AJS 7R 350cc worksracer & Bob McIntyre - Ulster Grand Prix 1953 – photo

Description

WE
ARE
CLEARING OUT OUR ARCHIVES!
A superb and rare photo of the magnificent AJS works rider
Bob McIntyre
, seen in action with his
350cc AJS 7R factory racer
during the
1953
350cc
Ulster
Grand Prix
which was ridden on
August 15, 1953
.
It was one of Bob McIntyre’s first races for the AJS/Matchless factory racing team!
This historic photograph of the Grand Prix of Ulster was taken during the 350cc race of 1953. The race was won by Ken Mulford (NZ) on a Norton with an average race speed of
84.01 mph
(
135,2 km/h
).
Bob McIntyre
was born in
1928 in
Scotstoun, Glasgow. He was a Scottish motorcycle racer famous for five motorcycle Grand Prix wins which included three wins at the Isle of Man TT Races, and four victories in the
North West
200. He entered competition in 1948 on his only transport, an Ariel Red Hunter, and was soon competing in off-road scrambles. After a few seasons he began road racing, but the roads were not always well surfaced. Bob rode a BSA at Balado Airfield near Kinross. The concrete track had patches of loose gravel, and Bob won three of the four races he entered. For 1952 he rode a BSA to second in the Isle of Man Junior Clubmans TT, averaging 80.09 mph (
128.89 km/h
) on his fastest lap. A long association with the Isle of Man Mountain Circuit had begun. Later that year Bob returned to win the Manx Junior (350cc) and come second in the Manx Senior (500cc) riding the same AJS 7R in both classes. In 1953, following some English National short circuit wins, Bob went to the North West 200 for his first International win on an AJS 7R in the 350 cc class. Despite having to retire at the TT that year, his performance was noticed by AJS, and he joined that team for the 1953 Grands Prix World championship. The only win was at
Pau
in
France
, there was a third at the Ulster Grand Prix, and he was in the first six placings for
Holland
,
Switzerland
and
Belgium
. In the 1954 Isle of Man Senior TT Bob came 14th on an AJS. AJS pulled out of racing, and Bob was soon riding the 'Dustbin' faired Potts Norton, and winning. The TT looked to be within reach, and in the 1955 Isle of Man Junior TT he did lead for four of the seven laps, but brake overheating and suspension problems forced him to slow, allowing Bill Lomas on a Moto Guzzi to pass, and go on to victory. Bob came second. In the Senior he managed fifth, with an average of 93.83 mph (
151.00 km/h
), very good for a private entant among works teams. Giulio Carcano offered him a Guzzi ride after, but he did not accept. He continued to ride the 'Dustbin' faired Norton for Joe Potts, from Bellshill near
Glasgow
, and continued to win races other than the TT. The 1956 TT saw retirements with mechanical problems. In 1957, owing to personal intervention by injured Gilera works rider Geoff Duke, McIntyre was offered a ride on the four cylinder Gileras for the Isle of Man TT. Race week began with the Junior TT. He broke the lap record with a 97.42 mph (
156.78 km/h
) and his race average was 94.99 mph (
152.87 km/h
). In celebration of the Golden Jubilee, the Senior was run over eight laps, a race of
302 miles
(
486 km
). The Gileras had pannier fuel tanks built into the side of the fairings to carry extra fuel. The extra fuel weight didn't stop him from making a 99.99 mph (
160.92 km/h
) first lap. The second lap saw 101.03 mph (
162.59 km/h
), and the fourth lap was the fastest at 101.12 mph (
162.74 km/h
). He caught up to, and overtook 1956 World Champion, John Surtees who was riding an MV Agusta 500. McIntyre went on to win, after racing for three hours, two minutes and fifty-seven seconds. This was Bob McIntyre's best TT. The 1957 World Championship looked to be within reach, but a crash at Assen, in the Dutch TT meant he was out of action for a couple of months. He did come second in the 500 cc Ulster Grand Prix, and won the 350 cc Nations Grand Prix at
Monza
. His team mate Libero Liberati won the 500 cc World Championship that year, with Bob McIntyre coming second. Bob was third in the 350 cc World Championship as well. At the end of 1957 the Italian teams quit Grand Prix racing citing increasing costs. In November 1957, with racing over, Gilera had McIntyre ride a 350 cc racer around the banked
Monza
circuit in an attempt to break the one hour speed record, and he averaged
141 mph
(
227 km/h
) on the bumpy
Monza
surface. This record was not bettered until 1964, and then by Mike Hailwood at 144.8 on an MV Agusta, on the track at Daytona. In the 1961 Isle of Man TT Lightweight he raised the lap record to 99.58 mph (
160.26 km/h
), and had a strong lead, when his engine seized, ending his race. Riding a Norton in the Senior TT he came second. He won the 1961 250cc Ulster Grand Prix. In the 1962 Isle of Man Lightweight TT, he raised the lap record to 99.61, and then retired with electrical problems. He also rode in Grand Prix races on Honda and Bianchi, making the podium in
Holland
,
Belgium
, and
East Germany
. In 1962 McIntyre finished second in the Spanish and French Grands Prix, while he had a non-start in the 500 Senior TT and mechanical problems in both the 250 and 350 cc events. He went on to win the Belgium GP at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in the
Ardennes
, his last victory on the World stage. McIntyre still competed in non-championship events, and it was at one such event at
Oulton
Park
,
Cheshire
in August 1962 that he won the 250 cc race, and then started in the 500 cc race on his Manx Norton. After a bad start in poor conditions, he fought his way to the front before crashing, and sustaining serious injuries. After nine days in hospital, he ever so very sadly lost his last battle. It was a great loss to the motorcycling world.
The
350cc AJS 7R
was produced from 1948 to 1963 by Associated Motor Cycles (AMC). It quickly became known as the “Boy Racer”. At first it was a factory racer, but soon it went on to win races for privateers when made generally available from
1954. A
new design by Phil Walker, the chain-driven overhead camshaft 7R had the history of the pre-war AJS ‘cammy’ singles behind it. Initially, the 7R was not as powerful as its competitors, producing 32 bhp (24 kW) at 7500 rpm. The duplex frame and Teledraulic front forks remained relatively unchanged during production, while the engine had a number of changes. The included valve angle was progressively narrowed, and the crankshaft strengthened. In 1956 the engine dimensions changed from the original long-stroke 74 x
90 mm
to the ‘squarer’ 75.5 x
78 mm
. The AMC gearbox replaced the older Burman in
1958. In
1951 AJS development engineer Ike Hatch developed a 75.5 mm bore x
78 mm
stroke, three valve head version of the 7R making 36 bhp (27 kW). It was called the AJS 7R3, and was Ike's response to the Italian multi-cylinder racers. They did well enough in their first year, not as well the second. For 1954 Jack Williams, the works team manager, developed the bike further, lowering the engine in the frame, and making some tuning changes that gave 40 bhp (30 kW) at 7800 rpm. It immediately won the first two rounds of the World Championship and took first at the Isle of Man TT. AJS 7Rs won the 1961, 62 and 63 Junior Manx TT races and came second in 1966. The 1957 AJS 7R 350 cc, with 75.5 mm bore and
78 mm
stroke, gave 38.5 bhp (28.7 kW) at 7600-7800 rpm, and weighed
285 lb
(
129 kg
). The top speed was 180-
190 km/h
(115-
120 mph
). AMC withdrew from the world of works, and one-off, road racing at the end of the 1954, with the death of Ike Hatch, and in the face of fierce competition from the other European bikes. After this AJS made a production version of the standard two valve AJS 7R, for privateers and a 500 cc version, badged as a Matchless G50 was also sold. By the end of production in 1963 the two valve OHC AJS 7R engine made over 40 bhp (30 kW).
The
Ulster Grand Prix
is a motorcycle road race that takes place on the Dundrod Circuit near
Belfast
,
Northern Ireland
. The first races took place in 1922 and in 1935 and 1948 the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme gave it the title Grand Prix d'Europe. The Ulster Grand Prix was included as one of the races in the inaugural 1949 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, a place it held until 1971. It also counted for the TT Championship between 1979 and 1990. According to the race organisers, it is the fastest road race in the world. Thomas Moles, motorcycle enthusiast and Member of Parliament, helped to push through parliament the
first Road
Races Act, which made it legal for the Clady Course to be closed for the first Ulster Grand Prix on
14 October 1922
. That first race had 75 entries in four classes (250cc, 350cc, 600cc and over 600cc). The race has been held on three different circuits. The
20.5 mile
Old Clady circuit was used from 1922 until 1939 and included a notoriously bumpy 7-mile straight. It also ran across part of the grass runway at RAF Aldergrove and for the first two years of its existence the pits were on the Seven Mile Straight, by
Loanends
Primary School
. In 1926 the 500cc race was won by Graham Walker on a Sunbeam. He also won the 1928 Senior race on a Rudge. In the 1936 Lightweight (250cc) event, Ginger Wood and Bob Foster, both on New Imperials, crossed the line so close, that after over
200 miles
of racing, it took the judges an hour to decide that Wood was the winner by one-fifth of a second. Foster was, however, adjudged to have achieved the fastest lap. The 1939 Grand Prix was almost called off, but went ahead in spite of an entry of only 60 riders. After World War II the new Clady circuit was used that, due to road improvements, was now
16.5 miles
in length and in use between 1947 and
1952. In
1953 the race was moved to the
7.401 mile
Dundrod Circuit where it is still held. The event was cancelled in 1972 because of the political situation in
Northern Ireland
and in 2001, during the Foot-and-mouth crisis, when the
North West
200 and Isle of Man TT were cancelled, the race was held. The 2007 Grand Prix attracted an entry of 162 riders, including 38 new riders, and took place on
18 August 2007
, sponsored by The Belfast Telegraph. Joey Dunlop won twenty four Ulster Grand Prix races during his career with Phillip McCallen winning fourteen races and Brian Reid nine wins. Some of the famous riders include: Stanley Woods (7 wins), Jimmie Guthrie, Jimmie Simpson, Artie Bell, Les Graham, Freddie Frith (3 wins), Geoff Duke (3 wins), John Surtees (6 wins), Ray Amm, Carlo Ubbiali (5 wins), Bill Lomas (3 wins), Mike Hailwood (7 wins), Giacomo Agostini (7 wins), Phil Read (3 wins), Bill Ivy (3 wins), Bob McIntyre, Gary Hocking (3 wins), Tom Herron (5 wins), Ron Haslam (5 wins), Jon Ekerold, and more recently Mick Grant, Wayne Gardner, Steve Hislop, Robert Dunlop (9 wins) and Carl Fogarty. The most recent rider to join the famous riders group is Guy Martin (5 wins).
This is a very nice and very rare photo that reflects a wonderful era of 1950s motorcycle history in a wonderful way. This is your rare chance to own this photo, therefore it is printed in a nice large format of ca. 8" x 12" (ca. 20 x
30 cm
). It makes it perfectly suitable for framing!
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