Ben Drinkwater

Reuben Thomas 'Ben' Drinkwater (13 February 1910 - 9 June 1949) born Rochdale,[1] Lancashire, England a railway signalman and motor-cycle racer who competed in the Isle of Man TT Races and the Manx Grand Prix.

After competing in the 1946 Manx Grand Prix the first post-war event on the Snaefell Mountain Course, Ben Drinkwater returned to race in the 1947 Isle of Man TT races and finished in 3rd place in the controversial 1947 250cc Lightweight TT Race won by Manliff Barrington.[2]

While racing in the 1949 350cc Junior TT Race, the first ever race of the new FIM World Championship, Drinkwater collided with a bank trying to avoid a fellow competitor near Cronk Bane farm[1] near the 11th milestone marker post and was killed. The distinctive S-bend corner on the Isle of Man Mountain Course near to where the accident occurred was renamed "Drinkwater's Bend"[3] or the 11th Milestone.

TT career summary

Finishing Position 3rd 4th DNF
Number of times 1 1 3

Sources

  1. ^ a b Isle of Man Examiner pp4 dated 17th June 1949
  2. ^ Manx Independent pp58 dated 11th June 1999 - Isle of Man Newspaper Group
  3. ^ Motocourse History of the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy Races 1907-1989 by Nick Harris pp58 (1990)(1st Edition) Hazelton Publishing ISBN 0-905138-71-6

External links