Page under construction always
Introduction
The 41st ISDT this year was held 17 – 22 September 1956 in Garmisch Partenkirchen, West Germany.
Image – scanned cover Official Programme of ISDT 1956 (Greenwood Family Collection)
A copy of this programme has kindly been provided and can be found on our issue.com site and is featured in this site blog with an embedded copy for easy reference..
Photo of the Skistadion readying for the event. ISDT 1956
Photo of grand & beautiful Logo Compilation ISDT 1956
Photo of Harro Esmarch in Glasses
This year is to come from “STB”, plus an eminent Journalist, who was always required as Racing Services Manager for Castrol 1964 to 67 inc., covering GDR, USSR & Polish manufacturers Teams, here that very chap with glasses Mr. Harro Esmarch (2013-Sadly news has recently reached us that Harro has now passed on and will be sadly missed by all who knew him) who is kindly allowing us to browse thru his wonderful collection, he missed 1964 over the little matter of a “cold war”. [I shall slowly assemble this year.]
Motorsport in Österreich
Internationale Sechstagefahrt 1956
We now have found a worthwhile collection of images of this event at the web site of the Technisches Museum Wien who have gathered a collection of ISDT records and images, mostly of Austrian competitors and team, from the best resources available – professional motorsports photographers.
View the gallery of images for ISDT 1956 here
Photo of Scrutineering
Photo of #9 W Gehring in scrutineering ISDT 1956
Photo of ?
[Identification called for]
Photo of superb view of a sturdy Sidecar outfit. ISDT 1956
Photo of M52 500cc ISDT 1956
Photo of M72 750cc ISDT 1956
Photo of CZ 150cc
Photo of Russian Ladies ISDT 1952
Photo of Russian Ladies Club Team #239 Osolina, Susowa & Scharapowa. ISDT 1956
Photo of ISCH50 360cc ISDT 1956
Photo of #239 Ms Irina Osolina ISDT 1956
Photo of #230 Ariel 500cc SC
Photo of BSA 350cc SC. ISDT 1956
Photo of 175cc Triumph ISDT 1956
photo – in bright sunshine, #89 Stan Holmes (497cc Ariel) of the British Trophy team hastily slides a loose turn ISDT 1956 (Speedtracktales archive)
Image of scanned Newspaper cutting results in German ISDT 1956
Photo of winning Netherlands Siver Vase team #294 125cc Jawa CZ #67 Wisberg 245cc Zundapp #254 Van den Hock 175cc Maico #168 Snelling 245cc Zundapp
- Photo of German BMW Works team #237 #117 #128 #241 at ISDT 1956
- Photo of German BMW team riders in ISDT 1956
Image of scanned paper results – 1 ISDT 1956
Image of scanned results pt 2 ISDT 1956
Photo of #323 NSU 1956 outfit setup used in ISDT 1956
Tim Gibbes reflects on his own involvement in the 1956 ISDT as an Australian who had relocated to Europe. He first rode the Scottish 6 Days Observed trial won first class award on a 350 Matchless purchased from the factory for 95 pounds. Later added to with a 50 pound 500cc scrambles bike. AMC Team Manager Hugh Viney saw his potential for speed work so loaned a 350 Matchless for the Welsh 3 Day Trial a little later, where he won the 350cc Class. This led to AMC giving him an AJS factory ride in the 1956 ISDT at Garmisch Partenkirchen in Southern Germany. Won a gold medal, the first of 6, plus one bronze & one DNF.
Photo of Tim Gibbes’s Matchless 500 for 1956
The 500cc works AJS used for the 1956 ISDT, with his only other possessionat the time, a 1949 Austin A40 pick-up, which also served as sleeping quarters when it was too wet to sleep out under the stars, a workshop, cookhouse & secretarial office!
Dave Martin again found this Museum pic below , Dave reckons that Schnapps can do that to people!.
Photo of rider leavering motorcycle out of the mud ISDT 1956
Looks like an AJS or Matchless to me, anyone out there with info please?
Photo of #220 Backzkowski off to Silver on 600cc Zundapp
Photo of Mispel NL on JAWA 172 #238 on his way to Silver, behind him, #239 is lady rider Irina Osolina CZ150 on way to Bronze,
Photo of on the right Hans Stuck in discussion ISDT 1956
Photo of 17.9.56 #12 Helmut Amthor Silver winner of DDR on a AWO 250cc. ISDT 1956
Photo of #60 Terry Cheshire of Britain on his way to Gold on a 250cc? (listed) BSA
Photo of #81 Benzoni of Italy Trophy Team going for Gold on a Laverda ISDT 1956
Photo of #3 Leistner of Germany on 250cc NSU on his way to Gold ISDT 1956
Photo of #106 Ted E Usher GB Trophy Teamster on his way to Gold shown here on 17.9. 56 ISDT 1956
Photo of #190 Kritter & Kreuzer on Works Zundapp Works 600cc on their way to Silver ISDT 1956
Photo of #270 Sidecar outfit ISDT 1956
Photo of #104 G Mellors Retired Day 2 on Ariel 350 ISDT 1956
Photo of #210 Woodward on Day 2 Matchless 500cc SC Retired then. ISDT 1952
Photo of #83 S Blasi of Itali on 75cc Capriolo enterd by Moto Aero Caproni on Day 3 ISDT 1956
Photo of #129 sidecar outfit ISDT 1956
Photo of Sweat & Tyre change test ISDT 1956 (oh for Mousses)
Photo of #129 sidecar outfit ISDT 1956
Photo of #220 Baczkowski on 600cc Zundapp again
Photo of #140 & #138 ISDT 1956
Photo of #141 leading #163 and #148 ISDT 1956
Photo of rider at service area ISDT 1956
Photo of #283 Sidecar outfit ISDT 1956
Photo of #240 Sidecar outfit ISDT 1956
Photo of #200 sidecar outfit at ISDT 1956
Photo of #260 & #262 sidecar outfits ISDT 1956
Photo of #197 Emmy Best on the way to a Silver on Express 173cc. ISDT 1956
Photo of #263 British Rider struggling with a handful of Triumph [UAC 377] ISDT 1956
Photo of #270 sidecar outfit ISDT 1956
Photo of 19.9.56 #91 Schlammloch Altenau stage ISDT 1956
Photo of #133 solo motorcycle [WUH 364] with sinking feeling ISDT 1956
Photo of #15 ISDT 1956
Photo of #11 ISDT 1956
Photo of #106 ISDT 1956
Photo of H Meier of Germany Gold winner on his 500cc BMW. ISDT 1956
Photo of #9 crossing a river ISDT 1956
Is this the Gehring we think it is on Germany Team’s 250 Zundapp at Wasserdurch fahrt Loisach on his way to Gold. from 19.9.56 here on.
Photo of Same location ISDT 1956
Photo of #190 sidecar outfit crossing stream ISDT 1956
Photo of sidecar outfit crossing water ISDT 1956
19.9.56
Photo of #195 Abfarhrt Elmau same date ISDT 1956
Photo of sidecar outfit speeds by on woodland track ISDT 1956
Photo of #254 Alter Ettaler Berg 20.9.56
Photo of #270 sidecar outfit surrounded by and being helped by crowds ISDT 1956
Photo of #190 Sidecar outfit 21.9.56 Alte Kesselberg Strasse ISDT 1956
Photo of #149 Sid Wicken – AMC works Rider Matchless on an AJS who rode to a Gold passes large crowd on woodland track ISDT 1956
#149 MY old Centre Racing number, this is not me. Thanks to his Son Steve for helping identify this photo.
Photo of #45 #43 #48 solo motorcycles in woodland ISDT 1956
Photo of Same date as above at Bei Wallegau ISDT 1956
Photo of #139 solo motorcycle Bei Wallegau ISDT 1956
Photo of Ettaler Dreieck, Parc Ferme. ISDT 1956
Photo of start of final speed test ISDT 1956
Photo of rider baling from motorcycle in final speed test ISDT 1956
Photo of sidecar outfit in final speed test ISDT 1956
Photo of A Proud Czech Trophy Team. ISDT 1956
The Final Score: Results
Speedtracktales wishes to thank Marc Pétrier of FIM Information Resources who has facilitated the scanning of the FIM archive of ISDT results material and is allowing us to make it available here as a public service. Download a copy of the original Results and Stewards Report at the link below.
Download Stewards Report for the 1956 ISDT here
We are currently creating content for this section. In order to be able to keep up with our high standards of service, we need a little more time. Please stop by again. Thank you for your interest!
Adverts
Image of scanned Jawa CZ advert listing their ISDT wins 1956
Speed Track Tales 
Concerning the rider levering the bike out of the mud:
Can’t tell you the exact make or type of the motorcycle, but you can admire his struggle against the mud in the isdt-tube section in the 1956 Jawa-CZ film from minute 7:00 on.
The commentator says it is the British rider Stelling (?), number is 114.
Maybe someone has a riders list?
Regards
Andreas
This was my friend Maurice Stelling on an AJS
Hi,
one more comment:
The programme shown as first picture does not belong to 1956 – the 31rst ISDT, was held at Garmisch – Partenkirchen, Bavaria, W. Germany.
Villingsberg is Sweden, 1966.
Regards
Andreas
Andreas. Thank you for spotting this obvious and simple error I had made, you are right.
Whilst I have a moment I would like to draw your attention to a small project / task from the VMCC who in Britain are the authoritative guardians of the history of vintage motorcycling. A while back they sent me, in German and supplied by Motorrad magazine, the magazines report on the 1939 ISDT in Germany. We would like to get the article translated to English so it can go into the VMCCC archive. Do you know of any german speaking persons with a good standard of english who would be willing to volunteer to help translate this article of about 6000 words so its contents can be preserved on this and the VMCC web site?
If my English is good enough (I’m not a professional interpreter), and it hasn’t to be done within the next days, I would try to do this job. (haven’t read the 1939 Motorrad magazine yet ;o))
Regards
Andreas
Thanks no problem no deadline and i have the article as a scanned pdf which you can either access via a dedicated group we have for speedtracktales archivists on our microsoft skydrive which you can have access to or i can send by email
Think the easiest way is to send the pdf file by mail, I will then send back a microsoft word file with the translation, so that you can copy the text into any other programme.
Regards
Andreas
what email do you want me to send it to?
#114 Maurice Victor Stelling , GB, AJS498, Bronze
rider 149 Sid Wicken – AMC works Rider Matchless on an AJS 1956
Photo of SId Wicken 149 solo motorcycle passes large crowd on woodland track ISDT 1956 – won Gold
Can any one co firm ID Reg nr bike # 149 either TGF 704 or 706 any one please let me know
Pictures of all the starters in the 1956 ISDT can be found in the depths of the Technische Museum in Vienna….. Fortunately one of the motorsport press photographers of the day Erwin Jelinek left all his pictures to the museum and these have been digitized and can be found here: https://www.technischesmuseum.at/museum/online-sammlung?utm_source=Website&utm_medium=Link+Einleitung+Startseite#sammlung/ui//section/special/%7B%22facetFilterStore%22%3A%7B%22facetFields%22%3A%5B%5B%22subject_lref%22%2C%5B%7B%22id%22%3A20765%2C%22value%22%3A%22Garmisch-Partenkirchen%22%7D%5D%5D%5D%7D%7D
Requires patience to scroll through but generally in chronological order. May need to register and log in (free) to get the best out of it. I managed to confirm from the pictures that the Enfield in my garage was that ridden by Sammy Miller in the same event – it is now restored and in his Museum in the New Forest. Happy hunting!!
#155 is my grandad Mervyn Edwards 😊
If you have any more information about his time in the ISDT we would love to record it here for those researching the events history. Thanks.
In my garage is a 346cc Royal Enfield which was entry no 125 for this event and ridden by one Samuel H Miller. With the current lockdown and time on my hands I have been able to get some pictures from the Technische archive of the bike at the event.
The registration is RNP124 (also pics of it at the Enfield factory before going to Garmisch) and when I got the bike (in small pieces) I was told it had some history. It also had a good few not very careful owners….. The careful ones were I suspect Royal Enfield ( 3 years) and Wilf Green for 12 years (the long time Sheffield MZ dealers). Bike is still in need of work (I’ve only had it for 40 years!) but pretty well complete – now I have some better history (thanks to this site mainly!) – one day it will be sorted!!
Are you sure this photo is 1956 it maybe 1955 G Mac with T Usher pillion please check as it’s an AJS 350 or privateers?
Also trying to I’d dads Reg nr is it TGF 706 or 704 it’s an AJS 500
I can eliminate one of those registration numbers for you. TGF 706 was the AJS 350 riden by S B Manns. Originally registered to AMC Ltd 7th Aug 1956 and to me 13th Jan 1967.