Family History |
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Denis MINETT - UK racing career. D.Minett. on Rudge. Senior TT Brooklands 1932 'Motor Cycling' - 30 Sept 1936 A BROOKLANDS MID-WEEK MEETING Racing at Weybridge last Wednesday Event 3 was a two-lap outer circuit handicap and this distance always seems to provide good racing. There was a remarkably close finish in which D. C. Minett, who produced an amzing 105.07 m.p.h. lap (winning a gold star) just failed to catch a pair of "chair conductors", Bishop (Excelsior J.A.P.) and Rowland (Zenith J.A.P.) who were first and second respectively. "Mention must again be made of the 1937 Hutchinson 100 meeting
that closed the 1937 season. It was during this event that Denis Minett
lapped the outer circuit (at Brooklands) on his 499cc Rudge at
108.9 mph (175.25 k.p.h), a quite remarkable feat that really
impressed Francis (Beart). It was the fastest average of the year
and Minett seemed ideally suited, fitting his machine like a glove and
never moving around. He had the makings of an ideal candidate for record
breaking attempts and Francis was determined to enquire whether Minett
would like to ride for him the next year."
"One of those who rode Beart tuned bikes was Denis
Minett, who had a unique distinction of earning Gold Stars in three
different capacity classes, and held the 750cc lap record at 118
m.p.h. (190 k.p.h), but I did not meet him until he joined the Vincent staff a
decade later."
Article in 'The Classic Motor Cycle' - undated, single
page of part of the article :-
Denis Minett on Francis Beart's Norton. Brooklands Lap Records The Outer Circuit Lap records :- The Brooklands Outer Circuit Record was the most prestigious at the track. [Brooklands Museum] ---------------------------------------------------- The Mountain Circuit lap records :- From 1930 races on a smaller section of the track known as the 'Mountain Circuit' were introduced by the new Clerk of the Course, Mr A Percy Bradley. This fast and furious 1¼ mile lap running from the Fork to the rear of Members’ Hill and back, provided a cross between road and track racing. It was a tough course for the drivers and a stern test of acceleration, braking, and road-holding for the cars. [Brooklands Museum] Articles in The Times newspaper. 22 Sep 1945 Brooklands fans are not likely to forget the name of Denis Minett A summary of Denis' riding career on 4 handwritten pages held by Brooklands Museum, author unknown. |