750 Laverda to endurance races and to work to the 1000 3 cylinders development. Some 750 Laverda ran yet in 1974, 1975 and 1976, riden by private pilots, like for instance in the "Formula 750" or even at the
Bol d'Or thanks to the french importer Couturier.

The 750 Laverda racing history is fascinating: With a very small budget, Laverda valiantly fighted against the Japanese factories which had unlimited budgets, winning a lot of races and even dominating endurance races at the beginnings of the seventies.

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