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?