Robert MacGregor McIntyre (28 November 1928 – 15 August 1962) was a Scottish motorcycle racer. The first rider to achieve an average speed of for one lap of the

Snaefell Mountain Course The Isle of Man TT Mountain Course or ''TT Course'' is a street and public rural road circuit located in the Isle of Man, used for motorcycle racing. The motorcycle ''TT Course'' is used principally for the Isle of Man TT Races and also the se ...

in 1957, McIntyre is also remembered for his five motorcycle

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 ...

wins which included three wins at the

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 ...

races, and four victories in 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 ...

. He died nine days after injuries sustained racing at

Oulton Park Oulton Park is a hard surfaced track used for motor racing, close to the village of Little Budworth, Cheshire, England. It is about from Winsford, from Chester city centre, from Northwich and from Warrington, with a nearby rail connection al ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county tow ...

, England in August 1962.

Career

McIntyre was born in

Scotstoun Scotstoun ( gd, Baile an Sgotaich) is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, west of Glasgow City Centre. It is bounded by Garscadden and Yoker to the west, Victoria Park, Jordanhill and Whiteinch to the east, Jordanhill to the north and the River Cl ...

, Glasgow. He entered competition in 1948 on his only transport, an Ariel Red Hunter, and was soon competing in off-road scrambles. After a few seasons he began road racing, but the roads were not always well surfaced. McIntyre rode a BSA at Balado Airfield near

Kinross Kinross (, gd, Ceann Rois) is a burgh in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, around south of Perth and around northwest of Edinburgh. It is the traditional county town of the historic county of Kinross-shire. History Kinross's origins are c ...

. The concrete track had patches of loose gravel, and he won three of the four races he entered.
BikeSportNews.com (Retrieved 1 December 2006)

Racing at Isle of Man

For 1952 he rode a BSA to second in the Isle of Man Junior Clubmans TT, averaging on his fastest lap. A long association with the Isle of Man Mountain Circuit had begun. Later that year McIntyre returned to win the Manx TT, Manx Junior (350cc) and come second in the Manx Senior (500cc) riding the same AJS 7R in both classes.

AJS rider

In 1953, following some English National short circuit wins, McIntyre went to the North West 200 for his first International win on an

AJS 7R The AJS 7R was a British 350 cc racing motorcycle built from 1948 to 1963 by Associated Motor Cycles. It was also commonly known as the ‘Boy Racer’, and won victories both for the factory and for privateers right from its introduction i ...

in the 350 cc class. Despite having to retire at the TT that year, his performance was noticed by AJS, and he joined that team for the 1953 Grands Prix World championship. The only win was at Pau in France, there was a third at the

Ulster Grand Prix The Ulster Grand Prix is a motorcycle race that takes place on the Dundrod Circuit made up entirely of closed-off public roads near Belfast, Northern Ireland. The first races took place in 1922 and in 1935 and 1948 the Fédération Internati ...

, and he was in the first six placings for the Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium. In the 1954 Isle of Man

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 ...

McIntyre came 14th on an AJS.

Potts Norton privateer

AJS pulled out of racing, and McIntyre was soon riding the 'Dustbin' faired Potts Norton, and winning. The TT looked to be within reach, and in the 1955 Isle of Man

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 ...

he did lead for four of the seven laps, but brake overheating and suspension problems forced him to slow, allowing

Bill Lomas Bill Lomas (8 March 1928 – 14 August 2007) was an English Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was a two-time World Champion and a two-time Isle of Man TT winner. He won the 1955 and 1956 350cc world championship as a member of the Moto Gu ...

on a Moto Guzzi to go on to victory, with McIntyre second. In the Senior he managed fifth, with an average of , very good for a private entrant among works teams. Giulio Carcano offered him a Guzzi ride after, but he did not accept. He continued to ride the 'Dustbin' faired Norton for Joe Potts, from

Bellshill Bellshill (pronounced "Bells hill") is a town in North Lanarkshire in Scotland, southeast of Glasgow city centre and west of Edinburgh. Other nearby localities are Motherwell to the south, Hamilton to the southwest, Viewpark to the w ...

near

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

, and continued to win races other than the TT. The 1956 TT saw retirements with mechanical problems.

Gilera and the World Championship Grand Prix

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

, owing to personal intervention by injured

Gilera Gilera is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded in Arcore in 1909 by Giuseppe Gilera (1887–1971). In 1969, the company was purchased by Piaggio. History In 1935, Gilera acquired rights to the Rondine four-cylinder engine. It was, at ...

works rider

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 ...

, McIntyre was offered a ride on the four cylinder Gileras for the

. Race week began with the Junior TT. He broke the lap record with a and his race average was . In celebration of the

Golden Jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali ''"সু ...

, the Senior was run over eight laps, a race of . The Gileras had pannier fuel tanks built into the side of the fairings to carry extra fuel. The extra fuel weight didn't stop him from making a first lap. The second lap saw , and the fourth lap was the fastest at . He caught up to, and overtook 1956 World Champion,

John Surtees John Surtees, (11 February 1934 – 10 March 2017) was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver. On his way to become a seven-time Grand Prix motorcycle World Champion, he won his first title in 1956, and followed with ...

who was riding an

MV Agusta MV Agusta (, full name: MV AGUSTA Motor S.p.A., original name: Meccanica Verghera Agusta or MV) is a motorcycle manufacturer founded by Count Domenico Agusta on 19 January 1945 as one of the branches of the Agusta aircraft company near Milan in ...

500. McIntyre went on to win, after racing for three hours, two minutes and fifty-seven seconds. This was McIntyre's best TT. The 1957 World Championship looked to be within reach, but a crash at

Assen Assen () is a municipality and a city in the northeastern Netherlands, and is the capital (politics), capital of the province of Drenthe. It received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1809. Assen is known for TT Circuit Assen, the ...

, in the

Dutch TT The Dutch Tourist Trophy, also known as the ''TT Assen'', is an annual Dutch motorsport event established in 1925 for road racing motorcycles held on the TT Circuit Assen, also known as the ‘Cathedral of Speed'. The event attained world champ ...

meant he was out of action for a couple of months. He did come second in the 500 cc Ulster Grand Prix, and won the 350 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 ...

. His teammate

Libero Liberati Libero Liberati (20 September 1926 – 5 March 1962) was an Italian motorcycle racer and the 1957 500cc Grand Prix World Champion. Liberati was born in Terni. He became famous in his country, winning the Italian championship in 1948. Two years ...

won the 500 cc World Championship that year, with McIntyre coming second. McIntyre was third in the 350 cc World Championship as well. At the end of 1957 the Italian teams quit Grand Prix racing citing increasing costs. In November 1957, with racing over, McIntyre rode a 350 cc Gilera racer around the banked circuit at Monza in an attempt to break the one-hour speed record, and he averaged on the bumpy Monza surface. This record was not bettered until 1964, by

Mike Hailwood Stanley Michael Bailey Hailwood, (2 April 1940 – 23 March 1981) was a British professional motorcycle racer and racing driver. He is regarded by many as one of the greatest racers of all time. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle ...

at 144.8 on an MV Agusta, on the track at

Daytona Daytona refers to the city of Daytona Beach, Florida, or things named after it. Daytona may also refer to: Locations * Daytona Beach Shores, Florida * South Daytona, Florida * The Daytona Beach metropolitan area * Halifax area, also known as Da ...

. In the 1961 Isle of Man TT Lightweight race McIntyre raised the lap record to , and had a strong lead, when his engine seized, ending his race. Riding a Norton in the Senior TT he came second. He won the 1961 250cc Ulster Grand Prix. In the 1962 Isle of Man

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 ...

, he raised the lap record to 99.61, and then retired with electrical problems. He also rode in Grand Prix races on Honda and

Bianchi Bianchi may refer to: Places *Bianchi, Calabria, a ''comune'' in the Province of Cosenza, Italy Manufacturing *Bianchi Bicycles (F.I.V. Edoardo Bianchi S.p.A.), an Italian manufacturer of bicycles, and former manufacturer of motorcycles and a ...

, making the podium in the Netherlands, Belgium, and East Germany. In 1962 McIntyre finished second in the Spanish and French Grands Prix, while he had a non-start in the 500 Senior TT and mechanical problems in both the 250 and 350 cc events. He went on to win the Belgium GP at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in the Ardennes, his last victory on the World stage.

Tribute

In 2017,

Michael Dunlop Michael Dunlop (born 10 April 1989) is a Northern Irish professional motorcycle racer. Part of a motorcycle racing dynasty, Michael is the brother of the late William Dunlop, son of Robert and nephew of former World Champion Joey Dunlop. He ...

recreated McIntyre's achievement with a parade/demonstration on the TT course, at a similar speed with a 100-mph lap on a replica 1957 Gilera, and wearing period clothing.

Oulton Park

McIntyre still competed in non-championship events, and it was at one such event at Oulton Park, Cheshire in August 1962 IOM TT Books, Bob McIntyre (Retrieved 9 December 2006) that he won the 250 cc race, and then started in the 500 cc race on his Manx

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 ...

. After a bad start in poor conditions, he fought his way to the front before aquaplaning across a stream of water, losing control and crashing into a post holding an advertising sign, sustaining serious head injuries. After nine days in hospital he died.

Results

Manx Grand Prix races

Isle of Man TT races

FIM Motor-Cycle Grand Prix races

(

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 bold indicate pole position)

Sources

External links

TT database rider profile
iomtt.com
TT database TT results
iomtt.com
List of victories
{{DEFAULTSORT:McIntyre, Bob 1928 births 1962 deaths Sportspeople from Glasgow Isle of Man TT riders 250cc World Championship riders 350cc World Championship riders 500cc World Championship riders Motorcycle racers who died while racing Scottish motorcycle racers Sport deaths in England