Moto Guzzi 350cc sohc works racer & Fergus Anderson - Ulster GP 1953 - photo

Description

A superb and rare photo of the magnificent Scotsman and 1953 350cc World Champion
Fergus Anderson
seen in action with his
350 (317cc!) Moto Guzzi s.o.h.c. factory GP racer
during the
1953
350cc
Ulster
Grand Prix
which was ridden on
August 15, 1953
. Fergus Anderson would
WIN
the 350cc world championship in 1953 and 1954 with the Moto Guzzi 350 single cylinder factory racers. Unfortunately he would retire during the race due to mechanical prolblems but in the 250cc race he would finish 3RD with a similar Guzzi.
Guzzi’s participation in the 350cc GP class was inspired by
Fergus Anderson
, who later on also would double as Guzzi’s racing team manager. He would become
the 350cc world champion in 1953 and 1954.
He is seen riding the magnificent and extreme lightly build
Moto Guzzi s.o.h.c. single
. With their superb streamlining these wonderful machines won the 350cc world championship 5 times between 1953 and
1957. In
1953 , the year the photo was taken ,
Anderson
won the 350cc world championship with the photographed machine which featured a sohc cylinderhead. Its successor featured bevel driven double overhead camshafts. The Guzzi sohc Grand Prix bikes were like its dohc successors designed by the famous ing. Giulio Cesare Carcano though Enrico Cantoni and Umberto Todero also played a vital role. They delivered a healthy power output of 38 hp at 8,000 rpm. Topspeed was
150 mph
! They were very special motorcycles, designed by somebody that is considered a genius.
This great photograph of the Grand Prix of Ulster was taken during the 350cc race of 1953. The race was won by Ken Mulford (NZ) on a Norton with an average race speed of
84.01 mph
(
135,2 km/h
).
Scotsman
Fergus
Anderson
was one of the most liked riders of the famous Continental Circus Grand Prix racing scene. And he won twice the 350cc World Championship with a machine he initiated.
Anderson
was one of the first riders from
Great Britain
to make his living racing motorcycles on the European continent. In 1950 he signed with
Moto
Guzzi
and competed in the 250cc class. He convinced Moto Guzzi to build a 350cc bike, initially of 317cc, then 345cc and finally a proper full 350. He raced to the 1953 world championship in the bike's first year of competition. He repeated this feat as 350cc champion again in 1954. His 350cc world championship wins were the first by a non-British bike. He retired from racing to become
Moto
Guzzi
's team manager, but unfortunately quit over a for him rightful dispute over having a freer hand at running the team. He returned to racing and was offered a ride by the BMW factory.
Anderson
ever so sadly passed away during the 500cc race at the Belgian circuit of Floreffe in 1956.
The
Ulster Grand Prix
is a motorcycle road race that takes place on the Dundrod Circuit near
Belfast
,
Northern Ireland
. The first races took place in 1922 and in 1935 and 1948 the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme gave it the title Grand Prix d'Europe. The Ulster Grand Prix was included as one of the races in the inaugural 1949 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, a place it held until 1971. It also counted for the TT Championship between 1979 and 1990. According to the race organisers, it is the fastest road race in the world. Thomas Moles, motorcycle enthusiast and Member of Parliament, helped to push through parliament the
first Road
Races Act, which made it legal for the Clady Course to be closed for the first Ulster Grand Prix on 14 October 1922. That first race had 75 entries in four classes (250cc, 350cc, 600cc and over 600cc). The race has been held on three different circuits. The
20.5 mile
Old Clady circuit was used from 1922 until 1939 and included a notoriously bumpy 7-mile straight. It also ran across part of the grass runway at RAF Aldergrove and for the first two years of its existence the pits were on the Seven Mile Straight, by
Loanends
Primary School
. In 1926 the 500cc race was won by Graham Walker on a Sunbeam. He also won the 1928 Senior race on a Rudge. In the 1936 Lightweight (250cc) event, Ginger Wood and Bob Foster, both on New Imperials, crossed the line so close, that after over
200 miles
of racing, it took the judges an hour to decide that Wood was the winner by one-fifth of a second. Foster was, however, adjudged to have achieved the fastest lap. The 1939 Grand Prix was almost called off, but went ahead in spite of an entry of only 60 riders. After World War II the new Clady circuit was used that, due to road improvements, was now
16.5 miles
in length and in use between 1947 and
1952. In
1953 the race was moved to the
7.401 mile
Dundrod Circuit where it is still held. The event was cancelled in 1972 because of the political situation in
Northern Ireland
and in 2001, during the Foot-and-mouth crisis, when the
North West
200 and Isle of Man TT were cancelled, the race was held. The 2007 Grand Prix attracted an entry of 162 riders, including 38 new riders, and took place on 18 August 2007, sponsored by The Belfast Telegraph. Joey Dunlop won twenty four Ulster Grand Prix races during his career with Phillip McCallen winning fourteen races and Brian Reid nine wins. Some of the famous riders include: Stanley Woods (7 wins), Jimmie Guthrie, Jimmie Simpson, Artie Bell, Les Graham, Freddie Frith (3 wins), Geoff Duke (3 wins), John Surtees (6 wins), Ray Amm, Carlo Ubbiali (5 wins), Bill Lomas (3 wins), Mike Hailwood (7 wins), Giacomo Agostini (7 wins), Phil Read (3 wins), Bill Ivy (3 wins), Bob McIntyre, Gary Hocking (3 wins), Tom Herron (5 wins), Ron Haslam (5 wins), Jon Ekerold, and more recently Mick Grant, Wayne Gardner, Steve Hislop, Robert Dunlop (9 wins) and Carl Fogarty. The most recent rider to join the famous riders group is Guy Martin (5 wins).
This is a very nice and very rare
non period
photo that reflects a wonderful era of Moto Guzzi ‘s rich motorcycle history in a wonderful way. This is your rare chance to own this photo, therefore it is printed in a nice large format of ca. 8" x 12" (ca. 20 x
30 cm
). It makes it perfectly suitable for framing!
Shipping costs will only be $ 7.00 regardless of how many photos you buy.   For 5 or more photos, shipping is free!
(Note: A. Herl, Inc. does not appear on photo, for ebay purposes only)
No copyright expressed or implied. Sold as collectable item only. We are clearing out our archives that we have gathered from various sources.
All items always sent well protected in PVC clear files
and board backed envelopes.
We have photographs that came from professional collections and/or were bought from the original photographer or press studio! They are all of professional and excellent quality.
After many decades of professionally collecting photographs and posters we are clearing out our archives. They make the perfect gift and are perfectly suited for framing. They will look gorgeous unframed and will be a true asset nicely framed with a border. They are a gorgeous and great asset in every home, workshop, workplace, restaurant, bar or club!
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