Syd Crabtree

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Sydney Alfred "Syd" Crabtree (* 1903 or 1904 ; † June 13, 1934 in Verandah, Isle of Man ) was a British motorcycle racer .

He lived in Altrincham , Cheshire , where he worked as a motorcycle salesman.

Career

Syd Crabtree took in 1922 on a 500 cc - Sunbeam for the first time at the Tourist Trophy on the Isle of Man , the then most difficult bike race in the world, in part. Up to and including 1927, he competed very successfully in numerous national and international races on a self-made motorcycle with a 250 cm³ JAP built -in engine .

In 1926, the Briton won among others the quarter liter runs the Grand Prix of the UMF in France and the Ulster Grand Prix in Northern Ireland . In 1927 he won again in France and at the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps . In the lightweight class race at the Tourist Trophy, he finished fourth.

From the 1928 season, Syd Crabtree started for Excelsior . He finished fourth again in the quarter liter TT, after which he won the Dutch TT in Assen and the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring . A short time later, he celebrated his third 250 cm³ victory in a row at the UMF Grand Prix, and the Briton won the Belgian Grand Prix again. On the last weekend of July, as part of the Grand Prix of Switzerland on the Circuit de Meyrin in Geneva , the motorcycle championship in 1928 extended. Crabtree started on an Excelsior team in the 350 cc sidecar class, won the race in which only two starters crossed the finish line and became the first 350cc sidecar European champion in history.

Syd Crabtree started the 1929 season by winning the Lightweight TT , the only Tourist Trophy victory of his career. A few weeks later, at Le Mans , he won the French Grand Prix for the fourth time in a row and was also successful again at the German Grand Prix, this time on a Hecker- JAP.

In the Junior TT race (350 cm³ class) in 1930 Crabtree retired with a broken exhaust on his Excelsior. The Briton achieved his only international success of the season at the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa, which was a European Championship round that year . He prevailed in the 250 cm³ race against his compatriots Ted Mellors and George Himing (both AJS ) and was European motorcycle champion for the second time in his career.

Deadly accident

Syd Crabtree had a fatal accident in the lightweight TT race on June 13, 1934 at the age of 31. The 250cc class race started that day at 10:00 am under very poor weather conditions. It was raining heavily and parts of the 38- mile- long Snaefell Mountain Course were shrouded in thick fog . Crabtree didn't come back from the first round, the last time he was reported was around 10:40 a.m. at Stonebreakers Hut between the 29th and 30th milestones . At around 11:15 a.m., a bystander discovered his lifeless body between Stonebreaker's hat and verandah .

Syd Crabtree had, in all likelihood, been disoriented in a fog bank and gone off course. He drove about 20 meters over the grass verge and then hit an iron post and a gate and was dead on the spot.

His accident sparked heated discussions about the safety of the route.

statistics

title

Isle of Man TT victories

year class machine Average speed
1929 Lightweight (250 cm³) Excelsior 63.87  mph (102.79  km / h )

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Crabtree, Syd
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Crabtree, Sydney Alfred
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British motorcycle racer
DATE OF BIRTH 1903 or 1904
DATE OF DEATH June 13, 1934
Place of death Verandah, Isle of Man , UK