The 44th ISDT 17 Nations, 8 of which had 6 man Teams in the Premier TROPHY Event, 321 Competitors at Garmisch Partenkirchen, at the Olympic Snow & Ice Stadium September the 15th to 22nd inc....  First day s laps of a 77 1/2 Miles circuit.   A severe Hill climb at Hammersbach, second time control at Oberammergau & refuelling stop at Altenau indicated it wd not be an easy event & by 1.30 on the first day 23 had retired.   After finishing bottom in 1968 in Italy Alan Kember was made Manager for this. John Pease lost a mark or two during the week, Dommett suffered a ignition Failure & retired on 4th day Britain became 3rd placed & far better than prev. year.   490 Triumph Twin was bored to be used in 3 different capacities. This page as well by courtesy of Arthur Williams & Dave Martin & many many more good guys.   This was the year when single Makes needed 3 different sized machines, & East Germany again led from the start.   For 5 of the 6 previous years preceding this, East Germans  were the foremost, again they were immaculate & Jawa mounted Czechs were also unpenalised to the final day.   Previous year's winners West Germany used largely small capacity Zundapps of surprising actual power, though Heinz Brinkmann's 50cc machanie had it's gearchange broken on the 3rd day.  Andress Brandl was excluded for receiving outside assistance, Russia lost a man on the first day whilst Italy plus Sweden had a man retire on the 2nd day Austria lost 3 men at that same stage. 

Herbert Schek over 2 metres tall with one of the 3 only 750 BMW entered.   No fewer than 24 4 x man National Teams competed for the Silver Vase.   No restriction on country of origin for machinery used, six teams went through the week losing no marks whilst the 2 x home teams on an assortment of Jawa Maico Puch & Zundapp, 2 Italian Teams all Morini mounted. rode to the finish, West Germans plus Czechs showing the way in special tests.   On special tests the speedier 2 x Puch & 2 x Zundapps of West Germany Vase A quartet led home to win. with the other home team's second hopes making second.

Preston Petty USA 1969.  Neither of the GB Vase teams went well, first 2 days saw 3 members of the B side (all Scottish) exit by day2 end leaving a lone Derek Edgar on a 125 Puch to plough on to a Silver after dropping just 14 marks.

Karl-Heinz Wagner of winning East German team on the 350 MZ.   The All Service Riders Brit Team in 1968 had all finished despite horrific mechanical problems & the same set-up was tried in 1969 however with even less success.  Fl/Lt Jon Tye's Puch lasted less than 2 days, one of the 3 Army BSAs ridden by Tom Fayer suffered the old BSA problem of Ignition failure, the other 2 BSA Army lads stayed the course with Mick Soames getting Gold & Mick Noyce 21 marks down a Silver.

Billy Uhl on his 175.   Individual Brits entries saw Gold for Scott Ellis , Puch, Gordon Farley, Montesa, Mick Wilkinson Greeves, with Ken Heanes in the 750 Class, 8 Golds out of 47 entries.   First day retirements included Russian Trophy man Victor Pylaev 350 IZH, Ian Millar 125 Puchof British Vase B Team with frame problems.   Scottish ACU Clubman Jimmy Ballantyne BSA 250 was in Hospital with both legs broken after running into a Lorry.   Italian hard case Tullio Masserini on a 75cc Lambretta Scooter was eliminated by the clock as was Brit veteran Frank Carey on a 125 Suzuki.

Jean Crosset who took 5 golds, placed 14th this time on a 125 PENTON>   34 Factory 3 man Teams, 12 of whom got through without losing a mark.    Morini represented by 4 Teams, 3 x Czech Jawa, & 2 x MZ plus one Simson from East Germany, one Maico plus one Zundapp of West Germany.   Out of 28 Club teams just one lost no marks, Automotoklub Praha of Czechoslovakia Vaclav Jirku, Martin Just on 175 CZ's & Josef Cisar on a 250 Jawa.   Silver Vase had quickly become plain, Britain B had lost a rider though Holland B, USA A, Canada & Belgium A had all dropped marks.   SECOND DAY had steep climbs at start plus end of the course & on a 76 1/2 miles course lapped twice a further 67 riders were 'OUT'.  Only East Germany leading as result of special tests, West Germany & Czechoslovakia had no marks losses.   Sweden's Lars-Erik Johansson 250 Husqvarna & Italian Fausto Vergani 100 Morini were out costing their Teams 100 marks per day, Russian Lew Voronovitsch 250 IZH adding 39 marks to the Team total, Austria then had 3 teamsters suddenly with ignition problems, Stefan Pachernegg 50 Puch, Siegfried Stuhlberger 50 KTM & Walter Leitgeb 175 Puch.   USA now competing regularly since 1964 had a 100 to 125cc  KTM-Penton riding team only 38 marks down, plus their USA Vase A team on an assortment of Swedish, East & West German machines were only 56 marks down.

Yet another Triumph (Cheney Triumph?) from Brian Catt's collection, Johnny Giles, Travelling!.

Bryan Messenger 250 Greeves pressing on.   British B Vase Team now lost Donald Buchan with ribs damage after a crash on his Greeves then Ernie Page on his Puch 125 having his clutch pack in leaving B Vase team to consist of ONE.  Jon Tye, Puch also dropped out to let Vase A team incur 100 Marks daily.   After 2nd Day there were 7 remaining Vase Teams, in order of points gained in special tests:-Czech A, West Germany A, West Germany B, Czech B, East Germany A, with Italy A & B.   Only 2 Club teams by 2nd day end without penalties from East Germany & Prague, the British London Metropolitan Police team sadly losing their David Hobbs with a hopelessly gashed tyre.   Special Tests saw Zundapps setting the pace for 50 75 100 125cc classes with East German MZ exponents leading 175 250 350 7 500 Classes, & a hard trying Roy Peplow on the 504 Triumph topping Kurt Distler & Herbert Schek on monstrous 750 BMWs Colin Dommett justifying his selection in the Trophy Team & Johnny Giles proving fastest 4 stroke man in the 500 Class.

Malcolm Rathmell the Bultaco King had a Brief spell at the ISDT for a Comerford (I think 250cc) Greeves again not sure but a Gold Medal ride on the very last speed Trial day saw a plug change drop him from Gold to Bronze.    Always doubts when machine makers blame a plug! , however all remain loyal to their plug brand!!!, this was even the standard cause in TT & GP's!.

Second day, refuelling Belgian Jean Cordonnier's KTM-Sachs.

Kvetoslav Masita 350 Jawa whose fine riding the Czechs could thank for gaining 2nd Place.

Johnny Giles, speedy as always. 490 Tri.   Third day saw only 10 retirements & one of the harder Hills was dispensed with.   Special Test star Heinz Brinkmann 50cc Zundapp, previously unpenalised for the West German Trophy was suddenly out with gearbox failure.   West German A Team moved up to lead the Czech teams then Erwin Sauer MZ 250 lost 13 marks for East Germany B team & results changed.  Halfway thru, 221 remained & unpenalised Vase teams were down to 6!. 125 individuals remained with chances to gain GOLD.

Jim Sandiford on that same Tri type.   The 4th Day a 2 lap 91 circuit started being used around the Walchensee, heavy useage of the virtually dry Isar river bed with long climbs & descents & the finest scenery money could not buy.   On 4th Day Ignition failure became an epidemic, Colin Dommet out of British Trophy team, Tom Fayers out of Vase A Team, then another Army MCA teamster George Webb 441 BSA ran into a group of Russians turning around on the course & escaped personal damage but wrote his machine off.   West German Andreas Brandl 50 cc Zundapp was ruled out as having received outside assistance when his gearbox gave up the ghost.   Same day Kurt Distler 750 BMW & Kurt Rentscler 420 Jawa were spotted conducting outside rules repairs! & a 4th Member of the Austrian Trophy Team Franz Dworak 175 had his ignition pack up entirely.

Roy Peplow another reliable Tri Man.

Prague's winning Club team man, Josef Vojtik on his 422 Jawa.

Horst Lohr East Germany on 350 MZ

Gerhard Haatz East Germany with 'a packed in 75cc Simson for his same machine & Trophy Team member, Compatriot  Rolf Uhlig & Belgian Jacky Lamois 125 Hercules astern

Gold Man! Brit Gordon Farley on 250 Montesa.   East Germany A had Rudolf Jenak 50 Simson out with Ignition Failure on their new battery free Bosch ignition.   Both Russian Teams, one Finnish with a Polish plus Canadian Teams now out of the Silver Vase tussle.

Mick Soames  Brit Vase A man 441 BSA.

West Germany's Siegfried Glenger 98 cc Zundapp.  The 5th Day after a heavy night of rain had it's speed changed to the lower choice, they crossed the Gerolder Alp nr Partenkirchen & went thru the muddy woods & wildlife area nature reserve between Walchensee & Kochelsee.  Only 2 retired on the 5th Day, Rolf Eklund 125 KTM a Finnish Vase Man & Carl Bastedo 250 Bultaco, longest surviving member of Canadian Vase Team

Brit Privateer Roy Smith 250 Husqvarna

East German winners Top Scorer Fred Wilamowsky on his 360 CZ. 

Belgian's George De Spa on his little 100 cc Sachs.

Gerry Galloway on a 441 BSA

Czech Vaclav Jirku flying on his 175 CZ.

Gordon Farley 238 Montesa & 223 Bryan Messenger on Greeves.

John Davies, still of Llandrindod Wells 175 BSA Bantam heads the 175 Morini of Aldo Passerini.

6th Day, before the final half hour speed test on a 4.35 miles triangular road circuit between the Ettal Monastory & Oberammergau a 77 miles final stage had to be covered.  The sick lame all made it to the circuit & the likes of a Bultaco Mounted Spain entrant with a well wobbly wheel, there were others losing points on the speed circuit.    Czech Trophy team man Jaroslav Briza had his contact breakers give out after 3 of his required 6 laps.   Klaus Simon could not manage his total of 6 laps & settled for 4.   Malcolm Rathmell had his Sparking Plug problems dropping him from Silver, he had dropped previously from Gold just by his Chain breaking on a special test.  Britain finished 3rd.