Benutzer:Pessottino/Alec Bennett

Alec Bennett was an iconic figure in Grand Prix motorcycle racing during the heady era of the 1920s. He was born in Ulster in 1893 and later immigrated to Canada. With the outbreak of war in 1914 he enlisted in a Canadian regiment with the prospect of serving on the Western Front; but like many young men he was attracted to the lure of flying and became a pilot with the fledgling Royal Flying Corps. Having survived that experience; he returned to British Columbia in 1919 where he gained his first experience of motorcycle racing on the half-mile dirt tracks that were a feature of the period.

Sunbeam Work’s Rider

In 1921 Alec returned to the United Kingdom and gained employment as a tester and works rider with the Sunbeam factory. His initial essay at the challenging Isle of Man circuit was his first race outside of Canada, and during the Senior TT he went into the lead on the fourth lap, only to encounter mechanical problems that dropped him to fourth place at the finish. On the following year he scored a decisive win on the Sunbeam, leading second-placed Walter Brandish by the uncommon margin of seven minutes. It proved to be the last win in the Island by a side valve machine but nevertheless Alec went on to victory in the prestigious French Grand Prix at Strasbourg, an event he had already won the previous year.

Season with Douglas

In 1923 he left Sunbeams and spent the season with the Douglas factory. It was not a propitious move for Alec, whose best result with the flat-twin Douglas was tenth place in a rain-soaked Senior TT. His team-mate, Tom Sheard was at least able to bring some glory to the firm with first place in the Senior, while the versatile Freddie Dixon won the Sidecar TT, also on a Douglas.

Success with Nortons

A feature of the racing calendar in those far-off days was a dearth of Grand Prix races, compared to the multitude of events in today’s programmes. Foremost in prestige was surely the Isle of Man, followed by the French and Belgian Grands Prix. To win any of these events was a high point in any rider’s career, and in 1924 Alec Bennett achieved a virtual Grand Slam by winning all three, riding the new overhead valve Norton. A discreet spender, Alec had saved most of the money accrued from his first two seasons of racing. These funds he then channelled into new premises and stock to create a motorcycle dealership in Southampton. As a freelance rider Alec was in a position to make his own terms with purveyors of parts, fuel and oil etc; and to enter in how many or how few races he chose. The 1925 season was a ‘Norton- only’ year for Alec, and in that year’s Senior TT he was leading the race when he fell at Governor’s Bridge and damaged his machine. This dropped him to sixth place but he pressed on to finally gain third at the finish.

Velocette Victory

In 1926 he achieved a comprehensive win forVelocette in the Junior TT,(the first by an OHC machine in the TT) which he won by a remarkable margin of ten minutes and twenty five seconds. This was of some consolation for his retirement in Friday’s Senior TT, won by rising Norton star, Stanley Woods. The following year Alec suffered a reversal of the previous year’s finishing order; when poised for another win on the Velocette, he was forced to retire when soundly in the lead. That year saw the introduction of the Walter Moore-designed camshaft Norton and on Friday’s Senior TT Alec took the new model to a meritorious win.

Final Events

Alec’s riding style was deceptively unhurried and being a freelance rider it was vital not to unduly stress his machine. This was borne out in the 1928 Junior TT, when after his usual slowish early laps he came through to claim another win for Velocette. By 1929 he had confined his racing activities to the TT, with entries on a Junior Velocette and a Senior Sunbeam. He gained leader board finishes with second place in the Senior behind Charlie Dodson and third in the Junior. By that stage his burgeoning motorcycle business demanded more of his attention and on that note Alec Bennett hung up his helmet and leathers; although he was coaxed out of retirement in 1932 for a ‘positively last appearance’ on a Velocette in that year’s Junior TT.

A Meritorious Career

It had been a quite remarkable career for Alec Bennett; when his ratio of race starts to race wins are considered. In that period from 1921 to 1929 he contested only 29 events (not including trials).Thirteen of these resulted in straight victories and of these, eleven were the top classics of the nations concerned: five Tourist Trophies, four French Grands Prix and two Belgian Grands Prix. All things considered, it was a career record that a rider of any era would find difficult to surpass.

Article source: Pastmasters of Speed Dennis May 1958