1947 Isle of Man TT
The 1947 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy was the first race festival since 1939 due to the interruption of World War II. With the restart of racing, the ACU decided to add three Clubman-class races for production machines in Lightweight, Junior and Senior categories, making the festival a six-race event.[1] It held in 9-13 June.[2]
Harold Daniell won the Senior TT at 82.81 mph (133.27 km/h) on a Norton and the Norton team were to dominate the Senior race until 1954.[3] Speeds were somewhat lower than the pre-war races due to the low quality "pool" petrol available, and it would be another three years before Daniell's 1938 lap record was broken. Superchargers were banned for motorcycle racing from 1946, so that may have reduced speed too.[4]
This was an early race appearance for the E90 AJS Porcupine, ridden to ninth in the Senior by Les Graham.
Senior TT (500cc)
| Rank | Rider | Team | Speed | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Harold L Daniell |
Norton | 82.813 mph | 3:11.22.2 |
| 2 | Artie Bell |
Norton | 82.656 mph | 3:11.44.2 |
| 3 | Peter Goodman |
Velocette | 82.463 mph | 3:12.11.0 |
| 4 | Ted Frend |
Norton | 81.57 mph | 3:14.17.4 |
| 5 | Guy Newman |
Norton | 79.638 mph | 3:19.00.0 |
| 6 | E Roy Evans |
Norton | 78.051 mph | 3:23.02.8 |
| 7 | Noel Christmas |
Norton | 78.048 mph | 3:23.03.2 |
| 8 | Bill Beevers |
Norton | 77.56 mph | 3:24.20.0 |
| 9 | Leslie Graham |
AJS | 77.472 mph | 3:24.34.0 |
| 10 | Les A Dear |
Norton | 75.931 mph | 3:28.43.0 |
Junior TT (350cc)
| Rank | Rider | Team | Speed | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bob Foster |
Velocette | 80.311 mph | 3:17.20.0 |
| 2 | David Whitworth |
Velocette | 78.677 mph | 3:21.26.0 |
| 3 | Jock A Weddell |
Velocette | 76.15 mph | 3:28.07.0 |
| 4 | Peter Goodman |
Velocette | 75.822 mph | 3:29.00.0 |
| 5 | Les G. Martin |
Norton | 73.964 mph | 3:30.30.0 |
| 6 | F J Hudson |
Norton | 76.96 mph | 3:34.16.0 |
| 7 | Guy Newman |
Velocette | 73.94 mph | 3:34.19.0 |
| 8 | Tommy Wood |
Velocette | 73.28 mph | 3:36.16.0 |
| 9 | Eric Oliver |
Norton | 73.00 mph | 3:37.05.0 |
| 10 | Geoff G Murdoch |
Norton | 72.99 mph | 3:37.07.0 |
Lightweight TT (250cc)
| Rank | Rider | Team | Speed | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Manliff Barrington |
Moto Guzzi | 73.22 mph | 3:36:26.6 |
| 2 | Maurice Cann |
Moto Guzzi | 72.972 mph | 3:37.10.8 |
| 3 | Ben Drinkwater |
Excelsior | 70.139 mph | 3:45.57.0 |
| 4 | Les Archer |
New Imperial | 69.805 mph | 3:47.02.0 |
| 5 | W H Stan Pike |
Rudge | 68.559 mph | 3:51.09.6 |
| 6 | G L Paterson |
New Imperial | 68.488 mph | 3:51.24.0 |
| 7 |  Svend Aage Sørensen |
Excelsior | 67.775 mph | 3:53.50.0 |
| 8 | C. W. Johnston |
CTS | 67.72 mph | 3:54.01.6 |
| 9 | Les G Martin |
Excelsior | 67.621 mph | 3:54.22.0 |
| 10 | Jack Brett |
Excelsior | 67.249 mph | 3:55.39.6 |
Clubmans Senior TT
| Rank | Rider | Team | Speed | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eric Briggs |
Norton | 78.67 mph | 1:55.08.0 |
| 2 | Allan Jefferies |
Triumph | 75.23 mph | 2:00.23.0 |
| 3 | Geoff F Parsons |
Ariel | 71.26 mph | 2:07.06.0 |
Clubmans Junior TT
| Rank | Rider | Team | Speed | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denis Parkinson |
Norton | 70.74 mph | 2:08.01.0 |
| 2 | Bob Pratt |
Norton | 68.87 mph | 2:11.30.0 |
| 3 | Wilf Sleightholme |
AJS | 68.28 mph | 2:12.39.0 |
Clubmans Lightweight TT
| Rank | Rider | Team | Speed | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Basil Keys |
AJS | 64.27 mph | 1.45.42.0 |
| 2 | Les Archer |
Velocette | 63.73 | 1:46.36.0 |
| 3 |  Don G Crossley |
Velocette | 62.91 | 1:47.58.0 |
Notes
- Major road widening occurred on the Snaefell mountain course at the 33rd Milestone, including the removal of fence posts at road level.[5]
Sources
- Archived 13 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine IOMTT.com 1947 race results (retrieved 29 October 2006)
- "Isle of Man Races to Begin on June 9". trove.nla.gov.au. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
- Birmingham's history (retrieved 29 October 2006)
- Archived 14 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine Gilera-Saturno Gilera History (Retrieved 29 October 2006)
- Isle of Man Weekly Times dated 12 May 1947