The 1950

Isle of Man Tourist Trophy The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May/June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907. The event is often called one of the most dangerous racing events in the world ...

festival was the second year the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

TT races were part of the

Grand Prix World Championship The Grand Prix World Championship (GPWC) refers to a number of proposed alternative world championship auto racing series to rival or replace Formula One. Founded in 2001, the GPWC was created as a tool to assist the companies in bargaining wit ...

. After his win in the 1949 Isle of Man Clubman event,

Geoff Duke Geoffrey Ernest Duke (29 March 1923 – 1 May 2015) was a British multiple motorcycle Grand Prix road racing world champion. Born in St. Helens, Lancashire, after retirement from competition he was a businessman based in the Isle of Man. He ...

entered the 1950

Isle of Man TT The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May/June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907. The event is often called one of the most dangerous racing events in the world ...

only to find himself racing against formidable opposition in his first

Senior TT The Senior Tourist Trophy is a motorcycle road race that takes place during the Isle of Man TT festival, an annual event traditionally held over the last week in May and the first week in June. The Senior TT is the Blue Riband event of the festi ...

, not only from his experienced

Norton Norton may refer to: Places Norton, meaning 'north settlement' in Old English, is a common place name. Places named Norton include: Canada * Rural Municipality of Norton No. 69, Saskatchewan *Norton Parish, New Brunswick **Norton, New Brunswick, a ...

team mates,

Artie Bell Arthur James Bell (6 September 1914 – 7 August 1972) was a British (Northern Irish) motorcycle road racer who became known for his short post-World War II Isle of Man TT career that came to notice with his second-place finish in the 1947 Isl ...

Harold Daniell Harold Daniell (29 October 1909 – 19 January 1967) was a British professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and auto racing driver. He competed in the 1940s and 1950s. On retiring from racing he owned a Norton motorcycle dealership in Fo ...

and Johnny Lockett, but also

Les Graham Robert Leslie Graham (14 September 1911 – 12 June 1953) was a British motorcycle road racer who competed in the 1930s and 1940s. He won the inaugural Grand Prix motorcycle racing 500 cc World Championship in 1949. Early Career (19 ...

on an

AJS Porcupine The AJS 500 cc Porcupine was a British racing motorcycle built by Associated Motor Cycles (AMC), which débuted in 1945 with a horizontal-engine designated E90S. The later E95 model was developed with an inclined-engine. AMC produced AJS an ...

Reg Armstrong Reginald Armstrong (1 September 1928 – November 1979) was an Irish professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was born in Dublin, grew up in Dublin and raced for the AJS, Velocette, Norton, NSU, and Gilera factory racing teams. He ...

and Bob Foster on

Velocette Velocette is a line of motorcycles made by Veloce Ltd, in Hall Green, Birmingham, England. One of several motorcycle manufacturers in Birmingham, Velocette was a small, family-owned firm, selling almost as many hand-built motorcycles during i ...

s. Geoff was wearing a new set of one-piece leathers and he beat them all, breaking both lap and race records in the Senior, and finishing second in the

Junior TT The Junior TT is a motorcycle road race that takes place during the Isle of Man TT festival; an annual event at the end of May and beginning of June. Between 1949 and 1976 this race was part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. Engine c ...

. It was the beginning of a spectacular racing career for Geoff Duke. The Norton team had the new

Featherbed frame The featherbed frame was a motorcycle frame invented by the McCandless brothers and offered to the British Norton motorcycle company to improve the performance of their racing motorcycles in 1950. It was considered revolutionary at the time,"' ...

on their racing bikes that had excellent handing characteristics. It was another Norton ridden by Artie Bell that won the Junior, with Norton occupying the first three places of the Senior and Junior races. The Lightweight TT went to the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

bikes, with first and second being Dario Ambrosini on a Benelli, and Maurice Cann on a

Moto Guzzi Moto Guzzi is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer and the oldest European manufacturer in continuous motorcycle production. Established in 1921 in Mandello del Lario, Italy, the company is noted for its historic role in Italy's motorcycling ma ...

, respectively. As in 1949, four ''Clubman'' races were included in this year's festival; Clubman 1,000 cc, Clubman Senior, Clubman Junior and Clubman Lightweight.
IOMTT.com results database (retrieved 5 November 2006)

1950 Isle of Man Senior TT 500cc final standings

1950 – 6 Laps (236.38 Miles) Mountain Course.

Sources

External links

1950 Isle of Man TT race results
{{Isle of Man TT 1950 in British motorsport, Isle of Man Tt

Isle of Man Tt The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May/June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907. The event is often called one of the most dangerous racing events in the world ...

Isle of Man TT