Rich ardRosenthal.ThefirstpostwarACUSix
Days Trialattracted
entrants(includinglate
entr yEWMerrall,8hp
Morgan) of which
startedthe Llandrindod
Wells-based even t.
Aftera98.5 mile short
route on Monday,entrants
returnedtotheirmachines
late in the eveningfor a
mile‘LampTest.’Durin gthe
day, an entrantstruc kaFord
carafter misunderstanding
apoliceman’ssignalto
make him thefirst of 30
retirementsduringthe week.
Thursdaytookthe biggest toll,
accounting for10 retirements.
Subsequentmilea gesof
160,152, 159and161 miles
perday took theentrants
through theweek. Many
riders suffered multiple
punctures,includingTim
Wood of theScottteam.
At thefinishafter aday’s
driv e, an eagerhelperfilled
water into thepetrol tank of
Grea ve’s Morgan and earlier
in that daythe A riel 5-6hp
outfitofWatsoncaught
fire –onthat occasion,water
wasuseful!
Accidents,includingfor
Mr Eastingoft he Easting
WindscreenCo, forced
retirements,while collaps ed
wheelbearings, engi ne
maladiesand broken frames
did forothers,including
HarryReed of Dot, whose
sidecarparte dcompanyfrom
its motorcycle.
Thecrowd enjoyed the
speed climb late in theweek,
with racing menKayeDon
(5hpZenith),VictorHorsman
(4hpNorton),Tommydela
Hay(3½hpSunbeam) and
theWood brothers(both
3½hp Scotts)makingspirited,
dust-raisingascents.
As Friday drew toaclose
and ridersneared thefinish,
alady standing in fr ontof
asigncausedmanytotake
awrong turn,to lose time
and marks.
Saturda ywas gi venover
to machine scrutinyand
results tallying. Fro mthe
81 finishers,22earned gold
medals,36s ilvers,15bronze
and nine, includingthe
ABCBrooklandsstar Jack
Emerson, gained no award.
TheBSA factory
teamsecured the team
competitionfromScott,
whoseTim Wood recorded
the best overallperformance.Thedeath ofSydGleave,
kill ed while testinga
Lancaster aircraft,was
announced. Aged 39,he
wassenior testpilot for
theHawker-Avro Group.
Winner ofmanyracesand
an IoMTTregular from
1926-34, Gleave wonthe
1933 Lightwei ghtrace at
71.59mphracing afactory
ExcelsiorMechanicalMarvel.Twenty-year-oldScot Alex
George (Yamaha)wonthe
year’s Lightweigh tManx
GP whileRobin Duffy
(Aer macchi) took theJuniorrace andGordon Daniels
(CowlesMatchless)the
Senior,with arace speedof
93.43mph andafastest lap
of 96.66mph.Production of MZtwo-stroke
motorcycleswas transferring
to Turkey,leavi ng the
German makerMuZ to
concentrateonbuildingtheir 660cc ohcsingle
cylinderYamaha-powered
Skorpion, pricedat£4550.