Eric Oliver

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A Norton-Watsonian team from 1949, as piloted by Oliver, in the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu

Eric Staines Oliver (born April 13, 1911 in Stratford-upon-Avon , England , † March 1, 1980 ) was a British motorcycle racer .

In his career, Oliver was four times as a driver sidecar world champion . Although he was never an official works driver, he always drove with the support of Norton and the sidecar manufacturer Watsonian-Squire .

Eric Oliver was known for his absolute will to win, his great sportsmanship and accuracy in preparing for races. To this day he is considered to be one of the best trailer drivers in history.

Career

Co-driver Denis Jenkinson, 1967

Eric Oliver started his motorcycle racing career in his homeland at grass track races . In 1937 he started for the first time at the Tourist Trophy on the Isle of Man in the 500 cm³ class, the so-called Senior TT , on a Vincent HRD 500 , but did not reach the goal. The following year he suffered the same fate in the TT , this time on Norton , in both the 350 and 500 classes. In less important races in England , in which he started on a 500 cc Norton and 350 cc Velocette , Oliver had more success at this time, but he did not make the final breakthrough before the Second World War .

After the war, during which he served in the Royal Air Force , Eric Oliver focused on the sidecar class . In 1948 he took part in the Belgian Grand Prix in addition to the 350 cc solo race on an aged Saroléa in the sidecar race. After an excellent performance, the Brit came in second and, after the race, earned praise from the experienced Italian and Swiss drivers. This was the beginning of Oliver's rapid rise to become the world's best team pilot.

In the season 1949 Eric Oliver took with British motorsport - journalist Denis Jenkinson as a passenger, on a Norton team with 596-cm³- DOHC - cylinder engine at the newly launched motorcycle world championship in part. The duo won the first ever sidecar world championship round at the Swiss Grand Prix in Geneva and also won the following race in Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium . The British secured to think before the Italians Ercole Frigerio / Lorenzo Dobelli, on a four-cylinder - Gilera started -Gespann, the first team world title in history. After the season, Eric Oliver was part of an official Norton team that set several world speed records in Montlhéry, France .

In the following season Eric Oliver started with the Italian Lorenzo Dobelli in the boat . The two of them won all three races that are part of the world championship, each with a new lap record, and with a maximum number of 24 points secured the title, again ahead of Ercole Frigerio. Especially at the Grand Prix of Nations on the high-speed track in Monza , the rivals fought an exciting battle for victory.

In the 1951 season , the Oliver / Dobelli duo won three of the five World Cups on the tried and tested single-cylinder Norton, which was the first team in history to be equipped with a telescopic fork and rear suspension and due to the displacement of 500 cm³ only had 499 cm³ -Runs. Since only the best three results were included in the overall ranking, Oliver again won the title with a maximum number of points, again Frigerio was left behind.

In the 1952 season Oliver / Dobelli started very bad. In a race that was not part of the world championship on May 3rd in Bordeaux , France , the two fell and each broke a leg. Although Oliver was not trusted to start again this year in view of the injuries he had suffered, he won the Belgian Grand Prix for the fourth time in a row on July 6th with his compatriot Stanley Price. At the following German Grand Prix , Oliver and Lorenzo Dobelli, who had recovered, dropped out while in the lead due to a defect in the sidecar wheel. At the last race of the season, the Spanish Grand Prix , the two were victorious again. In the overall standings, however, the team had no chance due to the missed races. Oliver finished fifth in the world championship, the title secured his compatriot Cyril Smith , who also started on Norton.

In 1953 , Eric Oliver started a completely new Norton team that had little in common with its predecessors. It had a lower frame and fairing, a smaller third wheel, and the fuel tank was placed under the passenger seat for the first time. Nevertheless, the Briton relied on his old team that he had used in previous years for the entire season . However, his single-cylinder Norton had become technically inferior to the Italian four-cylinder competition from Gilera and the growing BMWs . What his machine lacked in performance , the experienced Brit made up for with commitment and a few tricks. So he took his feet off the pegs on long straights and lay flat on the motorcycle to reduce air resistance . This driving style later led to the development of the Kneeler teams that are still used today. In the boat , a new partner took compatriot Stanley Dibben, who had previously worked only in Norton test team place. The duo won four of the five races held with Belgium, France , Switzerland and the Nations Grand Prix and had 32 points on their account at the end of the season. Cyril Smith and Les Nutt scored as many points, but scored them in five races. However, only the four best results were included in the overall ranking, which secured Oliver / Dibben the world title.

The 1954 season began for Eric Oliver, who was meanwhile with Les Nutt as "lubricant" and the modern Kneeler- Norton team not yet used in the previous year , with victories in the first three world championship races. The duo won the Sidecar TT race of the Tourist Trophy, which was held for the first time since 1925, the Ulster Grand Prix and the Belgian Grand Prix. One week before the German Grand Prix, which took place at the Solitude in Stuttgart , Oliver / Nutt started the German championship run Feldberg races in the Taunus on a wet slope and fell. Eric Oliver broke his left arm and had to pause for a few weeks. After his return, the injury handicapped him so badly for the rest of the season that he couldn't win any more. The sidecar world title, which was almost certainly believed - for the British, a victory in the three remaining races would have been enough - was won by the German duo Wilhelm Noll / Fritz Cron in a BMW, which for the Munich drivers an era of 14 consecutive wins -Titles ushered in the team class.

In 1955 Eric Oliver, now 44 years old, could not find his way back to his old form. With his compatriot Eric Bliss in the boat at the Spanish Grand Prix on the Circuit de Montjuïc in Barcelona, ​​he scored the only championship points of the season with third place, but had above all against the now dominant BMW teams with drivers Faust and Noll and tailors no longer stand a chance. Shortly before the end of the season, he retired to private life and concentrated on his Norton motorcycle business in Staines , Middlesex .

Nevertheless, Eric Oliver did not lose his enthusiasm for motorcycle racing. In 1958 he returned to the Isle of Man and took part in the Sidecar TT on a standard Norton Dominator 88 with a Watsonian "Monza" sidecar . His co-driver was Pat Wise and the two achieved a respectable tenth place. The Briton had his last TT appearance in 1960 , again with Stanley Dibben in the boat . The duo had a bad fall during training due to a broken bolt on the fork . Eric Oliver broke his spine in two places. Dibben almost got beheaded by a wire fence , but was lucky because the team destroyed the fence exactly the second it touched his throat . Both made full recoveries from their injuries but decided to retire from racing for good.

Eric Oliver died of a heart attack on March 1st, 1980 at the age of 69 while restoring one of his motorcycles . In his career he won 17 motorcycle Grand Prix races and achieved a total of 33 podium finishes.

statistics

title

Isle of Man TT victories

year class Co-driver machine Average speed
1954 Sidecar ( teams , cc 500) United KingdomUnited Kingdom Les Nutt Norton 68.87  mph (110.84  km / h )

In the motorcycle world championship

season class machine Co-driver Result Victories
1949 Sidecar Norton United KingdomUnited Kingdom Denis Jenkinson World Champion 2
1950 Sidecar Norton ItalyItaly Lorenzo Dobelli World Champion 3
1951 Sidecar Norton ItalyItaly Lorenzo Dobelli World Champion 3
1952 Sidecar Norton United KingdomUnited KingdomStanley Price and Lorenzo Dobelli
ItalyItaly		 5. 2
1953 Sidecar Norton United KingdomUnited Kingdom Stanley Dibben World Champion 4th
1954 Sidecar Norton United KingdomUnited Kingdom Les Nutt 2. 3
1955 Sidecar Norton United KingdomUnited Kingdom Eric Bliss 10. 0

References

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d e f Günter Geyler: Eric Oliver - the last Norton world champion. www.eggersdorfer.info, accessed on February 12, 2009 .
  2. ↑ a b Vincent Glon: Les Championnats du Monde de Courses sur Route - L'année 1949. racingmemo.free.fr, accessed on February 12, 2009 (French).
  3. ↑ a b Bonhams Auctions Historic Motorcycle Sidecars. www.motorcycle-usa.com, accessed February 16, 2013 (English).
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Mick Walker: The Manx Norton . Redline Books, Tyne and Wear 2005, ISBN 0-9544357-9-6 , pp. 116-127 .
  5. ↑ a b c d e Eric Oliver. www.motopaedia.com, archived from the original on May 14, 2008 ; accessed on February 12, 2009 .
  6. ↑ Eric Oliver - Full TT Results. www.iomtt.com, accessed February 12, 2009 .
  7. ↑ Vincent Glon: Championnat du Monde de Vitesse Moto - Classements Complets 1949 - Sidecars 600cc. racingmemo.free.fr, accessed February 12, 2009 (French).
  8. ↑ Vincent Glon: Les Championnats du Monde de Courses sur Route - L'année 1950. racingmemo.free.fr, accessed on February 12, 2009 (French).
  9. ↑ Vincent Glon: Championnat du Monde de Vitesse Moto - Classements Complets 1950 - Sidecars 600cc. racingmemo.free.fr, accessed February 12, 2009 (French).
  10. ↑ Vincent Glon: Les Championnats du Monde de Courses sur Route - L'année 1951. racingmemo.free.fr, accessed on February 12, 2009 (French).
  11. ↑ Vincent Glon: Championnat du Monde de Vitesse Moto - Classements Complets 1951 - Sidecars 500cc. racingmemo.free.fr, accessed February 12, 2009 (French).
  12. ↑ Vincent Glon: Les Championnats du Monde de Courses sur Route - L'année 1952. racingmemo.free.fr, accessed on February 12, 2009 (French).
  13. ↑ Vincent Glon: Championnat du Monde de Vitesse Moto - Classements Complets 1952 - Sidecars 500cc. racingmemo.free.fr, accessed February 12, 2009 (French).
  14. ↑ Vincent Glon: Les Championnats du Monde de Courses sur Route - L'année 1953. racingmemo.free.fr, accessed on February 12, 2009 (French).
  15. ↑ Vincent Glon: Championnat du Monde de Vitesse Moto - Classements Complets 1953 - Sidecars 500cc. racingmemo.free.fr, accessed February 12, 2009 (French).
  16. ↑ a b c Competitor Profile: Eric Oliver. www.iomtt.com, accessed February 12, 2009 .
  17. ↑ Vincent Glon: Les Championnats du Monde de Courses sur Route - L'année 1954. racingmemo.free.fr, accessed on February 12, 2009 (French).
  18. ↑ Vincent Glon: Championnat du Monde de Vitesse Moto - Classements Complets 1954 - Sidecars 500cc. racingmemo.free.fr, accessed February 12, 2009 (French).
  19. ↑ Vincent Glon: Championnat du Monde de Vitesse Moto - Classements Complets 1955 - Sidecars 500cc. racingmemo.free.fr, accessed February 12, 2009 (French).
personal data
SURNAME Oliver, Eric
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Oliver, Eric Staines (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British motorcycle racer
DATE OF BIRTH April 13, 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH Stratford upon Avon
DATE OF DEATH March 1, 1980