Henry Tyrell-Smith

A 500 cc Rudge Special from 1930 as also driven by Tyrell-Smith.

A 250 cc Excelsior Manxman racing machine from 1936.

Henry George Tyrell-Smith (mostly HG Tyrell-Smith ; * 1907 in County Dublin , † 1982 ) was an Irish motorcycle racer .

Life

Henry Tyrell-Smith was born in County Dublin . From 1924 to 1929 he studied engineering at Trinity College in Dublin and earned a bachelor's degree.

From 1936 to 1939 he worked for the testing department of the Excelsior Motor Company in Coventry . During the Second World War , Tyrell-Smith worked for the British Army at the Bristol Airplane Company from 1939 to 1942 and tested single-cylinder engines . In 1942 he was promoted directly to the rank of officer in the newly established Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME), which took care of the maintenance of the Army equipment and vehicles . In 1944 Tyrell-Smith supported the Guards Armored Division in the Workshop Office of REME on D-Day of the Normandy landing .

In 1945 he was raised to the rank of major and worked in an engine repair shop for the army at Volkswagen in Wolfsburg .

After the war, Henry Tyrell-Smith returned to his home country to work for Triumph's testing department, selling damper and suspension systems to the British motorcycle industry for Girling . In the 1960s, Henry Tyrell-Smith was a regular guest at the Isle of Man TT as a representative for girling and ambassador for his sport. In 1972 he retired.

Motorcycle racing

His first experience on a motorcycle he made on a Douglas from the First World War . In 1926 he finished second in the Leinster 200 . In 1927 the Irishman made his debut on a Triumph at the Isle of Man TT , the most difficult and prestigious motorcycle race of the time. From 1928 to 1935 Tyrell-Smith started for Rudge as a works driver . His teammates at the time were Ernie Nott and Graham Walker , who also served as race director.

In the senior race of the 1929 TT, which led over seven laps and about 425 km on the Snaefell Mountain Course , Tyrell-Smith quickly took the lead. In the fourth lap he was already more than three minutes ahead, but then fell at Glen Helen . He had to let some machines pass, but then took up the race again. Percy Hunt on Norton was now in the lead, but had technical problems and had to let Charlie Dodson pass on Sunbeam . Tyrell-Smith caught up again and after more than three and a half hours only had to let Dodson and his teammate Alec Bennett go ahead. When examined after the race, leg injuries and three broken ribs were found. In 1929 Henry Tyrell Smith also celebrated his first successes in international races. He won the 500 cc races on Rudge for the Czechoslovakian Grand Prix in Prague - Zbraslav and the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring - Nordschleife .

At the 1930 European motorcycle championship , which was held as part of the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps , Henry Tyrell-Smith prevailed against his teammate Graham Walker and his compatriot Johnny Duncan ( Raleigh ) and was crowned half-liter European champion . In 1931 the Irishman was also successful on small-volume machines. He won the Dutch TT in Assen in the 250 cm³ class and the German Grand Prix in the Eifel in the 350 cc category . In 1932 Tyrell-Smith won, among other things, the Ulster Grand Prix in Northern Ireland and the fast Brooklands -bahn in England , each on a 350 cc Rudge. In the 1934 season he won the Belgian Grand Prix on a quarter-liter Rudge and, for the third time in his career, the German Grand Prix, which has now been held on the Badberg-Viereck in Hohenstein-Ernstthal .

For the 1936 season, Tyrell-Smith moved to Excelsior . In the 250 cm³ category, he drove a machine with a four-valve OHC engine and two carburetors . With that he finished second behind Bob Foster ( New Imperial ) in the Lightweight -TT . A short time later, the Irishman won the German Grand Prix for the fourth and last time in his career, which this year was a European Championship round , and thus became the 250 cc European Champion in 1936 .

In 1938, Tyrell-Smith won the North West 200 . With the outbreak of the Second World War and the related cessation of racing activities and the conversion of the British economy to war production, the Irishman ended his career.

statistics

title

• 1930 - 500 cc European champion on Rudge
• 1936 - 250 cc European champion on Excelsior

Isle of Man TT victories

year	class	machine	Average speed
1930	Junior (350 cm³)	Rudge	71.08  mph (114.39  km / h )

North West 200 Victories

year	class	machine	Average speed
1938	250 cc	Excelsior	64.54  mph (103.87  km / h )

Race wins

(colored background = European championship run )

year	class	machine	run	route
1929	500 cc	Rudge	Czechoslovakian Grand Prix	Prague - Zbraslav
	500 cc	Rudge	Grand Prix of Germany	Nürburgring - Nordschleife
1930	500 cc	Rudge	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa Francorchamps
1931	250 cc	Rudge	Dutch TT	Circuit van Drenthe
	350 cc	Rudge	Grand Prix of Germany	Nürburgring Nordschleife
1932	350 cc	Rudge	Ulster Grand Prix	Clady Circuit
	350 cc	Rudge	Brooklands Grand Prix	Brooklands
1934	250 cc	Rudge	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa Francorchamps
	250 cc	Rudge	Grand Prix of Germany	Badberg square
1936	250 cc	Excelsior	Grand Prix of Germany	Badberg square

References

Web links

• Henry Tyrell-Smith on the Isle of Man TT official website.

Individual evidence

1. ^ GS Davison: TT Special - Practice Report ; 1950.
2. ↑ ^{a b} TT Special , June 12, 1953, p. 22.
3. ^ Isle of Man Weekly Times - Golden Jubilee TT Supplement 1957, p. 8.
4. ↑ Bev Parker: Jim Boulton's Unpublished Book - Chapter 5. www.historywebsite.co.uk, accessed March 26, 2013 . 
5. ↑ Bev Parker: Jim Boulton's Unpublished Book - Chapter 6. www.historywebsite.co.uk, accessed March 26, 2013 .