Gus Kuhn

Gustave Emil Kuhn (17 October 1898 – 30 August 1966) was a successful British TT and motorcycle speedway rider during the 1920s and 1930s.[1][2]

Gus Kuhn
Born17 October 1898
Birmingham, England
Died30 August 1966(1966-08-30) (aged 67)
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
1929–1932Stamford Bridge Pensioners
1933–1937Wimbledon Dons
1937Wembley Lions
1938Lea Bridge
1939Southampton Saints
Team honours
1929Southern League Champion
1932National Association Trophy Winner
Motorcycle racing career statistics
Isle of Man TT career
TTs contested5 (1920, 1922, 1924–1926)
TT wins0
TT podiums0

He was born in Birmingham, England, and served in the Royal Naval Air Service in World War I.[3]

Speedway

Kuhn captained the Stamford Bridge team to victory in the 1929 Southern League Championship, and after Stamford Bridge closed in 1932, he spent nearly five years racing for the Wimbledon Dons.[3] In 1937 he moved to the Wembley Lions and then Lea Bridge Speedway Team in 1938, where he was captain. He retired from speedway in 1939 after a season with the Southampton Saints.[4][5]

"A wily master of track-craft, a brilliant mechanic, a darned hard man to get past (and not only because of his portly figure), and above all a thorough sportsman and a jolly good fellow". - Speedway News 16 May 1936

Kuhn made his first appearance for England during the first international test match against Australia (1930) and went on to have a number of international appearances throughout the decade.[3]

Film appearance

The speedway scenes from the 1933 film Britannia of Billingsgate were shot at Hackney Wick Stadium and featured some of the leading riders in Britain at the time including Kuhn, Colin Watson, Arthur Warwick, Tom Farndon, Claude Rye and Ron Johnson.[6]

Isle of Man TT

As a rider in the TT, Kuhn's greatest success came in the 1926 Isle of Man TT in the Junior TT division.
Results summary

Position 5 7 12 DNF
No of times 1 1 1 4

Off track

In 1932 Kuhn founded Gus Kuhn Motors in Clapham Road, London.[3] The company dealt in Triumphs, BSA and Nortons, its reputation for racing success was not to come until a few years later. After Kuhn's death in 1966, the Gus Kuhn name lived on, the firm now being run by his son-in-law, Vincent Davey. The team focused primarily on racing modifications to Norton Motorcycles and by 1969 they had won the British 500cc Championship, Castrol Championship, Duckhams Trophy, Grovewood Award and Redex Trophy. For a number of years, Norton racing kits and parts were produced for practically every part of the Norton. Over the years these racing machines supplied a number of notable riders including Mick Andrew, Charlie Sanby and Dave Potter.

Players cigarette cards

Kuhn is listed as number 25 of 50 in the 1930s Player's cigarette card collection.[7]

References
  1. "Gus Kuhn profile". guskuhn.net. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  2. "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  3. Sandys, Leonard (1948) Broadside to Fame! The Drama of the Speedways, Findon, p. 21
  4. "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  5. "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - PRE-WAR ERA (1929-1939)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  6. "Britannia Of Billingsgate (1933)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  7. "Speedway Riders". Speedway Museum Online. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
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