Velocette 350 dohc & Stanley Woods – Isle of Man TT 1936 - photo

Description

A superb and rare photo of the magnificent and legendary Irish roadracer
Stanley Woods
, photographed in the paddock of the
1936 Isle of Man T.T. races
. According the spec. sheet that came with the negative, the photograph was taken on
June 16, 1936
and it shows Stanley Woods with an experimental
350cc d.o.h.c. Velocette
racing bike.
It is a machine with an interesting history. For the 1936 season Stanley Woods became the number one rider for Velocette, under condition that certain modifications were applied to the factory racers. Velocette were prepared to accept his advice, and during the winter of 1935-36 these were put in place. They featured a
twin-camshaft 350 (see photo)
and a completely new single-cam 500, but importantly the works machines featured swinging arm rear suspension with oleomatic dampers. Their design set the pattern that continues to this day. For three successive years, 1936 to 1938 he finished second to Norton in the Isle of Man Senior TT, but on the 350 he had Norton’s measure; and scored wins in the 1938 and 1939 Junior TTs to bring his
Isle of Man
victory total to ten. An important aspect of the 1939 TT was Stanley’s opportunity to put in a solitary practice lap on the new supercharged shaft drive racer, He was impressed with its performance; in particular the handling, but the blown twin still needed further development to make it competitive. He chose to ride the proven single in the Senior and finished in fourth place. It was to be his last finish at the TT.
The
Ulster Grand Prix
was generally a happy hunting ground for Stanley Woods. It was fitting that his chequered career should finish there with a masterly win in the 350 class of the 1939 Ulster Grand Prix. A few days later war was declared, and like so many riders, his career suffered postponement; although he came tantalizingly close to making a comeback at the 1947 TT.
As stated,
Stanley
did start in the 1936 TT races with the photographed machine. Norton rider Jimmie Guthrie would win the Senior, and come fifth in the Junior. The Junior was won by Freddie Frith in his first year on the Norton team, and the Lightweight was won by Bob Foster on a New Imperial. Following on from the dramatic win by Stanley Woods in the 1935 Senior TT Race, the 1936 Junior TT Race proved to be highly controversial and was marred by disqualification and protest. As Moto Guzzi were involved in war production for the crisis in
Abyssinia
, Stanley Woods rode for Velocette in the 1936 Junior TT but retired at Sulby on lap 1 with engine problems. After leading for five laps, Jimmie Guthrie was forced to stop between Hillberry and Signpost Corner to replace the drive chain. Although Jimmie Guthrie continued in 2nd place the lead passed to Norton team-mate Freddie Frith who had joined the team after winning the 1935 Junior Manx Grand Prix. At
Parliament Square
in Ramsey on lap 6, Jimmie Guthrie was 'black-flagged' for receiving outside assistance and disqualified. Guthrie denied the charge, however, and continued the race to finish in fifth place which was won by Freddie Frith to record his first Isle of Man TT win at an average race speed of 80.14 mph (
128.97 km/h
). The Norton race team protested the disqualification and Jimmie Guthrie was posted in 5th place in the final race classification and was awarded 2nd place prize money. In the Senior TT race Harold Daniell and George Rowley rode supercharged AJS V4s, but despite their high top speed, the bikes lacked acceleration. Both riders retired due to mechanical problems. The 1936 Lightweight TT Race was held after being delayed for a day because of mist and fog on the Mountain Course. The 1936 Lightweight Race proved to be closely contested by Bob Foster riding for New Imperial and Stanley Woods riding the 3 cylinder supercharged 250 cc DKW who retired on lap 7 after stopping to change a spark-plug. The 1936 Lightweight Race was won by Bob Foster at an average race speed of 74.28 mph (
119.54 km/h
) from Tyrell Smith riding for Excelsior in 2nd place and A.Geiss in 3rd place riding a DKW motor-cycle.
Stanley Woods
was born in
1903 in
Dublin
. He was an Irish motocycle racer famous for 29 motorcycle Grand Prix wins and winning the Isle of Man TT races 10 times in his career. He was a past pupil of The High School,
Dublin
.
Stanley
started racing in 1921 on a Harley Davidson. He was also a skilled trials rider competing in the 1930s. His début on the new Isle of Man Snaefell Mountain Course in 1922 was as a promising seventeen year old finishing fifth in the Junior TT on a Cotton even though his machine had a fire at a pit stop and he completed the race without brakes. He won it the following year. His association with Norton spanned the years from 1926 until 1934 during which he won four of the 1927 Grands Prix, two more in 1928 and several more in the following years. He became disillusioned with the Norton and rode for Moto Guzzi in 1935 giving them the first victory for a non-English manufacturer at the TT Races. Described by the motor-cycle press at the time as the "Irish Dasher" his stylish riding style was influenced from watching fellow TT competitor Alec Bennett Over the years many scraps took place between the likes of Jimmie Guthrie, Jimmie Simpson, Charlie Dodson, Harold Daniell, Freddie Frith and Wal L. Handley during these races.
Stanley
was a toffee maker and in the Isle of Man TT history it states that he would bring a couple of boxes of toffee with him for the Scouts who manned the scoreboards on which the grandstand audience relied to follow the races.
Stanley
was president of the TT Riders Association. Commandant Stanley Woods is credited with the task of training some of the first Irish Army 4 Cavalry Squadron's Motor Squadron personnel during The Emergency as the presidential Escort of Honour. His career record of ten Isle of Man TT victories remained until the era of Mike Hailwood who won 14 TT races. Three riders have equalled his record while another three have had eleven victories, but the most victories goes to another great Irish rider: Joey Dunlop with 26 TT wins. Woods' standing in the history of the TT was so high that in
1968 a
panel of experts named him the greatest of all the island’s competitors. In 1957 he returned to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the TT races riding a 350cc Moto Guzzi round the course at just over 82mph. In 1996 the Irish Post Office issued a set postage stamps of notable Irish motorcyclists that included a stamp depicting Stanley Woods.
This is a very nice and very rare
non period
photo that reflects a wonderful era of 1930s motorcycle history in
wonderful way. This is your rare chance to own this photo, therefore it is printed in a nice large format of ca. 8" x 10" (ca. 20 x
25.4 cm
). It makes it perfectly suitable for framing!
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