| Motorcycle Grand Prix Career | |
| Nationality | Ireland |
|---|---|
| Active years | 1935–1951 |
| Team(s) | Excelsior, Moto Guzzi, Norton, Vincent-HRD |
| Grands Prix Wins | 1 |
| Championships | N/A |
| TT Race Wins | 2 |
| Podium finishes | N/A |
| Pole positions | N/A |
| Fastest laps | N/A |
| First Race | |
| First TT Race | 1935 Isle of Man 350cc Junior TT |
| First TT win | 1947 Isle of Man 250cc Lightweight TT |
| Last TT Race win | 1949 Isle of Man 250cc Lightweight TT |
| Last TT Race | 1951 Isle of Man 500cc Senior TT |
Manliff Barrington (1910–1999[1]) Monkstown, County Dublin, was an Irish motorcycle racer famous for winning the Isle of Man TT races 2 times in his career.
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The son of an official importer for CAV (a predecessor of Lucas) for tractors in Ireland. Barrington first competed in the 1935 Isle of Man TT finishing in 11th place in the 1935 Senior TT Race riding an Excelsior motor-cycle at an average race speed of 72.06 mph. Manliff also occasionally raced cars including finishing 4th at Phoenix Park in 1937 driving a Rapier.
Entered by the recently retired from racing Stanley Woods riding a motor-cycle Moto Guzzi in the 1947 Isle of Man TT Races. The 1947 250cc Lightweight TT race was won Manliff Barrington in what proved highly controversial circumstances from team-mate Maurice Cann.
| Rank | Rider | Team | Speed | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manliff Barington | Moto Guzzi | 73.22 mph | 3:36.26.6 |
| 2 | Maurice Cann | Moto Guzzi | 72.972 | 3:37.10.8 |
| 3 | Ben Drinkwater | Excelsior | 70.139 | 3:34.57.0 |
Despite Maurice Cann lapping consistently for the whole race at an average race speed of over 74 mph and Barrington at just over 73 mph the 1947 250cc Lightweight TT Race was awarded to Barrington riding a Moto-Guzzi motorcycle. Despite a protest to the ACU, the result was allowed to stand as "....in those days of wind-up watches and hand-written records, the officials had under-estimated Barrington's time by a minute."[2]
The first event of the new 1949 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 1949 Isle of Man TT Race. A further race win for Barrington in the new Grand Prix Championship in the 1949 250cc Lightweight TT Race at an average race speed of 77.99 mph again riding a Moto-Guzzi motor-cycle.
During practice for the 1952 Isle of Man TT Races, Manliff Barrington was riding a 500cc Norton in the Senior TT class when the engined seized at the left-hand bend before the cross-roads at Barregarrow and a broken thigh from the crash led to a retirement from motor-cycle racing.[3]
| Year | Race & Capacity | Motorcycle | Average Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | Lightweight 250cc | Honda | 73.22 mph |
| 1949 | Lightweight 250cc | Honda | 77.99 mph |
| Finishing Position | 1st | 5th | 11th | 17th | 18th | 39th | DNF |
| Number of times | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 |