Reginald Armstrong (1 September 1928 – November 1979) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

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. He was born in Dublin, grew up in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

and raced for the AJS,

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 ...

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 ...

, NSU, and

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 ...

factory racing teams. He then became team manager for

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

's racing team in 1962 and

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

, and they won five world championships in that time. He was also in his lifetime a sales agent for NSU, Honda, and

Opel Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Grou ...

. He competed in Grand Prix Motorcycle World Championships and 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 ...

, usually placing highly. He died in a road accident in 1979.

Early days

Reg Armstrong was born in a nursing home at 37 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin, on September 1, 1928. Armstrong did not have a privileged background but, his father started a successful motor factoring business in Dublin and supported his early motorcycle racing as much as he could. A cousin, Harry Lindsay taught him to ride during the Emergency (as

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 ...

was referred to in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

) and both rode 16H Nortons. Both joined the Irish

Defence Forces The phrase Defence Force(s) (or Defense Force(s) in US English - see spelling differences) is in the title of the armed forces of certain countries and territories. Defence forces * Ambazonia Defence Forces *Artsakh Defence Army * Australian Defen ...

, with the petrol ration a prime consideration.

Racing career

In 1946, Armstrong rode a pre-war

Norton Manx The Norton Manx or Manx Norton is a British racing motorcycle that was made from 1947 to 1962 by Norton Motors Ltd. Norton had contested every Isle of Man TT race from the inaugural 1907 event through into the 1970s, a feat unrivalled by any ...

at the

Bangor Castle Bangor Castle is a country house situated in Castle Park in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. The building, which is also referred to as Bangor Town Hall and is now used as the offices of Ards and North Down Borough Council, is a Grade A li ...

races 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 ...

. His was fifth in his second race, a handicap event, the Mid-Antrim 150, and then failed to finish at the

Skerries 100 The Skerries 100 is a multi-race event for motorcycles held annually on countryside roads local to the town of Skerries, County Dublin, Ireland, on the first Saturday in July. History The inaugural Skerries 100 race was on Saturday 6 July, 19 ...

. He put in an entry for the 1946 Manx but was refused as his 18th birthday was on the same day as the race. He borrowed a 500 cc engine and put it into his Norton, and entered the 1947 Senior Manx race without success. In the 1948 Skerries 100 he rode a Tom Arter AJS 7R to success, boosting his confidence enough to purchase a

Triumph The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...

GP, with the help of his cousin Harry. He set fastest lap at the Cookstown 100 on that Triumph, at 74.79 mph, and at the 1949 Cookstown 100 raised it to 75.84 mph. AJS soon invited him to ride 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 ...

at Ansty, and he managed to come fourth. AJS then signed him for the inaugural 1949 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. Armstrong took fourth in the

Swiss Grand Prix The Swiss Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de Suisse, german: Großer Preis der Schweiz, it, Gran Premio di Svizzera), was the premier auto race of Switzerland. In its later years it was a Formula One race. History Bremgarten (1934–1939, 1947 ...

, fifth at Belgium, fifth in the Netherlands, 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 Internation ...

, sixth at

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 ...

, and crashed at

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 ...

Freddie Frith Frederick Lee Frith OBE (30 May 1909 – 24 May 1988 Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England) was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racing world champion. A former stonemason and later a motor cycle retailer in Grimsby, he was a stylish rider an ...

was 350 cc

world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, with Armstrong finishing in second. At the

1950 Isle of Man TT The 1950 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy festival was the second year the Isle of Man TT races were part of the Grand Prix World Championship. After his win in the 1949 Isle of Man Clubman event, Geoff Duke entered the 1950 Isle of Man TT only to fi ...

Armstrong came sixth in 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 ...

on a

. He came sixth in the 500 cc class, and seventh in the 350 cc class for the 1951 Grand Prix World Championship, and was then offered a place for the 1952 season on the Norton team. Armstrong won his first ride for Norton, the 500 cc class in the

Leinster 200 Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ire ...

. He then won the German Grand Prix, and the Isle of Man Senior TT. It was Armstrong's most successful season so far, coming third in the 500 cc 1952 World Championship, and second in the 350 cc. In the Republic of Ireland, Reg was now the agent for NSU and Honda. From

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

, Armstrong rode successfully for Gilera and NSU. In 1953 he came second on a Gilera in the 500 cc class, and second in the 250 cc class on an NSU. In 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 ...

he came fifth on a Gilera in the 500 cc class, and ninth in the 250 cc class on an NSU. In 1955 he came second on a Gilera in the 500 cc class. In the 1956 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season he came fifth on a Gilera in the 500 cc class, but growing business interests demanded more of his time and he announced his retirement from motorcycle racing.

Post racing career

In 1962, Honda asked Armstrong to become their racing team manager. They won three World Championships that year and two more the following year. By now, however, Armstrong's

Ringsend Ringsend () is a Southside (Dublin), southside inner suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the south bank of the River Liffey and east of the River Dodder, about two kilometres east of the city centre. It is the sou ...

plant ceased assembling NSUs and changed over to

s, Armstrong now being the Irish agent for them. In 1964 Reg tried his hand at car racing driving with limited success. He became a good clay pigeon shooter, representing Ireland in the 1978 World Championships, held in Korea. In November 1979 the 51-year-old Reg died in an accident while returning to his Ashford home.
Ireland ''Reg Armstrong Remembered'' (Retrieved 6 November 2006)

Motorcycle Grand Prix results

1949 point system Points system from 1950 to 1968 5 best results were counted until 1955. ( Template:Motorsport driver results legend, key) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Sources

External links

Reg Armstrong career profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Reg 1926 births 1979 deaths Irish motorcycle racers 125cc World Championship riders 250cc World Championship riders 350cc World Championship riders 500cc World Championship riders Isle of Man TT riders Road incident deaths in England Motorcycle road incident deaths