1957 Isle of Man TT

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Flag of Isle of Man   1957 Isle of Man TT Races
Race details
Race No 2 of 6 races in the
1957 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season.
Date 3rd - 7th June 1957
Location Douglas, Isle of Man
Course Road Course
37.73 mi / 60.20 km
Senior TT 500cc
Pole Position Fastest Lap
2. Flag of Scotland Bob McIntyre 3. Flag of Scotland Bob McIntyre
101.12 mph
Podium
1. Flag of Scotland Bob McIntyre
2. Flag of United Kingdom John Surtees 3. Flag of Australia Bob Brown
Junior TT 350 cc
Pole Position Fastest Lap
2. 3. Flag of Scotland Bob McIntyre
97.42 mph
Podium
1. Flag of Scotland Bob McIntyre
2. Flag of Australia Keith Campbell 3. Flag of Australia Bob Brown
Lightweight 250 cc
Pole Position Fastest Lap
2. 3. Flag of Italy Tarquinio Provini
78.00 mph *Clypse Course
Podium
1. Flag of United Kingdom Cecil Sandford
2. Flag of Switzerland Lugi Taveri 3. Flag of Italy Roberto Columbo


The 1957 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy was the Golden Jubilee event and the second race in the 1957 Motor-Cycle World Championships.

The first event was the 350cc 1957 Junior TT race held on the Snaefell mountain course. The race was initially led by Bob McIntyre riding a Gilera motor-cycle who beat the lap-record for the Junior TT race from a standing start in 23 minutes and 14.2 seconds, an average speed of 97.42 mph and 42 seconds faster than the lap record set by Ray Amm in the 1954 Junior TT Race.[1] On lap 1, John Surtees riding for MV Agusta has to stop at the pits to change a spark plug, followed by Bob McIntrye who has to change a plug on the end of lap 2. The delay to McIntyre hands the lead to Dickie Dale riding a Moto Guzzi Grand Prix single cylinder and leads John Hartle riding a Norton in 2nd place by 22.2 seconds and Bob McIntyre in 3rd place by 24.6 seconds. A delay in the pits on lap 3 for Dickie Dale of 3 minutes and 38 seconds to replace a smashed windscreen allows Bob McIntyre to regain the lead.[2] An engine failure on lap 4 at Quarry Bends to the Norton of Jackie Wood, causes Dickie Dale and John Hartle to crash on engine oil left on the road. This allows Bob McIntyre to comfortably win the 1957 Junior TT Race at an average speed of 94.99 mph.[3]

The 1957 Lightweight TT Race held on the Clypse Course was over 10 laps and 107.90 miles and was dominated by Cecil Sandford riding for the F.B.Mondial marque and team-mate Sammy Miller. By lap 2, Cecil Sandford led Sammy Miller by 2 seconds and Tarquinio Provini, also ridng for Mondial, in a distant 3rd place. By lap 7, Sammy Miller has caught-up and on lap 9 passes Cecil Sandford between the Creg-na-Baa and Ballacoar Corner for the lead. At Governor's Bridge on the last lap, Sammy Miller slips of his Mondial allowing Cecil Sandford to win the 1957 Lightweight TT Race at an average race speed of 75.80 mph from the MV Agusta pair of Luigi Taveri and Roberto Colombo. An exhausted Sammy Miller is forced to push-in his Mondial motor-cycle to finish in 5th place.

Despite a rain shower between races, the 1957 Ultra-Lightweight TT on the Clypse Course was a more closely contested race. At Parkfield Corner on lap 1, Luigi Taveri riding for MV Agusta led the Mondial of Sammy Miller, while Tarquinio Provini riding for Mondial and Carlo Ubbiali on a MV Agusta were in the mid-field chasing pack. At the Creg-na-Baa on the first lap, Carlo Ubbiali has caught-up the leaders and now lies in 3rd place and Tarquinio Provini in 4th place, until Provini passes Ubbiali for 3rd place on the Whitebridge Hill on the end of the 1st lap of the Clypse Course. By the end of lap 2, Tarquinio Provini riding for Mondial passes both Taveri and Sammy Miller for the lead and by the end of the 3rd lap has a 13 second lead and set the fastest lap of the race of 8 minutes and 41.8 seconds an average speed of 74.44 mph and wins the 1957 Lightweight TT Race at an average race speed of 73.69 mph. On lap 8 at Hall Corner, Luigi Taveri slips-off his MV Agusta, but contuines and is passed by Carlo Ubbiali at Parkfield Corner on lap 9. The last lap is contested by Taveri in a "slipstream dog-fight"[4] for 3rd place which is won by Lugi Taveri by less than 1 second from Miller and Sandford.

The 10 lap 1957 Sidecar Race also held on the Clypse Course was led from start to finish by the BMW outfit of Fritz Hillebrand and Manfred Grünwald. In 2nd place was Walter Schneider/H.Strauss, also with a BMW sidecar. The Norton outfit of Cyril Smith and E.J.Bliss passed the other works BMW outfit of Florian Camathias/J.Galliker on lap 4. At the Manx Arms on the last lap, the Norton of Smith and Bliss suffers big-end failure allowing Camathias and Galliker to retake 3rd place and give BMW a 1-2-3 victory in the 1957 Sidecar TT Race.[5]

There was high expectations for the Blue Riband race of the Golden Jubilee TT with the 8 lap (301.86 miles) 1957 Senior TT Race. As Geoff Duke had been injured at Imola[6] at an Easter race meeting the works ride in the factory Gilera team had passed to Bob McIntyre.[7] During the 1955 Isle of Man TT, Geoff Duke was credited with the first lap of the Snaefell mountain course at an average speed of 100 mph. This was later revised by the official time-keepers at the TT Grandstand to 99.97 mph.[8]

The 1957 Senior TT race was led by Bob McIntyre riding for Gilera and he beat the overall lap-record from a standing start in 22 minutes and 38.4 seconds at an average speed of 99.99 mph and was 0.6 seconds faster than the lap record set by Geoff Duke in the 1955 Senior TT Race.[9] The main rival for winning the Senior TT race is John Surtess riding for MV Agusta who posts a time of 23 minutes and 17.4 seconds an average speed of 97.20 mph on the first lap. On the flying second lap, Bob McIntyre laps the Mountain Course in 22 minutes and 24.4 seconds an average speed of 101.03mph, breaking the overall lap record and the first 100 mph lap. The feat is again repeated on the 3rd lap at an average speed of 100.54 mph and the 4th and 6th lap at an average speed of 101.12 and 100.35 mph respectively.[10] By lap 4, Bob McIntyre leads the 1957 Senior TT Race from John Surtees by 2 min and 10.2 seconds and is only 9.8 seconds behind Surtees on the road. By the end of lap 4, Bob McIntyre passes John Surtees on the road. However, Surtees repasses Bob McIntyre on the road on the Mountain Section as the Gilera team give McIntyre signals to the slow the pace. The 1957 Senior TT Race is eventually won by Bob McIntyre riding a Gilera motor-cycle in 3 hours, 2 minutes and 57.2 seconds at an average speed of 98.99 mph.[11] The record breaking Senior TT Race and the Golden Jubilee celebrations are marred by the death of Charlie Salt who crashes a BSA motor-cycle at Ballagarraghyn Corner and is killed during the later stages of the 1957 Senior TT Race.[12]


Contents

[edit] Race Results

[edit] 1957 Isle of Man Junior TT 350cc final standings

3rd June 1957 - 7 Laps (264.11 Miles) Mountain Course.

Place Rider Number Country Machine Speed Time Points
1 Flag of Scotland Bob McIntyre Britain Gilera 94.99 mph 2:46.50.2 8
2 Flag of Australia Keith Campbell Australia Moto Guzzi 92.95 mph 2:50.29.8 6
3 Flag of Australia Bob Brown Australia Gilera 92.34 mph 2:51.38.2 4
4 Flag of United Kingdom John Surtees Britain MV Agusta 91.80 mph 2:52.37.6 3
5 Flag of Australia Eric Hinton Australia Norton 97.32 mph 2:54.50.0 2
6 Flag of New Zealand G.C.A (Peter) Murphy New Zealand Matchless 90.49 mph 2:55.08.4 1

[edit] 1957 Isle of Man Lightweight TT 250cc final standings

5th June 1957 - 10 Laps (107.90 miles) Clypse Course.

Place Rider Number Country Machine Speed Time Points
1 Flag of United Kingdom Cecil Sandford Britain Mondial 75.80 mph 1:25.04.0 8
2 Flag of Switzerland Luigi Taveri Switzerland MV Agusta 74.24 mph 1:25.04.0 6
3 Flag of Italy Roberto Colombo Italy MV Agusta 74.10 mph 1:27.21.8 4
4 Flag of Czechoslovakia F.Bartoš Czechoslovakia Jawa 72.45 mph 1:29.22.4 3
5 Flag of Northern Ireland Sammy Miller Britain Mondial 71.31 mph 1:30.47.0 2
6 Flag of United Kingdom D.Chadwick Britain MV Agusta 70.02 mph 1:32.28.0 1

[edit] 1957 Isle of Man Lightweight TT 125cc final standings

5th June 1957 - 10 Laps (107.90 miles) Clypse Course.

Place Rider Number Country Machine Speed Time Points
1 Flag of Italy Tarquinio Provini Italy Mondial 73.69 mph 1:27.00.0 8
2 Flag of Italy Carlo Ubbiali Italy MV Agusta 73.22 mph 1:28.25.0 6
3 Flag of Switzerland Luigi Taveri Switzerland MV Agusta 71.44 mph 1:30.37.8 4
4 Flag of Northern Ireland Sammy Miller Britain Mondial 71.43 mph 1:30.38.4 3
5 Flag of United Kingdom Cecil Sandford Britain Mondial 71.42 mph 1:30.38.6 2
6 Flag of Italy Roberto Colombo Italy MV Agusta 71.24 mph 1:30.53.0 1

[edit] 1957 Sidecar TT final standings

5th June 1957 - 10 Laps (107.90 miles) Clypse Course.

Place Rider Number Country Machine Speed Time Points
1 Flag of Germany Fritz Hillebrand/M.Grünwald Germany BMW 71.89 mph 1:30.03.4 8
2 Flag of Germany Walter Schneider/H.Strauss Germany BMW 71.21 mph 1:30.54.8 6
3 Flag of Switzerland Florian Camathias/J.Galliker Switzerland BMW 70.14 mph 1:32.18.2 4
4 Flag of United Kingdom J.Beeton/C.Billingham Britain Norton 66.97 mph 1:36.42.2 3
5 Flag of United Kingdom C.Freeman/J.Chisnall Britain Norton 64.82 mph 1:39.53.2 2
6 Flag of United Kingdom P.Woolett/G.Loft Britain Norton 63.58 mph 1:41.50.0 1

[edit] 1957 Isle of Man Senior TT 500cc final standings

Friday 7th June 1957 - 8 Laps (301.84 Miles) Mountain Course.

Place Rider Number Country Machine Speed Time Points
1 Flag of Scotland Bob McIntyre Britain Gilera 98.99 mph 3:02.57.2 8
2 Flag of United Kingdom John Surtees Britain MV Agusta 97.86 mph 3:05.04.2 6
3 Flag of Australia Bob Brown Australia Gilera 95.81 mph 3:09.02.0 4
4 Flag of United Kingdom Dickie Dale Britain Moto Guzzi 94.89 mph 3:10.52.4 3
5 Flag of Australia Keith Campbell Australia Moto Guzzi 93.27 mph 3:14.10.2 2
6 Flag of United Kingdom Alan Trow Britain Norton 92.74 mph 3:15.17.0 1

[edit] Notes

  • Monday Evening practice, Stanley Woods who has not lapped the TT Course for 18 years laps a Gilera motor-cycle on a 'Reserve A' plate in 28 minutes and 22 seconds an average speed of 80 mph.[13]
  • The fine weather causes melting tar during practice and Jimmy Buchan riding a Junior Norton and Walter Zeller ridng a BMW to crash at Laurel Bank. Derek Minter riding a Norton crashes at Milltown also because of the melting tar.[14]
  • Wednesday Evening practice, Terry Shepherd a replacement for Umberto Masetti riding an MV Agusta crashes at the Nook and breaks fingers in his left-hand. Also, Bob McIntyre riding a Gilera suffers a bird-strike. Walter Zeller riding for BMW tops the practice leaderboard with a lap of 23 minutes and 21.6 seconds.[15]
  • During lap 1 of the 1957 Junior TT Race, John Surtees stops on lap 1 to change a plug. Also on lap 1, F.Wallis riding a BSA retires at Ramsey with engine problems and G.A.Northwood riding a Norton at Ballacraine. On lap 2, G.T.Salt riding a Norton retires at Ballacraine, H.Ferguson riding an AJS at Creg-ny-Baa and J.Anderson at Bedstead Corner. By lap 3, A.King riding a Norton retires at Governor's Bridge and E.A.Loving riding a Velocette at Ballacrane with an engine problem. The Australian rider, R.Barker retires at Kirk Michael on lap 4 with a broken chain and Jack Brett riding a Norton at Guthrie's Memorial.[16]
  • The 1957 Lightweight TT held on the Clypse Course, F.E.Heath retires at Parkfield Corner on lap 1 and T.E.Rutherford riding a NSU slids-off at Ballacoar corner. On lap 2, Jackie Woods riding for NSU retires with engine problems. Also on lap 3, Carlo Ubbiali riding for MV Agusta retires with a dropped valve and Bob Brown retires on the Creg-ny-Baa 'back-road.'[17]
  • During the 1957 Ultra-Lightweight TT Race, also held on the Clypse Course, Fron Purlsow riding a Triumph retires on lap 1 with a loose mud-guard. During lap 2, Ken Martin riding an Anelay motor-cycle retires at the TT Grandstand and Ross Porter riding a MV Agusta retires at Creg-ny-Baa with a seized engine. On lap 3, Arthur Wheeler riding an MV Agusta retires with a broken exhaust rocker and Len Harfield at the TT Grandstand with gearbox problems.[18]
  • The 1957 Sidecar TT Race, held on the Clypse Course, on lap 1 E.Walker/D.G.Roberts, riding a Norton, retire with a split fuel-pump and P.J.R.Millward/S.Teather retire their Norton outfit at Morney Corner with broken suspension. During lap 3, B.N.Green/W.E.Rushmere retire at Edges Corner with broken suspension. The French driver, Jacques Drion and female passenger Inge Stoll retire with a broken hand-hold on their Norton sidecar. At Ballacoar Corner on lap 4, the Norton sidecar of 'Pip' Harris/R.M.Campbell brush a bank and retire. On the last lap, Bill Boddice/Bill Canning crash at the 4th Milestone on Ballacrooin Hill.[19]
  • Fastest lap of the 1957 Sidecar TT Race was Fritz Hillebrand/M.Grunwald riding a BMW outfit in 8 minutes and 55.4 seconds an average speed of 72.55 mph.[20]
  • During the 8 lap, 1957 Senior TT Race, on lap 1, John Hempleman retires at the Mountain Box with ignition box problems. On lap 4, Walter Zeller riding a BMW retires at Ramsey with ignition problems and Dickie Dale stops at Sulby when his Moto Guzzi V8 suffers a piston seizure, but continues the race with the engine running on 7 cylinders. During lap 7, Jack Brett riding for Norton crashes at Sulby when the chain breaks and Eric Hinton crashes at Ballacraine. On lap 8, Dickie Dale's team mate, Keith Campbell riding for Moto Guzzi falls of at Ramsey after oil leaks on the rear-tyre and loses 3 minutes, but he continues and finishes in 5th place at an average race speed of 93.27 mph. Also on lap 8, Geoff Tanner riding a Norton runs out of petrol on the Mountain Section while holding 6th place and freewheels and pushes down the Mountain to finish in 28th place.[21]

[edit] Sources

  1. ^ Isle of Man Weekly Times dated 7th June 1957
  2. ^ TT Special edited by G.S.Davison dated 3rd June 1957
  3. ^ Isle of Man Weekly Times dated 7th June 1957
  4. ^ The Motor-Cycle dated 13th June 1957
  5. ^ The Motor-Cycle dated 13th June 1957.
  6. ^ Official TT Race Guide 2006
  7. ^ British Racing Motor-Cycles by Mick Woollet
  8. ^ Official Isle of Man TT Race Guide 2005
  9. ^ Isle of Man Weekly Times dated 12th June 1957
  10. ^ Isle of Man Weekly Times dated 12th June 1957
  11. ^ Isle of Man Weekly Times dated 12th June 1957
  12. ^ The Motor-Cycle dated 13th June 1957.
  13. ^ The Motor-Cycle Practice Report dated 31st May 1957.
  14. ^ The Motor-Cycle Practice Report dated 31st May 1957.
  15. ^ Isle of Man Weekly Times dated 7th June 1957
  16. ^ Isle of Man Weekly Times dated 7th June 1957
  17. ^ The Motor-Cycle dated 13th June 1957.
  18. ^ The Motor-Cycle dated 13th June 1957.
  19. ^ The Motor-Cycle dated 13th June 1957.
  20. ^ The Motor-Cycle dated 13th June 1957.
  21. ^ The Motor-Cycle dated 13th June 1957.

[edit] External links