From our Old Bike Archives – Issue 95 – first published in 2021.
Story: Jim Scaysbrook • Photos: Rob Lewis, Michael Andrews, Jeff Nield, Maurice Austin.
Being the son of a famous father can be anything but a bed of roses. In the case of Ray Quincey, son of Victoria’s most successful resident rider in the early to mid-fifties Maurice (Maurie), there was no free lunch. When he decided he wanted to follow in the fatherly footsteps on the race track, he had to figure it out for himself.
Maurie himself was the son of pioneer racer and industry figure Percy, and from the time he threw a leg over a racing motorcycle in the late 1940s he was stamped as star quality. Maurie was also astute enough to realise that racing doesn’t last forever, and at an early age set himself up with a motorcycle business in Melbourne. Along with his meticulous approach to racing, he was also dedicated to establishing the business, to the point that he knocked back the coveted nomination to represent Australia in the 1951 Isle of Man TT. He was just 22 years of age and considered there would be ample opportunity later. He was again nominated in 1952 and 1953, declining each time, but finally in 1954 he reckoned the time was right.
Maurie, ever the professional to whom nothing less than perfection would suffice, sailed for Britain in January 1954 with his wife Betty, racing a pair of new Nortons on the Continent and at the Isle of Man, where he finished tenth in the Senior. The following year he was drafted into the illustrious Norton works team for the TT, finishing a fine fifth in the Junior. Then in the Senior, while flat out on the mountain section, the con rod broke and locked the engine, hurling him down the road. Fortunately he did not hit any roadside objects, but it was a colossal crash that left him with serious head injuries.
At the time of the accident, Maurie and Betty had a four-month old son, named Ray after the great Rhodesian rider Ray Amm. While Maurie did recover from his injuries and even returned to racing in Australia, it was short-lived and after a break of around ten years, he turned to car racing.
Forbidden fruit
As a teenager, young Ray was surrounded by motorcycles through the family business, but initially satisfied his need for speed with a 98cc go-kart that soaked up all his spare cash. It was to have been a stepping stop to a car racing career, but that goal seemed increasingly distant and unattainable. When the subject of a road motorcycle inevitably arose, he was met with solid opposition from his parents. Even the argument that all his mates had road bikes failed to have any effect. He was 18 before the resistance thawed, although his goal was still to race cars, not bikes. His first real motorcycle was a Honda CB350-4, which soon gave way to a CB500-4. The new-found freedom saw Ray and his mates ride out to a few motorcycle race meetings, and gradually a plan was hatched.
There was still parental opposition, but Ray was legally old enough to control his own destiny and joined Hartwell Motor Cycle Club in order to apply for an A.C.C.A. Competition Licence. The CB500 gave way to something more sporty, a Yamaha RD350, and he entered his first race meeting at Calder in early 1974. It was a dream start with a win in his very first race, followed by two seconds and another win in his remaining rides. The fuse had been lit. Within four months the RD350 had been pensioned off, to be replaced with a pukka racer, a TZ250. This time success was not so instant, but he was a fast learner, and a TZ350 joined the stable in time for the 1975 season. From the beginning, Ray’s style was very much set in the old school. Unlike the modern trend of hanging off and dragging knees on the tarmac, Ray sat straight in the saddle with barely a limb in the breeze. Just like his father.
Despite much-needed sponsorship from the Golden Breed clothing company, organised by Vincent Tesoriero, money was tight, very tight, but Ray decided to contest the 1975 Australian Road Racing Championship in the 250, 350 and 500 classes, which meant hauling his bikes and equipment around the country. The ‘race transporter’ was a battered old VW Beetle towing an equally venerable trailer. His constant companion, organiser, co-driver and sometime mechanic was his then-girlfriend Kathy Leverett. The title-chase began well, with a win in the 250 and second in both the 350 and 500 classes at Symmons Plains, Tasmania. His Bathurst debut at round two did not come up to his expectations, and as the year progressed the results slipped, along with his confidence.
1976 was to be very much a make-or-break year for Ray, and from the outset it proved to be the former. At the infamous Australian TT at Laverton Air Base outside Melbourne in January, Ray was a class act in the lower categories, finishing third, as top local rider behind the internationals in the 125 class (on Clem Daniel’s CSD) and in the 250 class, where he was fifth. The 350 could have been even better, because Ray led World Champion Walter Villa for the opening laps, until the damper on the single rear shock unscrewed itself and he was forced to retire. Then came the Australian Road Racing Championships, the first round of which was staged as usual at Symmons Plains. Increased sponsorship from Golden Breed helped bolster his meagre budget but it was still a struggle. Ray won the 250 and 500 races in Tasmania, then made the trip across to Mount Gambier for round two at McNamara Park. With quite a few of the title contestants in USA for the Daytona 200, Ray needed no second invitation and swept the board to win every solo class except the 125, which he did not contest. This included winning the Unlimited event on his 350, beating Murray Sayle on the Team Kawasaki H2R 750 and Bob Rosenthal’s TZ750.
Although convincingly beaten by Rob Hinton in both 250 and 350 events in Round Three of the series at Bathurst, he then headed ‘home’ for Sandown Park where he won the 250 and had the 500 race shot to pieces when he fell on an oil spill on the final lap. By the time Round Five was completed at Lakeside, Queensland, Ray had three titles – 250, 350 and 500 – in the bag. Also in the bag was a contract to replace Warren Willing in the Yamaha Dealer Team, following Warren’s decision to head to Europe in 1977 to contest the FIM Formula 750 Series and the World 250 Championship. Ray’s appointment to the plum ride on a new YZ750D let to some grumbling amongst rivals for the position – he had after all only two full seasons of racing behind him – but most heralded it as just reward for his triumphant 1976 season.
Further afield
Rather than cool his heels in Australia until the start of the 1977 season, Ray decided to contest the 350cc Series that accompanied the prestigious Marlboro International Series in New Zealand over the Christmas/New Year period, and shipped his TZ350 across the Tasman, along with bikes for Warren Willing, Ken Blake, and Vaughan Coburn. It was at the Marlboro dinner preceding the Pukekohe round that he was introduced to his childhood hero Mike Hailwood, who turned up at the meeting to lend a hand in Ray’s camp. Mindful of his meagre budget, Ray made the decision to extend the life of his stock of slick tyres by fitting them in the wrong direction, and was scrubbing in a set in the second practice session for Pukekohe’s opening round when he crashed at the fast right hander at the end of the front straight. The accident left him with a broken scaphoid in his right wrist, and he immediately flew home for an estimated eight weeks of convalescence. The injury forced him to miss the opening round of the 1977 Australian Road Racing Championships at Symmons Plains.
It was mid-March before he was back in the saddle for an open meeting at Amaroo Park where he broke his own outright lap record on his TZ350D, despite going to down to ex-Sidecar passenger Graeme McGregor in the races. For the Australian Grand Prix at Bathurst in April, Ray was right back to form, and scored a great double with wins in the 250 and 350 GPs. In the Unlimited class, it was a case of racing for a place as Ikijuro Takai’s works Yamaha 750 disappeared into the distance in both encounters. But Ray indeed was best-of-the-rest, taking a pair of second places on the TZ750D ahead of Jeff and Murray Sayle.
An interlude in the normal schedule came in June 1977, when Ray journeyed to Indonesia for the Asian Championship in Jakarta along with Jeff Sayle, Greg Johnson and Ken Blake, all TZ750-mounted. The 4.4km circuit was constructed on land reclaimed from the sea and was extremely rough and bumpy. In typically hot and humid conditions, Ray took out the first leg on Saturday from Sayle. The following day, in even tougher conditions, Ray won a gruelling 25 lap race to claim an emphatic overall victory.
The National Championship Series however, was a disaster for Ray after crashing in Round 2 at Oran Park and again injuring his wrist, retiring with a faulty rear shock in Round 3 in Adelaide, a lonely 4th place in Round 4 at Sandown followed by 3rd at the Lakeside, Queensland round, and a big crash at the series finale in Perth. He saw out his Yamaha Dealer Team contract by contesting what transpired to be the final Marlboro International Series in New Zealand and claimed victory in the very last race held, at Ruapuna.
The lure of Europe
It was while travelling in New Zealand that he met the imported ‘star’ for that year, flamboyant Italian Marco Lucchinelli, who suggested that if he ever wanted to try his luck in Europe, now was the time to do it. British journalist Andrew McKinnon, who was in New Zealand covering the series, echoed the sentiment. Ray had long harboured dreams of following his father’s footsteps in Europe, and by the time he had returned from New Zealand his mind was made up. Packing his 250 and 350 Yamahas and a big box of spares, Ray and Kathy booked their flights out of Melbourne. A van was provided by British sponsor Monty Swann, who also assisted Jeff Sayle.
Despite his three Australian championships, Ray found it difficult to gain starts, but was accepted for the 250 GP at Jarama, Spain. As Gregg Hansford sensationally won the race, Ray claimed ninth place and two world championship points. It was then back to Italy for a meeting a Misano, but when their van broke down, Ray and Kathy had to beg space in the car park of the Bimota factory in Rimini while parts were sent from England. It was here, late one night, when Ray received a surprise visit from members of the Adriatica Team, who had run several riders, including Randy Mamola, on Bimota-framed Yamahas. Having split with their current rider, they offered the bikes to Ray and a deal was quickly sealed. Ray fondly remembers the association with the legendary Massimo Tamburini, who was, says Ray, “responsible for teaching me bad Italian words. Many years after Massimo’s sad passing, I am still very good friends with his family”.
His first meeting for the Adriatic squad was at Mugello, followed by the Belgian Grand Prix at a typically rain-soaked Spa-Francorchamps. Both meetings ended with machine failure, before he headed to Britain to contest the round of the 350cc World Championship at Silverstone. He was quick in early practice, only fractionally behind championship contenders Kork Ballington and Jon Ekerold, both from South Africa. Then came the final session and Ray had thoughts of grabbing pole position, but alas, he crashed and put himself out of the meeting. Despite being in considerable pain, he began the drive back to Italy. It was later discovered he had broken three ribs and a shoulder bone. On the journey from Britain, the van driver became ill and Ray stopped in Brussels to put him on a plane home to Italy.
Due to the enforced delay in Belgium, Ray decided to contest a meeting at St. Joris, a street circuit near Ostend, which he later described as “a rotten little circuit, and dangerous”. After a sunny start to race day, the weather closed in and it began raining. Ray qualified second for both 250 and 350 races, but on the warm up lap for the 250 race the throttle began sticking, although it freed up by the time be reached the grid. His mechanic, Gary House from Melbourne (who had been Maurie’s mechanic in his car racing days) checked the twistgrip which appeared to be free. From the start, Ray and the very rapid Bimota surged away, heading for the hairpin first corner following the long main straight. The corner was wet so Ray sat up 150 metres earlier than usual, but the throttle was jammed wide open. He hit the brakes but the front wheel locked and the bike began to go from under him. Instinctively, he released the front brake and recovered, but now it was too late with the corner on top of him, lined with obstacles like fences, lamp posts and an embankment. Down went the bike, and Ray with it, sliding at almost 200 km/h until he struck the embankment, back-first. Later Ray said, “I knew I was paralysed straight away, lying there with the rain falling on me and grass and mud all up inside my helmet. I touched my legs and it was just like patting a wet dog.”
A helicopter took him to the nearest hospital, where he was x-rayed. This showed not only the spinal damage that was to leave him a paraplegic, but the injuries he had sustained at Silverstone. “The doctor at Silverstone had told me that I only had bruising, but if I had known about the broken bones there is no way I would have started in Belgium”. Three weeks later, Ray was flown to Melbourne in a stretcher and transferred to the spinal ward in Austin Hospital. Twelve weeks later he left the hospital in a wheelchair.
Starting again
With typical determination, Ray set about adapting to his new life. A Honda car was equipped with hand controls made by Rod Tingate, and he began to work as a salesman in Maurie’s shop in Moonie Ponds, selling bikes and cars. Soon he had also opened a tuning business in partnership with Gary House, specialising in racing bikes like the ubiquitous TZ Yamahas. Undertaking extensive physiotherapy, he never gave up hope that one day he would walk again. In 1986 Ray decided to branch out on his own and acquired premises in the motorcycle hub of Melbourne, Elizabeth Street. As well as selling second hand motorcycles, he also stocked used motorcycle clothing and protective gear, which was something no one else was doing, and it went well for him. By the mid 1990s it was the largest used motorcycle outlet in Australia, with an annual turnover exceeding 1000 bikes.
Ray threw himself into a working life far from racing, although he did for a period try to convince CAMS that he was fit and capable of racing cars. They didn’t see it that way and initially refused to issue a licence. “Rod Tingate built up a Lightweight class Go Kart with hand controls and I raced that for about six months and won the class championship. I was the first paraplegic in the world to be given a Go Kart racing licence and I am pleased to say that opened the gates for others. In 1999, I got a Level 2 CAMS licence and raced my BMW M3 for which Rod Tingate had made hand controls. I steered with my left hand (still do) and operated the brake and throttle with my right hand. The twistgrip had buttons on it for gear changing, and I won the BMW Motorsports Club National Championships at Calder.”
When Maurie closed his own business around 1999, he even worked part-time in Ray’s shop in a complete role reversal. Ray continued in business until 2013, when he decided to sell the premises, a move that was more commercially rewarding than selling motorcycles.
In 1981, Ray decided he needed to go back to Italy to see the Bimota people and to retrieve his tool chest, which was still sitting in the Bimota factory. The trip included a short holiday in Sicily, where he met Francesca. They were married in 1986 and have a daughter, Vanessa, who is now a successful advertising executive in New York. Ray retired in 2013. His last public appearance was at the annual Ken Blake Memorial Lunch in Melbourne on 9th June, 2022 but soon after was admitted to hospital where he succumbed to pneumonia at the age of 67.
