Denis’ interest in Brooklands started
with an apprenticeship to Riley exponent H G Dobbs and … in
1936, he bought Tyrell Smith’s 1932 TT Rudge, won his first Gold
Star at 105.07 m.p.h. (241.5 k.p.h) and finished 3rd in the
Hutchinson 100 and 3rd in the Senior Mountain Championship The
following year he pushed the old Rudge around at 112.75 m.p.h.
(181.5 k.p.h.), reaching nearly 120 m.p.h. (193 k.p.h.) on the
straights. 1938 saw Denis working as manager for Francis Beart,
on whose Norton he broke the 500 & 750 outer circuit lap
records. At 116.36 m.p.h. (187.26 k.p.h.) and 117.19 m.p.h.
(188.6 k.p.h) and did a standing lap at 100.01 m.p.h. (160.96
k.p.h.). In conjunction with Noel Pope the 2 hour record was
attempted at Brooklands. In 58 minutes Denis had covered 108
miles which constitutes a 1 hour record, but Noel Pope ………….
(missing line) a fork spring, putting paid to the 2 hr attempts.
He also finished 3rd to Norman Croft & Noel Pope in the 1938
Senior RR championships.
Emigrating to Australia Denis broke
the lap record at Lobethal, South Australia, on Boxing day 1938
and finished 2nd in the Senior event to George Hannaford, riding
the ex Stanley Woods 500 Velocette. Then in March 1939, at the
Coorong Desert, South Australia, Denis set up six Australian
records on Bruce Rehn’s 604cc Norton. The following shall stand
to his credit –
750cc 1 mile standing start at 95.23 m.p.h.
(153.26 k.p.h.)
750cc 1 mile flying 124.14 m.p.h. (199.78
k.p.h.)
750 & 1000cc 5 mile flying start 121.13 m.p.h.
(194.94 k.p.h.)
Returning home in 1940, Denis bought a 250
OHC OK Supreme on which he finished 3rd in the post war road
race. The 1945 Ulster 100 at Lisburn and won the 350 class at
Ghent in 1946. He became a foundation member of the
reconstituted British Motor Cycling Race Club (BMCRC), and took
charge of the Black Lightning and Racing Department at Vincents
until 1951 when he returned to Australia to develop a 125cc
rotary valve motor for Rex Tilbrook of Adelaide. He had his last
road? race in 1953 at Victoria Park, Ballarat, finishing 6th to
a GP Triumph.
Denis was a development engineer at V.W. Aust.
at Clayton, Victoria, where 25 to 30,000 cars a year are
produced. His main hobby at the moment is finishing his
contemporary home at Heathmont, Victoria, where he lives with
his attractive wife Pam and their two children Geoff 9 & Sally
(Tess) 8 and enjoys a magnificent view of Melbourne. His spare
time is shared between the Heathmont Boy Scouts (President) and
Confederation of Australian Motor Sports where he is on the
panel of scrutineers, and being a steward at go kart meetings.
Denis saw Tom Phillis on the Honda 4 at Philip Island and is
tremendously impressed with the performance & road holding of
modern machines. More indurance was demanded of riders twenty
years ago on leaping sliding rigid framed girder fork machines,
but he considers that today’s riders ride just as hard but in
greater comfort & safety, which is a good thing. He thinks that
the closing of Brooklands was a sad loss to the sport, as it
provided tuning & development facilities as well as safe
interesting racing, and the handicapper saw to it that riders
kept improving. Denis wonders what lap times he and his
contempories could have recorded at Brooklands had they been
equipped with present day machines. Who knows?