Charles Richard Collier (1885–1954) of

Plumstead Plumstead is an area in southeast London, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich, England. It is located east of Woolwich. History Until 1965, Plumstead was in the historic counties of England, historic county of Kent and the detail of mu ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, was a British

motorcycle racer Motorcycle racing (also called moto racing and motorbike racing) is the motorcycle sport of racing motorcycles. Major varieties include motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Ot ...

famous for winning

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 twice in his career. After competing in the 1906 International Cup Races on the

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an continent, Charlie Collier became the first

race winner in 1907. Along with his brother HarryCarrick, Peter ''Motor Cycle Racing'' Hamlyn Publishing, 1969, p.17, p.21 Accessed 2014-02-26 he raced

Matchless Matchless is one of the oldest marques of British motorcycles, manufactured in Plumstead, London, between 1899 and 1966. A wide range of models were produced under the Matchless name, ranging from small two-strokes to 750 cc Four-stroke cy ...

motorcycles manufactured by his father's company, H.Collier & Sons. After setting a number of world motorcycle records on Matchless machines, Charlie Collier won another Isle of Man TT race in 1910 and later became the first competitor to be disqualified from a race for illegal refuelling. Charlie Collier later became a joint managing director of AJS and

motorcycles and died in 1954.

Racing career

First race was in 1902 at the 3½ mile

Canning Town Canning Town is a district in the London Borough of Newham, East London. The district is located to the north of the Royal Victoria Dock, and has been described as the "Child of the Victoria Docks" as the timing and nature of its urbanisation ...

cycling track riding a Matchless motorcycle with an MMC engine. After leading until the last lap, a burst tyre caused a crash and Charlie Collier suffered friction abrasions. In 1905, along with his brother Harry Collier participated in the eliminating trial for the International Motor Cycle Cup held 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 ...

. Held on a 25-mile section of the Gordon Bennett Trial course, the event was won by J.S.Campbell. Although Harry Collier managed to qualify, the Matchless motorcycle with a

JAP ''Jap'' is an English abbreviation of the word "Japanese". Today, it is generally regarded as an ethnic slur. In the United States, some Japanese Americans have come to find the term very offensive, even when used as an abbreviation. Prior to t ...

engine which Charlie Collier had specially built suffered a broken connecting-rod and was forced to retire. After racing in the 1906 International Cup, both Charlie Collier and his brother Harry were unhappy with the relatively low imposed weight limit of 110 lbs, causing sacrifices in frame and tyre strength to be made to compensate for the heavy engines. They entered a new motorcycle event in the Isle of Man in 1907 for road-touring motorcycles. The new race was to be held on the

St John's Short Course The St John's Short Course was a road-racing street circuit used for the Isle of Man TT held between 1907 and 1910. The races were run in a time-trial format on public roads closed for racing by an Act of Tynwald (the parliament of the Isle of ...

with two categories for single and twin-cylinder engines. The

1907 Isle of Man TT The 1907 Isle of Man TT races were the inaugural International Tourist Trophy for motor-cycles held on the Isle of Man. The event was held on Tuesday 28 May 1907 over the St John's Short Course consisting of a Single Cylinder and a Twin-Cylinde ...

race single cylinder-class was won by Charlie Collier riding a

in 4 hours, 8 minutes and 8 seconds at an average race speed of 38.21 mph. His brother Harry Collier, also riding a Matchless, had problems with an engine seizure on lap 2 and eventually retired on lap 9.''The Motor Cycle'' dated 5 June 1907 p.446

TT race achievements

TT Single Cylinder race

Tuesday 28 May 1907 - 10 laps (158.00 miles) St John's Short Course.

TT Race Victories

TT career summary

Sources

External links

TT database rider profile
iomtt.com
TT database TT results
iomtt.com
Official TT Website Database
iomttraces.com 0 {{DEFAULTSORT:Collier, Charlie 1885 births 1954 deaths People from Plumstead English motorcycle racers Isle of Man TT riders