1966 TT colour treats
At the 1962 TT, I met up with two Australians who persuaded me to move down under and a few months later I became one ‘£10 poms.’ It wasn’t until 1966, when I revisited Blighty, that I managed to squeeze in another visit to the island. I was hoping to see Chris Vincent on his BSA outfit having another go at the mighty BMWs, but he didn’t enter the sidecar event and instead chose to ride a Suzuki in the 50cc race, during which he unfortunately had to retire. The BMWs wiped the floor, as usual, with Fritz Scheidegger, Max Deubel, George Auerbacher and Klaus Enders taking the first four places.
Honda were again in full force, particularly with their 24-valve, six-cylinder 250cc which (from memory) Jim Redman had helped to sort out over the previous two years. Mike Hailwood joined the team after being let down by MV, who favoured their Italian rider Giacomo Agostini.
The new Honda suited Mike’s riding style and he fitted it like a glove. Hailwood set off behind Phil Read on the four-cylinder Yamaha but caught him coming down the mountain on the first lap. I was fortunate to be spectating at the exact spot and took a photograph… Phil glanced over his shoulder and his bike wobbled… ‘where the heck did he come from!’ At the start/finish line, Mike was 39 seconds in the lead and at the end he won the race by almost six minutes, at an incredible average speed of 101.79mph! Stuart Graham Stuart came second riding the other sixcylinder Honda (originally intended for Jim Redman) and, most amazingly, Peter Inchley came third on his Villiers. Phil Read, Bill Ivy and Tommy Robb all retired. I took a photo of Tommy coasting in at the side of the road – the look on his face says it all.
Hailwood won the Senior on the Honda 500 four at a speed of 103.11mph (only 1.32 mph faster than his 250cc ride) ahead of Agostini on the MV, who came second at 101.09mph. In the Junior, Agostini won at 100.87mph. Amazingly, the lightweight Honda would have beaten Agostini on the MV in the 350 and 500cc races.
Attached are a few photos which you might find interesting. Please keep up the good work on The Classic MotorCycle ,a fantastic read every month. Colin Rogers, St. Helens, Tasmania.