1949 Isle of Man TT

The 1949 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy was the first round of the Grand Prix World Championship that was held in the Isle of Man.[1]

  1949 Isle of Man TT

Race details
Race 1 of 6 races in the 1949 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
Date	6–17 June 1949
Official name	International Isle of Man Tourist Trophy
Location	Snaefell Mountain Course
Course	Public roads 60.72 km (37.73 mi)
500 cc
Rider Fastest lap Rider Bob Foster Moto Guzzi Time 25m 14s Podium First Harold Daniell Norton Second Johnny Lockett Norton Third Ernie Lyons Velocette
350 cc
Rider Fastest lap Rider Freddie Frith Velocette Time 26m 53s Podium First Freddie Frith Velocette Second Ernie Lyons Velocette Third Artie Bell Norton
250 cc
Rider Fastest lap Rider Tommy Wood Dickie Dale Moto Guzzi Moto Guzzi Time 28m 09s Podium First Manliff Barrington Moto Guzzi Second Tommy Wood Moto Guzzi Third Roland Pike Rudge

At the FICM (later known as FIM) meeting in London near the end of 1948, it was decided there would be a motorcycle World Championship along Grand Prix lines. It would be a six-race annual series with points being awarded for a placing and a point for the fastest lap of each race. There would be five classes: 500 cc, 350 cc, 250 cc, 125 cc and 600 cc sidecar. The historic Isle of Man TT would be one of those races, and this toughest and most dangerous of Grand Prix motorcycle races would be a mainstay on the GP calendar until 1976.

Harold Daniell, on a Norton, won the 500 cc Senior TT event at an average speed of 86.93 mph. Les Graham, on an AJS Porcupine 500 cc twin, led the Senior race until the last lap when his magneto drive sheared. He pushed the bike past the finish line in tenth place. As he had finished the race he gained one championship point for recording the fastest lap.

Four clubman races were included; the Clubmans Senior, Clubmans Junior, Clubmans Lightweight, and the new Clubmans 1,000 cc.

British 350 cc rider Ben Drinkwater was killed in the Junior TT race at the 11th Milestone.[2]

Race Results

Junior TT (350cc)

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Speed	Time	Points
1	Freddie Frith		United Kingdom	Velocette	83.15 mph	3:10:26.0	10
2	Ernie Lyons		Ireland	Velocette	82.92 mph	3:11:08.0	8
3	Artie Bell		United Kingdom	Norton	82.62 mph	3:11:49.0	7
4	Harold Daniell		United Kingdom	Norton	82.59 mph	3:11:52.2	6
5	Reg Armstrong		Ireland	AJS	82.34 mph	3:12:28.0	5

Fastest Lap and New Lap Record: Freddie Frith Velocette – 84.23 mph; 26 minutes 52.71 seconds (1 championship point for fastest lap).

Lightweight TT (250cc)

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Speed	Time	Points
1	Manliff Barrington		Ireland	Moto Guzzi	77.99 mph	3:23.13.2	10
2	Tommy Wood		United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	77.91 mph	3:23.25.8	8
3	Roland Pike		United Kingdom	Rudge	72.79 mph	3:37.42.6	7
4	Ronald Mead		United Kingdom	Mead-Norton	72.68 mph	3:41.06.6	6
5	Svend Aage Sørensen		Denmark	Excelsior	71.00 mph	3:43.12.0	5

Fastest Lap and New Lap Record: Dickie Dale – Moto Guzzi – 80.43 mph; 28 minutes 8.9 seconds.

1949 Isle of Man Senior TT (500cc)

7 Laps (264.25 Miles) Mountain Course.

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Speed	Time	Points
1	Harold L Daniell	14	United Kingdom	Norton	86.93 mph	3:02:18.6	10
2	Johnny Lockett	42	United Kingdom	Norton	86.19 mph	3:03:52.4	8
3	Ernie Lyons		Ireland	Velocette	85.50 mph	3:05:22.0	7
4	Artie Bell	1	United Kingdom	Norton	83.83 mph	3:09:03.0	6
5	Syd Jensen		New Zealand	Triumph	83.17 mph	3:10:33.0	5

Fastest Lap and New Lap Record: Bob Foster Moto Guzzi – 89.75 mph (25 minutes 14 seconds) on lap 2. Retired lap 5 at Sulby with failed clutch.

Non-championship races

Clubmans 1000 cc classification

Pos	Rider	Manufacturer	Time
1	D. G. Lashmar	Vincent	1:29:01.8
2	J. N. P. Wright	Vincent	+4:25.8
3	P. C. Wilson	Vincent	+5:04.8
4	C. Howkins	Ariel	+14:31.6
5	George Brown	Vincent	+47:43.2
Ret	Chris Horn	Vincent
Ret	A. Philips	Vincent
Ret	Jack Harding	Vincent
Ret	G. Manning	Vincent
Ret	J. B. Netherton	Vincent
[3][4]

Clubmans Senior TT classification

Pos	Rider	Manufacturer	Time
1	Geoff Duke	Norton	1:21:53.0
2	Allan Jefferies	Triumph	+2:11.0
3	Leo Starr	Triumph	+7:20.2
4	Phil Carter	Norton	+7:50.2
5	Tom Crebbin	Triumph	+7:53.2
6	E. Andrew	Norton	+8:42.0
7	J. E. Carr	Vincent-HRD	+9:08.4
8	Robin Sherry	Triumph	+9:12.0
9	A. Johnstone	Triumph	+9:39.2
10	D. J. P. Wilkins	Triumph	+12:33.4
31 finishers
[5][6]

Clubmans Junior TT classification

Pos	Rider	Manufacturer	Time
1	Harold Clark	BSA	1:30:21.6
2	John Simister	Norton	+49.4
3	Alan Taylor	Norton	+1:03.0
4	Ray Hallet	BSA	+1:30.0
5	Cecil Sandford	Velocette	+2:01.8
6	E. T. Pink	Norton	+2:11.2
7	E. F. Collins	Velocette	+2:38.8
8	W. C. Reed	Norton	+2:56.0
9	Arthur Brassington	Norton	+4:14.0
10	R. D. Briscoe	Norton	+4:33.8
57 finishers
[7][8]

Clubmans Lightweight TT classification

Pos	Rider	Manufacturer	Time
1	Cyril Taft	Excelsior	1:06:30.2
2	D. A. Ritchie	Velocette	+40.0
3	B. J. Hargreaves	Velocette	+1:15.0
4	G. S. Wakefield	Triumph	+4:00.6
5	L. C. Bolshaw	Triumph	+4:02.4
6	A. B. Barton	Triumph	+4:59.4
7	Frank Cope	Excelsior	+5:40.8
8	J. J. McVeigh	Triumph	+6:35.6
9	G. A. Northwood	Velocette	+7:36.8
10	J. R. Dulson	Velocette	+9:12.6
13 finishers
[9][10]

Previous race: None	FIM Grand Prix World Championship 1949 season	Next race: 1949 Swiss Grand Prix
Previous race: 1948 Isle of Man TT	Isle of Man TT	Next race: 1950 Isle of Man TT

References

1. Isle of Man Examiner 1949 TT Races page 4 Friday 20 August 1948 "As a result of representations made by various insular authorities, the Auto-Cycle Union is to reconsider its requests the 1949 TT Races be held on the 6th, 8th and 10th June 1949."
2. Isle of Man Examiner page 4 17 June 1949
3. "TT Database: TT 1949 Clubmans 1000cc Results". The Official Isle of Man TT website. Duke Marketing Ltd. Archived from the original on 17 December 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
4. Davison, G. S., ed. (1950). The Racing Year. W. W. Curtis, Ltd. pp. 61–63.
5. "TT Database: TT 1949 Clubmans Senior Results". The Official Isle of Man TT website. Duke Marketing Ltd. Archived from the original on 17 December 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
6. Davison, G. S., ed. (1950). The Racing Year. W. W. Curtis, Ltd. pp. 65–67.
7. "TT Database: TT 1949 Clubmans Junior Results". The Official Isle of Man TT website. Duke Marketing Ltd. Archived from the original on 17 December 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
8. Davison, G. S., ed. (1950). The Racing Year. W. W. Curtis, Ltd. pp. 63–64.
9. "TT Database: TT 1949 Clubmans Lightweight Results". The Official Isle of Man TT website. Duke Marketing Ltd. Archived from the original on 17 December 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
10. Davison, G. S., ed. (1950). The Racing Year. W. W. Curtis, Ltd. pp. 64–65.

External links

• Detailed race results