Eric Oliver

Eric Staines Oliver (13 April 1911 – 1 March 1980) was an English motorcycle racer best remembered as four-time Sidecar World Champion administered by the FIM, riding a Norton. His passenger in 1949 was Denis Jenkinson. He is also remembered for his innovation, being the first sidecar competitor to use a dustbin fairing, rear suspension and the first to adopt a semi-kneeling riding position.[2]

For other uses, see Eric Oliver (disambiguation).

Eric Oliver
Oliver at the Vintage Motor Cycle Club's Founder's Day rally, race meeting and parade gathering, 27 April 1969
NationalityBritish
Born(1911-04-13)13 April 1911
Died1 March 1980(1980-03-01) (aged 68)
Motorcycle racing career statistics
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Active years1949 - 1960
First race1949 Isle of Man TT
Last race1960 Isle of Man TT[1]
First win1949 Swiss Grand Prix
Last win1954 Belgian Grand Prix
Team(s)Norton, Velocette
Championships4 (1949, 1950, 1951, 1953)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
17 19 160 (162)
Isle of Man TT career
TTs contested14 (1937 - 1960)
TT wins1
First TT win1954 Sidecar TT
Last TT win1954 Sidecar TT
TT podiums1

He was also an accomplished solo racer and continued to ride a 350 Grand Prix bike while racing a sidecar.

Oliver made a surprising appearance in the 1958 Isle of Man Sidecar TT race on a standard Norton Dominator 88 with a Watsonian "Monaco" road sidecar with Mrs Pat Wise in the sidecar, finishing tenth ahead of many specialised race machines. Oliver's last TT appearance was in the 1960 with passenger Stan Dibben but they had a bad crash in practice with Oliver breaking his back in two places and Dibben was nearly decapitated. Both men decided to retire from racing after this.[1]

Oliver later switched to car racing with a Lotus Elan[3] and on 1 January 1955 opened a motorcycle dealership in Staines,[4] later selling Reliant cars.[5]

World Championship results
Position 1 2 3 4 5 6
Points 8 6 4 3 2 1

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap. An empty black cell indicates that the class did not compete at that particular championship round.)

Year Class Motorcycle 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rank Points
1949 IOM SUI NED BEL ULS NAT
500 cc Norton Ret — 0
350 cc Velocette 21 7 — 0
Sidecar (with Denis Jenkinson) Norton 1 1 5 1st 28
1950 IOM BEL NED SUI ULS NAT
350 cc Velocette 14 — 0
Sidecar (with Lorenzo Dobelli) Norton 1 1 1 1st 24
1951 ESP SUI IOM BEL NED FRA ULS NAT
Sidecar (with Lorenzo Dobelli) Norton 1 5 1 1 2 1st 30 (32)
1952 SUI IOM NED BEL GER ULS NAT ESP
Sidecar (with Stanley Price) Norton 1 5th 16
Sidecar (with Lorenzo Dobelli) Norton 1
1953 IOM NED BEL GER FRA ULS SUI NAT ESP
Sidecar (with Stanley Dibben) Norton 1 1 1 1 1st 32
1954 FRA IOM ULS BEL NED GER SUI NAT ESP
Sidecar (with Les Nutt) Norton 1 1 1 5 2nd 26
1955 ESP FRA IOM GER BEL NED ULS NAT
Sidecar (with Eric Bliss) Norton 3 Ret 13 10th 4
1958 IOM NED BEL GER SWE ULS NAT
Sidecar (with Pat Wise) Norton 10 — 0

References
  1. "Competitor Profile: Eric Oliver". www.iomtt.com. Archived from the original on 21 January 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  2. "Eric Oliver". www.motopaedia.com. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  3. Jenkinson, Denis (May 1965). "Journey to Sicily". Motor Sport.
  4. "News - Eric Oliver-Dealer". Motor Cycling. London: Temple Press Ltd. 91 (2345): 318. 6 January 1955.
  5. "Eric Oliver Reliant Sales and Service, 93-101 London Road, Staines". Motor Cyclist Illustrated: 54. May 1968.
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