1939 Isle of Man TT
The 1939 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy was the last race festival until 1947 due to the interruption by World War II. It was the last of ten TT victories for the 34-year-old Stanley Woods[1] in which he won the Junior TT on a Velocette at 83.19 mph and came 4th in the Senior TT race. The Senior race was won by Georg Meier on a supercharged BMW.
Senior TT (500cc)
16 June 1939 – 7 laps (264.11 miles) Mountain Course
| Rank | Rider | Team | Speed | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Georg Meier |
BMW | 89.38 mph | 2:57:19.0 |
| 2 |  Jock West |
BMW | 88.22 | 2:59:39.0 |
| 3 | Freddie Frith |
Norton | 87.96 | 3:00:11.0 |
| 4 |  Stanley Woods |
Velocette | 87.91 | 3:00:17.0 |
| 5 | John H. White |
Norton | 85.92 | 3:04:27.0 |
| 6 | Les Archer |
Velocette | 84.31 | 3:07:58.0 |
| 7 | Ted Mellors |
Velocette | 83.76 | 3:09:12.0 |
| 8 | S Wood |
Norton | 82.43 | 3:12:16.0 |
| 9 | Maurice Cann |
Moto Guzzi | 81.96 | 3:13:22.0 |
| 10 |  Jack Galway |
Norton | 81.37 | 3:15:00.0 |
Junior TT (350cc)
12 June 1939 – 7 laps (264.11 miles) Mountain Course
| Rank | Rider | Team | Speed | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stanley Woods |
Velocette | 83.19 mph | 3:10:30.0 |
| 2 | Harold Daniell |
Norton | 83.13 | 3:10:38.0 |
| 3 | Heiner Fleischmann |
DKW | 82.51 | 3:12:05.0 |
| 4 | Ted Mellors |
Velocette | 82.34 | 3:12:28.0 |
| 5 | David Whitworth |
Velocette | 79.58 | 3:19:09.0 |
| 6 | Siegfried Wünsche |
DKW | 78.87 | 3:20:57.0 |
| 7 | Maurice Cann |
Norton | 78.78 | 3:21:10.0 |
| 8 | S. (Ginger) Wood |
Velocette | 78.55 | 3:21:45.0 |
| 9 | Jimmy E. Little |
Velocette | 78.22 | 3:22:36.0 |
| 10 |  Frank Mussett |
Velocette | 77.60 | 3:24:14.0 |
Lightweight TT (250cc)
14 June 1939 – 7 laps (264.11 miles) Mountain Course
| Rank | Rider | Team | Speed | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ted Mellors |
Benelli | 74.26 mph | 3:33:26.0 |
| 2 | Ewald Kluge |
DKW | 72.97 | 3:37:11.0 |
| 3 | H. G. Tyrell Smith |
Excelsior | 71.91 | 3:40:23.0 |
| 4 | Les G. Martin |
Excelsior | 68.87 | 3:50:08:0 |
| 5 | Siegfried Wünsche |
DKW | 68.78 | 3:50:25.0 |
| 6 | Charlie Manders |
Excelsior | 66.93 | 3:56:48.0 |
| 7 | Harold Hartley |
Excelsior | 66.19 | 3:59:27.0 |
| 8 | Ernie Thomas |
DKW | 65.81 | 4:00:48.0 |
| 9 | S. (Ginger) Wood |
Rudge | 65.04 | 4:03:41.0 |
| 10 | Chris Tattersall |
CTS | 63.95 | 4:07:50.0 |
Notes
- Improvements to the course include road-widening and landscaping at the Water Works Corner.[2]
- At Sulby during practice, Georg Meier riding for BMW is timed at 111 mph.[3]
- Karl Gall riding for BMW crashes at Ballaugh Bridge during practice and later dies of his injuries and the effects of pneumonia in hospital.[4]
- A collision occurs on Bray Hill during lap 2 of the 1939 Junior TT Races when Sven A. Sorenson riding an Excelsior collides with H. B. Waddington and David Whitworth both riding Norton motor-cycles.[4]
- On lap 1 of the 1939 Junior TT Race, Bob Foster riding an AJS stops at the Quarterbridge to fix broken goggles. Also, Bill Beevers and H.B.Myers both riding Velocette motor-cycles crash at the Quarterbridge on the same lap.[4]
- During lap 3 of the Junior Race, Tyrell Smith slips of his Excelsior motor-cycle at Parliament Square in Ramsey and then continues after straightening the foot-rest. At the East Mountain Gate during lap 5, Marcel Simo collides with a post and crashes his Terrot motor-cycle. He suffers head and chest injuries and is taken to hospital. Also during lap 5, Freddie Frith retires at Ballaugh after holding 2nd place in the 1939 Junior TT Race.[4]
- The 1939 Lightweight Race is held in mixed weather conditions. On lap 2 of the Lightweight Race, Jock McCredie riding an Excelsior retires at Ballaugh with engine problems. Lap 3 and Omobono Tenni riding a Moto Guzzi stops at Ballaugh to change a spark-plug and retires and his team-mate Stanley Woods retires on lap 5 with engine problems at Crosby.[4]
Sources
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 16 November 2006. Retrieved 31 October 2006.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) MCB A Brief History of the TT Races (Retrieved 28 October 2006) - ^ Isle of Man Weekly Times dated 13 May 1939.
- ^ TT Special 1939 edited by G.S.Davison
- ^ a b c d e Isle of Man Weekly Times dated 17 June 1939.