ISDT 1939: Post-Academy Awards Special Backmarker: The Colonel’s Motorcycles
16 Wednesday Apr 2014
Category Archives: Places
ISDT 1939: The Six Day Affair
10 Thursday Apr 2014
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We have just received advance news of a new book to be published this coming Spring that may be of great interest to many Speedtracktales readers.
In late August 1939, Hitler’s armies were poised to invade Poland, while in Austria the International Six Day Trial was underway. The trial was dubbed ‘The Motorcycling Olympics’, where the crème de la crème from five or six nations competed in six days of hard riding.
Image – Cover for new book ‘The Six Day Affair’ ISDT 1939
Following the Olympics in Berlin just three years earlier, the ISDT was seen by Hitler as being another opportunity for Nazi dominance – and the event was unexpectedly held in occupied Austria! Half way through, riding through the mountains surrounding Salzburg and with the British teams once again doing very well indeed, they received a telegram from the British Embassy telling them to get out immediately. WWII started just a week later.
The story of how the British competitors and spectators successfully made it away through Switzerland with the help of their German escort has so far only been mentioned in magazine articles and websites, but extensive research has revealed much new material about this fascinating and exciting event in history.
ISDT 1939: can any reader help answer this question?
09 Wednesday Apr 2014
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Maybe you or some of your readers can help me, re the 1939 ISDT please?
I’ve read that Bert Perrigo, BSA Competition Manager, travelled over to Austria in his BSA saloon car with the Army convoy. (This was in addition to Tom Davies accompanying the BSA Team.)
However, when did Perrigo return to England?
Was it early Friday morning, together with the great majority of the competitors, support crews, spectators, with Vic Brittain in the passenger seat of his BSA car, leaving his Norton behind? (as his son, Johnny Brittain says today, and who also says that Allan Jefferies told him he’d seen Vic’s Norton in Austria after the war…..
or
Was it late Friday evening, after the day’s competitive riding, when “…Perrigo waited for the riders to return, filled their tanks and sign off for good, while Lt.Col.Bennett dealt with the administration.” from p46, Walker & Carrick’s ISDT history Col.Grimm & Col.Bennett then led the three Army teams, together with Cottle, Edge, Sim, Sanders and TSRs and spectators, to the Swiss Border.
Any hard facts re this would be much appreciated, as I’d hate to promulgate false ‘facts’ in my forthcoming book.
John Bradshaw
http://www.jrbpub.net
Mapping the ISDT: Original British ISDT course marker’s maps
09 Wednesday Apr 2014
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With much thanks due to Deryk Wylde the ISDT historian and classic off road motorcycle journalist I have now taken ownership of the original Clerk of Course OS 1″ maps used by the route markers. Hopefully apart from now being preserved for ever they can help update the course mapping we have and be shared with ISDT historians
ISDT 1939: the event report ‘Motor Cycling’ 30 Aug 1939
05 Saturday Apr 2014
Prior to the handing–in we gained a very definite impression that the organizers themselves were surprised that the event was actually to take place
Many readers of this blog contact me with their thanks for providing what is the non existent ISDT reading room in the National Motorcycle Museum or even the Auto Cycle Union Six Days Archives. Such praise is often only due to the work and help of many readers who are ex riders or the family of ex riders who are willing to share, at no charge, their family material so as to help others who may not be so lucky to be able to recall past exploits of favourite relatives so easily to supplement my otherwise meagre budget to purchase important relics which may appear on eBay from time to time..
No more so are these gifts welcome than a recent contact from Susan Coates now based in the USA but from a British Motorcycling family who she found a collection of old magazines on a recent visit. Amongst this collection was an original copy of the 30th August 1939 edition of ‘Motor Cycling‘ with a full report of the ISDT 1939 which she rapidly sent me a scanned copy to be able to share with others through the site.
Let us hope that peace will prevail and that the 1940 event will take place under happier auspices.
Here is the Editorial article which started each issue of ‘Motor Cycling‘ and provided a useful summary and opinion on the events of 1939. In a forthcoming blog I will be reproducing the latter part of the report ‘The Great Retreat’ which is the story of the riders evacuation from the festering world war about to commence in mainland Europe. I have included in the article the images from the actual report and you can read a copy of the original report at our issuu.com library here
Editorial
An Unhappy Coming-of-Age
WHATEVER the future may hold in store for the International Six Days’ Trial, the 21st event of the series will go down in history – so far as Great Britain is concerned – as the trial which never finished. In the early hours of Friday morning it was decided to withdraw the entire British entry, and it is fitting, therefore, that the facts underlying that decision should be recorded before they become distorted with the passage of time.
image – main report illustration ‘Motor Cycling‘ 30th August 1939 ISDT 1939 (Speedtracktales Collection)
ISDT 1964: Happy Birthday Steve McQueen 24 March 1930
24 Monday Mar 2014
The pages connected to the ISDT 1964 produce heavy traffic for the site.
Photo of Steve McQueen ISDT 1964(Courtesy FIM / Paris Match)
Never more so in Hollywood did an actor maintain a loyal fanatical following as Steve. Not because he was particularly cookie or that his Shakespearean appearances were milestones. Its because for all the hype most stars get nobody knows who the heck they are off set. They lock themselves away at night in Beverley Hills and do what? we don’t know but Steve… he was a racer he raced anything if it had a motor, he collected it if it had a motor, he hung out with guys who dug motors. Steve was a Petrolhead and so much so he allowed his passion for motors flow into his work. The passion he had for his stuff makes his films stand out. It’s a bizzare coincidence that his birthday falls within a day of the anniversary of the break out in the real great escape, the film he piloted one of his beloved Triumphs to do many of his own stunts in the film not just relying on the great Bud Ekins to do his stunts and one of his hallmark pieces.
ISDT 1979: BMW Works ‘Enduro’ team and GS80 works motorcycle
22 Saturday Mar 2014
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Here at Speedtracktales the uncovering of the ISDT history has very much raised the editorial opinion on the legendary brand of BMW which included some of the most beautiful works of design artistry as well as playing an important role in the sports development, no more so than the sudden unexpected blip in activity by BMW at the very end of the ISDT period with its Works bikes that led to the cult GS80 trail bike. This blog recalls the launch of the famous works team of 1979 and the bike featured in an article here
BMW In Off-Road Motorcycle Sport
In the final analysis, motor sport participation is a question of available means. In addition there are such abstract terminology concepts as “group-orientated goals” and “product philosophy” and, in the end, common sense.
Thus BMW never even debated developing a machine for Grand Prix racing from the available products. A four-stroke , two-cylinder, boxer engine could never achieve the performance of a highly developed, two-stroke engine. Laws of physics see to that.
Photo – Works BMW Enduro Team for 1979 that competed in the FIM World Enduro Championship rounds (Left to Right) Rolf Witthöft, Laszlo Peres, Dietmar Beinhauer (Teamchef), Kurt Fischer, Herbert Schek, Richard Schalber
ISDT 1937: Long lost newsreel rediscovered
22 Saturday Mar 2014
On our latest trawl of the internet mining resources I am certainly pleased to have found this short item of a newsreel produced by Movietone news. Apart from some fantastic footage of the entrants set in the vastness of the beautiful remote Welsh Countryside whilst friendly and keen locals look on supporting the riders. We also get to see the final speed test that took place at Donnington. More videos from this and other years can be viewed on our video gallery.
1937
ISDT from LLandrindod Wells
Firstly a short ‘Movietone News’ news reel with sound in fairly good quality.
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ISDT 1963: rare Movietone News newsreel discovered
22 Saturday Mar 2014
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This previously unknown footage of the event held in Spindleruv Mlyn, Czechoslovakia from a Movietone News news reel has been located that adds to our knowledge of this event. There are more videos of this and other events available on our video gallery.
1963 – Czechoslovakia
This is a newsreel of the event in 1963 from Movietone News
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Featured riders include:
Gilbert (East Germany), Michel (West Germany), Stahl (Sweden), Holy (Czech), Tagli (Italy), Erben (West germany), Roucke Boh (Czech), Paelsson (Russia), Semin (Russia)
ISDT 1958: rare newsreel footage of event discovered
22 Saturday Mar 2014
On a recent on-line material hunt we checked out the Associated Press media website following up on a haunch press images of the event may be found. Almost immediately we stumbled over a video clip labeled as ‘Poland International Trial’ watching the clip the first bike to pass by was a Matchless and a quick check about enabled us to put riders numbers and bikes together using the 1958 programme so we are pretty certain this is the 1958 ISDT held in Garmish Partenkirchen, West Germany in 1958 you can see other video clips of the event in our video gallery.
1958 – West Germany
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We spotted the following riders in this clip
Speed Track Tales 