Dave Potter

David William Potter (27 July 1950 – 18 September 1981) was an English motorcycle racer who won the British Superbike Championship twice. Potter crashed during a race at Oulton Park on 31 August 1981 and suffered head injuries from which he died in hospital 17 days later.

Biography Potter, from Hovingham, Yorkshire, started racing in 1969 at the Croft Circuit on a BSA Gold Star. The "goldie" was outclassed and not competitive. In his fourth race the bike's oil pump shaft snapped and the engine seized. This caused Potter to crash and he broke his shoulder and hand.

Having been offered a job by Paul Dunstall, Potter moved to London working for Dunstall as a mechanic. He brought one of Dunstall's bike and had some success on it in clubman's races, winning at Brands Hatch and Snetterton. In 1971, Potter won Lydden Circuit's Lord of Lydden title. leaving his team, Gus Kuhn, without a rider for Silverstone the next weekend. Potter phoned Vincent Davey of Kuhn and arrange to ride for them. in the Grand Prix of Paris.

In 1973 Potter was in the British team for the Transatlantic Trophy, an annual match series between Britain and America held over the Easter weekend. Potter won the first race at Brands Hatch and finished 5th overall, the second highest finishing Briton. As well as domestic competitions, Potter also competed in Europe, in April at the Rouen Trophee 750 International and the Imola 200 both on the Kuhn Norton. Potter also competed in endurance racing on a BMW with co-rider Graham Sharp in the 24 hours of Barcelona and Bol d'Or.

Potter competed in the 24 hours of Barcelona again in 1974, this time on a Kuhn Norton with Gary Green as co-rider. Gus Kuhn entered Potter and Green on a Norton for the Thruxton 500 mile Endurance GP. At a late stage the pair changed to Green's Triumph Trident and they finished second. In domestic races Potter continued to race the Kuhn Norton including an impressive win in the wet in the production race at Brands Hatch's Hutchinson 100 meeting where he led from start to finish. Potter teamed up with Willie Ryan to develop and race the Crescent 500 cc bike. The machine was relatively unsuccessful but Potter did manage a production class win at Brands Brands Hatch. He also made his only appearance at the Isle of Man TT races in the Senior TT but failed to finish on the Crescent.

In 1975 Potter joined the BP sponsored team of Ted Broad. On the Broad Yamaha TZ750 Potter finished 5th in the MCN Superbike Championship. He also raced in two of the FIM Formula 750 Championship rounds, finishing 4th in the Imola 200 and second in the Mettet 1000 km.

Penthouse magazine, BMW and Gus Kuhn teamed up to provide BMW R90S machines for Potter and Green to compete in the 1975 Coupe d'Endurance series. The pair finished second at the 1000 km of Le Mans and fifth at the Barcelona 24 hours but failed to finish in the Bol d'Or.

With greater support from BP, the Broad team became more competitive in 1976. Potter finished 5th overall in the F750 Series, with podiums at Nivelles-Baulers and Silverstone. He also scored his first GP point for 10th place at the 500cc Dutch Grand Prix. On the domestic front, Potter was 4th in the MCN Superbike Championship and won the 'King of Brands' title.

Potter was survived by his wife Sue and children Sara and Oliver.

Formula 750 Championship results Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Points 15 12 10 8 6 5 4 3 2 1

Year Class Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pts Pos 1975 750cc YamahaUSA- ITA4 BEL2 FRA- SWE- FIN- GBR- NED- GER- 20 13th 1976 750cc Yamaha USA22 ITA- ESP- BEL2 FRA- GBR3 NED7 GER- 27 5th 1977 750cc Yamaha USA- ITA- ESP- FRA- GBR- AUT12 BEL- NED- USA- CAN- GER- 0 - 1978 750cc Yamaha ITA- FRA- GBR10 AUS- ESP- GER- BEL- NED5 USA- CAN- 7 20th 1979 750cc Yamaha ITA- GBR6 FRA- SWI- AUS- CAN- USA- NED- GER- YUG- 5 40th References

FIM Endurance Cup Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Points 15 12 10 8 6 5 4 3 2 1

Year Co-rider Bike 1 2 3 4 5 Points Rank 1972 Graham Sharp Gus Kuhn Norton 8 - BOL- THR- 3 50th 1973 Graham Sharp Gus Kuhn BMW 7 - BOLDNF THR- 4 45th 1974 Graham Sharp Gus Kuhn NortonTriumph Trident 7 - BOL- THR2 16 9th 1975 Graham Sharp Gus Kuhn BMW 5 MUG- - BOLDNF THR- 6 31st References

TT Results

+ Year Race Bike Results 1974 Senior TT Ryan Crescent DNF References