Norman Brown Jr. (16 March 1959 – 31 July 1983) was an Irish professional

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 ...

road racer from Northern Ireland.

Biography

Brown was born in

Newry Newry (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland, divided by the Clanrye river in counties Armagh and Down, from Belfast and from Dublin. It had a population of 26,967 in 2011. Newry was founded in 1144 alongside a Cistercian monastery, althoug ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

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 ...

, where his father, Norman Brown Sr., ran a

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, "The Star Bar" or "Brown's Bar", overlooking the Clanrye River and Newry Town Hall. An alumnus of Newry High School, Brown Jr. started racing 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 ...

in 1982, and won the

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 ...

at his first attempt. In 1983, he raised the TT lap record to 116.19 mph in the Senior Classic event for machines up to 1000cc. Brown also won the 350cc class at the 1983

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.

Death

Brown was killed during the

1983 British Grand Prix The 1983 British Grand Prix (formally the XXXVI Marlboro British Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone on 16 July 1983. It was the ninth race of the 1983 Formula One World Championship. The 67-lap race was won by Alain ...

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...

on 31 July 1983. When it began to rain he slowed, apparently due to mechanical problems. With greatly reduced speed he continued the lap to reach the pits. After exiting the Stowe corner he held to the inside line and was passed by multiple riders before being hit by Swiss rider Peter Huber, whose view was obscured by the riders in front of him. Brown died instantly and Huber later died at the hospital.

References

1960 births 1983 deaths Sportspeople from Newry Isle of Man TT riders British motorcycle racers Motorcycle racers from Northern Ireland Motorcycle racers who died while racing Filmed deaths in motorsport Sport deaths in England Motorsport people from County Down {{UK-motorcycle-racing-bio-stub