1920 Isle of Man TT

The 1920 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy was the first to take place following World War I. Official practice sessions started on 31 May with the races taking place on 15 and 16 June.

The 1920 Junior TT race included for the first time a new Lightweight class for motorcycles of 250 cc engine capacity, but this would not be a TT until 1922. (see below)

The Junior race was initially led by Eric Williams, the winner of the 1914 Junior TT race riding an AJS and set a new Junior lap record of 44 minutes and 6 seconds, an average speed of 51.36 mph. A mechanical retirement for Eric Williams allowed Cyril Williams also riding an AJS to build up an impressive lead of 20 minutes. However, Cyril Williams hit transmission problems at Keppel Gate and free-wheeled and pushed it for the last five miles^[1] to win by a margin of 9 minutes and 50 seconds from J.A.Watson-Bourne, riding for Blackburne motorcycles in 4 hours, 37 minutes and 57 seconds, at an average race speed of 40.74 mph.

The Lighweight class within Junior race was won by R.O Clarke riding a Levis and he may have won the event overall but crashed at Windy Corner due to a puncture on the last lap, and then completed the race on a bent wheel-rim to finish fourth overall. G. Dance on a Sunbeam set a new lap record time of 40 mins. 30 sec.^[1]

The Senior race was won by Tommy de la Hay riding a Sunbeam at an average race speed of 51.79 mph from local Isle of Man competitor Doug Brown riding a Norton. A new lap record was set by George Dance riding a Sunbeam of 40 minutes and 43 seconds, an average speed of 55.62 mph. AJS thought they could repeat the success of the 1914 Junior TT with a newly developed 2.75 hp (2.05 kW) ohv-engined machine.^[2] While Cyril Williams won the Junior race for AJS, Howard Raymond Davies, also on the AJS team, retired from both races with engine trouble.

To explain the 250 race more fully, the first 250 cc Lightweight TT race would not be run until 1922. The 1920 and 1921 Junior races had a separate 250 cc class that appeared to run concurrently. In 1920, R.O Clarke was fourth in the Junior race, but finished in first place in the 250 cc class. For 1921, Doug Prentice was 10th in the Junior race, but finished first in the 250 cc Lightweight class.

The Isle of Man Examiner, dated 19 June 1920, quotes that Levis won the first 3 places in the Lightweight class of the Junior race. The article also states that no prize was awarded for the Lightweight class as the finishers' times were all 30 minutes slower than the winner's time. The article does not state if it refers to prize money or some other finisher's award. However, R.O Clark riding for Levis finished in 4th place overall and was within the 30 minute limit for a "prize", despite a puncture at Windy Corner on the last-lap, and then completed the 1920 Junior Race on a wheel-rim.

Junior 350 cc Race

15 June 1920 – 5 Laps (188.75 Miles) Mountain Course.

Pos	Rider	Machine	Time	Speed	Laps
1	Cyril Williams	AJS	4.37.57	40.74 mph	5
2	J. A. Watson-Bourne	Blackburne	4.47.07		5
3	J. S. Holroyd	Blackburne	4.47.37		5

Senior 500 cc Race

16 June 1920 – 6 Laps (226.38 Miles)

Pos	Rider	Machine	Time	Speed	Laps
1	Tommy de la Hay	Sunbeam	4.22.23	51.79 mph	6
2	Doug M. Brown	Norton	4.26.13	51.05 mph	6
3	W. R. Brown	Sunbeam	4.32.27	49.80 mph	6

Notes

During the first practice session, T.H. Haddock riding an AJS in the Junior race crashed at Keppel Gate. George Cowley crashed at Governor's Bridge and Graham Walker, riding for Norton in the Senior class, hit sheep in the mist on the Snaefell Mountain section.
During the Saturday practice D.S. Alexander riding an Indian Scout at number 51 in the Senior turned off the course at Braddan Bridge and rejoined at Hillberry and set a time of 39 minutes and 10 seconds!
Non-starters for the Junior race included: 8 George Cowley (AJS), 10 J.H. McDowell (AJS), 22 Bert Houlding (Wooler), 24 F.J. Price (Diamond), 26 J.W. Oates (Aurora), 29 E. Greenwood (Douglas)
Retirements during the Junior race: A.E. Williams (Douglas) at Creg-ny-Baa.
R.O. Clark was thrown from his Levis at Windy Corner after a puncture on the last lap. After completing the race on a bent front wheel-rim he was detained in Nobles Hospital with physical exhaustion.
Prize Money awarded for the Junior race was: 1st place £40, 2nd place £20 and 3rd place £10. A gold finisher's award was made for each competitor completing the race within 30 minutes of the winner. The Motor Cycle magazine Gold Cup was awarded to Eric Williams for setting the fastest lap of 44 minutes and 6 seconds.
Non-starters for the Senior race: 73 A.J. Moffat (Norton), 77 S.J. Redmond (Indian)
Prize Money awarded for the Senior race was: 1st place £50, 2nd place £25 and 3rd place £15.

References

1 2 IOM 1921 Notebook (retrieved 13 August 2006)
↑ LocalHistory History of A. J. Stevens & Company (retrieved 13 August 2006)

External links

Sources

Isle of Man Examiner dated 12 June 1920.

Isle of Man Examiner dated 19 June 1920.

Isle of Man TT Race Results

St John's Short Course	1907 1908 1909 1910

Mountain Course	1911 1912 1913 1914 World War I 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 World War II 1947 1948

FIM Motorcycle Grand Prix World Championship	1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976

Isle of Man TT Festival	1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 (cancelled) 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

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