1921 Isle of Man TT
The 1921 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy Junior 350 cc race took place on Tuesday 14 June and the Senior 500 cc was on Thursday 16 June.
This year AJS redeemed themselves by completing a hat trick, taking the first four places for a total of six of the top ten places in the Junior 350 cc race. Works teams boosted the entries to 133 riders and machines and amongst the thousands of spectators this year was the first visit to the island for a young man, Stanley Woods, who would make TT history by winning 10 times.[1]
The Junior race speeds also rose considerably over the previous year with a lap speed of more than 50 mph (80 km/h). It had been suggested that sidecar racing start in 1921 but this idea was not well received and not implemented until 1923.[1] It was announced there was a possibility of moving the TT races to Belgium for 1922 but the AutoCycle Union never made the switch.[2]
Despite AJS motor-cycle filling the first five places of the 1921 Junior TT Races it was punctures that had decided the race outcome. Eventual winner of the 1921 Junior TT Race was Eric Williams riding an AJS motor-cycle in 3 hours, 37 minutes and 23 seconds an average race speed of 52.10 mph (83.85 km/h). The race was initially led by Howard R Davies also riding for AJS and set a new lap record for the 1921 Junior TT Race of 41 minutes and 4 seconds an average speed of 55.15 mph (88.76 km/h). Time lost mending a puncture at the Windy Corner by Howard Davies gave the lead to Jim Whalley riding a Massey-Arran motor-cycle. On the last lap Jim Whalley also punctured at the Windy Corner and finished the 1921 Junior TT Race in fifth place. New Imperial made sales boosting news with a win in the Lightweight 250 cc class by rider Doug Prentice, coming tenth overall in the 350 cc Junior TT.[1][3]
More drama was to follow in the 1921 Senior TT Race as the race lead changed every lap between Alec Bennett riding a Sunbeam, Freddie W.Dixon riding an Indian and Freddie Edmond riding a Triumph motor-cycle who set a new lap record of 40 minutes and 8 seconds an average speed of 56.40 mph (90.77 km/h). The 1921 Senior TT race was eventually won by Howard Davies riding a 350 cc Junior TT Race motor-cycle by a margin of 2 minutes and 3 seconds from Freddie Dixon and Hubert Le Vack in 4 hours, 9 minutes and 22 seconds at an average race speed of 54.49 mph (87.69 km/h).
Junior 350 cc Race
| Pos | Rider | Machine | Time | Speed | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Eric Williams | AJS | 3.37.23 | 52.21 mph (84.02 km/h) | 5 |
| 2 | Howard R Davies | AJS | 3.41.10 | 52.2 mph (84.0 km/h) | 5 |
| 3 |  Tom Sheard | AJS | 3.49.09 | 49.52 mph (79.69 km/h) | 5 |
Senior 500 cc Race
| Pos | Rider | Machine | Time | Speed | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Howard R Davies | AJS | 4.09.22 | 54.49 mph (87.69 km/h) | 6 |
| 2 | Freddie W Dixon | Indian | 4.11.25 | 54.02 mph (86.94 km/h) | 6 |
| 3 | Bert le Vack | Indian | 4.12.06 | 53.91 mph (86.76 km/h) | 6 |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 IOM TT The Mountain Circuit (retrieved 20 August 2006)
- ↑ Steam-Packet 2006 Manx GP (retrieved 20 August 2006)
- ↑ New Imperial Owners Association History (retrieved 16 October 2006)
External links
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