TT Notes and New

April 2, 1959
711
-···-.
MOTOR CYCLING
Sunlight through the arches-a section
of the ruins of Beaulieu Abbey, with
the Domus in the background.
towns and villages. Potter along; ifs
not the countryside for blinding and you
can miss so many of the pleasant parts
-Buckler's Hard, where boats and battleships were built before we were born;
Brockenhurst, where it's 100 to 1 that you
will be held up at the )eve! crossing;
Lyndhurst, Lymington and, farther afield,
Christchurch and Bournemouth.
What of Beaulieu itself? There are the
Montagu Motor Museum,* the House
and the Abbey ruins. The Abbey was
founded by King John in 1204 and a
model, exhibited in the only remaining
part, the Domus, shows just how huge a
place it must have been. Now covered
with neatly kept lawns, the actual Abbey
floor area can give only an indication of
its dimensions. That this was only the
main structure, and that it was
<;urrounded by numerous other buildings,
;s difficult to realize without careful
study. Today one can still see the huge
slab of stone on which the monks used
to cut up their fish, the wash-place<; by the wall of the survivi ng
parislt church, and a beautiful line of arches.
The Domus has a colossal upper chamber, with a magnificently beamed ceiling, and a half-barrel-shaped ground-floor
room where the monks once fed-which is now, appropriately,
a restaurant.
Palace House itself is a fine old building. It has housed the
owners of the estate since 1538. Much is open to the public
and is well worth seeing. Look out for the refectory table,
with a top several inches thick. Outside, the gardens were a
blaze of daffodils when I saw them las_t week, and I know that
the gardeners have a fine show all the year round. Very
pleasant is a walk along the riverside path-I had time only
for a few yards' potter, but I hope to revisit it later.
Finally, the Motor Museum. This is a name of contradictions, because the collection comprises a wide variety of
vehicles from stage coach to Spitfire fighter and is not strictly
* Extensions to the !vlontagu Motor Museum will be opened
officially next Sunday (April 5). Crowds are expected for the
ceremony, so it wili not be an ideal day for those who wish to have
a close view of th e exhibits.
speaking a museum in the accepted sense, for its exhibits, ihe
majority loaned by private owners, are frequently taken out for
use in rallies and runs.
I do not propose to summarize the catalogne of exhibits,
which can be bought by post' for 3s. or at the Museum for
2s. 6d., but rather to take readers on an imaginary wander
through the Museum. In Palace House -itself is housed the
pedal cycle section-do be sure to visit this, if only to wonder,
as I did, how one gets up on a "penny-farthing" with a 7-ftdiameter wheel. Look too, at the Dursley-Pedersen model with
fully triangnlated frame-really a marvellous engineering job.
Next door are the motorcycle engines, dozens of them. Look
ont especially for the V-twin 500 c.c. o.h.v. Royal Enfield (this
was mounted transversely and has built-in gearbox and shaft
drive still attached); also the sleeve-valve Royal Enfield 325 c.c.
of 1937. The Redditch concern, technically, almost steal the
show, for they have contributed many "secret" experimental
units and machines of yesteryear. The working models will
appeal to boys, their fathers and their
grandfathers. Fascinating is the 996 c.c.
British Anzani with Perspex covers over
much of the works and a handle so that
it can be turned through the complete
cycle of operations.
The motorcycles are housed in four
rooms connected to the car .section.
Graham Walker, C.-in-C. of this part of
the Museum, told me that he has to cater
for two pnblics-the layman, who has
little knowledge of motorcycles but who
likes looking at " oddities" such as the
row of early scooters or my own woodenframed Yelverton Union, and the knowledgeable motorcyclist, who will be
quick to spot the commendably few
" clangers " in the catalogue.
The rilcing section, on the left as one
enters the Museum, is a "must." Here
Race shop-Beaulieu style. The tripleknocker A.J.S. in the foreground is the
one on which Rod Coleman won the 1954
Junior T.T.
MOTOR CYCLING
711
April 2, 1959
Post-war prototypes. On the left, the 1,000 c.c. J.A.P.-engined Watsonian, wirh Dun/op suspension and Gir/ing hydraulic
rear brake. On the right, the 350 c.c. side-valve parallel-twin Royal Enfield, with fully enclosed transmission, which although
finished in khaki was designed for the civilian market.
are Rod Coleman's 1954-T.T.-winning "350" A.J.S., the
1929 World's Record Brough Superior and the Baragwanath
supercharged outfit from the- same factory. Across the gangway is a selection of scooters, forecars, combinations and
freaks (G.W. would dearly love to find a model with square
wheels). The Experiment tricar, with some 17 controls--!
could find only 16 in a couple of minutes' study-the Humber
forecar with its delicate wickerwork and tl:ie Burney " bitza "
are all eye-catchers.
The next section is surely the most interesting to modern
riders. Here are the 1,000 c.c. V-twin Watsonian prototype
of 1949, the 350 c.c. side-valve vertical-twin Royal Enfield of
1945 and-enough to make even Vincent and Scott owners
drool at the chops-the 1938 Show model Brough Superior.
" Golden Dream."
There are literally dozens of machines here and in the next
room, which is devoted to Veterans of pre-1915. One can
gaze at some of the ancestors of today's machines- and some
which, mercifully, fell by the wayside. Not all the catalogued
exhibits are on show-one grubby Alldays Matchless model 1
saw is being replaced by a brighter machine. The well-worn
Matchless "Silver Arrow," the brightest part of which is
r·················-~-~-:--·~-~-~~---~-~-~-·:·~ -~-~---------------------~
ADMISSION to the Abbey costs 1s.; to the
House, Museum and Gardens 3s. (children half •
price in both cases). Special rates for parties and
clubs.
PARKING is free.
TIMES OF OPENING. For the Abbey: Winter
(November-Easter), 10 a.m.-4 p.m. ; summer
(Easter-October), 10 a.m.-7 p.m. For the Museum:
11 a.m.-1 p.m. all the year; 2-4.30 p.m. winter,
2-6 p.m. summer. Palace House is open at the same
times as the Museum in the summer, but during the
winter only on Wednesday and Sunday afternoons
from 2-4.30 p.m.
I
l·
:
·
:· -~~---····.···········-·-·· · ---------- ------------------ - ------- --------~-----·--------·- ---- -------------\ ~
a silencer of the wrong pattern, is technically sufficiently "
interesting to keep on show, even if the factory-rebuilt FrancisBarnett " Cruiser," alu,lgside, tends to overshadow it.
Displayed around the walls is Motor Cycling's "History of
the T.T. in Pictures "-in itself a powerful magnet for race followers. A display
of racing helmets of many famous riders
and some racing numbers add to the '
atmosphere.
The car section, too, is worth
wandering through. See the racing cars,
the fire engines, the Edwardian carriages
of lofty proportions and the spidery
cyclecars. These motors may be outside
our sphere in one sense, but they are all ;
part of the ancestry of transport as it is
today.
Outside the doors of the building is
one of the famous Daimler-chassis Bass ,
bottles used as a publicity venture years .
ago. If you prefer Worthington, there is
one of them in similar form elsewhere I
in the building. Beaulieu really does
cater for all tastes . . . .
Two of the many imposing Edwardian
carriages are these Lanchesters of
1910 (left) and 1912.
'
April 2, 1959
716
MOTOR CYCLING
NEW RECORDS at CRYSTAL PALAC-E
18.000 Londoners put away their
SO!\[E
umbrellas and thronged to the Crystal
Palace on Easter Monday to watch a field
of about 250 riders engaged in a day's programme of national racing organized for
the London County Council by the A.-C.U.
South Eastern Centre. After the previous
day·s miserable weather the sunshine-and
the bone-dry 1.39-mile track-promised
exciting dicing.
But, unhappily, there
loomed over the event a cloud of a different
kind. for the meeting was fraught with
accidents.
The first occurred when the opening heat
of the 1.000 c.c. solo race was one lap old.
J. R . H older had led A. B. Horton and
E. T. Boarer. all on 499 1 o rtons, through
the G rand · ands. On the following Anerley
Ramp
omer there "as a .. pile-up ..,
Exact!_
b.a happened it was impossible
to see tram the Press stand. but two men
and t" o machines were prostrate on the
trac - a d the rest of the field arrived at
full tih At least three more spills followed
and ;he oll!come was that Boarer, a regular
Pala e rijer. and P . D . R . Luscombe (498
Triumph) e-e ::1.:.1: ;::;stL:lhi s. "hile J . C.
Fa~er.~e
~9 ~
J.C.F. -Tr'umph
and J.
\\'hee er (-!99 \'eJo.- ;;e " ere r,moYed b!
amb ';:;~· :;~ lk.:kenham Hospital. the
form er _ "'e:-u:;.g severe oncussion and the
latter a ·- ·e;1 ;:o!'or ~one. Also involved
in the - -- - :. 2:..: ;:;U{ hospitalized. were
H orto:J. a-_ G. 1. Gri
-!99 B.S ..-'U. The
heat -:ls --~ :::~ and r -run later.
Ano·"e- ,;it_J o.::.:- rred. at almost exact!)
1.he sa!T'e - ::-e. in the last solo race of the
me-~ti;' :
_ · _ '• ::.~. Fina l-again after t he
1
Good Rac,ing Marred by Accidents
end of the
Norton), E.
K. Purchase
through the
first lap. B. J . Daniels (499
Minihan (496 Matchless) and
(649 Norton-Triumph) had fled
Start area and reached the
Motor Cycling bridge when two riders were
seen to tumble a nd several others following
were in obvious difficulties avoiding them.
Minihan and Purchase were the chief
sufferers, Ncd with a severe shaking and
Purchase with a broken collar bone. Bruce
Daniels appeared also to be involved in the
tangle, for he dropped from the lead to
a mid-field position and finally took the
flag in sixth berth. Peter Ferbrache (496
Matchless). who was sixth when the upset
happened. gained the lead on the third lap
and held it to the finish. During the race
M . J. G. Brown (49 Triumph) fell in the
Glade and was taken to hospital with leg
injuries.
The prc-lunch race for 200 c.c. machines
saw Dave Chadwick (M.V.) break the
course and lap records previously held by
'.fike Hailwood and in the 250 c.c. final,
again on an '.I. V.. he rode magnificently
from a wry bad start Oast off the line) to
catch _ eel c-!inihan (Velocette) in five of
the l 0 laps: then he blew up and c-!inihan
ea rried on to win.
Machine-wise, perhaps the most interesting performance of the day was that of
the 249 c.c. James-Villiers twin ridden by
A. Atherton to third place in his heat and
ti(th in the final-an impressi ve result for
the only two-st•roke in the 250 c.c. class
Thru . rton-a Hailwood Benefit
i \Y
In the
away fror.·
A26
---'· \[i -~ Hail\\ ODd
national. solos-only
s organized by the
-.j D \l.C.C. at Thruxton
::. r Andover. Hants. on
Hailwood won th e 125
La.·· :-omped
~
_
.. en J.:1me-'-
on an Excelsior. who secured second berth.
1-lailwood's white Mondial, the most modern
quarter-litre machine there. arrowed through
the other runners in a spectacular m:mn;r
The story was not quite ;he same in th~
350 c.c. Exp~rts r:J..::e. Frnn • R utherford .
on an unqreamlined A .J.S. 7R, pushed
the dolphin-fairing-equippecl !\anon of
1-Iailwood's hard and even led in the early
stages. L. Carr (A.J .S.) held a temporary
second place, but the order was eventually
resolved into Hailwood, Rutherford and
Carr and, later, the gaps between the three
riders widened. The track had dried out
by then.
The 20 competitors in the Senior race
departed in a rainstorm, but it did not
deter Hailwood. He made full use of his
Norton's streamlining and, yet again.
demonstrated his mastery of the bump'
Thruxton circuit.
The Non-expert races proved to e walkO\'ers for the winners. C. R owe ID udley\\'ard Special) won the 350 c.c. eYent after
his principal opponent. Peter Darvill. b.ad
slid to earth on his new AJ .S. 7R. a d E
Davies t)iorton) led the 500 : .c. class comfortably. .-\ feature of the latter Yen; was
The sidecar men provided some excellent
racing. E. T. Young (998 E.T.Y.-Vincent)
foxed the handicappers c leverly in the
scratch events a nd made good use of a
15-second advantage to pip Bob Robinson
(998 Vincent), from scratch, in the Handicap·
race.
Pro,·isional Results
ZOO c.c. (5 laps 6.95 miles): I, D. Chadwick
(M.Y.J; 2, K. W. Whorlow (M.V.); 3, D. H .
Time,
Edlin (M.V.); 4, D . M. Field (M. Y.).
6 min. 13.2 sec.= 67.04 m.p.h. (record). Record
lap: Chad wick. I min. t0.8 sec.= 70.68 m.P.h.
250 c.c. (1 0 la ps 13.9 miles): 1. E . Minihan
iVc!ocette}; 2, R . S. Mayhew (Velocctte>; 3, T .
Thorp (T.T.S.); 4, D. H . Edlin CNSU).
Time,
12 min. 11.45 sec.= 68.4t m.p .h.
Fastest lap:
D. Chadwick (M.V.), 1 min. 7.6 sec.=74.02 m.p.h.
Heat winners: Minihan and Chadwick.
350 c.c. (10 laps): 1, P. Ferbrache (A.J.S.); 2,
B. J. Daniels (Norton); 3, E . Minihan (A.J .S.);
4. T. Tborp (Norton). Time, 11 min. 31.6 sec. =
72.35 m.p.h. Fastest lap: Daniels. 1 min. 7.4 sec.
=74.24 m.p.h. Heat winners: Daniels. Miniban
and W. D. Craig CNortonl.
1,000 c. c. (10 laps): 1, P. Ferbrachc (496 Matchless); 2, P. J. Dunphy (498 Norton-Triumph); 3, G . C.
Young (499 Norton): 4, J. R. Holder (499 Norton).
Time, 11 min . 26.4 scc.=72.89 m. p .h.
Fastest
lap: Ferbracbe, ll m in. 6.4 sec.= 75.36 m .p.h.
H~at winners: Dunpby, E. M iniha n (496 Matchle~) and Ferbracbe.
1.200 c.c. Sidecars ( 10 lops): I. R. A. Robinson
(998 \ 'inccml: 2, J.
Beeton (499 Norton\\"atsonian): 3. J. F. Swindells (499 NortonCanterburyl; 4, E. T. Young (998 E.T.Y.-Vincent).
Time. 12 min. 9 sec.= 68.64 m.p.h. Fastest lap:
Beeton. l min. 10.6 sec.= 70.88 m.o.h.
Heat
winners: Robinson, E. T. Young and Beeton.
Sidecar Handicap (5 laps): 1, E. T. Young (998
E.T. Y.-\'incentl; Z. R . A . Robinson (998 Vincent);
3, D. R . Yorke (499 ~orton); 4. T. Folwell (499
S onon). Fastest lap: Robinson. l min. 11.2 sec.=
70.28 m.p .h.
the courageous riding of L. lies, who
wrestled with the pronounced "snaking •·
of his Triumph TI OO and made full use
of his pu,h-rod motor to an nex second
place.
Results
laps 9.1 miles): 1, S. M. B. Hailwood
D~oat
1, J. Baughn (E.M .C.); 3, J. Dakin
~I \
4. L. C. Harfield (L.C.H.). Time, 8 min.
3 ..! .;.ec. (6- .-- m.p.h.).
Record lap: Hailwood.
I mm. 57.6 sec. (69.64 m.p.h.).
250 c.c. (8 laps 18.2 miles): I. S. M . B.
Hailwood (Mondial); 2, K. Jamcs (Excelsior); 3.
J. Dixon (Guzzi); 4, B. Keys (Norton)..
Time,
16 min. 45 sec. (65.19 m.p.h.).
Fastest lap:
Hailwood, 2 min. I sec. (67.69 m.p.h.).
350 c.c. Experts (10 laps 22.75 miles): 1.
S. M . B. Hailwood (Norton); 2, F. Rutherford
(A.J.S.); 3. L. Carr (A.J.S.); 4, K. James CA.J.S.).
Time. 18 min . .:50.2 sec. C2.4- m.p.h.). Fastest
lap: Ha ilwood. 1 min. 50.4 sec. C~.l8 m.p.h.).
Heat winners: Carr aod Rutherford.
500 c.c. Experts (10 laps 22.75 miles): 1,
S. ~1. B. Hailv.ood (;..'orton); 2, L. Carr <Xorton);
3. ~1. ~l unday (;>;orton): 4, P. Stacey (B.S.A.).
Time, 19 min. 38.2 sec. (69.51 m.p.h.).
Fastest
lap: Hail\\"ood. 1 min. 55 sec. C l.21 m.p.h.).
Heat "'inners: Haitwood and Rutherford (~orton).
350 c.c. :-.'on-Experts (6 laps 13.65 miles): I,
C. Ro"o (Dudley-\Vard Special); 2, C. Chapman
(;..'orton); 3, E. Davies (:-;onon); 4, E. Bunker
<;..'ortonl. Time, 11 min. 4-.4 ec. (69.47 m.p.h.).
Fastest lap: Chapman. 1 min. 51 sec. (73.-8
m.p.h.). Heat "'·i_nners: Davies and Cbapman.
500 c.c. :-.'on-E:<perts (6 laps 13.65 miles): 1, E.
Davies C:S orto:: ; 2, L. Iles (Triumph); 3. M.
Ha~v.ard
B ..-\.l; 4, J. Gooch (Norton/B.S.A .l.
Time. 11 mm. 30.6 sec. (71. 16 m.p.h.).
Fastest
tap: D~,-; -. I min. 53 sec. (72.48 m.p.h.). Heat
\o\inot"rs: Gooch and Davies.
12.5 c.C'.
{ ..$
MOTO R CYCLING
Sp(!ed
JOII N
April 2, 1959
726
GRIFFI'l' II
No.
d e scl'i be s
The 12-5 c.c. Double-o.h .c . L.C.H.
I N BRIEF
Engine : S i ng l e~cylin de r, twin·o.h.c.; 53 mm.
bore x 56 mm. stro ke = 124.8 c.c.; · c.r.,
11 .5:1 ; no b.h.p. fig ure avai lable; peak
r.p.m. approx: 11-,000.
Fuel Tank : Steel, 2 gal. capacity.
O il Tank·: Light alloy, 5 pt. capacit y.
Wheels : Light alloy rims carrying Avon
t yres, 2.SO· in. x 19·in. front and rear.
Wheelbase : 50 in.
Weight : 207 lb.
LEN HARFIELD'S ALL-BRITISH RACING
ULTRA-LIGHTWEIGHT WITH A NEW
ENGINE FOR 1959
EX CLU SIVE TO " MOTOR CYCLING"
successful prio.tely bui
ONEhas ofbeentheL most
C. Harfield's L C R. a sin;;
' : 5 ~-'·
~-----:-1iod er
r3 ers in the past few seasons
double-o.h.c. machine which the
uninitiated could easily mistake for ill produ;:: of m h:1li:m factory.
This year. the L. C. H. g : to the · _ ..;:..:. ~ -- ;-e_:~~ ~-omise. Its cycle parts are vir:-~:_. -=--':<'red. but it has a completely new
mo:o~. The onginal engine, incidentally, had
given yeoma n service for fo ur years without
a si ngle mechanical failure-a fine tribute to
the craftsmanship of Len Harfield .
And the engine is not the only innovatio=
for next yea r. A new type of Jightweigh:
A lbion gearbox, having a shell generall:
simi lar to that of its predecessor, but w·~
greatly modified internals, should Qerrr. n•':lre efficient use of the motor's undoub: c
power, for it has five speeds !
Externally, there is little visible differen;:-e
between the new power unit and the o:::.
T l'\e cam-box is more massive, but ti::~
dimensions generally are similar: The majo~
alteration is, in fact, the substitution of :;_
train for the earlier engine's chain dri !
Dri•ing de~ails-the gear
to the camshafts.
shock - absorber/ess
As it seems ideal for his purpose. ~~
engine - shaft
builder has again used a 250 c.c. Rcd::e
sprocket. six-spring crankcase shell as a basis. This is o;::e
clutch on r!re fi,·e- the few bought-out pieces of the po~e~
speed gearbox and plant. It houses a crank assembly made :..;:
home-bre1red rear of t-in. diameter EN36 steel mainsh.1.L:
hub ll'ith hem·ilr
DDT473 steel flywheels and an E:-;39 G •
finned brake druni.
p:n wh:ch has ±-in. shoulders.
I
cf
B6
April 2. 1959
Four roller main bearings arc employed,
two on each side ; the outer timing-side
bearing is actually housed in the inner half
of the timing case. The con.-rod has been
mach ined from a billet of KE805 steel; it
has a hardened steel big-end ring and is
bushed at its small end. Deep circumfe.rential ribs for added strength surround the
big-end eye. After finishing . the rod (and a
sp:~re) was X-raycd to ensure that there
were no internal flaws.
Fourteen 3/16-in. x 9/16-in. rollers carried
in a duralumin c::~ge comprise the big-end
bearing. The Hepolite piston is of M.V.
type (the engine dimensi ons are the same as
those of the Italian marque).
L.33 a lloy wit h a cast-iron liner is used
for the cylinder barrel, but the head is of
. Y-alloy. The latter has cast-in valve inserts
-austenitic iron for the inlet and aluminiumbronze for the exhaust. The va lve a ngle is
90 ° and the KE965 va lves are of I ;. in. (inlet)
and 1130 in. (exha ust) diameter.
'' Fi,·e across a nd five d own " sounds like
a c rossword puzzzle, but it describes the
layout of the two trai ns of straight-cut gears
wh ich drive the camshafts. Some of the gearwheels are ex-Triumph, othe-rs a re L.C.H. A
triple oil pump from a " double-knocker"
N or:on i~ carried on the outside of the
tim ing ches: and s· ,·enge the crankcase
and the lim;ng c.,-~ it<elf. Shell X l()(l }0
lubricant is used.
<l'e :he pump is the pre-set Lucas
Ju<t
coma t- r~,k 'r which. with a Varley " dry "
accumubtor. operates two 3-volt Bosch
coib. The:• p·o' 'd: sp:!rk.s for a 14 mm.
plug in L'lc o~:hodo:~: po<'t'L'n and a 10 mm.
plug :u:: -ed in l:x!:'·d :h: cJ:n<haft d riw;
both are of Lodz: ma -e.
An A 1:1 1 -in~ bore G.P. carburetter is
fitted. Th~ Lo?l '' hell 100 octane.
L;gh:-:1 Joy. 6g. pbtes hold the engine and
th ~ -.ep r":e g' arbox in the frame .
This
ob1io s !U:lndson of a "Featherbed" Norto n is 1:-u: t of T45 grade tubing-1-in. x
18g. for :l-e main loops and I t -in. x 12g for
the for!.. which pivots on a dural bush. The
fo rk<. d_e for replacement by a lighter pair
of horwm-:.mk type in the near future, are
also h0me- rewed. Girling hydra ulically
dar..,cd _pring units are used fo-re and aft.
Th~ --- f -on: hub is ex-E.M.C. , but Len
him-··: - == --- e :
lee 6-in. rear hub.
r.~~-J- ·
··-rype fairing is
'-': : : ' \-~~=-,.! p--!v.:! :e-;·s
;_::~:-ns
rrom
-=- ~.1 ~--- ...... t.:s c:..sting5.
. . . . -.. -= · _
,
727
All round The engine.
The rev-count er
drive, contact breaker and triple oil pump
are all carried on the
c01·er for the timing
gear vertical train.
Note the positions
of the two sparking
plugs and the twin
Bosch coils. A Royal
Enfield "Clipper"pattem gearbox shell
conceals a fire-speed
gear cfusrer. specialh·
made by Albions.
MOTOR CYCL/N(j
MOTOR CYCLING
BIGGER
742
AND
BETTER
April 9, !959
BEAU LIEU
LORD BRABAZON PERFORMS
OPENING CEREMONY FOR
EXTENSIVE ADDITION TO
MONTAGU MOTOR MUSEUM
1952 the third
I NBeaulieu
founded,
Lord Montagu of
with a mere halfd-ozen vehicles, a motoring museum in
memory of his father, one of the greatest
pioneer motorists and motoring journalists.
Since then the project has grown, slowly at
first , then gathering momentum more swiftly
and culminating last Sunday with the official
opening of a complete new range of buildings in which is now housed what is
probably the greatest display of the develo'pment of motoring in this country.
The new buildings, situated in the grounds
of Palace House, Beaulieu, Hants, are constructed on modern lines, but traditional
stone has been used for parts so that the
completed sections blend well with the
adjacent time-worn Abbey ruins. Costing
£25,000. they are well lighted and ventilated.
both essential points to the success of a
museum.
Before the ceremony, severa l hundred
guests, including representatives of almost
every factory in Britain's motor and motorcycle industry, the general trade, and the
Press, were present at a reception at which
Lord Montagu introduced his fiancee , Miss
Belinda Crossley, to his friends in the
industry. It is impossible to list all the motorcycling personal-ities present, but famous
names such as first-T.T. man, Rem Fowler;
Brooklands record-holder, Noel Pope; multitimes World Sidecar Champion, Eric Olivcr;
T.T. winners Cyril Pullin, Tyrell Smith.
Jimmie Simpson, Bob Foster a nd Tomm)
Wood were all "on pa ra de." Ma n of the
moment for the motorcycle sec tion was
Graham Walker, formerly editor of Motor
Cycling, who, since his retirement, has
devoted much time and energy to laying out
the two- and three-wheeler branch.
After the reception, guests went to see the
official opening performed by Lord Brabazon
of Tara . In his speech Lord Brabazon paid
President of the A.-C.U., Lord Braba~on of Tara, officially declaring the new
extensions open. Behind him are (/. to r.) car racers Tony Brooks, Raymond
Mays and Stirling Moss, " Bemsee ,. presidellf the Marquess Camden, Lord
Montagu of Beaulieu and hisfiancee, M iss Belinda Crossley, and Captain George
Eyston, former world speed record holder and now a diredor of the Castrol
oil concern.
tribute to the "ork done bv Lord Moma gu·s
father. whose name predomina:ed amo:1~ 1
pioneer motoring per><>n:~lities.
He "em
on to sav ho" ewf\one is no" indcbied to
Lord M~magu for· hi> great exhibition of
great ca rs and motorcycles-and ended by
reminding his audience, which included the
viewers on Southern ITV, that the vehicles
they use today are the exhibi ts of tomorrow!
Television cameras then went on a tour
through -the museum. pausing whi lst Lord
Brabazon un veiled a joint memorial to
Peter Collins and Mike H .. " :horn. and thi'
A pair of tmusual
Vintage models 5een
in the car par ·. On
the left is a four r atD:ha/1
cylinder
1rith o.h.l'. and final
shaft dril'e.
The
S eal combination
(right) is drirenfrom
rhe '· sidecar ., and
steering is by wheel.
Power plant is a Vt win I ,000 c.c. s. v.
J. A.P. and all-chain
drive, ria a SturmeyArcher three-speed
gearbox, is used.
BlO
included a stay in the motorcycle section.
v.n re Graham Walker interviewed several
famou, r:der,.
The official ceremony ended with a grand
parade of mororcycks and cars.
Visito
ca me in all sizes and ages of vehicle>: it
seemed that there were almost as manv
Rolls-Royce cars as have been made,. bt;t
splendid in their uniqueness were the threewheeler Seal, a combination driven from the
sideca r seat. and the four-cylinder, shaft·
dri,·e Vauxhall motorcycle-which has go;
, ute' on i[ tank~
762
MOTOR CYCLING
April 9, 1959
LEA THEBS FOB
-THE LEABEBS
Geolf Duli:e asli:ed for the illlJlOssible
anti Peter ~luJ•pby talked lrls na~'
into Carlo Ubbiali's suit
sited in the heart of
U l\'OBTRUSIVELY
industrial St. Helens, native town of
..
\
the incomparable Geoff Duke, lie the modest
premises of a Lancashire master tailor, one
Frank Barker.
The name may be insignifica nt in the public eye, but to Duke a nd
man y o he r maestri of the u ack it is
synon,~mous with the finest racing leathers
that money ca n buy.
T o G ~off must go t he credit of sta rting
this amiable craftsman on the road to
success. I n October, 1949. perfectioni,t
Duke. on the threshold of international
fame and alert for new and better racing
equipment, first approached Barker asking
him to m:~ ·e :! one-piece leather racing sui t.
The adYanu!!es th:u such 2n outfit offered
over the th;n - uni,ers:~l .. n,~o- piece.. had
long been kno" n l<uperior streamlining and
greater
~fety.
for exam ple). but the
problellb in,~oJ<~ed in its making had so far
defied solu.ion. Barker. who now frankly
admits th~t he i..ne" nothmg of Geoff Duke
and ·rill less about motor<:yding. '':as at
fi rst ad~nLm in his refusal to oblige. di>·
missing the proposition.
wh ich-had t>een put before him, as imp ossibl e. Dd~e·s winning ways, however, were
c vi demh~ not confined to two wheels, for
F rank ~-- _s eYemu2lly persuaded to ''have
a go ...
Problem num 'r one was to find a leather
not only suitable for the job. but readil y
aYaihble. ~or in ;:ho~ days of post-war
restrictions l.::::wer as .C".lr
as well as
va luabl . -'.f:c· "c;c;.s of bboriou, trial and
Chairborne racingH'ith an object. Frank
Barker takes the
vital statistics ofA/an
Holmes in the fia ton-the-tank position.
error, howe' er, a specially treated horse -h ide
was chosen and, with the help of G ilbert
Smi th. then Norton 's managing director, a
small but adequate stock of the material was
obtained.
To conserve thi s precious mate ri al.
Ba rker's first experimenta l suits were nn de
of a fra il white cloth sewn wit h weak thread.
to
rigorotb
which ,
whe n
subjecte d
ma noeuvres by his models (a nyon e unfortu nate enough to be a round) would betray a ny
weak spots wi th a reveal ing rend- the
offending seam being duly marked and
modified in subsequent outfits.
But, exhaustive though these ini tial proving tests were. Duke's firs t fi tti ng wa s something of a di sappoin tmen t. fo r although the
garment was satisfactory both for wa lking
and riding it failed the supreme test of the
.. run and bump ~ · start by se,·ereh~ restri t·
ing 1noven1ent.
~ Crajrsmar!s lOitch ;
Frank cuts out
a1;o•/;l.'r 3uil of fe(Jihers.
c.f
Undaunted , Barker returned to the dr::".
ing-boa rd and ~altered his de>i!!n to cater
for this unforeseen athletic man~une. After
m any weeks of toil . his dogged persistence
1nd skill triu mphed and D uke's one-piece
leathers beca me a reality. Keedless to say.
they were an instant success and orders
began pouring in literally from all corners
of the world,
But from the experi ence gained in making
Duke's suit it was evident rhat mass production-even on ·lhe slnallest of scales-would
be out of the question. Every garm ent was
therefore individually cut to suit the customer's proportions, the only snag being tha t
those unable to attend a fitting session with
Barker were denied the privilege of wearing
his leathers.
The one exception to this rule was prol'ided by that popular rider from " down
un der," Peter Murphy. Eye ing wit h en vy
1 row of comple ted suits in Ba rker's shop.
Peter spied one wit h th e name Car lo Ubbia li
written on it. Knowing the It alia n ace to
be aPou( his stature. he aske d if he could
try it on .. just for size." Ten minutes late r
a jubilant J\l urp hy eme rged from the changing rooms comp lete wi th lea the rs, boots,
helmet and glows, hav ing found the outfit
to be a perfect ti t. Only then did he explain
that Ubbi ali was in hospital recovering from
an acc ident and that it would be some tim e
before he coul d race again-a mpl e time .
Peter pointed out. to make the Itali a n
another suit. HaYi ng made hi s point, he
pro du ced the purch ase price and walked out.
leaving a somewh at bewildered Barker to
ponder this example of Kiwi tactics.
The sequel to this story came the very
next day, when Ubbi::tli himself telephoned
from the Continent asking for his suit to
be dispa tched as soon as possible, as he
had made a rapid recovery from what
pro ved to be only superficial injuri es. The
order was deli vered on time, but only after
the burning of much midnight oil in Barker's
"orkshop.
Today. the problem of sizing overseas
cusromers has been largely overcome by the
introduction of d iagra mm atic measurement
forms on which is pictorially displaye d a
rider mounted in the racing position on his
machine with the required measurements
carefully a rrowed. Even this seemingly foolproof system. howeyer. frequentl y leads to
hours of tiresome translation and the
deciphering of units of measure which,
according to the English d ict ionary, do no l
exist.
Since he began making leathers, Barker
has added other items of motorcycling wear
to the production line-including his famed
riding boots-and he has expe rimented
on a lightweight waterproof cover to be worn
in bad weather over t he usual ontfit.
Experimen t. tria l and erro r, and still more
experiment. This fo rmula . co mbined with
nimble fingers a nd a craftsman 's skill , haw
taken Barker to the top of the la dder which
Geoff D uke persua ded him to mount ten
years ago.-R.B .
778
MOTOR CYCLING
-''-'I'
T 11 E
F .I .M .
SPRING
April 16, 195y
CONGRESS
500 c.c. WORLD CHAMPl C' NSHIP
*
IS TO CONTINUE
A record nt>mbcr of 28 countries
were represt d by delegates at
the Spring
:ongress of the
Federation
Intemationale
Motocycliste at the headquarters of the
French federation in the Place de la
Concorde, Paris, from Monday to
Friday last week. Among them for
the first time was a delegate from
Peru. Great Britain and Uruguay
were represented by C.S.I. member
Vie Anstice. Other members of the
A.-C.U. delegation were the Union's
chairman Norman Dixon, secretary
Sam Huggett, Harold Taylor and
Maj. W. W. Feamley; while the
delegate for Ireland was Maj. H. R.
Watling.
T
HE 500 c.c. World Championship for Grand Prix Formula machines came within
an ace of receiving a new lease of life last week, and there is still a strong
possibility that the F.I.M. may drop its plan to abandon this Championship class in
1960. By only one vote, the F.I.M.'s Sporting Commission (C.S.I.) deferred a final
decision on the subject until it meets at the Italian Grand Prix in September, by
which time it will know how successful the new racing for Formula I production
machines has been.
is every likelihood that they will be homoIf the results seem satisfactory, a
logated before October.
500 c.c. Formula I World Championship
Applications have also been made for the
will probably be instituted in 1960; if
registration of the Japanese 250 c.c. Honda
not. the present " free for all " title
" Dream" and the Montesa-built 125 c.c.
contest may be run for a few more years.
Mondial, but these models will probably be
In any case it seems certain that the
included in the "sports machine " regi~ter
championship for this class will be conwhich the F.I.M. plans to institute in additinued indefinitely in some form.
tion to the Formula I category, although
Representing Great Britain on the C.S.I. ,
pla ns for it have not yet been com pleted .
it was Vie Anstice who proposed that the
Because of the reluctance of many manu500 c.c. Championship should be cont inued
fact urers to apply for registra tion of t heir
UTCH jo urnalist Pieter Norti,er. wh o
aft ~r this year in its present fo rm.
The
products, the F .I.M. approved the decision
was succeeded last November as
suggestion found many supporters, including
of the C.S.I. last January to allow national
president of the C.S.l. by Count " J ohnny "
C.S.I. president Count "Johnny" Lurani.
federations to accept Formula I entries of
Lurani, was elected president of the F .I.M.
It was also reinforced by the opinions of
non-homologated production machines proin place of M. Augustin Perouse by 15 votes
the internal Bureau Pe;manent of manuvided they a re satisfied that the model s
to 13 last Friday . As a result of the rcc ~nt
facturer s whose representatives had a
concerned comply with the general requiredeat h of Belg ium 's M. Henry Groutars , Mr.
meeting with the C.S.l.
ments and that at lea st 25 of ea ch have
Nortie r was the only nominated candid1te
As a result of thi s joint meeting, conbeen made and sold to the public.
for the post. M. Perouse was unanim ous!:
ducted in a very friendly atmosphere , the
elected President of Honour and spoke of
C.S.J. is adopting a more flexible attitude
his de sire to con tinue to serve the sport.
towards Formula I in an attempt to find
In the vice-presidential election Britai n's
some way of overcoming the objections
ca nd ida te. M r. Vie Anstice, was one of seven
voiced by many manufacturers, and pa1·successful nominees. but Russia's General
HILE the majority of F.I.M. members
ticularly the British. It will also endeavour
are trying to concentrate on standa rd
Boris Tra mm was outvoted after the Czech oto improve relations with the industry a nd
production race machines as much as
slo vak. East German and Polish nomin ees
will consult with the Bureau Perm ane111 at
poss ible, the Belgians seem to haYe diffe rent
had withdrawn their candidatures. The
the Monza meeting.
ideas. They proposed that new regulations
other six vice-presidents elected were M.
sh ould be framed to permit a " controlled
Sm.
Paolo
Barambon
(Switzerland),
form of supercharging." Quite how H would
Colombo (Italy), Baron Eric von Essen
be controlled was not clear. The proposa·l
(Sweden), M. Marcel Violet (France).
was rejected by the Teehnica.l Commission
Count Nieolas Rodil del Valle (Spain) and
as being impracticable in its present form.
Herr Emil Vorster (West Germany).
S instructed by the F.I.M. last autumn,
all the organizers of this year's World
Championship race meetings have included
a Formula I event in their programmes.
Apart from the T.T., where the race will
be a combined event for " 350s " and
NDER the heading of "The T r iu m ph _ -air.·· the Ge neral Council issued a Press
" 500s." they will cater for single c1pacity
communique last Friday afternoon to the effect tha t it bad been informed that
classes. At the French, German and Itali an
the F .I.M. had won the lawsuit insti uted against it by the Triumph Engineering Co ..
Grands Prix the races will be for 250 c.c.
Ltd.- the case which arose out of i:s pe~-i;tenr re fu sal to recognize the world sol o
machines; the " Dutch " and " Belgian "
speed record set up b y the A merican J ohn ny Alien at Bonneville in 1956.
will cater for "350s" only, and the 500 c.c.
The communique added that the Co uncil
seem appropriate and which are within the
class has been chosen for the Swedish and
thought that Triumph s. as th ho l d~rs of
terms of the rules of the F.l.M."
Ulster Grands p,rix. Although part of
an F.I.M. licen<:e. had had no righ t to
Championship meetings, the Formula I
submit a sporti ng question to a civil court
events will not themselves count towards the
"NO COMMENT"-TRIUMPHS
and tha t. in doing so. th~y had broken
t it les.
Article 83 of the l nternation2 l Sportin g Code
So far, only four Formula I machine s
LAST Monday afternoon, a spokesman of
so th at the F .I. M . wo uld have bee n within
have been homologated, or registered. by
the Triumph Engineering Co., Lt d ..
its rights to ha ve ·· seve rely penalized "
t he F.I.M. They are the 125 and 175 c.c.
said
that so far no official notification of
Triumphs for start ing proc eedings.
single-cylinder o.h.v. Ducatis-the first to
the F.I.M.'s decision had been receh ed.
Now that an Engli sh judge had given his
be submitted for approval- the 250 c.c.
opinion that Triumphs should not have gone
NSU "Rcnnsport" and the 500 c.c.
This being so, he was unable to com ment
B.M.W./R.S.
to law, until they had exercised their right
on the matter or to give any indication of
Registration of the Velocette "Venom "
of appeal to the C.S.I., the F.J.M. had
what future action may be taken by his
and " Vipe'r " has been delayed pending the
decided to repeat its formal invitation to the
receipt of further detailed information from
company to exercise its right of appeal - for
company.
the factory. but F.I.M. secretary-general
this there is a 15-day time limit- and "to
Mai . F. D. Goodc said last week that there
take such other steps in the matter as may
MORE F.T.M. NEWS ON PAGE 779
Al8
President Nortier
D
Supercharging Suggested
W
Formula I Races and
Registrations
A
THE TRIUMPH RECORD
U
'\
•
779
4. pril 16. 1959
MOTOR CYCLING
SPRING CONGRESS
.1\T 'l'IIFJ F.I.JL
AMERICA'S FIRST
"INTERNATIONAL"
I.S.D. T~ ~ FACE-LIFT?
ITIC
D R.~
o· the
cha nges in the ~:onceptiun
LS.D.T. '¥-re suggested by
the rr::~r;ufa crurers a· ·their pre-Congress
mee:.. ;::~ >\itb the C. 1., attended by Mr.
H u gh Palin. director of the British
lndu -;n ::.- Associat io n . which had already
an noL- -eel i s dec ision not to support the
t rial m it< present form.
They were
ba_ed o ~ the contention that the trial, run
dai l) routes with a considernion of public roads, was
!:s original object of demon~ :u motorcycles could do and
u ;:t e 10 O\e~- fa<t riding on the
roac :~.:-ions .. ~ :eh kd o opposition
f rom :'"e - I :e
The :r... :- --d ~-· p-opo>.! l "-35 r ' i e::t.::h
da , ·, --- - - ·!d
hekl o \·er ,e; ;:-~-· bp;
of .i - -=h , honer route uch'ch could b.::
mo r ~ c ..<5 1:· comrolled :han the present
nri ~ ::
and would grea tly enhance the
event'> sp~ctl tor interest. In addition, the
manuf~::::ure<<
suppo ned the A.-C.U.'s
1 <~ou!d ;nclude a
~ ·="' : o-'d u :-sed
will be made in this year's event. The kind s
of special test which might be practicable
in the l.S.D.T. will be tried out in the threeday trial at San Pelegrino in ltaly on
May 22 to 24. wh ich will be attended by
representa tives of the C.S. I. and the
industry. The speed test will. howeve r. be
retained as a fi nal trial of mJchine relia bility. though not as the sole mea ns of
d ecid ing ties if the other tests prove accepta ble.
I.S.D.T. REGUI.ATIONS
D RI.S.D.T.
A J-1 :-.upplcmcntary J:Cgulations for this year's
IScnrcmber 14-19) were presented
to
the
Congress
by
the
Czechosim·ak
delegate'
As in 1953 a n d 1955. the C \ Cnt w ill be bac::e d on
Gott\\:ald(W. wit h l hc m a jority o f rider<; and
o fficia Jc;; h ou'-C'd in t he H otel \ 1o c;l..::\·a . T h e wtal
m ilc a'!e . h "~\10C\e r. w ill be co n<:;i derably c;honcr
( 1.0- ! .3
n~ : ic -: .
' '- ith
run
TC"-t 0 0 t!()(\d road o;;:) a nd each d a y' s
di :-ec te d tnW3rd-;; ~ he Re.;;kydy moum ai n c; .
'" · ~ >::ton..- tra ck" are nor "0 r kel..- to de teriorate
10 we1 we; ther ao: those u <;ccJ m ·prc,·io us yea rs .
The area i" nlo:n free f rom the fogs and co ld
w hich adve r~cly affected t he 1957 event in the
Krkonose mountains.
Entries will be Jimitcd to a maximum of 300
~
solos . the fee"' for " works •· riders being £25
and fo r Pri ' me entra nt.;; £~ 1. The prelimina ry
,jt; ·n w ill
ake place from Semember 11
c"".i111'
- 13.
Speed-; "- n !h~
r
"13d .mJ during 1hc
fina l
~pccd
tes.t O\Cr a .} _9~ ·m i l e course in G o nwaldo' w ill
be as follow :SPEEO SCHED ULES FO n ROAD AND SP EED
C tas-.
c.c.
50
75
100
125
175
250
350
500
750
1,000
of
who>e members
agreed to
:hough no changes
? n~oposa l<.
-
~-ail
Hard Go ing in Irish
Scramble
T
TF.ST
Road
m.p.h.
22.3
22.3
23 .6
26.0
27.3
2R .6
29.8
29.8
29 .8
29.8
S. Test
A E u ROPEAN
SPEEDWAY TEAM Ci-IAMPIONSHIP
w :Jl
be organized at Oberhausen in Western German y,
probably in September. Teams from Great Britain
Germany, Polan:l and Sweden arc expected to tak~
part.
THE A UTUMN CONGRESS o f the F .l.M. w ill be
held at Barcelona. Spain . from OCtober 20-24.
59.03t
THE N E w DRAFT o f the F.Lf\..f.'s road race rules
(Appe nd ix F> was fina lly a ppro ved and will be
59 .031
available for circul(ltion in the nea r future.
Depleted Moles Cup
Provi~ional Results
Moles Cup (best perfonnance): C . · Parkinson (500
First-class Awards: B. Crawford (500 Ariel). 367 ;
D. Kenna (350 R oyal Enfield). 336; l. Minnis (200
Grcc\'es), 331: J. Lcnion (200 l ames) , 286.
Ru-.,.1
T HE IJ.S.L S T ASD ARD for raci ng h elmets has been
adopted by t he F .I.M . ao;; the m in imum standard
it will accept
31.069
36.040
39.769
42.254
46.604
50.953
55 .303
59.03 1
A riel) , 373 marks gained.
C H-r:.'
IN BRIEF
M AY J OF THI S YEAR was tixed as the da te
for the introduction of the new rule that
any future record a ttempt must better the
existing figure by at least one per cent. As
a result, the standing-start kilometre figures
recently achieved in Switzerland by Florian
Camathias will be recognized, subject to
tbe existing rules.
m.p.h.
H E tr' JI- ,eason in Cbter ended last
Sa turday wi[h the
lstc r \<t.C.C.'
a nnua l Moles Cup event. Held a t Ma llusk.
nea·r Belfast , and com ing a[ a time when
most of the regular competitors h:td a lready
changed over their equ ipment fo r grass
racing, it attracted a la mentably small entry,
only 21 riders facing the starter. Still, there
was plenty of competition among that small
number.
The course was a short one, seven laps
being covered with seven observed sections
on each round. The ground was so saturated that it was as difficult between [he
sections as in them.
T
in the U.S.A. will take place at the Sebring
Circuit in Florida on December 11, if
everything goes according to plan. lt would
be organized by the American Federation of
Motorcyclists.
·
A permit to stage a rnotorcyclc race
meeting .on European lines may be granted
to the A.F.M. as the result of a request
from the Sebring promoter.
An artificial
5.2-mile circuit with ·a flat surface of tarmac
a nd concrete. Sebring is the scene of the
American 12-hour Grand Prix of Endurance
for cars, a nd the motorcycle meeting would
form a " curtain-raiser " to this year's event.
j uq o ' er 600 acrC'"<i countn
a nd the
';\-'1)
is a good chance that the first
THERE
road race to be held under F .I.M. rules
Northern Moto-Cross
H E two B.S.A. " wo rks" scramble riders,
Jeff Smith a nd Arthu r Lampkin. clashed
!or honours in las[ Sunday's Thirsk and D .
:\f.C. -o rganized regional restricted Northern
\1ow-cross. o\·er t he switchback co urse at
Boltb,·. near Thirsk. Yorks.
They were
".lt hed b) some 5.000 spectators.
Cmil a hold-up in the bog on the second
lap. La mpkin (500 B.S.A.) led the 12-lap
main event of the day but Smith. a lso .. 500 .,
mounted. then went ahead and won easily.
The eigh t-lap " 500 " fina l was won by
Smith . but if luck's penqulum had swung the
other way it m ight well have been Lampkin's
race. As it was. Lampkin led until the last
lap, when he became bogged in the mud
patch and Smith shot past him.
Riding the new 250 c.c. "Cl5 Star,"
Smith failed to win the 250 c.c. final, however. Farmer Ron Tate took the lead ·on
his 250 c.c. Francis-Ba rnett from the start
a nd just would not give way.
The 350 c.c. final brought La mpkin
(B.S.A.) a win by a bout 300 yd. John Burton
(B.S.A.) just managed to get h ome a head of
Paul a nd Peter Taft (B.S.A .s), who were
[bi rd and fourth respectively.
Provisional Results
250 c.c. (8 laps); J, R . Ta te (Fra ncis-Ba rnettl: 2,
J . V. Smith (B.S.A.); 3, N . C rooks (G reevcs).
Northern Moto-cross (12 laps): \, 1. V. Smith
(500 B .S.A.): 2, A. J. l ampk in (500 B.S.A.); 3, P.
Fletcher (500 Royal Enfield ); 4, J . Burto n (500
B.S.A.).
350 c.c. (8 laps): l, A . 1. l a mpkin <B .S.A.J; 2,
J . Burton (B .S.A .): 3. Paul Taft (B.S .A.l .
Im·itation (6 laps): 1, S. Jo ncs 050 B .S.A .l: 2,
R . Tate (500 B.S .A.l: 3, M. Tate (500 B.S.A.).
5!10 c.c. (8 la ps); l. J. V. Smith m.S.A.l ; 2,
A. J. lampkin <B.S.A.l: 3, P . Fletchcr tRoyal
Enfield).
A2l
·- ------·- --
,
April 16, 1959
775
MOTOR CYCLING
GEOFF DUKE Writes for You-
LOOKING AHEAD
Trying a " Dolphin "for Size : Preparing
for "Silverstone Saturday"
Gilera's
1960 Plans? : Give the "350" a Chance!
D
UR ING last season it quickly became
apparent that a more embracing form ol
··dolphin " glass-fibre streamli ning was desirable if my 350 c.c. Norton was to derive the
full benefit from, yet comply with, the F.I.M.
Regulations. Some time ago Cyril Cannell.
of Peel Engi neering, and I had a long discussion on the subject and we decided that
two major modifications were required: (i) a
general reduction in frontal area; (ii) a reduction in the amounr of cut-away needed to
allo?< a handlebar clearance of 2 in. from
lock to lock. it was during our deliberations
that we realized that. in our anxiety to mak e
full use of the maximum rearward inclin,,tion of the number plate. we had been
forced to cut into the nose cowling for this
a ll-importa nt handlebar clea rance.
But by bringing the number plate into a
more vertical plane the nose could be made
more full a nd it would be possible to add a
couple of shallow "blisters" at the side to
enclose the rider's hands and pa n of the
forearms, thus providing a far better shape.
The next move was to re-shape the numbet'
plate a nd screen to form a more continuou s
sweep backward so as to reduce the ·• slab "
frontccl effect of the ea rl ier streamlining.
A firm specializing in aircraft wind-screens
fablicated for us a curved screen which oroclucecl exactly the effect we required--pill'
very much improved vision which wa s comFina lly. the
pletely free from distortion.
a ddition of an instrument panel . just above
the level of the steering head. st iffened the
whole unit and.providecl a natural mounting
for the rev.-counter.
A road-test on a windy afternoon in the
Mountain Mile area on the T.T. course
revealed no adverse effect on handling and
the distance required to reach maximum
speed in top gear on the uphill gradient gave
a foretaste of a useful increase in velocity.
Th~
new " shell," although actually
developed primarily for my own lightweight.
wi ll shortly be available to everyone.
with a ll sorts ol troubles. some
BESET
serious. some not, my extensively modified •· 350 " Norton engine found its way
onto the test bench some three weeks ago.
only to produce a rapid fall off in power on
the first run up towards max. revs. Investigation revealed signs of partial piston seizure,
a lthough clearances' cold were thought to be
adequate for a chrome-plated alloy barrel.
However, as unsuitable material may be the
real cause of the trouble and there was littl e
time to experiment, we decided at once to
modify one of the old '· long stroke " 500
barrels (79.6 mm.) to suit. This work is now
complete and if all goes well, it can be
assembled into the frame, along with my
new five-speed gearbox, ready for its first
road outing at Motor Cycling's " Silverstone
Saturday " next week-end.
racing at Moclena, I thought, rather
THE
con finnecl my previous comments regarding the '' rmy" future for the 1959 series
1-"irs./ pictures of netv
Peel s/realllliningDukell'ise. Our on
the Mountain ll'ilh
!he "350 " Nor/Oil.
(Below) Geof!' and
lite Nonon ll'ilh irs
ex p e r i 111 e 11 1 a I
''dolphin."
so far as the 125 c.c. and 250 classes are
concerned: excellent raci ng was the order of
the clay and it wa > nice to see that G ilera
have thought fi t to relea >e Liberati to p:tot
a Morini- no doubt with the additional
object o[ making sure that he ha> no lack
of p ractice prior to the 1960 season. when
the Gilera-Guzzi-Monclial agreement expire;;.
I am now fi rmly -:onvin-:eJ tha the 191\0
season will herald the return 01 th:s great
marq ue to Grand P rix rac'n<!. and t\1;,t
Liberati. wi th Bob Mc lntyre moq proba I~.
will form the Gilera <>pearhcaJ.
T HE
results at the Easter Oulton Pa rk
Ineeti n_g we re \'ery informati,·c. ~h one
or two 1959 ·' Manx .. machines made their
debut and as the racing was high ly competi tive, to say the least. lap times made an
interesting comparison with last year. It it
fa irly apparent from these t hat there is a
decidedly marked improvement in the "500
Manx." but on ly a small one in the '· .1 50."'
lt would appear. therefore. that once
again the greatest efTort rega rding development has gone into the 500 c.c. unit,
although its racing future is limited. to put
it in a conservalive \va y . and. at any rate .
the chances of success on merit in Grant..
Prix racing against the \t.V ... four,. a re
re lote.
\\ h' the poor .. 350 ., never seem'
to recei ,·e the full treatment from the
development .. boftins ., will a lways remain
a m y"tery to me.
Bury Club Win N.W. Trial
C ~~1~;~r1 i~~~-~T~~n~as~~~~td~i~~~:dot7~' ~f~~~~=
from the nay Horse I nn j u~t O Uh ~
Blackburn . The cvcnr was open to c lub teaeach o f fou r member s and private teams of th r:::o.:
~.:ondi ti ons
Eight club a nd six private teams were cn rercd . o~
the 55 entries. two were no n-stane rs ancl -.;e"ereti rcd.
The rid ers ha d to cover two laps of a ..;:"(- ·· ~
course. T here were 40 sections in all, the fir.;:
eigh t of these being quite the worst. Th~y corn·
nrised a r un along
r iver and then up
section -; had to be
of oo ze mad~.: tl1cm
the muddy bed of a
a s tt'CP grassy bank.
T
impa...,::;ahk.
Pro,·isional R<'~nlts
Ue11t l)erl'ormancc: E. t\<.lcuck (250 D nt). 11
losL
s~ra'
abandoned because thl' de-· !'1!<!-
Second Re.,.t: B. H olden (200 T ri um phJ.
-
Third Rest: S. Cortl ingl ey (200 G reeV<' S). 20.
C lnb Team Award: Rury a nd D . ;o. I.C. ·J -\
Sandi f orcl, D . Chadwicl-;. , B. H olden. J. G. B- ~...,...
11 4.
Rest Private Team: B. H olden, D. Ch..:c. ...
- 1. G . Brnwn. 65 .
Second Rest Prh·ate TL'am: S. CorJ1ngley. J. :\
San d ifo1d. A. C lew"\ . 1.16.
r
able to win comfortably, showing top form.
R ecords at Mallory Park
1\:TINNING the 1,000 c.c. final at Mallory
l V Park last Sunday. Bob Anderson (499
..-' orton) r aised the 15-lap race record to
/4.22 m. p..h.- an advance by 2.33 m.p.h. on
/hat set up in this class over the 1.35-mi1e
circuit by Mike H ailwood last year. Ander, on fought "ith Hail wood, who was also
on a 499 ='orton. for a full 18 miles before
passing. "hich he did in a magnificent 13thlap that gives him a new lap record, 1.54
m.p.h. better than the best by John Surtees
in 1958. Bob Mclntyre, out on a 348 c.c
A.J.S. in the Junior event. was winner also
with a ne" race speed in this class and
Florian Camathias, of Switzerland (492
B.M.W. s.c.). was equally successful in the
scratch e\ ent for .. chairs ., his race speed
being up on the 195 Bill Boddice record .
Organ;ud C:. ~be S vwngha m T ornado ~1.C .. the
day started n . for A \a .. tair K ing Y.hose :!.!- c.c
NSU gave h im .2 ru o·av.a y wi n in the 250 c.c. fi nal
w here
be
o:..~;_r;pped
the field.
finishin2 as
ttle
only rid er to complete the full 15 laps, The th ree
heats fo r t.1 e · · 35()':.. ·• brought Mclntvre on the
scene. He v- 03 ~t:.e o peni ng race from H ailwoo d.
who we ;J.t C'~ t Hl 1he in i tial lao. King and B. 1.
Daniels . ~.... L'l o n 3-J8 c.c. Norton.s, hi gh-lighted
heats ~ 3 - ,: 3 and oro\·ided race-lo ng excit ement in
the fi na. ~.:.e- ""' irb Bo Anderson. Gary Hock ing
and Bob B:- ~5
~ " ~il i\5
there was a
::::~11
not
~ t a:1
-
-:
Mallon C:-
-~
250
C.C.!
-\
McG.
~1 .. 1-
e
14.
Si<k-a&: F
be.:.trmg iault . did
n::~
.eaders are n ow as fo llows:
"h :int:i.
350 c.c.: R.
• _
c..c.: R. H. F. Andcrson.
., ~hip
'-~~thias.
PTof"isionaJ
10.
Re-~u lt.s
1 i5 -2SO c..c.
King_ c.:J. D . H -
,-
s-.._
In addition to these , Ginger Payne also did well.
On · his Senior N on o n he had been able to press
hard and in the Junio r class mounted on an A.J .S.
loaned by Tom Aner, he notched a convincing
win in front of the Nonons of J. H. Lewis and
Mike O ' Rourke.
In the sidecar scratch event Pip Harris managed
to n otch his first Brands victory with his new
B.M.W. outfit. After lying behind Bill Boddicc
until three-quarters distance H a rri s was able to
assume the lead when Boddice suddenly s lowed
right down with his N orto n outfit on the descent
from D ruids Hill and retired. This also enabled
Cyril Smith (1\: o rto n) and Ted Young on his lo w·
slung E.T.Y.-Vincent to each move UD a p lace into
second and third berths respectively.
The handicap chair race was won by B. G. Gross
(Norton) tho ugh Smith and Young were able to
clo se to repeat their scratch-race positions.
The weal her was dry. cold and very windy; nonelheless a moderate crowd auended.
Prol'isional R esults
Up to 50 c.c. (5 laps= 6X mile 'i): 1. H . D.
German (49 I tom): 2. A. A . Strid e (49 !to m ): 3,
W. D. Ivy (-1.9 l tOm ). Time. 7 min. 37.8 sec .
Speed, 48.7 m. p .h.
120-200 c.c. (10 laps = 12/ 2 m iles): l , D. V.
Chadwick (175 M.V.); 2, K . Whorlo w (172 ~I.V . ):
3. D. ~Lnter (125 E .l\I.C.). Time, 11 m :n . 9 . sec.
<;pced, 66.&4 m.p.h. (record). Lap record, C hadwicli,
r-.S. ~ 6
m.p.h.
201-250 c.c. (15 lap., = 18 3 -~. mile'i): 1. D . \'.
Chaclw ick (203 !\!.V.); 2, D. Mi nter (250 R.E.G.):
3, T. Thorp (249 T .T.S.). Time, 16 mi n. 11.6 sec.
S peed, 68.9 1 m .p.h . Equa l Lap Record, Chadwick.
·
70 .63 m .p.h .
251-1.000 c.c. (20 laps = 25 miles): 1, D . Mintcr
.!9Q -'"Ort0n ): 2, J. L. Payne (499 Norton): 3, R. S.
\;3~ hew (.!96 \f a tch lcs'>).
Time, 20 m :n. 30 .:;ec.
'"ipeed, -2..5 m.p.h.
251-350 c.c. (20 L1Psl: 1, J. L. Pal ne <350 .-\ .J .S.):
2, J. H. Lew is (3-1.8 !S"orwn): 3, .\1. P. O" Rcurk::
(348 Norton). Time, :!l min. 11.4 s.ec. Speed.
70. 16 m.p.h.
251-350 c.c. (15 laps): 1. C. J. W illi am s (348
Norton); 2, R. P. D_awso n (348 A.J.S .l : 3. B. E . P .
~lcEntee (349 A.J.S.).
Time, 16 min . 38 .6 sec.
Spe<>d, 67.05 m.p.h.
351-1.000 c.c. (20 laps): 1, D. M inter (499 Norto n):
2. J . H. Lewis (499 N orton); 3 , R . E. Ro we (498
.VIalchless). Time, 20 m in . 33 sec. Speed, 72.40
m.p.h.
351-1.000 c.c. (15 laps): 1, B. Bate (499 N o rt o n):
2, T. Shcppard (498 Triumph); 3, R. G. Witt ich
(649 Tnumph). Time, 16 min. 15 .4 sec. Speed,
65 .68 m.p.h.
S idecar Scratch (10 laps): 1, P. V. H arris (492
B.M .W.): 2, C . Smith (499 Nonon): 3, E. T.
Young (998 E.T.Y.-Vlncent).
Time. 11 min.
!9.6 sec. S peed, 64.73 m.p.h.
Sidecar H a ndicap (10 laps): I. B. G . Gro« (J 99
- """!..J )· 2. C . Srn . h .!99 ~ ""~n~ nl: 3, E . T . \" 'JU"l:?
E T Y -\ incen·
Ti.me-. J ::'! m~n. 1- ·" se;:_
... pe~d . ...,- .5::: m r.::
SERVI C ES TRIAL
(C.S.M.A.- April 19)
Norm an Frizzell Services Trophy (best perform~~~~~): P/ C R. Wheeler (250 Greeves), 4 m a rks
':I')Oii;.X>d
( J QI)
': . 3.
_, - :::o
---
c.
,j
se~
~ .et
.;.e-
1. Be ...
Lap Figures Fall at Brands
record or _ - _
70.63 m.,-:_...._
D erek .\! m:~ ­
collectcd ~' S . . ~-.;., -
A28
April 23, 1959
812
'OTOR CYCLING
W. H. Jago C up (best Army entrant): Cfn. P. A.
La mpcr (350 B.S.A .) , 7.
William Charles Crocker C up (b est C ivil Service
entrant): C . L. Taverncr (350 A.J .S.), 17.
G ra ha m Walker C u p (best Po lice en trant): P / C
R. G. Leach (500 Aric l), 12.
Dolphinhm T roph y (best l~ower D eck entrant):
1'/ 0 R. B. Compton (250 B.S.A .), 31.
" T he Motor Cycle " Team T rophy: Civil Service
(C. L . Taverner. J . Brace, J. Ewen. L. M. Po ntin.
D. C. H u ll. G . L. Coppuck). 77. Runners-up: Po lice
<P C R. Wheeler. P / C R . G. Leach. P C E. A .
Small, P / C R. F. W oods. P C N . M. \\'estacm t.
P C G. Baillie). 135 .
Special Awards. Sidecar s: W. G. Earnshaw (500
.\fatchless),
136.
Standard Service :\Ja chines.
-\rm)': Cfn. R . Hart (350 Matchless), 28. Police:
P C R . F. Woods (500 Triumph), 33.
First-clasS Awards. Standard Service :\1achines :
Dvr. J. F uller (350 Match less), 28: Sgt. G. Johnstone
0 50 Matchless). 29; W.0.2 J. D. Day (3 50
~latchless). 31; P 1C M. Goodall (500 Triumph ). 36 :
P Sgt. W. Blac kbourn (500 Triumph) and S ~ t.
A . So m ervil!e (350 Matchless). 39. Others: J. Brace
COO Francis-Barnen), 10: Sgt. H. R. G oodson
(350 R 01'al Enfie ld}-' and J. Ewen (500 .-\ riell. 13:
l. :0.1. P ontin (200 lames). 1~: D . C. H ull (500
:\'onon), 16, G. L. Coppuck (200 Francis- Barne u l.
1- : PC E. A. Small (350 .-\.J .S.l. le: :-1. \' . Stelli ng
<3'0 -\.I .S.l . 19 .
:,!···----~;,--~-~~~-,~--~;;~~--;~·--(~;~·~:~~~--~-;~--~~~~-~--v:sional and subject to official con,:;rrralion
Match less W ins " Spanish "
the absence of either Ducati or M.V.
I N" works
" teams, last Sunday's Spanish
G.P. at Barcelona was for private owners
only. A crowd of some 50,000 watched
races for sidecars and 125 and 500 c.c.
solos in good weather.
In the lightweight event, all seven finishers rode
Ducatis and R icardo Fargas, the w inner, finished
10 seconds in fro nt of the second placeman. The
sidecar event was wo n by Fritz Scheidcgger
( 8 ..\1.\V.) by over a minute and he put in a r ecord
lap at 63 .1 8 m.p.h. Peter Ferbrache eas ily won the
500 c.c. race on his Matchless, finis hing nearly 16
seconds in fro nt o f H . Jager (B.M.W.).
Provisional Results
20 laps = 47.22 m iles
m. s.
m.p.h.
R. Fargas (Ducati)
44 40.8
63.26
R. Quintanilla (Ducati)
63.02
44 50.9
45
50
61.67
S. Sah·ado (Ducati) ..
C . del Val (Oucati)
19 laps
18 lap•
J. lesage (Ducati)
Fastest lap: R. Fargas. 2 m. 11.3 s.=64.58 m.p.h .
15 laps = 35.42 m iles
Sidecar
125 c.c.
m. s.
m.p.h.
F. Scheidegger (B.M.W.)
3~ 14.1
61.92
35 33.7
59.61
A. R itter (B.M.W.) . .
36 29.7
58.09
J. R ogliardo (B.M.W. )
14 laps
J. D uhem (B.M.W.)
13 laps
..
F . H a nzi (Norton) . .
Record lap: F. Scheidegger. 2 m . 14.2 s.=63.18
m .p .h .
500 c.c .
25 laps = 59.03 m iles
m. s.
m.p.h .
P. f erbrache (Matchless)
53 3.2
66.59
H. Jager (B.,I.W.)
53 19
66.25
R . Rensen (~o rton)
53 26.9
66.1
54 45.3
64.62
J. G ra ce C'\orron) ..
24 laps
5 .\1. Dato (N orton) . .
23 laps
6 B. DuiTy (Norto n) ..
22 laps
- A. F lares (Matchless)
Fastest lap: P. F erbrache. 2 m. 4.6 s.=68.05
m. p. h .
Travers Trophy Trial
L
OSI:\G o nly fou r mark s on the first lap
a nd 16 on the second. A riel sta r Sammy
Miller won the Tra vers T rophy Tria l last
Saturday by a margin of 10 marks from
Artie Ratclitfe (200 Triumph) and J ohnny
Brittain (350 Royal Enfield). Of those two.
bow.:wr. R :~ tcliffe took the run ner-up award
as he traYelled farther round the 36-mile
~ :rcu:t tha n Bri:tain befor~ losing a mark .
O rg:~nized
y the :-;ewc:btle and D. M.C..
[his nat:onJI e\.:-nt was run over a course
'lar:ing at St. Jo hns Cha pel. nea r Stanhope.
Of ~he iour 5ub -s~vtions a t Ha n ho pe Top. the
second ont:- a.o:tg Lhe ruck-cl u ttered bed of a tinv
stream \\as the mo:'lt interesting. At the h a lf-wa}
p oi nt the rodcs fvrm~d a .. \ ' ... Th e easiest path
looked to be be twe~n tht: rocks, bm o n th is ro ute
lay another bo ulder wh ich jammed many a fronr
whee l while the rear end \\as in the .; V" . . . as
Black ie Ho lden (200 Triumph) fou nd to hi:- cost.
Ho we ver, he only lost one mark fo r a ba:ancing
dab whi le he slammed the throttle open to leap
clear. The ma jority in the same positi on lost the
max imum.
ProYisio nal Results
Tra~ers Troph~ (best solo): S. H. Miller (500
A riel). 20 ma rk~ lo;;;t.
~.U .T. TropbJ (runcer.upl : L. .-\ . Ratclifle (200
Triumph). 30.
Trade Team :\l"ard: T riumph CL. A . Ra rcli ffe.
R . S . Peplow and J . S. Sayer) . 122.
Club Te3nt Award: Bradfo rd and D. M .C. (l. A.
Ratcli ffe. J. R. Sa~· er a nd ~- S. H ol mes). 1-45.
Class Awards. 200 c.c.: R . S. Peplo w (Triumph).
35. 250 c.c.: E . Adcoc!< ( Dot). ~0. 350 c.c.: J. V.
Brittain (R oyal Enfield ). 30.
500 c.c.: G . S.
Blakeway (Ari el). ~8 .
Bradford Bowl {best :"e" cast1e and D. )I.C.
member): D. Yo un• husbanJ (3 50 Ariell. 5~ .
First-class -\ wa rds: \\" \\'ilk.in..,on (200 G reeve~).
B. H olden 0 00 Triumph) and J . G . Brown (1 50
Triumph). +-J; G . 0. ~k laugb:an 0 50 A .J.S.). 52;
D . Younghu~C2:·d r3 ::0 .-\ri ~l). 5J: J. S . Say~ r (200
Triumph>. 5~ ; -...: _ S. H olrneo: (250 G reeve;;; l, 58.
Second-class -\ \,ards: A.. I . C:ache:-. &1: K . G.
H ollo"a;. o ~ . F L oe. 66; C. .-\. ~1 Ne"ood . 68;
.\l. R an ... :_-~m - 1: C J. \ \"ud. - 1; L. G. Jarman. - 3.
(T ie.;; de:iJed l:t) rh.e ct:,tan.:-e rraYe\Jed wi thout
lo.~ of mark'>. l
852
MOTOR CYCLIN G
April 30, 1959
Frank completes his last assignment as a draughtsman. From
now on, "work" will tnean the kind of thing shown befo,•·F. G. Perris (Matchless) in action at the Crystal Palace, 1955.
Off
to
the
Circus
D
THE FRANK PERRIS STORY told by MIKE MARRIOTT
URING the early month s of the ~ ear 1918 a \ oun g di patch
rider. living a charmed life, rode regularly back and forth
across war-torn battlefields, repeatedly hazarding himself aga in st
German shot a nd. she ll to deliver urgent field orders. Fort y
years later that soldier's son spent some of the most thrilling
moments of his own life competing against Germans and
German projectiles; o n ly they weren 't snipers a nd bullets but
friendlier- th ough n one the less determ ined- forces like Ernsi
Hiller, Huber, Haeger and their form idable B.M.W. worb
racers.
T he fact that his " Manx " Norton was four years old gave
added r>iquancy to a brilliant win over the gleaming Munich twins
and made that 1958 victory at Tubbergen, in Holland, all the more
cherished for the man who, this season, has thrown security and
routine aside to spend all his time road racing.
Without the boost of a meteoric rise to stardom. Fra nk Pcrris.
at 28 yea rs of age. has firmly established his replllation- a reputa:
tion as a steady, determined rider, free of temperament, who can
be relied upon lO give of his very best in any race he enters.
A tall, likable.. young man. who dresses with just a dash of
Bohemian elan. he has no illusions and no false modesty about
his pt owes.;; as a racer.
RIO
·· I" m fair!~ good. but l"m aim ing to become better,"' he sa~'·
T hen. with ~ "r'' ,mile. ·· l!'s like a fever with me; I've jtb.
)!Ol 10 rac~.
Don' t a,l.. for an explanation. Perhaps after a scasc;:
or two full -tim' I" ll work it out of my system."
But an~ thought of retirement is in the dim and distant fut ure.
M owr Cycli,rg"s Silverstonc Saturday was the last event for Fran
Perris a' a pan -time racer. Ahead lies all the blood-tingling excit,mcnt of national and international events in Britain and Europe-the old nuznet of the •· Continental Circus.'' After the Silver;,:one
meeting. F;ank packed away his draughtsman's board and instruments in the drawing office of A. M. C.'s Woolwich factory an;:
from no" on he must rely entirely on his skill as a rider to suppc ~
his wife and himself. Can it be done?
.. If you mean will my bank balance swell enough to
,;me in my old age-no, of course not. But don't forget I'm li, i::;
to race rather than the reverse and so long as I can do i:
really don't mind about profi t making." He stated it flatly, witbo _t
being melodramat ic. Just another of those dedicated men » !- 0
race for the sheer. palpitating joy of racing.
.. I knew there could be nothing else after my father too · r'"'
10 the Island in 1949. Harold Daniell became my hero.
In 19:
at Easter. I had my first race at Rhydymwyn tircuit. North\\ ..: _
rode a bea ten-up 1931 C.S.l Norton."
April 30, /959
853
MOTOR CYCLING
was invariably placed in the first half-dozen in every race he entered.
" Did you come anywhere? " I asked.
He bad at last reached that satisfying suite where promoters were
"Yes, I came ·a purler trying to emulate Freddie Frith. I found
happy to bracket his name along with the prinCipal stars . of their
mv first race a bit different from my earlier ' circuit' work, round
meetings.
ari'cl round the Council rubbish-dump at Chester, punishing an old
And so to the present. The Morris Minor and two-bike trailer,
1914 Douglas which we used to coax into life with lighter fuel
loaded with its precious brace of Nortons, will be clocking up ·a
and paraffin."
In contrast to the shining victory over champion Hiller in 1958,
hefty mileage during this spring and summer. For Frank and his
Frank's first trip to the Tubbergen circuit-in 1952-was an essay
wife, Rita , the loaded trailer will be a nomad's home resting ·
in perseverance rather than success. On that occasion, he loaded
briefly, for a night or two , in every major racing paddock in
up h is racer (a well-worn 1935 KIT Velo. with a markedly poor
Europe.
racing history) with camping gear and rode it from Chester to the
Perris will be backed by the same private sponsor who. 'firs(
Dutch meeting. He competed, finished ninth, ignored the eyebrows
expressed his confidence in this Toronto-born sportsman in 1954raised at such a string-and-sealing-wax mount, and motored home
a sponsor who is , perhaps, unique in· that be stands to gairt
again all in a week-end. During the next two seasons he rode
nothing but the resthetic pleasure of seeing his entrant race hard
wherever and whenever it was possible, competing in the 1951 and
and well, with perhaps the added laurels of a first place. He is
'52 Cl ubmans T.T.s on a Triumph " Tiger 100." ·
a man, unconnected with the motorcycle industry, who has staked
But it was in 1953 that he began to savour some of the real
riders like Bob Keeler and the promising John Clark, close friend
thrills of racing, for synchronizing with h is call-up i o · the Army
of Perris, who was tragically killed at Moulins. France , in the
came the acquisition of a "Grand Prix" Triumph. This potent foursummer of last yea r.
year-ol d device, tuned very 'successfully by Perris Senior, carried its
F rank's wife, who knew nothing about racing when she married
owner to several victories aided and abetted by an ardent enth usiast
her husband in 1956. is now indi spensable as manager and timein the form of a R.E.M.E. C. O. Indeed, so encouraging was the
keeper. helping. too , with tasks like wheel-aligning and machine
Army that Pay Clerk Perris spent more ti me on b.h.p. and m.p.h.
cleaning as well as all th e difficul t chores of making life comfortfigures than he ever did on £.s.d .. even ma naging to sq ueeze in a
able in their miniature mobile qua rters. It is she who wi ll make
short Continental season o n a .. Manx ., Norton.
ends meet on the Cont inental start money and odd cash prizes
It was while Frank was still a relative newcomer to the racing
"hich will be the ir sole income during the fo reseeable fut ure . I n
game that a ra re tragedy struck during the 500 c.c. race at Altcar,
Europe, practising rigid economy, they will st retch the average
Lancs. in 1953. After a cut-and-thrust, race-long battle, Frank
£40 fo r two starts to cover living expenses and the cost of f uels ,
snatched the lead half-way through the last lap entering what was
spares and other necessities.
then a notoriously bumpy right-hander. The G.P. Triumph shivered.
On the surface, £40 for one meeting may seem generous, but.
develo!k'd a lock-to-lock wobble and crashed heavily into the· crowd
of course. there a re usually hundreds of miles between tracks
of spectators who had encroached to within three feet of the track.
and it is almost impossible to race each and every week-end. With
T he accident cost the lives of two people and injured others.
everything to be taken from th is total, it isn' t, as it may at fi rst
Frank. although sustaining co ncussion and a broken wrist. was on ly
seem. a rich reward. pa rticularly as no start money is forthcoming
briefly hospitalized. H e was completely exonerated at the inquest.
to resident riders in Britain.
Rita's calculations take into account
bu t for a while this sensitive sportsman's racing career swung in
only the Continental start money, \visely avoiding any plans
the balance.
involving cash prizes.
T he opening of the 1954 season saw Perris mounted on J.V.
So much for the monetary rewa rd of road racing on a fullSpecials-T riumph engines in Norton " Featherbed" frames. This
time basis, which . rightly, is only incidental to this fab ulous.
was the result of his promising rid ing in the previous year. He
fascinating career in the intoxic ating atmosphere of holid ay-mood
had been carefully watched by a private sponsor, talent spotting
crowds . high-speed battles , the stench of racing fu el and screaming
at most of the bigger circuits. He Eked what he saw and Frank's
exhausts. There is a curious contrast in t he fac t that the cen tre of
mounts were assured. Besides piloting the J.V.s , he rode with the
all this infectious, noisy b ustle, should be Fra nk Perris and the
Sport E<1uipe tea m a t Bra nds Hatch in the illustrious company of
other quiet, ·unassuming men like him, who race fo r a reason th at
Phi! \\'ebb . Dudley Ward an d G eoff Monty. ·
only those who have crouched low behind · a peaking rev-coun ter
A su ~>ful ,·ear was capped when Tom Arter offered two end·
can fully understand .
of-season rides · on a 7R A.J .S. · and a Matchless G.45. At both
meetings-Brands again-'--Frank finished in
second place to Joh n Surtees. T om Arrer
was delighted "ith the way the young rider
handled .-\. _ LC. machinery and pred icted a
glowin g future.
So to 19:5 . when Corporal Perris once
I a gain tRc:ame plain Mister.
There was a
climax of a d iffe rent kind to finish yet another
good :t':l'Vn and to commem orate h is 24th
birthday. Pra rising for the J unior T T .. he
ran OCJt of road at J..:. irkmichael. put hi '
7R ou: of ommission and left a number of
perfectl: good front . teeth at the roadside.
Hap pv birrhday' H owever, he rode in -the
Senior and
< ed just four seconds short
of a .. Sih r." .. I ouldn't really get my
teeth in:o it tha: vear.'' he reminisced!
That win!e~. res;less. still suffering period<
of remorse owr the Altcar incident. he
embarked on a cargo boat and worked hi s
passage to Cape To~m with a vague idea o f
emigrating. Bm after four monrhs. looking
arou nd tbat suany land and working as a
casual mechanic. letters from his racing
friends and the hint of a works ride made
Engla nd and home irresistible and he returned
to a place in the 1956 A.J.S. works team a nd
the thrill o: a bn:nd-new 7R . Toget her with
Gavin Dunlop and the late D erek Ennett.
Frank helped to win the Manufact urers
Team prize for that yea r in the Junior T .T.
In 1956. ·s- and '58. he cl imbed steadily.
Thoe's something of the Circus armosphere in this shol of the equipe wi!lz the J. V.
the cloud of misfortun~ <:> vaporated , and he
Specials. Chattinf{ to wife Rita in the trailer is fi·iend and ri•·al rider Ernst Hiller .
..
9
May 7, 1959
BRITAIN~
S. MIDLAND CENTRE START FUND
I.S.D.T. = £ s.d. W
ITHIN 48 hours of the A.-C.U. General
Council meeting, the South Mid!and
A.C.U. WILL SEND TEAM-IF MONEY CAN BE RAISED
team to represent Great Britain at the International Six Days Trial
A inTROPHY
Czechoslovakia in September will be sent by the Auto-Cycle Unionprovided the cost of competing, about £950, can be raised. At this moment, letter:;
are going out to all 800 A.-C.U.-affiliated clubs to ask what financial support
can be expected. Their replies must be made before May 31.
These decisions were taken by the
Union's General Council at their second
meeting of the year, held at the R.A.C.,
London. last Friday. Towards the total
cost, the Union had already budgeted to
contribute £175, so actually £775 remains
to be raised. The meeting pointed out that
contributions would gladly he accepted from
any source.
The Competitions Committee's recommendation to sponsor an I.S.D.T. team.
said Mr. J. C. Lowe , chairman of the
Committee, followed the Industries Associati on's decision not to send a team, loan
any machines or give permission for their
riders to compete-views which the A.-C.U.
respected.
He felt iL was po."ible. f;om thei1
inquiries, to send a team of riders of " a
reasonable calibre," although "we have
not got Lhe cream of the country." Later,
vice-president H . P. Baughan remarked
that, in his view, the team would ha ve
·' a reasonable chance of s1iccess " i11
the Trophy competition.
In answer to questions, Mr. S. T.
Huggett, the Union's secretary, said the
£950 would cover only the travelling,
accommodation and competing expenses of
the team and its manager, not the cost of
machinery. but Mr.- Baughan announced
that "several agents " had promised to provide machines, if the manufacturers would
not.
After several delegates had promised the
fi nancial support of their clubs and
Centres, Mr. G. R. Allan (Southern Centre)
declared: "There is not a delegate here
THE AUSTRIAN G.P.
Hartle and Hocking Share Honours
rain adversely affected
TORRENTIAL
proceedings during the Austri an Grand
Prix , held on a 3.16-mile circuit a t Salzburg
o n May l.
M.Y. entries had been received, but John
Hurtle on the " 500 " and Carlo Ubbiali
on a " 115 " were the only ones to turn up.
1-lartle had difficulty in using his mount's
superior power on the wet road, while
Dickie Dale displayed his magnificent handling of t,he B.M.W. twin, leading the
Gallarate Screamer by more than 20 sec.
before dropping out with carburetter trouble.
GeotT Duke had a first try~out on his beautifully~
prepared 250 c. c . NSU twin. but mechanical trouble
...cm hlm back to the paddock before he could finish
his first lap, whilst a similar fate bestruck his
o utside-flywheel 350"' c.c. Nonon after it had
developed some gearbox vices during practice.
Gary Hocking, Rhodesian threat to come for this
year 's season, seemed not to be bothered by the
rain, beating John Hemplcman by almost a minute
:tnd a half in winning the 350 c.c. race.
Sidecar world champion \V. Schneider (B.M.W.)
was stopped by a br_?ken exhaust valve.
MOTOR CYCLING
who would not pledge the support of hi'
Centre and clubs to send a British team
to the greatest international sporting event
of the year."
He urged that the .-\ .-C.U .. irrespe ctive of thci1
financial resources, should accePt fu!J respo n~;ibility
for the team's expe nse s, delegating tha t responsibili ty, if necessary, to its Centres a nd cl ubs.
Other delegates felt , h o \veve r, that it would be
wrong for the Council to accent thi s responsibility
without first asking the opinion of its constituent
clubs. and there was no opposition to Mr. A.
J cfferics' proposal to accept the Competitions
Committee's recommenda t ion and to canvass for
\U pport from the clubs.
Earlier, Mr. Lowe announced that the Competitions Committee had examined the circumstances
of the Crystal Palace accident on Easter Monday,
in " which two riders had been killed, and •. was
of the opinion that the organ izational arrangements were perfectly sati..:facto ry:·
T he Committee had found no l'Y d.:-n.:..:- ·· 0f
anything Jacking·· in the signalling arrangemen!S.
bu t it had been decided to se nd to all riders a
card illustrating and expla ining the function s and
meaning of all warni ng flags.
Notes regarding
flag signals would also be sent to race promoters.
The Council passed without comment the Competitions Committee's decision not to permit
unrestricted streamlining for machines in th is
year's Clubman's Trophy races. but to all o'\l.
" machines \vhich have so me form of standard
enclosure.' '
Thev al so oas<.:;ed the Commi ttee's
decision ro app1:0\·e the requeq of the \lan x
:VI.C.C. !O allow riders in the Hla ndfo rd International meeting on May 18 to co mpete in the
1959 Manx G.P.
Proposing the adoption of the Managem e nt
Committee's minutes, the ch airman, Mr. ~- E.
Dixon. referred to the impending retirement of
their " hard working. ever genial '' sccrctan·, :\fr
Hug:geu . on Januar y 1. 1960. Mr. H uggett had
o.:.en·ed the Cnion in various capaci t ie' for -1-0 years.
·· \Ve are going to mi.;.s him Yen: much." 'aid
Mr. Dixon.
Presenting the balance .sheet and account.:; for
the past year and next ycar·s budget. th e Union•..,
treasurer. Mr. K. S. Topping, remarked on " the
flourishing condition" of the finances.
M.J.B.
125 c.c. (10 laps): I C. L:bb[ali 01.\'.l. 2 H
Fuegner (I\1Z). 3 E. D egncr ( ~1.Z l. 4 E. Lcchner
(K.T .M.), 5 W. Spinnler (Oucali). 6 B. Nicklasson
(Ducati) . 7 L. Hedlund (Ou cat i). 8 E. Wuenschc
( \I. V.). 9 W. Friend (M .V.). 10 K. Schachl (Puch).
Time: 30 m. 58 s.=6l.40 m.p.h. Fastest lap: E .
Dogne r, 3 m. 1.3 s.=62.90 m.p.h.
250 c.c. (15 laps = H.53 miles): 1 H . Fuegner ( ~IZ\
2 E. Dcgncr ( '.fZl. 3 H. K as>ner f='~l'l. 4 F.
Klacger (NSU), 5 R. Thalhammer (E'Sl'). 6 G.
Beer (Adler). 7 J. Autengruber <='Sl-). 8 ~1.
Schneider (NSU), 9 A. Klaus ( SCJ. 10 ~ 1.
Schafleitner (NSU). 11 L. Mal chus (~Sl'J. Time :
45 m. 32.9 s.=62.55 m.P.h. Fastest lap: H Fuegner.
2 m 57.8 s. = 64.17 m.p.h.
350 c.c. (15 lap•): 1 G. Hocki ng (N orto n), 2 J .
Hempleman (Norton), 3 H. Ka(;,sner ( ~ orton), ..J,
R. H. Dale (A.J.S.) , 5 A. Sch neide r f=' orton), 6
K. T. Kavanagh (Norton), 7 J. Findlay (N orto n).
8 J . Red man (Norton), 9 J. H ochwallner (Norto n),
10 H. Kauert (A.J.S.). 11 E. Hiller (Nonon). Time:
44 m. 3.9 s.=64.R2 m.p.h. Fastest lap: G. H oc king ,
2 m. 52.t 5.=66.24 m .p.h.
500 c.c. (15 laps): 1 J Hartle (M .V.). 2 G .
H oc king (Norton). 3 E. G. Driver (;:--.Jorton), 4
K. Untersteggrabcr (Norton). 5 G. Kadi (Triumph).
Time: 41 m. 46.9 5.=68.31 m.p.h. Fastest lap: J.
Hartle, 2 m. 39.2 5.=71.66 m.p .h.
' Sidecars: (10 laps): 1 F. Scheideggcr (B. M.W.).
2 B. Snajdcr (B.M.W.), 3 J. Aschauer (Norton) .
4 V. Pongratz (Norton) , 5 C . Lambert (Gilera).
Time: 29 m. 49.6 5. = 63.7J m.p.h . Fastest lap: W.
Schneider (B.M.W .). 2 m. 53.7 5.=65.65 m.p.h.
Centre endorsed the Union's proposal to
enter a British team in the l.S.D.T. and, in
addition, together with its clubs, unanimous!~·
agreed to offer a guarantee of not less than
£100 towards the cost involved. The Board
hopes that this early indication of financial
support Fill encourage other Centres and
dulls to fo!low the lead. At the end of the
meeting, £12 lls. ,had been contributed by
individual delegates present as a foundation
to the fund. Full details of the Centre's appeal
are being dispatched to all its clubs.
Keen Racing at Mettet
THOSE 5.000 specta tors who braved the
_._ cold. but dry weather last Sunday ,!{
Mcttet, in Belgium, to watch the international races over the 4.97 miles circuit,
in which events for 50 c.c., 350 c.c., 500 c.c.
and sidecars were included, were rewarded
by some very keen battles. They even sa11
some sun. . .
Peter Ferbrache headed the
Junior event until ignition trouble hal te d
his A.J.S. Then Ralph Rensen (Nonon l
took his place afte r a spectacular fight
11ith Au,trali a's Tom Phillis (Norton).
The 500 c.c. event was enlivened by P hilli~·
determination to gai n the victory - which had pr eviously eluded him. Right from the start, be went
into the lead on his Norton , followed by
Ferbrache, riding his G50 Matchless, and the 1\\
fought it out elbow to elbow while exciterne;:'l;.
rose with every lap. Meanwhile , Firmin D auwe.
rhe ::\'orton-riding Belgian, wa's havjng a great
scrap with Frank Perris (Norton)-the la tter
making his debut as a Continental Circusman.
Germany's Hchnuth Fath (B.M.W.) enjoyed az.
easy victory in the sidecar race after Fl oria~
Camathias, who had led for all but one lap.
double-so mersaul ted
his
Munich-made
modeJ
fonunately without injury. Cyril Smith (Nort on
lying third. retired o n the 6th lap.
Prol'isional Results
50 c.c. (5 laps = 24.85 miles): 1 P. Vervroe gen
!tom). 2 A . Wirtz (!tom). 3 R. Hansct Otoml.
.; J. Dclleli o (!tom), 5 L, Counotte (Itom), 6 .'I.
T urchi (Itom).
Time, 27 m. 40 s.=53.92 m.p.b.
Fastest Jap: P . Vervroegen. 5 qt. 30 s.=54.22 m .P.h.
350 c. c. (20 laps = 99.42 miles): 1 R . B. Re men
(Norton). 2 T. Phillis (Norton), 3 F. Dau we
(Norton). 4 R. Milles (Norton), 5 R. Bogaerdt
(Norto n) , 6 W. D. Craig (Norton). Time: I b.
8 m. 2 5.=87.62 m.p.h. Fastest lap: P. Ferbraot:e
and R. B. Rensen, 3 m. 20 s.=89.48 m .p.h.
500 c.c. (20 laps): 1 T. Phillis (Norton), 2 P .
Ferbrache {Matchless), 3 F. Dauwe (Nonon), 4
F. Perris <='orton). 5 R. Oogaerdt (Norton). 6 H.
Gumher fB.~ l.W .). Time: I h. 4 m. 25 5.=92 .52
m.p.h. Fastest lap: P. Ferbrache and T. Phi!lis
3 m. It s.=93.69 m.p.h .
Sidecar (12 laps =59.65 miles): I H. Fa tb.
lB.M.W.). 2 0. Kolle (B.M.W.), "3 A. Butscher
(B.M.W.), 4 L. Urouhart (Nonon), 5 L. Neussne:<B.M.W.), 6. J. Rogliardo (B.M.W.l. Time: 43 m.
l s.=8 2.92 m.p .h.
Fastest lap: F. Camathias
B ~1.\V.). 3 m. 30 s.=85.2t m .p.h.
THE SAAR G.P.
(Germany-May 3)
l25 c.c.: 1 L. Taveri (MZ). 2 w. ·Musiol (MZ ,
3 W. Scheidhaucr (Ducati). Time: 42 m. 32.2 s.=
66.49 m .p.h.
250 c.c.: 1 Musiol (MZ). 2 L. Taveri (~IZ
3 H. Kassner (NSU). Time: 50 m. 5.2 5.= : 0.53
m .p.h.
350 c.c.: 1 G. Hocking (Norton), 2 R. H. Dale
(A.J.S.), 3 E. G. Driver (Norton). Time: 59 m
26.1 s. = 72.0t m.p.h.
500 c.c.: l G. Hocking (Norton), 2 R. H . Da'e
(B.M.W.). 3 E. G. Driver ()'l'ortonl. Time, I bo.
5 m. 40 5. = 69.66 m.p.h.
Sidecar Race: 1 E. Strub (B.M. W .). 2 A..
Rohsiepc (B.M.W.) . 3, L. Neussner (B .~!.\\.
Time: 54 m. 52.6 s. =64.31 m.p.h.
LEST·WE-FORGET BROOKLANDS
JTth~ ~r~;kl~O o~ea::ci~i;c~xl~:~~;~a~~~ er~~~oe~il~~
s tone was commemorated last Saturday nigh:
with another successful round·up of tl1e old t r a~k·:5
riders and habitues at the "Hand and S oear.''
Weybridge.
MOTOR CYCLING
46
May 14, 1959
Record-breaking
North-West ''200''
Bob Mclnty re ( Norton) Se ts New Senior
Race Speed at " One Over the Ton"
Ulsrerman T ommy
Robb, winner of both
lightweight events ,
o n rhe 2 50 c . c.
G.M.S. at lv!etropole
Corner.
Saturday's international NorthL AST
West " 200 "- the race that was almost
t
lost to Llster- produced a succession of
new lap records a t a new- tyle meeting
which caught the imagination of the public
to such an extent that the attenda nce
record. too. was shattered. Organizers were
the Coleraine Clu a nd the Ulster Centre.
Bob Mclm~Te (Nonon) was the hero of
the Senior race. ca reering round the 11-mile
Portstew an-Coleraine-Ponrush circuit in
faul tless style to set a new lap record at
o ver 10c m.p .h. a nd to raise the race
a\·erage o,·er 101 m.p.h.
A spl"ndid effort was the challenge to
lv!ci nt~Te by P. :\1iddleton. riding a Norton
t uned b,- Frc.n;:·- B<.>art. Middle-ton sha red
wit!1 M-dnt\ re the distinction of lapping
at o,·er -- the ton " and ran him a good
second. a1thou!!h I m. 46 s. behind at the
fi nish.
H:lrold D:!IlieU's runner. John
Holder ');onont. :;.!so ga\e a good account
of himself to finish third.
Another Scot. Alastair King (Norton)
colle-.:t<.>d the 350 c.c. race for the second
year ir> ucces,ion. This ti'me the pursuit
man ; _- AJan Shepherd . on a very fleet
349 AJ. . Third place went to Tom Thorp
(Nono:::. :l!sr o·-er two minutes behind
K ing. G-eo:'f Duke started in this racebut o- ':- j ·t. retiring after 100 yards with
a bro e-: oil re·urn pipe on his Norton.
Anothe:- e...::- re;,iremea\ \\3 that of Terry
Shepherd. "ith " -- 'fficult .. second gear
in his :"'onon·, fi,e-speed t:ox: he was
using ~;-- o_;,ide-!l~-.hee-1 <.>a_·ne of standard
bore ne :S:;o ~e.
The :: :.:. ewn:-{)o p3per he r:~c<.>
of the .: ~ ~:u;"-·-re;:en d 2 h..!:-d ··no.:k irom
non-<;rte:-s .. Fi~s : T rr;.
b~ph rd. who
had o. lucd !rs r::ew!y .:;- u:c d ~S U. d id
not r:d~ fo~ t:nd"::i:-:.~d ·· poEc. reasons.
Then Geo-= Duke. who h.?.d ~cu !!ht o ver
the tWlil . 'SL · ili Reynolds fnm-e. found
that the -a:·.~s · • .::>.":le :1 • :: ··mix d up ..
in pract:c : Geo·_g~ C.d:n '.lS :~lso 3 non·
star;er and B;:~ B~o en ~ non ·app~:~rer.
Wo=. upon ;~e P: :i:-s: bp Alastair
King (:"\SL-1 <;a;:.;>ed ;;.: !>fill urn. then
pulled in at ·he e:->d of th~ :r ua. So.
A30
for t-he opening lap, the battle lay b~tween
three· Ulstermen,- Tommy Robb (G.M.S.),
D:~vid And rews (NSU) and
Noel Orr
( ~S ). On the third lap Andrews vanished
with boring t rouble. Robb maintained a n
easy lead a nd O rr held on to second berth
- his 'first-ever placing in a n internatioml
race. Wha t was to ha ve been the big race
of the day ended in a procession .
But, as if to show that numbers a re not
the mai.n ingredient, the 125 c.c. race o ver
five laps, introduced for the fi rst time on
this course, produced really brill iant racing.
There were only five runners- a nd t he
course measured 11 miles-but despite this
the crowd were kept on tip-toe of expecta ncy
a nd T ommy Robb a nd Fron Purslow. both
on Ducatis, scrapped wheel to wheel every
inch of the way, the decision going to Robb
bv one of those finish ing-line manceu\Tes
for whicl-t tbe .. ?'onh-West .. is ooted.
125 c.c.
Pro' i~iona l Results
5 laps; 55.l5 mile!
m . s.
m .p .h
l T . H . Robb (Ducati)
43 47.4
75.72
43 48
75.71
2 F. Purslow (Ducati)
3 W. ~1 . Webster (M . V.)
. . 45 47
7Z.44
Record lap: T. H. R obb, 8 m. 29 s.;78.!9 m.p ,h
The race speed is a lso a record.
150 c.c.
7 laps;77.39 miles
m. s.
m.p.h.
l T. H. Robb (G.M.S.J
53 45
86.38
1 N. Orr (NSU)
55 l7
83.73
3 J. W . Dixon (NSU)
. . 55 37
83.48
Fastest lap: T . H. Robb, 7 m . 31 s;-; 88.24 m.p .h .
Class Handicap: 1, Dixo n; 1, R obb; 3, Orr.
350 c.c.
9 laps ; 99.50 mile>
h. m. s.
m·.p .h.
1 A. King (Norton)
I 1 32
97.01
2 A . Shepherd (A.J.S.)
1 2 37
95.33
3 T. Thorp (Norton)·
1 3 35
_91.93
Record lap: A. K ing, 6 m. 45 s.;98 .26 m.p.h.
The race speed is also a record.
Class H andicap: 1, J . Adam (Norton); 2, R . S.
~[ayhcw (A.J.S.); 3 , K ing.
9 laps ; 99.50 miles
h. m. s. - m .p .h .
R. McG. Mclntyre (N ortou) 1 3 59
101. 21
P. Middlcton (Norton) . . 1 5 45
98.16
J. R. Holder -(Norton) . . I 5 46
9'8,24
Record lap: R. McG. Mclntyre , 6 m . 28 s. ; J02.57
m.p.h. The race speed is also a record.
Class Handicap: 1, Middleton; 2, F. G o rdon
t:\orton); 3, \V . Ro berton (N or ton) .
500 c.c.
l
l
3
In typically aggressire style, 500 c.c. winner and record-breaker Bob .\Jclm_rre
takes his Norton round Henry's Comer.
42
MOTOR CYCLING
SPORTS GOSSIP
by NORl\fAN SHARPE
SECTION ENDS?
~~sc~u!~s~~t:i~~t,ths~c~tc:'n5 ~rfe t~~n~~~~1i f~~i~~:~~
have been approved to drive a road along the
ancient track from Kinlochmoidart. The path or
the Staircase is, of course, a public right-of-way.
a fact demonstrated by a cyclist who insisted on
last Thursday's run being held up while he pushed
his heavily laden machine up the hill.
Clerk of the course Gcorgc Baird, who was the
first man to ··clean" the Staircase, in 1939. tells
me that the Edinburgh club is responsible for
making good trials damage to the surface of the
entire path from Kinlochmoidart to Lochailort. The
club honoured its obligations on the eve of last
Thursday's run by rebuilding and cementing the
wall on the left of the last right-hander \vhich had
been conveniently removed to give sufficient handlebar clearance for a wide sweep on the bend. Some
foreign competitors were considerably confoundCd
by the wall's mysterious reappearance, particularly
A. Roucka who attempted it with out prior
inspection and had to dab in consequence.
DISNEY HITCH
THs~x ~~·s i~~~~t~~ an~~~~}~st~J~0~~h~h~~~da~c~,t~i~~
a bus belonging to the Wait Disney technicians who
are filming Robert Louis Stevcnson's ,; K idnapped:·
on location in the area near Camp, ran om of
road. fhe bus blocked the way for the otllcials
who were taking up the section markers. but
heavily laden solo D.R.s got past the obstruction
and all was ready when the first competitors
reached the hill.
LlBERATl (M.V.)?
LI~;Rgile~~.B~~~!!· ;;:17anw~h=m~~~~~\~i~crra~~
meeting at lmola last week, is to ride for another
Italian factory, presumed to be M.V., it is
rumoured.
HYDRA ULICS FOR HOWARD'?
Current " over- the- counter " Norton
"Manx" engine bevel gear driveshaft
modified with the requirements of the
desmodromic valve gear in mind, but
meantime standard on the '59 racers.
ARCHER ATTACKS LUNDIN'S LEAD
F~;~~w~~~1Pi~~shY~1ct~~~~~~~os~u~caitin~n h~~~
at Rendbjcrg, iri Denmark. Les Archer (Norton)
. jumps from the fourth place he shared with H .
Scaillet (Matchless) after the Swiss event to
runner-up position, two points behind Stcn Lundin.
The results of the Danish meeting appear below,
together with the present championship scorecard.
Final cla~isification: 1 L. R. Archer (Non on. G .B.).
2 R. Baeten (A.J.S., Belgium), 3 B. Dirks (B.S.A .,
Holland), 4 B. Rasbro (B.S.A .. Denmark), 5 N .
Jar.sen (Matchless, Belgium), 6 £. Hansen (Matchless, Denmark).
World Championship Positions: t, S. Lundin
(Sweden, Monark), 14 points: 2, L. R. Archer
(G.B .. Norton), 12; 3. B. Nilsson (Sweden, Crescent), and B. Dirks (Holland, B.S.A.), 11; 5, R .
Baeten (Belgium. A.J.S.), 6; 6, H. Scaillet (Belgium, Matchless), 4; 7, D. G . Curtis (G.B. ,
Matchless) and B. Rasbro (Denmark, B.S.A.), 3;
9, R . Tibblin (Sweden, Husquvarna), N. Jansen
(Belgium, Matchless) and J. Rombauts (Belgium,
B.S.A.), 2; 12, E. Hansen (Denmark, Matchless)
and G. Johansson (Sweden, Crescent), 1.
FERBRACHE STARS IN F)NLAND
B ~fJe~ ~~:s t~eete;1~er~f:i~~;r;aa~af~e 3~~~~n~ir~~
road race meeting, held at Helsinki, Finland, last
Sunday. He led from start to finish in both
Senior and Junior events.
Australian Ken
Kavanagh ran away with the 125 c.c. race.
Prol'isional Results
350 c-c. (25 laps=31.07 miles): 1 P. Ferbracbc
(A.J.S.), Britain: 2 0. Nygren (A.J.S.), Sweden;
3 R . T. Matthcws (Norton), Ireland; 4 K. Kavanagb
(Norton), Australia. 125 c.c- (15 laps = 18.64 miles):
1 K. Kavanagh (Ducatil: 2 R. Loponen (Ducati),
Finland; 3 L. Hoegbcrg (Ducatil, Sweden. 500 c.c_
(25 laps): I P. Ferbrache (Norton); 2 K. Kavanagh
(Norton); 3 E . Hiller (B.M.W.), West Germany.
Sidecars (15 la!ls): 1 E. Strub (B.M.W.), Switzerland; 2 H. Fath (B.M.W.), West Germany;
3 B. Persson (Norton), Sweden .
ERROL ROAD RACES
(Dundee and Angus M.C.-May 10)
.
350 c.c- Experts Barred Final (6 laps = 12 miles):
1 I. Wallace (Nonon), 2 G. Sutherland (Norton),
3 G. Bell (Nonon). 200 c.c. (4 laps = 8 miles):
1 A. E . Peatman (M.V.), 2 A. Whitr.ker (Triumph),
3 A. Mudie (Triumph). Unlimited Experts Barred
Final (6 laps): 1 G. Sutherland (348 Norton), 2
I. Wallace (348 Norton), 3 G. Bell (348 Norton).
A24
..t.\_ MYc~;3c\~~Epki~~~~ial uti~~~~g a vr:?~~~ombX
engine and Mark Vlll frame and will probably
have a hydraulically operated front brake. It is
hoped to complete the machine in time for it to
be ridden by Howard German and Phil Heath in
the Bol D'Or (June 7) and it will also be used
in the Barcelona 24 hours' race, on July 5, by
Howard and another rider.
Up to 125 c.c. (~ laps): I P. Carr (Ducati). 2 V.
Wyld (M.V.), 3 lo. Cooper (Triumph). Sidecars
(6 laps): 1 R. Smith (998 N orton / Vincent), 2 W.
Jackson (499 Nonon), 3 J . ~!artin (~99 N unon '
B.S.A.). 250 c.c. (6 laps): 1 C. Bruce (\'elocette),
2 I . Wallace (Velocettc), 3 W. Crosier {\'eloaottol.
500 c.c_ (10 hlPS = 20 miles): I A. K ing (:"'ortc•nl,
2 R . Mclntyrc (Norton), 3, G. Bell (:-!anon).
COOKSTOW:'> " 100" ROAD RACES
(Cookstown and D. ~I.C.- ~~l 6)
Open Handicap: 1 \\' . ~~cCosb (.J98 ~ll :c h le ss) ,
2 J. J. McGovcrn (.t99 .:'\orton), 3 R. L. Ireland
(348 Norton). Time: 1 h. 10 m. 56 s.=78 .58 m.p.h.
Fastest finisher: R . Ferguson (499 Norton.), 81.24
m.p.h. Scratch Classes. 500 c.c.: 1 R . Ferguson
<Norton). 2 P. McKnight (Norton), 3 W. McCosh
(Matchless). Time: I h. 13 m. 56 s.=81.24 m.p,lt.
Fastest lat>: R. Ferguson, 5 m. 34 s. = 82.99 m.p.h.
350 c.c.: I F. Purslow (Norton·), 2 J. McGimpsey
(Vclocette), 3 P. E. Richardson (A.J.S.). Time:
I h . 15 m. 13 s. = -9.85 m.p.h. Fastest lap: 1-.
Purslow. 5 m. -H s.= 1.29 m.p.h . 250 c.c.: 1 S.
H odgins (\ .elocen e). 2 G . Could er (:Sew Imperial).
3 R. G. Phillips (New Imperial). Time: 1 h. 14 m.
58 s. = 67.79 m.p.h. Fastest lap: S. Hodgins. 6 m.
36 s. = 69.99 m.p.h. 200 c.c_ Race: I J. Hagan
(Triumph), 2 H. Owens (B.S.A.), 3 M. ~lcConkcy
(Triumph). Speed: 63.54 m.p.h.
RHYD\'~IW\':\' ROAD RACES
(Wirral ·' 100 " l\f.C.- :Ma.) 9)
150 c.c. Final (8 laps = 4 miles): 1 J . A. Dugdale
(125 Ducati). 2 J. C. Smith (115 M.\'.), 3 :-1. T.
Doncaster 025 M.V.). Time: 5 m. 34.4 s. 200 c. c.
Final (8 laps): 1 J. A. Dugdale (1 75 Duca u). 2 D. F .
Peacock (Triumph), 3 H. lrlam (L.E. Special).
Time: 5 m. 32.6 s . 250 c.c. Final (8 laps): 1 W. L.
Wallwork (204 Ducati), 2 S. E. Ackroyd (Excelsior),
3 H . Hall (Velocettel. Time: 5 m . 36.4 s. 350 c.c.
Final (8 laps): 1 J. Evans (B.S.A.). 2 R. K . Ward
(Norton), 3 W. Fulton <Norton ). Time: 5 m. 5.4 s.
1,000 c.c. Final (8 laps): 1 J. hans (3~8 B.S.A.).
2 P. Bettison (348 Norton), 3 J. Engle (348 Norton).
Time: 5 m. 3.8 s. First Sidecar (8 laps): 1 F .
Nightingale (499 Norton). 2 J. Spriggs (599 Norton),
3 P. Lympany (498 Triumph). Time: 6 m. 5.6 s.
Second Sidecar (8 laps): 1 F. Nightingale (499
Norton), 2 P. Lympany (498 Triumph), o nly two
finishers. Time: 6 m. 6 s.
DUCATI HITS AUSTRALIA
USTRAL!A had its first experience of the
125 c.c. Ducati at the Port Wakefield road
race meeting last Saturday, when one of these
A
May 14, 1959
MINTER AND MORIN!
WHEN, last Monday. he opened the Girling
spring-unit testing station currently operating
at Gus Kuhn·s Stockwel! ~howrooms. Derek Minter
told Motor Cycling's man that h e had been
approached to race Morini machines this season.
The factory, however. have d ecided that, fast
though their engines are. the fra mes need some
development and they will not. therefore. contest
the t959 World's Championsh ip events. Derck wi"
be taking a cOllPlC or R.E.G.s to the Island.
WHITE COMES TO
VER two weeks after he was concussed an d
injured in a crash at Mallory .Park on April 19.
Malcolm White regained consciousness last week.
Leicester Royal Infirmary state that his gencra1
condition is now slightly improved.
T.T. SUPPORTERS BADGES
Supporters badges, price 2s. 6d., are no"
•
• availabie in the Isle of Man or, po:,t
free, from A.-C.U. headquarters. 83 Pall Mall.
London. S. W.l. All proceed s from the sale of
these badges will go to the A.-C.U. Bene\'Oient
Fund.
l.S.D.T. TEAM
F OLLO\V I NG ItS dec1ston to send a T ro pb\
Team to the l S D.T. thts vear , the A.-C.U. is
busy compiling a list of riders interested in th is
type of event. Several •• possib!es" have entered
for the Welsh Two-Day Trial (May 28-29) and
although entry in it is not essential in order to be
considered for the team. the selection committee
will watch performances in that trial very closeh
Would-be teamsters. please note!
WARD LEADS SOUTH
~lAKING a welcome return to scrambling, Ge.1li
.J.
Ward captains the Southern team when tbe)
do battle with the North in the southern leg of th~
~on.h ..-. So uth Scramble at Pirbright next Sundav
The ftul teams arc as follows:-Somhern: G . H.
Ward (capt.l, J. Clayton , K. Messenger, I. ;
Horsell, F. Underwood, J. Sheehan, G. King, T.
White, J. Johnson, K. Hcanes, P. Cremer (resen·e)
Northern: B. W. Martin (capt.), J. Button, P . TaiL
M. Tate, R. Tatc, R. Preston, J. Matthews. R
Kyffin. D. Butterwonh, P. Flctcher. P. Spen;:c
(reserve).
Q
T T
-------~-
machines, ridden by its owner. Jack \\'a1: ~ .
scored a runaway win in the ultra-light\\eig:-:
event.
Provisional Results
125 c,c.: 1 J. Waiters <DucatiJ, 2 G. H t:s ~
(Hunter Special), 3 A. Wallis .(Tilbrook Spccia:
2.50 c.c.: I \'. Bell (Velocettc). 2 D. NichoJ.,
rB.S ..-\ .J. 3 F. Colcs (Special). 350 c.c.: 1 ~I
Parkinson (B.S.A.), 2, 0 . Archibald (Norton,,
3 G. Mudge (A.J.S.). 500 c_c.: 1 M. Parki - "
(B.S.A.J, 2 0. Archibald (Norton), 3 K . Dob_ n
(Matchless).
Invitation Race: I 0. Arch ibald
(Norton), 2, G. Crowe (Norton), 3 K . Dobso n
(Matchless). Sidecar: I L. Virtue (498 Triumphl,
2 W. McGaffin (649 Triumph).
ZANDVOORT ROAD RACES
(Holland-May 10)
125 c.c.: 1 H. Pes! (Ducati), 2 W. Scheidhauer
<Ducati), 3 W. Spinnler (Ducatil. 250 c.c_: 1 G.
Beer (Adler). 2 S. Lohmann (Adlcr). 3 H . Kassner
(:>;SL' ). 350 c.c.: I G. Hocking (Norton), 2 J E
R edman (:>;on onJ. 3 H. Kassner (Nortonl. 500 ~.t-:
I G. Hocking (Norton), 2 J. E. Redman (Norton ,
Sidecars: I \\'
3 R. Bogaerdt (Norton).
~:;~?egger (B.M.W.). 2 L. Urquhart (Nonon), j
BOURG EN BUESSE ROAD RACES
(France--May 10)
175 c.c.: 1 Onda (:-1ondial), 2 G. Burggral
C\1. \. .), 3 A. Jacqu1er (Mondial).
Speed, 63. ,;
m .p. h.
250 c.c.: 1 F. Klager (NSU), .2 Bar, o=
(~!.V .), 3 L. B~1viera (Guzzi).
Speed, 65.42 m. p.b.
350 c.c.: 1 A. 1 row (Norton), 2 P. Driver (Norwn
3 J. Collet (Nonon).
Speed, 69.74 m.p.h. 500
c.c.•: 1 P. Driver (Norton), 2 R. H. F. Andcrs\f:l
(Norton), 3 Ligier (Norton). Speed, 71.96 m.p h
Sidecar: 1 F. Camathias <B.M.W.). 2 Rogliar~
(B.M. W .), 3 Duchcm (B.M.W.l.
Speed, 66.- m .p.h.
MARKELO MOTO-CROSS
(Holland-May 7)
Final Classifications. 500 c.c.: 1 L. Ard ~
(Norton), 2 D. Curtis (Matchless). 3 B. R as' ~
(B.S.A.l, 4 N_ Pettersson (B.S.A.J, 5 Dreisil; . (B.S.A.). 6 Swiggers (B.S.A.). 250 c.c.: 1 D. Bick -,
(Greeves). 2 H. Halmann (Husqvarna), 3 P. Scbr ..,
(Maico), 4 T. Sharp (Francis-Barnctt), 5 C. Erik,,.,(Husqvarna). 6 W . Jackson (Grecves).
FLANDRE MOTO-CROSS
(Belgium- May 6)
Final Classification: I J . Rornbauts (B.S.A. l, 2
N. Jansen (Matchless). 3 R . Vanderbeck e:>
(Triumph), 4 I. England (B.S.A.). 5 H. De S oer~
(Matchless), 6 A. Besonhe (B.S.A.l.
tJ
r
;V !OTOR CYCLI NG
67
t'vlay 21. 1959
r Opening
Double for
Surtees
NI. V. Star Walks Awav
v
with Solo Honours
at French G.P.-
1959's First World
Cham,pionship 1Vleeting
reported by
SHARPE
Ciant-clwlfeilger Cary Hockmg (Nor ton) hard on the heels ofJoflll Sur tees (M. V.) in the "500."
~OR:\1A..t~
·' l\I-\1\..[
mine a double·· is still John
'-lrtce>' motro for World Champion-
-'-
ship •03 J-n.::e me-etings. L ast Sunday he
again o.:-~up1(d :h-.. vi ctor\ d3.;, l . . ice a fler
slroll-away '"i n.. in t he th ree-ra.:-e Frcn .:-h
on tPe n ew 5.05-m ilc ~\lontagne
d' J\u.-er;n ~ dfLu ir set in sunbaked hills
overlool...n; C lc rmom -Ferrand.
T" ice. too. .!'l 1.\' . ream -mate stood
besiue ,_.--: ~' 0ne o · t'le lea ding rrioJohn H - • 3 ·er .r e ·· 3' 0 ·· and Re m o
Vcm ~-.
.:-t~
·· 500.".
B ut louul '"
rhoug h "e :~ .· ~ 1 'pectarors acclaimed th e
cha mp'on.
'.;o·wn rider drew their
wilck _ • ·eer-- ,rockv Garv Hocking, who
spli t ;h,
.\'. -p~a~hcad -in the 350 c.c.
e-'d:: L, arJ ookeJ i-~~e re p eating the feat in
the ·· 50(1'' _ · 'T!~:'unical trouble dropped
him ba. :t r-b.::e .
·· f i, ~ m il s of Cad well-only more
so
~' . ._
o~,., !"id er ...:.un1,1ed u p the
Grand
P ri~
-;erpen t:n~
ing
" ......
tL-\ u·· ""~e.
-
~ - "' :... ..1 .. '-
Of'
..,
..:'1
:.,~
t:lee~ -
,.., ; ... :Lz ..·...~ ·"'· . ht. \ l o:o-Cluh
But Su n ee, ,oo n cliwelled
.h3 t it might specially favout
... e:1u·n ~ the opening 19-la p
ro m -.art to fini> h. Even
on ly :1 • out a secon d a
·ur . t.l~W away
... 'o,tn~ .... ... u .
A t n ..... . _ - _ .. ,;__r.: . H o .. kin; h.1J ~he sp:::-~­
rator, hoc-- ~ "'ith c \,;: ir em ~m b: .:'ipp in g
half 3 ...:. o d
I , . ., ·e ·en-- c.:onJ deti<it.
d, -r-te ,rJmp. •cor:n ~ J th.:
gap het \I ec . . . · r-n ~d th : ni.h-pbcc fra cas.
Then
t.:fl , e• n .d on t e .:oals and
fToc~ in 2. "'i. ho ~t- ~ ho pe o~ ,;:at .::hing him.
cased 01Bu th Rhode,ia n , ti ll !.\ained
on Ha nie .
ho<e ·- fou r ·· h ad be ~!Un to
sound e\.trcn· d y rou2:h anJ
\ \ .1 "
'>nJ.k i n~
aL.nm in :2l · ~h ~t dc..:-el.?I.;.tcd- the r\.·a r ri m
ioose o"fl- it' 'ro!-.es~
And~ rso n. p rc,,cd no\\ b' D rl\ er . Shepherd
and P hiHi" . :n i. h~H ord er. o pened up a ga in.
.tltho ugh ju,t too !at<: by 75 ya r d-, to catch
ihc slowing Hanlc before the flag.
Much of the sting went out o[ the 13-lafl
Sideca r race when the gearbox of Florian
Camathia s' B.M.W. seized as he led on
t he 'econd la p. From there on his compa triot Fritz Schcidegger rB.\1.\\ .. 1 rook
over. chased by Wailer Schneider. "ho was
handicapped by hi<> 1\{unich min"s right hand ··chair.''
Cy ril Sm ith (l"ortonl
retired after 15 miles 11 hen an o il pipe
broke as he lay third. and from then on
the race became a high-speed B.M.W. pro:e,,ion fo r the fi rst 11 places.
Before t he 25 -lap 500 c.c. e\ cnt the
organizer<>. hearing rhar Hocking had tol d
a journali't he thought rhe ra.::e <> "ere too
long for such a tiring circuit. insi sted on
him having a medical examination! He
answered their doubts by beating both
Surtees and Venturi away from t he line
and finishing the fmr lap right on Su nee··
tai l. a hea d o f \ 'enruri . " irh .-\ nder, on and
Snepherd (.1\'ononl and D ale o n the
·· , .. ork, ·
B. \1.\\'. in clo , e a ucnua nce .
A lt er three !a p'> Ande "on had pa ssed
Venturi and sta yed there for three more.
umil his clutch race gave out and inahiiitv
to change down sent him rushing into the
roughery at the cost of f1vc places.
Sunecs forged
ahead
and
Hocking
steadi ly extended his lead from Venluri.
who<,e cornering was far from smooth.
while behind him Dale and Driver had
started a side-by-side duel for fourth berth.
with Anderson closing up again ahend
of Shepherd, Phillis , Bro wn and Ralph
Rensen. all on Nortons .
Then" Phillis scraped the straw h a lcs o u
a fast downhill corner, hut recovered
from a lock-to-lock wobble and followed
Shepherd
to
overtake
the
clutch!ess
Anderson. And ·at mid-distance Venturi at
last caught Hocking, who, troubled hy snatch
in top gear, finished the race with the other
1hree cogs.
An oil-soaked rear tyre caused Driver to
~ive waY to Dale and Shepherd. but be kept
Phillis at bay and three laps from rhc flag
rhe race order was determined. with
.·\nderson the bst of nine other survivors
to be lapped bv Surtees.
350
1
2
3
4
Prm·isional Results
19 laps = 95 . 10 miles
h. m. s.
m.p.h.
1 17 46.5
73.36
J. Surlccs (M. V.)
1 18 53.4
72.33
G. Hocking (Norton)
J. H:ortle (M. V .)
71.10
I 20 IS
C.l'.
R. H. F . Anderson
5
(Norton)
E. G. Driver C'' onon)
20 I ~ . 2
20 :-l.-1
6
T . 5 . Sbcpherd (:-.!orton)
20 28.8
7 T. Philli.., ( :\' an o n)
8 R. ""-:. Br m"'n C" o rtoo)
9 J. Hcmplcman (~anon)
10 R. Renscn (Norton)
J l E. R. Fitton (Norton)
12 J. Cullo! (Norton)
13 J. Imcrm ini (;...; an on)
lA J. P. Ba) le ( "'\ an o n )
15 :\1. d e Polo (''o rton)
16 J. H o.:b\\ar:ner (.'\"ort o n ) .
17 -\ . .\1ontagne (:"o rt o n)
18 R. Baron ne ( 2) 0 ~ 1.\ ' .)
Record
The race
bp~
~
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
-o.Yo
·o.s6
6lJ. 7.5
I 8 laps
18 lan'i
I h... lap"
, - lap..;
1- laps
I 1 l ap-;
1- lap'i
17 lap..,
16 lap_..;
I i lap..;
J. Su r tees . 4 m. Ol.o '\. -::: :--1.58 m.p.h.
also establishes a record.
F. Sch<ideggcr (ll.M.W .)
W . Schneider !B.~I.W.)
E. Strub (ll. \1 .\\ .)
H.
J.
"" ·
l .
F ath I R. \1.\\ . .)
R -.. .JiarJ·1 ( B . .\1.\\ ' .)
R incr <R. \1.\\" .)
'.; cu--ner lB . \1.\\". )
\. Rut-ChLr <R ..\1.\\".)
J. D uh"m t B. .\1.\\ .. )
0. ~-;. .,,k tR ..\1.\\ .)
\\ . lk..:\cr ... U3 ..\l.\\' .)
13
:\1. Beau' a; ' <:-o: urw n )
C . Lambe rt r ~ o n o n)
14
J. Vcrd (Non on)
12
-o.lJs
~IJecd
Sidecar
3
20 31.3
21 .W.9
·t.o-l
13 laps = 65.07 mites
m. s.
m.p .h.
00 36.5
64.41
01 40.5
6·3.30
h.
l
l
1
J
03 )9.9
52 .8
03
l 04
1 rq.
I 0~
t 0-1
I 05
0Y.5
27.9
37.:2
3i.S
Ol .'l
61 .C-4
h i.! I
6 3.;-.'5
60.56
60.-12
60 .41
b0.01
t: laps
12 lap"
1~ bp.;;;
12 h!p.;
11 laps
11 lap.;;
15 F. l\'1ouli n (Nort o n)
16 P. Escoubat (Non on)
11 lap'
17 H: van Dcnval (Norron)
10 lap-;
I~
]{ Biancotto ,Nl)rton) . .
10 laps
Record lap: F. Scheidcgger. 4 m. 33 •.=66.00
m.p.h. Th e race speed alsr) eStab! ishe., a record.
500 c.c.
25 laps ;::; 125.13 mile'i
h. m. s.
m.p.h.
J. Surtecs 01.\ ".)
l
R. \"cnturi 01.\".)
l
3 G. Hockin g (:-oorton)
I
-1 R. H. Da le (B.M .W.)
1
5 T. S . Shepherd (Nor!on)
1
6 £. G. Driver (~onon)
l
7 T. Phillis (Nonon)
J
8 R. H. F. Andcr~on (~ort o n)
9 R. ~- Bro\\11 (Nonon)
I
2
10
R.
Ren~en
40 22
H 52.8
74.80
-12 38.1
73.10
72.94
72.74
-2.51
72.43
2-1. laps
42
43
-U
-13
56.2
13.1
32.9
39.3
73.69
2-1. lap;;
24 lap~
24 lap}
(Nonon)
ll H. Jaegcr tB.M.\V.)
12 J. Collot (Nonon)
2~
bp.;;
13
~3
la ps
1-l
13 !ap"
G. Ligier l'lorton)
C . ..\1aubert ('-'onon)
15 l\·1. de Polo <~onon)
16 A. '\1onta gnc ~ ~ o n o n)
17 J. Hcmp k: man ( ~ o rt o n)
Record lan: I. Surtce'. 3 m.
The race speed also
~2 l.a :J~
~8. ~
estab!i~hrs
: 1 l ap~
l3 laps
' · """' - :::.fi4 m .p.h.
a record.
MOTOR CYCLING
May 21, 1959
72
r·····--···---~-~-i~····o·i·i·iy-···············1
i :~~day
i
i
!
!
j
!
i
i
:
::
23, 350 and 500 c.c. Practice,
Mountain Circuit, 6.30 p.m.
Monday 25, 350 and 500 c.c. Practice,
Mountain Circuit, 4.45 a. m.; Clypse Circuit
Practice, 125 c.c. 6 p .m .. 250 c.c. 7 p.m..
Sidecar 8 p.m.
Tuesday 26, 350 and 500 c.c. Practice,
Mountain Circuit, 4.45 a.m.
Wednesday 27, Clypse Circuit Practice,
250 c.c. 4.45 a.m., 125 c.c. 5.30 a.m ..
Sidecar 6.15 a.m.; 350 and 500 c.c. Practice,
Mountain Circuit, 6.30 p.m.
i
Tl~~~~n~-~-'. C~~~sc c~.rc~\6ra~~~~.' 1gi~e~-~~
j
6.15 a. m.; 350 and 500 c.c. Practice .
Mountain Circuit. 6.30 p.m.
Friday 29, Clypsc Circuit Practice, 250 c.c .
4.45 a.m. , 125 c.c. 5.30 a.m. , Sidecar,
6.15 a.m.; 350 and 500 c.c. Practice.
Mountain Circuit, 6.30 p.m.
Saturday 30, 350 and 500 c.c. Practice,
Mountain Circuit, 4.45 a.m. ; Formula I
(350 and 500 c.c.) Weigh-in, 5.30·6.15 ~.m.;
Formula I (350 and 500 c.c.) Race,
6.30 p.m.
Sunday 31, 350 c.c. Weigh-in. 9 a.m.12.30 p.m.;
Ramsey Scramble,
Glen
Auldyn, 2.30 p.m.
JUNE
Monday J, Junior T.T., 10.30 a.m.
Tuesday 2, 250 c.c. Lightweight Weigh-in.
9·10.30 a.m.; 125 c.c. Lightweight Weigh-in ,
11 a.m.-12.30 p.m.; Sidecar Wcigh·in,
2-3.30 p.m.; Isle of Man Grand National,
Douglas Head. 7.30 p.m.
Wednesday 3, 250 c.c. Lightweight T.T.,
10.30 a.m. j 125 c.c. Lighlneight T .T.,
1 p.m. approx.; Sidecar T.T., 3.30 p.m.
approx.
Thursday 4. 500 c.c. Weigh-in, 9-11.30 a. m.;
Veteran Rally: Demonstration Run, Douglas
Promenade, 10 a.m., Concours d'Eiegance,
6 p.m.
·
Friday 5, Senior T.T., 10.30 a.rn.
Saturday 6, Scooter Rally arrivals.
!•
!:,
•
i,
:
:
!
T. T. Notes and New
•••••••• a aaaaa a •• a ••••••••• a
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~-- --~---------- --------~- ---------··········· ······ ····-------------
to the latest news from
A CCORDING
Nortons it seems rather doubtful whether
the desmodromic" 500" will reach the Island
this year. By the end of last week the engine
had been installed in its frame but up to then
it had not been tried on the road and the
decision whether or not to take it to the T.T.
depended on the results of comparative tests
which were scheduled to take place this
week.
The "big-bearing" prototype which
" Pip " Harris rode in last year's sidecar
T.T. is not likely to be in the Island either,
since its testing has been wholly as a sidecar engine and "Pip" will use his B.M.W.
this year. Shepherd's and Hocking's 500 c.c.
prototypes will both have 93-bore engines
of the type used experimentally by Keith
Campbell and Alan Holmes last year.
was discovered that the cause of Geotf
I TDuke's
·' Rennmax "-engined NSU special
cutting out on one cylinder in Austria was
not water in the electrics, as at first suspected, but a bent valve caused by· a faulty
spring. Fortunately, no serious damage was
done to the motor and Reg Armstrong , with
whom Geoff spent most of last week, tells
us that it has now been repaired and, fitted
with its new Peel streamlining, the machine
should be ready and rarin' to go long
before T.T. practice starts.
*
30 is likely to be an important date
MAY
in the history of the T.T., marking as
it does the debut of Formula 1 " produc·
tion " racing on the Mountain Circuit. But
for one ex-Island rider it will be a day of
even greater sign ificance.
Alan Holmes,
A22
T.T. course alterations for 1959: an island adds a new filter road at Quarter Bridge
(top picture) and Brandish Corner now gives more visibility for rider and ;pectator.
double Manx G.P. winner in 1957, is due
to get married at 11 a.m. at St. M ar:··s
Parish Church, Castletown. to l\U -- Jo'
Lythgoe. of Li verpooL We hear that he
hopes to visit the Castle l\lona Hotel during the latter part of Friday ew ning for a
.. launching party .. with some of his racing
pals.
Incidentall;·. now that Alan has retired
from racing· his Barker leathers and boot'
are for sale. For the leathers he is asking
£20, his vital statistics being 5 ft. 7 in. tall.
slightly built, weight 10 st.. and the boors.
size 6!, are available for £3. He can be
contacted at 92 Radnor Driw. Southport,
Lancs.
DESPITE current printing difficulties, the
A.-C.U. hope that the T.T. programme
will be available by about May 25. With
68 pages in addition to the separate 20 pp.
scorecard booklet, it will contain a corn·
plete list of riders and machines, a guide
to vantage points around the course afid
five special articles.
Journalist Denis Jenkinson. famous for
his graphic description of a Mille Miglia
drive with Stirling Moss. writes "Thought
on F ormula I R2cing ... Snr. G. Curli vie"'
.. The T.T. Through Italian Eyes," M 01c
Cycling's Australian correspondent, Geo rg_
Lynn, discusses " Australia and the Isle o
Man T.T. Races," and the Lieut.-Governc
of the Isle of Man , Sir Ambrose Dund"'
Flux Dundas. K .C.I.E., C.S.I., and the
Venerable E. H. Stenning, Archdeacon
Man. contribute articles from the Island
viewpoint.
With its four-colour cover, course marand such a wealth of exclusive material, th~
programme should be as excellent value ::__
ever for 2s. 6d., from newsagents on
Island, or post free from the A.-C. U., "'
Pall Mall, London, S.W.l.
entry of J. N. P. Wright in , .. _
T HE
Junior and Senior T.T. marks the ''·ecome return of Bryants. the rider agent>
Biggleswade, to active sponsorship. "JS.P.
is, of course. the son of record-breaker Joe
Wright of Zenith fame, and he will b=
entered by Bryants in several other r_,:-,_
this season apart from the T.T.
'
MINTER
RECORD-PER-RACE
Three New Blandford Figures on R.E.G. and Nortons
L
AP records in the 250, 350 and 500 c.c.
classes, including the 3.143-mile circuit
record. were cracked wide open by the
Kentish flyer, Derek Minter (R.E.G. and
Nortons), at the solos-only international meeting. held at the windy Blandford Army Camp
circuit. in Dorset, on Whit-Monday by the
Blackmore Vale M.C.C.
The strange thing was that Minter won
onl y two races, the 50-mile Senior final and
his J unior heat.
He was beaten in the
over-30-mile 250 c.c. race by Irishman
T ommy Robb (248 G .M .S.) a nd in the 50mil e Junior fin al by Alasta ir King (348
Norton).
T he Senior fina l brought the la rge crowd
to their toe~ on th e electrifying second lap
when Minter, who started last but two.
ju mped into third place, 150 yards behind
Bob Mclnty re and King, also on Nortons ,
who were dicing wheel-to-wheel for first
place. By the sixth lap Minter was in front
of both of them and had set a new course
record-for the secon d time that day-at
92 .: 1 m .p.h. Even when Engineers was a
full-bo re-in-top corner instead of the present
bonom-!!ear-round-the-chicane affair. the
record ~tood only at 91 m.p.h., to G eolf
D uke. The reco rd for the p resent course
was held by Ernie \Vasher at 88.05 m.p.h .
and .\lint r ba d a lrea dy raised that to
90.73 m.p. h. in the first race of the day, his
Sen ior be:lt.
T h 250 .c. race ·as R obb 's fir st of two
wins in the Lightweight classes, but it was
M inter who provided all the · excitement in
this event by jumping from fourth to second
place on the second lap, raising the ·class
record to 83.75 m.p.h. and coasting home
into second place from Monkton Corner, at
the beginning of the finishing stra ight, with a
dead engine!
Two race> later, in his Junior heat, Minter
fought off Mcintyre (348 Norton) and put
up the 350 c.c. record to 90.15 m.p.h ., beating the joint record of Mcintyre and the late
Fergus Anderson by nearly 7 m.p.h. The
final proved a much slower affair, and King
won from Minter by 250 yd .. wj th Mclntyre
only getting pa st Phi! R ea d (348 No rt on) at
the hal fway sta ge to take third place.
Pro,isional R es ults
250 c.c. (10 laps=31 miles): 1 T. R obb C~4 8
2 D . W . ~! inter (249 R .E.G.). 3 I. \\' .
Dixon (247 l\S U).
Time, 23 m. 18.8 s.=80.!9
m .p.h. Record lap: D. \ \ ' . .\!inter, :! m. 15 s.=
83.75 m.p.h.
350 c.c. Final (16 la ps=50 mil ~) : 1 A. K.ing
(Nonon), 2 D. W. i\l intcr (Norto n), 3 R . ~1cG
Mclntyre (Norton).
Time, 34 m. 57.8 s.=86 .22
m.p.h.
Fastest lap: P. W. Minter, 2 m. 9 s.=
86.22 m.p.h: R ecord 1ap (in heat): D. W . Minter.
~ rn. 5.4 s.=90. 15 m.p.h.
Heat winners: D . W .
G .~I.S . ) ,
.\timer. :\. . Ki ng_
500 c.c. Final (16 lapsl: 1 D . W . ~! inte r C\'orton ,)
~ l eG. ~l dn t yre (','onon), 3 A . K ing (:->o n onl.
Time, 33 m . 23 .8 s. = 90.2i m .o.h.
Record lap:
D. W. Minter, 2 m. 2.6 s.=92.21 m.p.h. Heat
winners: A. King . T. G odf r e~- (:"'onon>
125 c.c. (8 laps = 25 miles): 1 T . R obb (12-1
(Ducati), 2 J . Baugh n (1 23 E . ~l. C.), 3 J . \V. Dak in
Time, 22 m. 43.6 s. =66 .32 m.p.h.
(124 M.Y.).
Fastest · lap: J. Baughn , 2 m. 44.8 s.=68.6 m.p.h.
2 R.
IIT\G _.\..."D CHAD WICK TOPS AT OULTON PARK
_Yorton and Jf. V. Stars Dominate their Classes at Saturday
_U eeting on Northern Circuit
an imense struggle . Alastair King
AFTER
_·anon' saw h is rival Bob \fdntyre
13.~:! o . . : on ·- e l.,J. ... : ~:r.:ui: oi :.he
350 c.::. L.::-- Gr:L1..1- Trop~:· r.1..:e at Ou:ron
Par· ~-: Sa,urda,·. In the course of the
e' t::: !he lead changed eight times, but after
16 c. -·," I_ bp \ fclntyre was faltering
and _, tu' eJ 'y D erek :\1inter (Norton).
~L:-1-:. -- ~ic ppeeired before the fini sh and
l-:: in~ .,..~-: o- ;o "'i.n " Y O\er half a mile
fro IT'
351
(~or:o--
a
i_
: :. :!::unpionship
q_:_ y
OJ;. ;i in;
D. \ '.
: : _ I.\".1 an almo-: r-.mawav
victof'.
I :5 r.\'.1 :Ud :mmher
clear
:.:. ra.:-e. b:.:t the nex t
L
"iLh \\". .\f.
three "''·
Web-:er
F. Purslow
(Due..- .• 0'1 Lh~ :in~.
Pro ,isional Rr so lts
150 c.c. IS la ps =l3..5 miJ ~1 : l D. \". ChJdwick
(125 ~IS . 2 \\- ~~ \ \ 'e"':er (1 25 ~!.V .), 3, F .
Pur ~low n=:..:. 'O'.... :at.
Time, 11 m. 16 s. =- 3.52
m. p.h. Faste ~ t la p: D Y . Chad\\ick. :! m. 13 .:! s.=
74.61 m.p.h.
250 c.c. Cheshi re Championship (5 laps): 1 D . V .
Chad wick (103 .\I S .). 2 I. ~l urga tro y d (NS U),
3 W . A . Smith <'-'SLl. Time, 10 m. 25.6 s .=
79.44 m.p.h
Fa >lest lap: D . \' . Chadwick, 2 m .
03.6 s. = 80.42 m.p .h. Che,hire Champion, Chadwick .
A28
May 21, 1959
76
MOTOR CYCLING
350 c.c. Les Graham Trophy (19 laps = 52.3
miles): 1 A . King (No rton), 2 D. ~!inter
o n o nl.
3 W. A . Smith (.-\J .S.) . Time, 3· m. 1S A s.=
'.3.99 m.p.h. R«-ord lap.: D . :\lin:e-r. l m. 56 s.=
'5.69 m.p.h.
350 c.c. Ches hire Centre (.'ba mpionsh ip (8 laps~
22 miles): 1 A . K ing (N onon), 2 A . Shepherd
(A .J .S.); 3. 0 . i\ Iin ter (No rto n).
Time. 15 m in
47 s.=83.9 m .p.h .
Fastest lap: A . King, 1 m.
57.6 s. = 84.52 m .p.h.
Heat winners: A . K ing.
A. Shepherd , J . H. Lewis (Norton).
Cheshire
Champion, W. A. Smith (Norton).
500 c.c. Final (16 laps): 1 D. W. Minter (Norton),
2 A. King (Nonon), 3 W. A. Smith (Norton) .
Time, 15 m. 32 .8 s.= 85 .24 m .p.h .
Fastest lap:
R . McG. Mclntyre, 1 m . 55 s.=86.43 m .p.h. Heat
winners:
R.
McG.
Mcintyrc,
A.
Shepherd
(Matchless).
1,000 c.c. Sidecars (5 laps): 1 P . V. Harris
(492 B.M .W. /W atsonia n), 2 W. Boddice (499
Nonon /Watsonian), 3 J. Bee ton (499 N orton
Watsonian). T ime, 10 m. 50 .6 sec. = 76 .39 m .p.h .
Fastest lap: P. V. Harris, 2 m . 8 s.=i7.65 m.p.h.
Cheshire Champion, E . P ickup (499 ~orton).
Sidecar Handicap (6 1aps = 16.5 miles) : 1 P . V .
Harris (492 B .M .W ./Watsoni an), 2 F. H anks (499
Norton), 3 0 . Greenwood (649 Triumph). Time,
14 m . 39.65 s. = 76.5 m.p.h.
Fastest lap: P . V.
Harris, 2 m. 9.8 s . = 76.57 m .p.h .
EXMOOR TRLo\L
(N. Devon J\l.C.- May 17)
!lest Performance: P. T . Stirland (350 R oyal
Enfield), 11 (special test , 12.9 s.) . Club Team Prize:
Sunbeam M.C.C. (P. T. Stirland, J. M. s:mpson,
C. A . M . Lambert) , 66 . Capacity Class Awards.
200 c.c.: J. M. Simpso n (Greeves), 18. 350 c.c.:
W. H. Martin (250 James), 11 (S.T. 13.8 s.).
500 c.c.: R. G. Hutcheso n (Ariel), 14. Firl(-class
Awards: C. H . Clanon , 23; J. R . Thomas, 24;
J. W . Taylor and A . J. Davis, 28; R . W. Gollner,
30 ; J. Po at e, 32; M . B. Smith , 34; R. Baker, 35;
R. J. Partrid ge, 37.
.
I
12,000 Attend Aberdare
N grand weather a record crowd numbering 12,000 attended the Abcraman M.C.
and L.C.C.'s national road race meeting at
Aberdare Park on Whit-Saturday. Practice
had shown that Mike Hailwood was in top
form and when he won the 350 c.c. event
and the 125 c.c. event at record speeds,
spectators were prepared to see him wipe
the board, as at the last Aberdare meeting.
Unfortunately, he had a very bad start in
the 500 c.c. event after damaging his leg
in a slight accident on the grid . But he
mounted and worked his way from being
last in lap one to fourth place at the end
of the 12-lap final.
The judges' decision had to be sought
for the winne r of the 250 c.c. event when
D. F . Shorey (Norvel) only just beat
E. :\Iinihan (Ve1ocette).
The spectators
were disa ppointed at Hailwood's scratching
from the unli mited event but all were in
sympathy with his reluctance to ride with
even a slight injury, just before the T.T.
Provisional Results
350 c.c. (12 laps = 9 miles): 1 S. M. B. Hailwood
<Nonon), 2 T. Godfrey (Norton) , J. D . Hamilton
(N o rton). Time, 10 m. 25.4 s .
125 c.c. (10 I~PS = 7.5 miles): 1 S. M. B. Hailwood
(Ducati), 2 D. F. Shorey (M,V.), 3 J . W. Dakin
(M. V.). Time, 9 m. 16.4 s .
351 to 500 c.c. (12 laps): 1 F . Wallis (B.S.A .),
2 ' . H. Swrer (N onon), 3 E . Minihan (,\latch1ess).
Time . lO m. 15 5.
250 c.c. (10 laps) : 1 D . F. Shorey (Norvel), .
2 E. Minihan (Veloce ne), 3 F . Wallis (248
B.S.A.). Time, 8 m . 59.2 s .
Unlimited (15 laps = 11.25 miles): 1 N. H. Starer
(499 Norton), 2 F. Wallis (499 B.S.A.), 3 E
Minihan (496 Matchless). Time, 12 m. 50s.
Archer Leads World
Championship
R ~~~
s~i~t ~~det~~o~~~~pa~~d th~o~~~~-cr~~!
world championship contest last Sunday when he
won the Mayenne, France, meeting. Fourth in
Switzerland o n April 26 he was runner-uv to Sten
Lundin tMonark) after the Danish baule three
"-eeks ago and . as the positions gi ven below shO\\ .
he now leads the red oubt ab le Swede by a
'aluJble two points.
Final ClaS>ificatioos: 1 L. R. Archer (N orton) .
2 B. '-'*' >n (Crescent), 3 S. Lundi n (l\1onark) .
~ J. \ '.Smith (B.S.A .) , 5 D . G. Cunis (Matchless).
6 A . .-\ziJnJS tB.S.A .).
World Cha mpionship Positions: 1 L. R. Arche i
(G .B., ~ on0n}, : :! 0 poi nt s; 2 S . Lundin (Sweden ,
.\lonark). IS; 3, B. i'\'ilsson (S wede n, Crescent). 17;
4 B. Dtrks (Holland, B .S .A .), 11; 5 R . Baeten .
(Belgium, A.J .S.), 6; 6 D. G . Curtis (G.B .. Matchless), 5; 7 H. Scaillet (Belgium, Matchless), 4;
8 B. Rasbro (Denmark, B.S.A .), 3; 9 R. Tibblin
(Sweden , Husq va rna), M. J ansen (Bel gium , M atch·
less) and J. Rombauts (Bc.lgium, B.S .A.), 2;
10 E. H ansen (Denma rk, Matchless), G . Johansson
(Sweden , Crescent) a nd A . Azianis (B.S.A.), I
CHDIAY ROAD RACES
(Bet2ium . May 17)
125 c.c, (33.5 miles): 1 K. Kronmuller (Ducati),
H . Pessl (Ducati), 3 J . Brett (Mondial), 4 W.
Spinnler (Ducati), 5 B . 0 . Svensson (Ducati),
6 A. Len nae rt (Ducati).
Time, 23 m. 56 s.=
8 ~. 62 m.p.h.
Fastest lap: J. Brett, 85.92 m.p.h
250 c.c. (53.73 miles): 1 H . Kassncr (NSU), 2 R .
Thalhammer (NSU) , 3 J. Autengruber (NSU),
4 H . Lutte nbcrger (NSU) , 5 A . Schneider (NSU) ,
6 A . KJaus (NSU) . Time, 34 m . 41 s.=93.32
m.p.h.
Fastest lap: H . Kassner, 94.86 m.p.h.
350 c.c. (67.1 miles): 1 H. Kassner (Norto n).
2 W . Spinnler (Norton), 3 R . Bogaerdt (N orton
4 F. Dauwe (Norton), 5 A. Schneider (~orto n l.
6 K . Hoppe (Nonon), Time, 41 m . 1 s.=9 .!
m.p.h. Fastest lap: W. Spinnler, 99. ' m.p.h.
500 c.c. (67.1 miles): 1 R . Bogaerdt (','onon).
2 E. Hiller (B.M.W .), 3 J. N ies 0latchless).
4 A . Huber (B.'•1.W.) , 5 F . D auwe (','ono nl.
6 A . Fagero tin (No rton) . Reconl time. 3S m
47 s. = l04 .81 m.p.h .
Record lap: R. Bogaerdt.
106.05 m .p.h.
84
MOTOR CYCLING
May 21, 1959
FOLLOW the LEADERS
"Motor Cycling" Presents the Whiteley
Calculator- an Exclusive Place-finder
for the Mountain Circuit
find it difficult to follow interval-start races on the Isle of
D OManyou"Mountain
Circuit"? With this simple device, designed
by Mr. E. J. Whiteley, of Upton-by-Chester, who has used it for
several years with great success, you can accurately place the first
12 men, or even the entire field. All that is needed. in addition to
a supply of lap sheets which you can make yourself from the
accompanying pattern, is a watch with a second hand that you can
read easily. If a stop watch is used it must not be stopped,
though, of course, the split-second hand can be employed if fitted .
With a graded field, the T.T. is now much easier to follow than
it was and it is reasonably safe to assume that the first I 2 places
will be filled from among the first 30 or so starters-so if that is
all you are interested in you need only note the first 30 numbers
on your lap cards.
But even with "random ·• starts like Formula 1 T.T. and the Manx G.P.
the system can be easily operated by picking a reasonable number of
" probables " and timing them. And in the same wav vou can follow the
mid-field progress of you r favourite "also-rans ·• in relation to one another
by checking their numbers as they pass .
Work in pairs if you can. with a friend to spot the numbcn as you check
the time and mark the card.
'I
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MAKING THE CALCULATOR
The Grid Card
Mount the opposite page on cardboard and cut out the shaded
portions of the grid card with a sharp knife or razor blade. You will
then have a durable grid card, complete with instructions for useand in case of "mist on the Mountain," a coat of clear varnish will
make a more permanent job which should last for years.
The Lap Sheets
Lap sheets can be prod uced from the example on this page by
tracing them individually through carbon paper. They may be
traced in side-by-side pairs on an 8-in. by 10-in. writing pad or on
separate sheets of paper, but remember that you will need one heet
per lap and a solid backing to rest them on.
Another method is to mount the lap sheet on a piece of card
or hardboard the same size as that used for mounting the grid
card and instructions. If the sheet is positioned accurately the
grid card can then be hinged to the backing by means of cellulose
tape so that when closed, it will fall exactly in position on top of the
lap sheet.
You can then use leaves of tracing paper secured by tape or
clips over the printed specimen, marking the alignment points so
that, if desired. you can reconstruct the race after it is all over.
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ENTRIES MUST
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