1956 Ultra Lightweight TT

Course name: Clypse

Course length: 97 miles (9 laps)

Description: 1955 Ultra Lightweight TT
Race report from the IOM Weekly Times 10 June 1955 (p.10), below which is a full list of competitors:

Ubbiali Wins Great Duel in 125 c.c. Race
Crowds Thrilled as Taveri and Ubbiali Battle for Lead
FIRST TWO BREAK RACE RECORD
Ubbiali Does Record Last Lap

After a race which held the interest of spectators from start to finish Carlo Ubbiali today won the International 125 c.c. T.T. Race on an Italian M.V. Agusta – Italy’s third win in three races.
The crowds held their breath as Ubbiali and Taveri battled for the lead. On the sixth lap Ubbiali led at the Nursery Bends by a bare two yards, he finished the lap just ahead of Taveri, but the Swiss rider had forged ahead by the time they got to Willaston Corner. At the Creg he was just in front, but halfway round lap 7 Ubbiali took over.

THE FIRST AND SECOND BROKE THE RACE RECORD
UBBIALI ALSO SMASHED THE LAP RECORD ON HIS FINAL LAP IN 9 mins 2.2. secs. (71.65 m.p.h.).
As in the 250 event, 16 riders came to the starting line. The winner would come from one of the two works teams entered, M.V. Augusta (Bill Lomas, Luigi Taveri and Carlo Ubbiali) or the Mondial team (Romolo Ferri, Guiseppi Lattanzi and Tarquinio Provini). Also riding a works M.V. Agusta was ex-500 c.c. world champion Umberto Masetti.
Two club teams had entered, the Nantwich and District M.C. (Lomas, Webster and Maddrick) and the B.M.C.R.C. trio (Cope, Webb and Porter).
The B.M.C.R.C. team’s hopes were quickly dashed when veteran Frank Cope failed to get his M.V. Agusta started. He wheeled it to the paddock and retired.

Off the grid it was Carlo Ubbiali who led the pack, but by Creg-ny-Baa his team mate, Swiss rider Taveri, winner of the 125 c.c. Spanish Grand Prix recently, was leading the field. In second place was Ubbiali, followed by Lattanzi (Mondial), Provini (Mondial), Ferri (Mondial), Masetti, and 250 winner Bill Lomas.

Taveri had increased his lead to 10 seconds by the end of the opening circuit after lapping in 9 mins. 40 secs. (67.14 m.p.h.)
Ubbiali and Lattanzi were fighting it out for second place, and they passed the stands side by side, with Ubbiali just keeping his nose in front. Behind Lattanzi came his team mates Provini and Ferri, with Masetti holding sixth position.

One lap later Taveri had established a quarter-minute lead, averaging 68.09 m.p.h. Ubbiali led his Mondial rival Lattanzi by just one second.
Hopes of the Mondial team were crushed when Ferri retired on his second lap with a flat tyre, after holding fifth place.
Lomas, out for the treble, was fighting his way on to the leader board. At the end of lap 1 he was one second behind the sixth man, but after two laps he took fifth place with a lap in 9 mins. 46 secs. (66.42 m.p.h.). The battling Lomas edged his way into fourth place during lap 3, thus relegating Mondial’s second string, Provini.
Taveri was still out in front, but Ubbiali clipped three seconds off the first man’s lead.

After Three Laps
The little Italian ex-125 c.c. world champion was grimly cutting down his swift team mate’s lead. Three times Ubbiali has been runner up in the 125 T.T., and today he was determined to take top honours. On Lap 4 he sliced a further three seconds off Taveri’s lead – reducing it to eight seconds – with a lap time of 9 minutes 17 seconds (69.9 m.p.h.).

While Ubbiali steadily crept nearer to the No 1 position, Lattanzi was easily holding his third place – Lomas was 59 seconds in arrears at the end of lap 5.
At Cronk-y-Garroo, Masetti (M.V. Agusta) retired with engine trouble. Rival team-man Provini (Mondial) also stopped there to tinker with his motor.

Ubbiali closed right up to Taveri on lap 6 and at the Nursery Bend the Italian ace swept into the lead. Past the Stands he led by a couple of yards, but by Willaston Corner Taveri was in the lead once more – no riding to orders here.

From Creg-ny-Baa came the “flash” that Taveri was just hanging on to his position, but half way round the lap Ubbiali slipped ahead, and he led by 15 yards at the end of lap 7.
Their tiny motors were taking a terrific thrashing. Ubbiali had put in the fastest lap to date in 9 mins. 7 secs. (71.09 m.p.h.) only 3.6 seconds outside the 1954 record of the late Rupert Hollaus.
Point by point reports of the leader’s progress came from all round the course – “two yards ahead” – “three yards” – “position unchanged”. And at Hall’s corner Ubbiali still led. But by the Nursery Bends Taveri had taken over once more and the two went past “on a string”.

Taveri went into his final circuit leading by one second after lapping in 9 mins. 12 secs. (70.49 m.p.h.), just two seconds faster than Ubbiali.
Taveri was averaging 69.44 m.p.h. But Ubbiali, straining every nerve to record his first T.T. win, took the lead at Edge’s Corner, and at Hillberry he was 40 yards ahead. Spectators at Creg-ny-Baa were having more than their share of excitement today, for going into the corner Taveri rapidly closed up to Ubbiali, but could not get past. At the half-way stage on this lap the little Italian clung tenaciously to a two length lead, and by the time he accelerated away from the Manx Arms he was four seconds ahead of his Swiss rival – a large margin at such speeds.
He finished the race with a record smashing lap in 9 mins. 2.2 secs. (71.65 m.p.h.), raising his race speed to the record breaking average of 69.67 m.p.h. The second man home, Taveri, also broke the race record by averaging 69.64 m.p.h.

The team prize was won by M.V. Agusta (Lomas, Taveri and Ubbiali).
Only the first four finishers won silver replicas. No bronze replicas were awarded.

Competitors

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