Stanley Woods
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Stanley Woods (1905-1992?) Dublin, an Irish motocycle racer famous for 29 motorcycle Grand Prix wins and winning the Isle of Man TT races 10 times in his career. He was a past pupil of The High School, Dublin.[1] Stanley started racing in 1921 on a Harley Davidson. He was also a skilled trials rider competing in the 1930s.
His debut on the new Isle of Man Mountain Circuit in 1922 was as a promising seventeen year old finishing fifth in the Junior TT on a Cotton even though his machine had a fire at a pit stop and he completed the race without brakes. [2] He won it the following year. His association with Norton spanned the years from 1926 until 1934 during which he won four of the 1927 Grands Prix, two more in 1928 and several more in the following years. He became disillusioned with the Norton and rode for Moto Guzzi in 1935 giving them the first victory for a non-English manufacturer at the TT Races.
Over the years many scraps took place between the likes of Jimmy Guthrie, Jimmy Simpson, Alec Bennett, Charlie Dodson, Harold Daniell, Freddie Frith and Wall Handley during these races. Stanley was a toffee maker and in the Isle of Man TT history it states that he would bring a couple of boxes of toffee with him for the Scouts who manned the scoreboards[3] on which the grandstand audience relied to follow the races. Stanley was president of the TT Riders Association. Commandant Stanley Woods is credited with the task of training some of the first Irish Army 4 Cavalry Squadron's Motor Squadron personnel during The Emergency as the presidential Escort of Honour.[4]
In 1996 the Irish Post Office issued a set postage stamps of notable Irish motorcyclists that included a stamp depicting Stanley Woods.
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[edit] Tourist Trophy race victories
His career record of ten Isle of Man TT victories remained until the era of Mike Hailwood who won 14 TT races. Three riders have equalled his record while another three have had eleven victories, but the most victories goes to another great Irish rider: Joey Dunlop with 26 TT wins.
Woods' standing in the history of the TT was so high that in 1968 a panel of experts named him the greatest of all the island’s competitors. In 1957 he returned to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the TT races riding a 350cc Moto Guzzi round the course at just over 82mph.
| Year | Race & Capacity | Make of Motorcycle | Average Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1923 | Junior 350cc | Cotton | 55.73 mph |
| 1926 | Senior 500cc | Norton | 67.54 mph |
| 1932 | Junior 350cc | Norton | 77.16 mph |
| 1932 | Senior 500cc | Norton | 79.83 mph |
| 1933 | Junior 350cc | Norton | 78.08 mph |
| 1933 | Senior 500cc | Norton | 81.04 mph |
| 1935 | Lightweight 250cc | Moto Guzzi | 71.56 mph |
| 1935 | Senior 500cc | Moto Guzzi | 84.68 mph |
| 1938 | Junior 350cc | Velocette | 84.08 mph |
| 1939 | Junior 350cc | Velocette | 83.19 mph |
| TT Career Summary | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finishing Position | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | DNF |
| Nunber of times | 10 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 16 |
[edit] Dutch TT race victories
Woods won the DutchTT six times on the early Assen circuit.
| Year | Capacity | Make of Motorcycle |
|---|---|---|
| 1927, June 25 | 500cc | Norton |
| 1928, June 23 | 350cc | Norton |
| 1931, July 11 | 350cc | Norton |
| 1932, June, 25 | 350cc | Norton |
| 1933 | 350cc | |
| 1933 | 500cc |
[edit] Other victories
| Date | Capacity | Make of Motorcycle | Grand Prix & circuit | Average Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1924, Sept 6 | >600cc | New Imperial (980cc)[5] | Ulster Grand Prix, Circuit of Clady, Dundrod, Northern Ireland | 72.71mph |
| 1925, Sept 5 | >600cc | New Imperial (980cc) | Ulster Grand Prix | 65.26mph |
| 1927, July 9-10 | 500cc | Norton | Swiss Grand Prix, Circuit de Meyrin, Genève | |
| 1927, July 17 | 500cc | Norton | Belgium Grand Prix, Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps | |
| 1928, June 30 | 500cc | Norton | Grand-Prix de L'U.M.F, Bordeaux, France | |
| 1930, Spet 6 | 500cc | Norton | Ulster Grand Prix | 80.56mph |
| 1930, Sept 20 | 500cc | Norton | Grand-Prix de L'U.M.F, Pau, France | |
| 1931, July 5 | 500cc | Norton | German Grand Prix, Nürburgring | |
| 1931, July 19 | 500cc | Norton | Belgium Grand Prix | |
| 1931, August 8-9 | 500cc | Norton | Swiss Grand Prix, Bremgarten, Bern | |
| 1931, Sept 5 | 500cc | Norton | Ulster Grand Prix | 86.43mph |
| 1932, July 2 | 500cc | Norton | Grand-Prix de L'U.M.F, Circuit of Rheims, France | |
| 1932, July 17 | 500cc | Norton | Belgium Grand Prix | |
| 1932, July 30-31 | 350cc | Norton | Swiss Grand Prix | |
| 1932, July 30-31 | 500cc | Norton | Swiss Grand Prix | |
| 1932, Sept 10 | 500cc | Norton | Ulster Grand Prix | 85.15mph |
| 1933, July 1-2 | 500cc | Norton | Swiss Grand Prix | |
| 1933, August 20 | 500cc | Norton | Ulster Grand Prix | 87.43mph |
| 1935, August 11 | 500cc | Husqvarna | Swedish Grand Prix, Saxtorp | |
| 1939, August 19 | 350cc | Velocette | Ulster Grand Prix | 91.65mph |
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ http://www.highschooldublin.com/prominent_past_pupils.htm (retrieved June 4, 2006)
- ^ http://www.iomtt.com/HistoryOfTheTT/TheHistoryoftheTTRaces/TheMountainCircuit.aspx (retrieved June 6, 2006)
- ^ http://www.iomtt.com/HistoryOfTheTT/TheHistoryoftheTTRaces/1907AndAllThat.aspx (retrieved June 7, 2006)
- ^ http://homepage.eircom.net/~benhalligan/unit%20history.htm (retrieved June 7, 2006)
- ^ http://www.vmccni.com/HELP.htm (retrieved June 5, 2006)
[edit] External links
[edit] Photos
- On the winning 1935 Senior TT Moto Guzzi 500cc
- On a TT Velocette
- 1937 Junior 350cc TT Velocette
- On a TT Velocette #10
- 1939 Junior TT poster
- Bikesport Photo Archives 1931 - 1939
[edit] Other links
- Biography from iomtt.com
- History of the Isle of Man TT Races
- I could do that!
- Pre-World War II motorcycle Grand Prix results French site (retrieved June 8, 2006)
- TT winners
- Ulster Grand Prix History
