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)
500cc
Rider Fastest lap Rider Bob Foster Moto Guzzi Time 25m 14s Podium First Harold Daniell Norton Second Johnny Lockett Norton Third Ernie Lyons Velocette
350cc
Rider Fastest lap Rider Freddie Frith Velocette Time 26m 53s Podium First Freddie Frith Velocette Second Ernie Lyons Velocette Third Artie Bell Norton
250cc
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	Machine	Speed	Time	Points
1	Freddie Frith		Velocette	83.15 mph	3:10:26.0	10
2	Ernie Lyons		Velocette	82.92 mph	3:11:08.0	8
3	Artie Bell		Norton	82.62 mph	3:11:49.0	7
4	Harold Daniell		Norton	82.59 mph	3:11:52.2	6
5	Reg Armstrong		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	Machine	Speed	Time	Points
1	Manliff Barrington		Moto Guzzi	77.99 mph	3:23.13.2	10
2	Tommy Wood		Moto Guzzi	77.91 mph	3:23.25.8	8
3	Roland Pike		Rudge	72.79 mph	3:37.42.6	7
4	Ronald Mead		Mead-Norton	72.68 mph	3:41.06.6	6
5	Svend Aage Sørensen		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	Machine	Speed	Time	Points
1	Harold L Daniell	14	Norton	86.93 mph	3:02:18.6	10
2	Johnny Lockett	42	Norton	86.19 mph	3:03:52.4	8
3	Ernie Lyons		Velocette	85.50 mph	3:05:22.0	7
4	Artie Bell	1	Norton	83.83 mph	3:09:03.0	6
5	Syd Jensen		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	Dennis Lashmar	Vincent	1:29:01.8
2	James Wright	Vincent	+4:25.8
3	Pat Wilson	Vincent	+5:04.8
4	Charlie Howkins	Ariel	+14:31.6
5	George Brown	Vincent	+47:43.2
Ret	Chris Horn	Vincent
Ret	Alex Phillip	Vincent
Ret	Jack Harding	Vincent
Ret	Geoff Manning	Vincent
Ret	Jack 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	Edwin Andrew	Norton	+8:42.0
7	Jack Carr	Vincent-HRD	+9:08.4
8	Robin Sherry	Triumph	+9:12.0
9	A. Johnstone	Triumph	+9:39.2
10	David 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	Ted Pink	Norton	+2:11.2
7	Fred Collins	Velocette	+2:38.8
8	Walter 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	Dennis Ritchie	Velocette	+40.0
3	Bernard Hargreaves	Velocette	+1:15.0
4	George Wakefield	Triumph	+4:00.6
5	Len Bolshaw	Triumph	+4:02.4
6	Arthur Barton	Triumph	+4:59.4
7	Frank Cope	Excelsior	+5:40.8
8	Jack McVeigh	Triumph	+6:35.6
9	George Northwood	Velocette	+7:36.8
10	John 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
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