1939 Isle of Man TT

The 1939 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy was the last races until 1947 due to the interruption by World War II. It was also the last of ten Isle of Man TT victories for the 34-year-old Stanley Woods[1] in which he won the Junior TT on a Velocette at 83.19 mph and also finished in 4th place in the Senior TT race. The 250cc Lightweight TT race was a first time winner for Ted Mellors and the Benelli marque. The Senior TT race was won by the German competitor Georg Meier on a supercharged 500CC BMW Type 255 motor-cycle.[2]

The Austrian competitor Karl Gall riding for the works BMW team crashes at Ballaugh Bridge during an evening practice session and later dies of his injuries and the effects of pneumonia in hospital.[3]

Junior TT (350 cc) Race final standings

Monday 12 June 1939 – 7 laps (264.133 miles) Isle of Man TT Mountain Course[4]

Rank No Rider Team Speed Time
1 Republic of Ireland Stanley Woods Velocette 83.19 mph 3:10.30.0
2 United Kingdom Harold Daniell Norton 83.13 mph 3:10.38.0
3 Nazi Germany Heiner Fleischmann DKW 82.51 mph 3:12.28.0
4 United Kingdom Ted Mellors Velocette 82.34 mph 3:12.28.0
5 United Kingdom David Whitworth Velocette 79.58 mph 3:19.09.0
6 Nazi Germany Siegfried Wünsche DKW 78.87 mph 3:20.57.0
7 United Kingdom Maurice Cann Norton 78.78 mph 3:21.10.0
8 United Kingdom S. (Ginger) Wood Velocette 78.55 mph 3:22.36.0
9 United Kingdom Ernie Thomas Velocette 48.69 mph 3:26.18.0
10 Australia Frank Mussett Velocette 77.60 mph 3:24.14.0

Fastest Lap: Harold Daniels  – 85.05 mph (26’ 38.0) on lap 7.[5]

Lightweight TT (250 cc) Race final standings

Wednesday 14 June 1939 – 7 laps (264.133 miles) Isle of Man TT Mountain Course[6]

Rank No Rider Team Speed Time
1 United Kingdom E.A. Ted Mellors Benelli 74.26 mph 3:33.26.0
2 Nazi Germany Ewald Kluge DKW 72.97 mph 3:37.11.0
3 Republic of Ireland H. G. Tyrell Smith Excelsior 71.91 mph 3:40.23.0
4 United Kingdom Les G. Martin Excelsior 68.87 mph 3:50.08.0
5 Nazi Germany Siegfried Wünsche DKW 68.78 mph 3:50.25.0
6 Republic of Ireland Charlie Manders Excelsior 66.93 mph 3:56.48.0
7 United Kingdom Harold Hartley Excelsior 66.19 mph 3:59.27.0
8 United Kingdom Ernie Thomas DKW 65.81 mph 4:00.48.0
9 United Kingdom S. (Ginger) Wood Rudge 65.04 mph 4:03.41.0
10 United Kingdom Chris Tattersall CTS 63.95 mph 4:07.50.0

Fastest Lap: Stanley Woods  – 78.16 mph (28’ 58.0) [7]

Senior TT (500cc) Race final standings

Friday 16 June 1939 – 7 laps (264.133 miles)[8] Isle of Man TT Mountain Course[9]

Rank No Rider Team Speed Time
1 49 Nazi Germany Georg Meier 494cc BMW 89.38 mph 2:57.19.0
2 35 United Kingdom Jock West 494cc BMW 88.22 mph 2:59.39.0
3 17 United Kingdom Freddie Frith 499cc Norton 87.96 mph 3:00.11.0
4 10 Republic of Ireland Stanley Woods 499cc Velocette 87.91 mph 3:00.17.0
5 51 United Kingdom John H. White 499cc Norton 85.92 mph 3:04.27.0
6 19 United Kingdom Les Archer 495cc Velocette 84.31 mph 3:07.58.0
7 28 United Kingdom Ted Mellors 495cc Velocette 83.76 mph 3:09.12.0
8 18 United Kingdom S.Wood 499cc Norton 48.69 mph 3:26.18.0
9 20 United Kingdom Maurice Cann Moto Guzzi 81.96 mph 3:13.22.0
10 40 South Africa Jack Galway 499cc Norton 81.37 mph 3:15.00.0

Fastest Lap: Georg Meier  – 90.75 mph (24’ 57.0) on lap 2.[10]

Notes
  • Improvements to the course include road-widening and landscaping at the Water Works Corner.[11]
  • At Sulby during practice, Georg Meier riding for BMW is timed at 111 mph.[12]
  • A collision occurs on Bray Hill during lap 2 of the 1939 Junior TT Races when Sven A. Sorenson riding an Excelsior collides with H. B. Waddington and David Whitworth both riding Norton motor-cycles.[13]
  • On lap 1 of the 1939 Junior TT Race, Bob Foster riding an AJS stops at the Quarterbridge to fix broken goggles. Also, Bill Beevers and H.B.Myers both riding Velocette motor-cycles crash at the Quarterbridge on the same lap.[14]
  • During lap 3 of the Junior Race, Tyrell Smith slips of his Excelsior motor-cycle at Parliament Square in Ramsey and then continues after straightening the foot-rest. At the East Mountain Gate during lap 5, Marcel Simo collides with a post and crashes his Terrot motor-cycle. He suffers head and chest injuries and is taken to hospital. Also during lap 5, Freddie Frith retires at Ballaugh after holding 2nd place in the 1939 Junior TT Race.[15]
  • The 1939 Lightweight Race is held in mixed weather conditions. On lap 2 of the Lightweight Race, Jock McCredie riding an Excelsior retires at Ballaugh with engine problems. Lap 3 and Omobono Tenni riding a Moto Guzzi stops at Ballaugh to change a spark-plug and retires and his team-mate Stanley Woods retires on lap 5 with engine problems at Crosby.[16]

Sources
  1. "Isle of Man TT Circuit". Archived from the original on 16 November 2006. Retrieved 31 October 2006. MCB A Brief History of the TT Races (Retrieved 28 October 2006)
  2. Daily Express page 15 Saturday 17 June 1939
  3. Isle of Man Weekly Times page 8 T.T. RIDER DIES FROM INJURIES Saturday 17 June 1939 “Inquest of Karl Gall.”
  4. Mona’s Herald page 6 STANLEY WOODS’ TENTH WIN Tuesday 13 June 1939
  5. Isle of Man Examiner page 5 Friday 16 June 1939
  6. Isle of Man Examiner page 9 MELLORS’ FIRST TT WIN Friday 16 June 1939
  7. Ramsey Courier page 16 AXIS ACHIEVEMENT IN LIGHTWEIGHT TT Friday 16 June 1939
  8. Programme of the Senior International Tourist Trophy Race Isle of Man 16 June 1939 pages 22-24 SCORE SHEET The Auto-Cycle Union (1939) F.I.C.M
  9. Peel City Guardian page 1 SENIOR TT RACE Saturday 17 June 1939 “….Meier and J.W. West proved too hot for the British machines and they took the lead on the first lap….”
  10. Isle of Man Examiner page 4 Friday 23 June 1939
  11. Isle of Man Times page 20 Saturday 13 May 1939
  12. TT Special 1939 edited by G.S.Davison TIMING ON THE SULBY STRAIGHT page 3 Friday 9 June 1939
  13. Ramsey Courier page 11 Friday 11 June 1939
  14. TT Special 1939 edited by G.S.Davison TODAY’S JUNIOR page 4 Monday 12 June 1939
  15. Isle of Man Times page 3 STANLEY WOODS’ TENTH T.T. VICTORY Saturday 17 June 1939
  16. Isle of Man Times page 5 TED MELLORS WINS FOR ITALY. Saturday 17 June 1939
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.