Ulster Grand Prix

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1 History
2 Famous riders
3 References
4 See also
5 External links

The Ulster Grand Prix is a motorcycle road race that takes place on the Dundrod circuit near Belfast, Northern Ireland. The first races took place in 1922 and in 1935 and 1948 the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme gave it the title Grand Prix d'Europe. The Ulster Grand Prix was included as one of the races in the inaugural 1949 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, a place it held until 1971.

[edit] History

The race has been held on three different circuits. The 20.5 mile Old Clady circuit was used from 1922 until 1939 and included a notoriously bumpy 7-mile straight. After World War II the new Clady circuit was used that, due to road improvements, was now 16.5 miles in length and in use between 1947 and 1952. In 1953 the race was moved to the 7.401 mile Dundrod circuit where it is still held. The event was cancelled in 1972 because of the political situation in Northern Ireland and in 2001, during the Foot-and-mouth crisis, when the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT were cancelled, the race was held.^[1]

[edit] Famous riders

Joey Dunlop won twenty four Ulster Grand Prix races during his career with Phillip Mc Callen winning fourteen races. Besides these two, no other rider has won more than nine races during the 78-year history, though three have won nine races. Some of the famous riders include: Stanley Woods (7 wins), Jimmy Guthrie, Jimmy Simpson, Artie Bell, Les Graham, Freddie Frith (3 wins), Geoff Duke (3 wins), John Surtees (6 wins), Ray Amm, Carlo Ubbiali (5 wins), Bill Lomas (3 wins), Mike Hailwood (7 wins), Giacomo Agostini (7 wins), Phil Read (3 wins), Bill Ivy (3 wins), Bob McIntyre, Gary Hocking (3 wins), Tom Herron (5 wins), Ron Haslam (5 wins), Jon Ekerold, and more recently Mick Grant, Wayne Gardner, Steve Hislop, Robert Dunlop (9 wins) and Carl Fogarty.