Continental Circus: Races, Places, the People and the Faces

Last Update: 28 October 2021

For the past two years I’ve kept a secret. I’ve been editing a most exciting book project which was just recently published- “Continental Circus: Races, Places, the People and the Faces”. It’s a priceless assembly of images and their stories by Dutch photographer duo Jan and Hetty Burger and my close friend, well known Dutch motorsport journalist Frank Weeink. Frank transformed into words the tales accompanying Jan and Hetty’s astounding photos. Truly an amazing collection! There’s no question it’s a “must have” for any motorcycle race enthusiast or racing fan.

From 1970 until 1976, Jan and Hetty Burgers were part of the so-called Continental Circus that crossed borders and travelled from race circuit to race circuit. Their pictures were published in magazines all over the world. Jan not only took excellent action shots but he and his wife Hetty were also fascinated by everyday life in the paddock. Their cameras documented the racing community which shared a passion for racing, but away from the limelight- paddock life could be tough and cruel for riders and their families. Jan and Hetty made friends and lost too many along the way.

When Jan and Hetty left the Continental Circus their pictures were shelved in the attic and it wasn’t until two years ago after meeting up with motorcycle journalist and TV commentator Frank Weeink, the idea for the book emerged – a book in which they wanted to not only portray the action on track but life around it. More than 6,000 photos, many forgotten but rediscovered, made it to the first selection and over 400 of them finally made it into the 192 page book. All-time greats like Giacomo Agostini, Phil Read, Jarno Saarinen and Barry Sheene are featured, as are more than 20 crowd favourites like Johnny Cecotto, Kenny Roberts, Jack Findlay, Tom Herron, Dave Simmonds and Teuvo Länsivuori. As they intended, the book also hails the often unseen heroes – the mechanics, the wives and the girlfriends while taking the reader on a tour to iconic tracks like Spa-Francorchamps, the Nürburgring, Hockenheim, the Salzburgring and Montjuich. On top of that, the book features chapters on crashes, sidecars, Formula 750 racing and legendary bikes from MV Agusta, Yamaha and Suzuki.

This trio’s collective effort has made for a unique “Best of” motorcycle racing book painting a sometimes touching, frequently revealing, and always spectacular picture both on and off track -throughout the early and mid-seventies.

It was an enlightening works for me – I certainly learnt a lot (which is always the case when I hang out with Frank!) as will you when you get your copy. It’s a superb contribution to motorcycle racing’s history through the combined talents of Jan, Hetty and Frank.

A special thank you to Frank for getting me involved; and my sincere admiration for the combined talents of Jan and Hetty – and Frank’s superb, always entertaining writing!

…of course, I’d be lying if I didn’t feel terribly privileged in having my name noted in the book …my “little hoek (corner) amidst the great Continental Circus!”

Order yours here, it really is – a treasure!