Derbi Racer

Derbi 50 1972

The winning of the first world championship in the 50 class was the culmination of what Derbi had been dreaming of since 1962. The technical level achieved by all the companies that entered official racers in the category was very high by the end of 1969, so victory had real meaning. Derbi won the championship by one point over Aalt Toersen's Kreidler, and the Spanish company started out the 1970 season as the favorite. Angel Nieto won the first four races of the season but then fell into a slump, which enabled Toersen to win three consecutive Grand Prix with his Kreidler. Nieto came back to win in Ireland, and the last race of the season went to Nieto's teammate, Salvador Canellas.
Galvanized by success, Derbi neglected the 50 to concentrate on the 125. This was a great error in judgment. Jan De Vries took advantage of it at once to win the 1971 50-class championship in the saddle of a Kreidler that had been beautifully tuned and prepared by Van Veen, the Dutch Kreidler dealer.
In 1972 Derbi tried to make up for lost time with the 50. The engine was substantially improved and Nieto won the title again. The championship did not come easily, however, for Derbi and Kreidler finished the season with the same number of points.

Motorcycle: Derbi 50
Manufacturer: Derbi Ciclomotores, Mol-
let, Barcelona Type: Racing Year: 1972
Engine: Derbi single-cylinder, two-stroke, with rotating-disk distribution. Displacement 50 cc.
Cooling: Water, including crankcase
Transmission: Six-speed block
Power: Over 18 h.p. at 16,000 r.p.m.
Maximum speed: Over 115 m.p.h.
Chassis: Double cradle, continuous, tubular. Front and rear, telescopic suspension
Brakes: Front, central drum, four shoes, four-cam; rear, central drum

Derbi 250 1972

The Derbi 250 was built late in 1970. It was entrusted to the British rider Barry Sheene and to Angel Nieto, both of whom rode it experimentally at the 1971 Austrian Grand Prix. Both riders had to withdraw, and nothing more was heard of the 250 that year.
Nieto rode the Derbi 250 again in 1972 at the opening race of the season, held at the Niirburgring. The Spanish racer had a bad fall that broke his nose and had to be taken to a hospital for fear of concussion. Fortunately for Nieto, his injury proved to be less serious than had been anticipated by his doctors.
The Swedish driver Borje Jansson rode the % -liter at the next race, the French Grand Prix. A fine Continental Circus rider, Jansson still managed only tenth place in the race.

The motorcycle was vindicated at the Austrian Grand Prix, where it proved itself competitive. Jansson came in nineteen seconds ahead of the Finnish champion, Jarno Saarinen, who was forced to console himself with an unimpressive second place.
That win was the 250's last international triumph. Derbi's entire racing department was feverishly at work preparing the 50 and the 125 for the world championship, which left no time for the 250 model. It won races only in Spain thereafter.

The motorcycle was vindicated at the Austrian Grand Prix, where it proved itself competitive. Jansson
Motorcycle: Derbi 250
Manufacturer: Derbi Ciclomotores, Mol-
let, Barcelona Type: Racing Year: 1972
Engine: Derbi two-cylinder, two-stroke, with double rotating-disk distribution. Displacement 250 cc.
Cooling: Water
Transmission: Six-speed block
Power: 58 h.p. at 12,500 r.p.m.
Maximum speed: Over 150 m.p.h.
Chassis: Double cradle, continuous, tubular. Front and rear, telescopic suspension
Brakes: Front, central drum, four shoes, four-cam; rear, central drum,  double cam