1958 Junior Snaefell MGP

Course name: Mountain (post 1914)

Course length: 150.92 miles (4 laps)

Description: 1958 Junior Snaefell MGP

Race report from the IOM Weekly Times Sept 12 1958 (p.2), below which is a full list of competitors:

SNAEFELL RACES
Junior Class Won on Borrowed Machine
Richardson Wins Senior by Few Seconds

FATAL ACCIDENT ON MOUNTAIN
G. Bell, a 30-year-old plumber from Aberdeen, now living in Ravenglass. Cumberland, ridins a Norton, won Monday's Junior class in the M.G.P. Snaefell race over four laps of the T.T. Course, averaging a speed of 84.15 m.p.h. —good enouh to make him fourth fastest of the day behind the three Senior leaders. He won on a machine borrowed from a garage owner.
The race was marred by a fatal accident to John Hutchinson, a 31 year old press tool maker of Mossley Hill, Liverpool, who crashed at the 32nd milestone on his third lap. Hutchinson had completed two laps in I hr. 6 mins. 2.2 secs. He was married with no children.

First retirement was by D. B. Russell (Norton), who "packed up" at the Gooseneck on the first lap, with engine trouble. He was quickly followed by local rider Terry Gribbin, whose B.S.A. was seizing coming down Creg-ny-Baa, and he stopped at the pits. At the end of the first lap, the "flying plumber" Bell had established a lead of 48 seconds over his nearest rival. He lapped in 27 mins. 7 secs. (83.50 m.p.h.), with Keith Bannister (Norton) next best at 81.11 m.p.h.

Retirement in the second lap was George Bell (Norton), not to be confused with the leader of the race, Gordon Bell. He stopped at the pits with mechanical trouble. A. F. Laing (B.S.A.) also stopped at the pits, replaced a foot-rest which he had lost and proceeded. In the second lap, Bell increased his speed slightly with a lap at 26 mins. 43.8 secs. He had a lead of over two minutes and looked as if he would run away from the field. In the stands, the spectators were saying: "Is this another Geoff Duke?"

Bannister retired in the third lap with engine trouble and other retirements were J. Farrar (Norton) at the Graham Memorial with a seized engine, and E. A. Johnson (B.S.A .) at Crosby with engine trouble. Gordon Bell was still going great guns increasing his lead all the time. At the end of the third lap he was 2 mins. 40 secs. ahead of second man , Payne. His third lap was in 26 mins. 46.6 seconds, a speed of 84.55 m.p.h.

No one could hold Bell in this race and with a trouble-free run on the last lap, he was a sure winner. The story was different for the next four riders, who were divided by only 31 secs, and were battling for position. Payne's third lap was in 27 mins. 24.2 secs, and Read's at 27 mins. 17 seconds.
Bell sped on to a runaway victory in the last lap. He increased his lead still further with a lap in 27 mins. 4.2 secs—that is 83.64 m.p.h. and finished with a clear margin of nearly three mins.

Competitors

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