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1939 Isle of Man TT
Annual motorcycle racing event
Annual motorcycle racing event
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 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.
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.
Junior TT (350 cc) Race final standings
Monday 12 June 1939 – 7 laps (264.133 miles) Isle of Man TT Mountain Course
| No | Rider | Team | Speed | Time | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | |||||||||
| 1 | IRL Stanley Woods | Velocette | 83.19 mph | ||||||
| 2 | United Kingdom Harold Daniell | Norton | 83.13 mph | ||||||
| 3 | Nazi Germany Heiner Fleischmann | DKW | 82.51 mph | ||||||
| 4 | United Kingdom Ted Mellors | Velocette | 82.34 mph | ||||||
| 5 | United Kingdom David Whitworth | Velocette | 79.58 mph | ||||||
| 6 | Nazi Germany Siegfried Wünsche | DKW | 78.87 mph | ||||||
| 7 | United Kingdom Maurice Cann | Norton | 78.78 mph | ||||||
| 8 | United Kingdom S. (Ginger) Wood | Velocette | 78.55 mph | ||||||
| 9 | United Kingdom Ernie Thomas | Velocette | 48.69 mph | ||||||
| 10 | AUS Frank Mussett | Velocette | 77.60 mph |
Fastest Lap: Harold Daniels – 85.05 mph (26’ 38.0) on lap 7.
Lightweight TT (250 cc) Race final standings
Wednesday 14 June 1939 – 7 laps (264.133 miles) Isle of Man TT Mountain Course
| 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 | IRL 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 | IRL 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) *
Senior TT (500cc) Race final standings
Friday 16 June 1939 – 7 laps (264.133 miles) Isle of Man TT Mountain Course
| 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 | IRL 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.
Notes
- Improvements to the course include road-widening and landscaping at the Water Works Corner.
- At Sulby during practice, Georg Meier riding for BMW is timed at 111 mph.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Following the 1939 Senior race, Race winner Georg Meier took the Senior TT trophy to Munich, Following the outbreak of World War 2 the Trophy was lost, It was eventually found in a BMW dealership in Russian-controlled Vienna, but careful negotiation with the Russians saw it return to the Island in time to be presented to Harold Daniell, the winner of the first post-war TT in 1947.
Sources
References
- "Isle of Man TT Circuit".
- ''Daily Express'' page 15 Saturday 17 June 1939
- ''Isle of Man Weekly Times'' page 8 T.T. RIDER DIES FROM INJURIES Saturday 17 June 1939 “Inquest of Karl Gall.”
- ''Mona’s Herald'' page 6 STANLEY WOODS’ TENTH WIN Tuesday 13 June 1939
- ''Isle of Man Examiner'' page 5 Friday 16 June 1939
- ''Isle of Man Examiner'' page 9 MELLORS’ FIRST TT WIN Friday 16 June 1939
- ''Ramsey Courier'' page 16 AXIS ACHIEVEMENT IN LIGHTWEIGHT TT Friday 16 June 1939
- ''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
- ''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....”
- ''Isle of Man Examiner'' page 4 Friday 23 June 1939
- ''Isle of Man Times'' page 20 Saturday 13 May 1939
- ''TT Special'' 1939 edited by G.S.Davison TIMING ON THE SULBY STRAIGHT page 3 Friday 9 June 1939
- ''Ramsey Courier'' page 11 Friday 11 June 1939
- ''TT Special'' 1939 edited by G.S.Davison TODAY’S JUNIOR page 4 Monday 12 June 1939
- ''Isle of Man Time''s page 3 STANLEY WOODS’ TENTH T.T. VICTORY Saturday 17 June 1939
- ''Isle of Man Times'' page 5 TED MELLORS WINS FOR ITALY. Saturday 17 June 1939
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