Bob McIntyre

Robert MacGregor McIntyre (28 November 1928 – 15 August 1962) was a Scottish motorcycle racer. The first rider to achieve an average speed of for one lap of the Snaefell Mountain Course in 1957, McIntyre is also remembered for his 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 died nine days after injuries sustained racing at Oulton Park, Cheshire, England in August 1962.

Career McIntyre was born in Scotstoun, Glasgow. 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. McIntyre rode a BSA at Balado Airfield near Kinross. The concrete track had patches of loose gravel, and he won three of the four races he entered.

Racing at Isle of Man For 1952, McIntyre rode a BSA to second in the Isle of Man Junior Clubmans TT, averaging on his fastest lap. A long association with the Isle of Man Mountain Circuit had begun. Later that year, he returned to win the Manx Junior (350cc) and come second in the Manx Senior (500cc) riding the same AJS 7R in both classes.

AJS rider In 1953, following some English National short circuit wins, McIntyre 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 the Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium. In the 1954 Isle of Man Senior TT, McIntyre came 14th on an AJS.

In the 1961 Isle of Man TT Lightweight race, McIntyre raised the lap record to , 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 the Netherlands, Belgium, and East Germany. 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 aquaplaning across a stream of water, losing control and crashing into a post holding an advertising sign, sustaining serious head injuries. After nine days in hospital he died.

Results

Manx Grand Prix races Year Race & Capacity Make of Motorcycle Average Speed 1952 1st Junior AJS 1952 2nd Senior AJS

Isle of Man TT races

Year Race & Capacity Make of Motorcycle Average Speed 1952 2nd Clubmans Junior TT BSA 1954 14th Senior TT AJS 1955 5th Senior TT Norton 1955 2nd Junior TT Norton 1957 1st Senior TT Gilera 1957 1st Junior TT Gilera 1959 5th Senior TT Norton 1959 1st 500 cc Formula 1 TT Norton 1960 3rd Junior TT AJS 1961 2nd Senior TT Norton

TT Career Summary Finishing Position 1 2 3 5 14 DNF Number of times 3 3 1 2 1 11

FIM Motor-Cycle Grand Prix races Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 Points 8 6 4 3 2 1

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year Class Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Points Rank Wins 1953 350cc AJS IOMNC NED- BEL- GER- FRA- ULS2 SUI- NAT- ESP- 6 8th 01954 350cc Norton FRA- IOM- ULS3 BEL6 NED4 GER- SUI6 NAT- ESP- 9 8th 0 500cc Norton FRA- IOM14 ULS- BEL4 NED6 GER- SUI- NAT- ESP- 4 16th 01955 350cc Norton ESP- FRA- IOM2 GER- BEL- NED5 ULS- NAT- 8 8th 0 500cc Norton ESP- FRA- IOM5 GER- BEL- NED- ULS4 NAT- 5 11th 0 1956 350cc Norton IOMNC NED- BEL- GER- ULS- NAT- 0 – 0 500cc Norton IOMNC NED- BEL- GER- ULS- NAT- 0 – 01957 350cc Gilera GER- IOM1 NED2 BEL- ULS- NAT1 22 3rd 2 500cc Gilera GER2 IOM1 NED- BEL- ULS2 NAT- 20 2nd 11958 350cc Norton IOMNC NED- BEL- GER- SWE- ULS5 NAT- 2 12th 0 500cc Norton IOMNC NED- BEL- GER- SWE- ULS2 NAT- 6 9th 0 1959 350cc AJS FRA- IOMNC GER- BEL- SWE- ULS- NAT- 0 – 0 500cc Norton FRA- IOM5 GER- NED- BEL- ULS2 NAT- 8 6th 01960 350cc AJS FRA- IOM3 NED- BEL- GER- ULS- NAT- 4 10th 0 500cc Norton FRA- IOMNC NED- BEL- GER- ULS- NAT- 0 – 01961 250cc Honda ESP- GER- FRA- IOMNC NED2 BELNC DDR8 ULS1 NATNC SWE- ARG- 14 5th 1 350cc Bianchi ESP- GER- FRA- IOMNC NED2 BEL- DDR3 ULS- NAT- SWE3 ARG- 14 4th 0 500cc Norton ESP- GER- FRA- IOM2 NED3 BEL3 DDR- ULS- NAT- SWE- ARG- 14 4th 01962 250cc Honda ESP2 FRA2 IOMDNS NED2 BEL1 GER2 ULS- DDR- NAT- FIN- ARG- 32 2nd 1 350cc Honda ESP- FRA- IOMNC NEDNC BEL- GER- ULS- DDR- NAT- FIN- ARG- 0 – 0