Tom Phillis

Record type: Motorsport Biographies

Biography: Age 27, Thomas Edward Phillis is a motor engineer and comes from Marrackville, New South Wales. He first raced outside Australia in 1958, but he had raced there since 1953 and in 1957 won six major events. On arrival in England in 1958 he won four events at Thruxton.

He competed in both Junior and Senior T.T. races that year, and didn't do so badly! — 32nd in the Junior and 18th in the Senior, with two "Silvers." Back home he won both 350 and 500 c.c. classes of the Australian T.T. at Albany, Western Australia and later the 500 c.c. class of the Victoria Grand Prix. 1959 he was second in the 350 race at Mettet, and won the 500, and coming to the Island he was fifth in the 350 c.c. Formula 1 race at 91.04 m.p.h. His luck wasnot too good in the T.T. races, however, for he retired on the last lap of the Junior, and first missed a Bronze replica by finishing 16th in the "Soaking Senior."

On New Year's day last year, Tom did the "350.500 double" 250 c.c. class on a Ducati. In May last year he won the 350 c.c. class of the Saar Grand Prix and was second in the 500.

Tom rode in all four solo T.T. races last year, finishing tenth in the "125" and fourth in the Senior, with a couple of "Silvers," but retiring in the other two. He was second in the 250 c.c. class of the Ulster and a month later "did the triple" in the Pyynikin T.T. in Finland, winning the 125, 350 and 500 c.c. events; and he has done the triple again three times since then, with the 250, 350 and 500 c.c. classes of the Tasmanian T.T. and Victorian G.P., and the 250, 500 and 1000 c.c. classes of the Albury in Australia. In Europe this year he has already scored a second in the Imota (125 c.c.), a first and a second in the Spanish GrandPrix (125 and 250), a third and a second in the Austrian G.P. (125 and 250) a third and a first in the Saar G.P. (125 and 250), and firsts in both 125 and 250 c.c. classes of last Whit Sunday's French Grand Prix.

He is entered for all four T.T. races by the A.C.C. of Australia. (TT Special, 16 June 1961, p. 8)

Tom was killed at Laurel Bank in the 1962 Junior TT race riding a bored out 250cc Honda (285cc).

Nationality: Australian

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