Arthur Frederick Wheeler (5 August 1916 – 16 June 2001
/ref>) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

professional

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

motorcycle road racer.Arthur Wheeler career statistics at MotoGP.com
/ref> Wheeler gained a reputation as one of the top

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

racers on the Grand Prix circuit. __TOC__

Early life

Born in

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

, Surrey, Wheeler left school at the age of 15 to be an apprentice electrician and engineer. He began his competitive motorcycling career campaigning a

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 ...

in grass track racing. Opening a

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

shop in 1937, he used his profits to enable his motorcycle racing career. When

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

started, Wheeler's engineering skills led him to being chosen to work alongside

Barnes Wallis Sir Barnes Neville Wallis (26 September 1887 – 30 October 1979) was an English engineer and inventor. He is best known for inventing the bouncing bomb used by the Royal Air Force in Operation Chastise (the "Dambusters" raid) to attack ...

in developing the

bouncing bomb A bouncing bomb is a bomb designed to bounce to a target across water in a calculated manner to avoid obstacles such as torpedo nets, and to allow both the bomb's speed on arrival at the target and the timing of its detonation to be pre-deter ...

Motorcycle racing career

After the war, his motorcycle business boomed, allowing him to enter Grands Prix racing on the circuits of

Continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

. Wheeler won the

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

250 cc

Nations Grand Prix The Italian motorcycle Grand Prix is a motorcycling event that is part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. From 1949 to 1990 the event was known by the it, Gran Premio Delle Nazioni (''Nations Grand Prix''). It was one of the original ...

Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...

after the dominant NSU factory racing team withdrew from the race. He was a five-time winner of the

North West 200 The International North West 200 is a Northern Irish motorsport event established in 1929 for road racing motorcycles held on a street circuit known as ''the Triangle'' between the towns of Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush in Causeway Coast ...

race in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

and won the Leinster 200 at least twice. His best season was aboard 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 ...

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

, when he won the 250 cc

Argentine Grand Prix The Argentine Grand Prix (Spanish: ''Gran Premio de Argentina'') was a round of the Formula One championship, held intermittently from to , all at the same autodrome in the Argentine national capital of Buenos Aires. Origins and history The Bu ...

and had a fourth-place finish in 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 ...

Lightweight TT The Lightweight TT is a motorcycle road race that is a part of the Isle of Man TT festival - an annual motorcycle event traditionally held over the last week of May and first week of June. History The Lightweight class was first present at the ...

, finishing in third place in the 250 cc world championship behind

Jim Redman James Albert Redman, (born 8 November 1931) is a British-born Zimbabwean former professional motorcycle racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from 1959 to 1966. Redman is notable for being a six-time Grand Prix road racing world c ...

and Bob McIntyre. At the end of that year he retired at the age of 46. His victory in Argentina made him the oldest rider to have won a Grand Prix motorcycle race in any class, a record that stands to this day. Wheeler continued to develop the long-outdated

(which ceased production around 1953) all through his career, using home built streamlined 'dustbin' and 'dolphin' fairings and along with Ken Sprayson at Reynolds tubing (Reynolds Tubes Co LtdMotorcycle Sport, August 1969, p.314 ''Frames Unlimited. Part 2 of the Reynolds story (with particular reference to Ken Sprayson)'' Accessed 17 May 2014) he developed a spine frame with swinging arm rear suspension and oil bearing top tube. Wheeler was a close friend with many of the Guzzi factory riders, and it was through

Fergus Anderson Fergus Kenrick Anderson (9 February 1909 – 6 May 1956) was a British professional motorcycle racer. He was a two-time Grand Prix World Champion. His name appears on the Nazis' "most wanted" list drawn up prior to their intended invasion of Br ...

that he acquired his first Guzzi from the factory, a pre-war Albatross 250 cc, which was to be developed through the 1950s to Gambalunghino spec and beyond. After his win at the

it was Moto Guzzi factory rider

Enrico Lorenzetti Enrico Lorenzetti (4 January 1911 – 8 August 1989) was an Italian professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer who competed in the 1940s and 1950s. He competed in the 1949 season riding a 500 cc Moto Guzzi and finished eighth overall w ...

who gave Wheeler his stock of factory spare parts, enabling him to campaign the Guzzis long after the official factory team had disbanded.Motor Cyclist Illustrated, May 1968, p.54 ''Arthur Wheeler Ltd for all models BSA'' 45–47–51 Waterloo Road, Epsom. Accessed 6 April 2014

Motorcycle Grand Prix results

Points system from 1950 to 1968: (

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) Arthur Wheeler Isle of Man TT results at iomtt.com
/ref>

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wheeler, Arthur 1916 births 2001 deaths Sportspeople from Epsom British motorcycle racers English motorcycle racers 125cc World Championship riders 250cc World Championship riders 350cc World Championship riders 500cc World Championship riders Isle of Man TT riders