Norton Manx 30M 500cc factory racer Ray Amm 1952 Isle of Man Senior TT photo

Description

A superb and rare photo of
the absolutely magnificent Ray Amm
on a
Norton
30 M
500cc Manx
, on his way to a
3RD
place finish in the
1952 500cc
Isle of Man
Senior TT
. It was his first major racing success!
The incredibly talented Ray Amm rode a Norton Manx 30M. His great riding style can be admired in this beautiful image. The year 1954 was to be his best racing season ever, winning the
Isle of Man
500cc Senior TT and finishing
2ND
in both the
350cc as the 350cc World Championships
!
Ray (William Raymond) Amm
was born in
Salisbury
,
Southern Rhodesia
. A motor-trader from
Salisbury
in
Southern Rhodesia
, Ray Amm started racing when he was 17 years old. After the purchase of an AJS motor-cycle shortly after the end of the Second World War, Ray Amm started grass track-racing near
Salisbury
in
Rhodesia
and finished last in his first race. The next season the AJS motor-cycle was replaced with a Triumph motor-cycle. The purchase of a brand new Norton motor-cycle allowed Ray Amm to enter the prestigious 1949 Port Elizabeth 200 Motor-Cycle Race in South Africa and despite breaking the lap-record he finished in 17th place when the clutch started to slip. Again entering the 1950
Port Elizabeth
200, Ray Amm finished in 1st place for the 500cc race and set a new lap record of
95.86 mph
. Another win followed in the 500cc class for the 1951 Port Elizabeth 2000 Race despite sufering carburation problems. After these successes the Salisbury Motor-Cycle Club helped with his passage to compete in
Europe
. After ordering two Manx Norton motor-cycles before leaving
Rhodesia
for the 1951 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, Ray Amm discovered on arriving in
Europe
that they would not be delivered until the start of practice for the 1951 Isle of Man TT Races. To practice on short circuits before the Manx Nortons where delivered, a 'hack' 7R AJS motor-cycle was purchased and Ray Amm won the 350cc class at an Andreas Racing Association meeting in the Isle of Man. The two Manx Nortons arrived on the first day of practice for the 1951 Isle of Man TT Races. Despite trouble with a gear lever finished in 9th place for the 1951 Junior TT Race at an average race speed of
81.59 mph
. After a 20 minute delay, Ray Amm finished in 28th place for the 1951 Senior TT Race at an average race speed of
75.42 mph
. For the 1952 Isle of Man TT Race, Ray Amm crashed at
Braddan
Bridge
on lap 3 of the Junior Race.
This was followed by a 3rd place in the 1952 Senior TT Race at an average race speed of
92.40 mph
(SEE PHOTO),
a race that was won by Reg Armstrong for Norton. For the 1952 Dutch TT, Ray Amm was a full member of the Norton team and was second to Geoff Duke in the 350cc Dutch TT and retired from the 500cc race. At the 1952 German Grand Prix held at Solitude, Ray Amm crashed and broke a leg, returning later in the 1952 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season to win the 350cc class for the 1952 Nations Grand Prix held at Monza in Italy.For the 1953 racing season, Ray Amm debuted the controversial Norton Kneeler 350cc motor-cycle at the 1953 North West 200 Race. Despite over-heating problems the Norton Kneeler with the nickname the "Amm Sandwich" or "Silver-Fish", Ray Amm finished in 9th place in the 350cc class that was eventually won by Bob McIntyre at an average race speed of
86.86 mph
. Despite testing the Norton Kneeler for practice for the 1953 Isle of Man TT Races, Ray Amm reverted back to the non-streamlined Norton motor-cycles due to handling problems with cross-winds on the Mountain Section of the course and also opposition by the TT Race Scrutineers. It proved a good choice as Ray Amm won the 1953 Junior TT Race at an average race speed of
90.52 mph
from Ken Kavanagh in 2nd place and Fergus Anderson in 3rd place. Another win in the 1953 Senior TT Race for Ray Amm at an average race speed of
93.85 mph
completed a prestigious Junior/Senior TT double win for the works Norton team. Following Ray Amm during the 1953 Senior TT Race, Geoff Duke commented on Ray Amm's distinctive riding style;- "After I had caught and passed Ray Amm on the Norton, he passed me at Ballugh when I missed a gearchange! Then there was the frightening experience of following him to the end of the lap, Ray could be pretty lurid when he was trying!" A fall at the 1953 French Grand Prix at
Rouen
in the 350cc class broke a collar-bone and brought about a premature end to championship ambitions for Ray Amm for the 1953 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. However, Ray Amm returned to the abortive Norton Kneeler project in November 1953 to set a number of world speed records at
Montlhéry
,
France
rasing the hour speed endurance record to a distance of
133.70 miles
. Also at Montlhéry in November 1953, Ray Amm shared a streamlined Norton Sidecar outfit with Eric Oliver to set further speed records. Again riding for the works Norton in 1954 Isle of Man TT Races, despite leading the 1954 Junior TT a retirement on lap 5 for Ray Amm, allows Rod Coleman to become the first New Zealander to win a TT Race at an average race speed of
91.51 mph
. The 1954 Senior TT race was delayed due to weather conditions and reduced visibility on the Mountain Section of the course. The race is held after a short delay and starts at mid-day. Despite the conditions, Geoff Duke riding the works Gilera and leads Ray Amm riding for Norton by 14 seconds on lap 1. On the second lap, Geoff Duke laps in 26 minutes and 23 seconds at an average speed of
86.97 mph
and Ray Amm laps at an average speed of 86.49 to reduce the lead to just 2 seconds. Further heavy rain and low cloud on the Mountain Section reduces speed further and on lap 2 and Ray Amm uses "feet-down" tactics on the slower corners. Then Geoff Duke decides to refuel on lap 3 and Ray Amm in second place goes straight through without stopping and now leads Geoff Duke by 32 seconds. At the Windy Corner on lap 4, the visibility is down to
20 yards
and a decision is made to stop the race because of the conditions. This allowed Ray Amm, due to refuel at the TT Grandstand on lap 4, to win the highly controversial 1954 Senior TT Race in 1 hour, 42 minutes and 46.8 seconds at an average race speed of
88.12 mph
. The next event after the 1954 Isle of Man TT Races was the Ulster Grand Prix held at the Dundrod circuit in
Northern Ireland
. In an event that was much affected by rain, Ray Amm won the 350cc Ulster Grand Prix at an average race speed of
83.47 mph
from Jack Brett in 2nd place and Bob McIntyre in 3rd place. The 500cc Ulster Grand Prix was reduced from 27 laps to 15 laps due to heavy rain and again the race was won by Ray Amm at an average race speed of
83.87 mph
, although later these result was excluded from the World Championship by the FIM. A further Grand Prix win in 1954 follows for Ray Amm with another 350cc victory at the West German Grand Prix held at Solitude. At the end of the 1954 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season Ray Amm finished in 2nd place in both the 350cc and 500cc classifications behind world champions Fergus Anderson and Geoff Duke. Despite many offers Ray Amm finally moved from the works Norton motor-cycles to the factory MV Agusta racing team. The debut race for Ray Amm and MV Agusta was to be the 1955 Easter Monday race meeting at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in
Imola
,
Italy
. Riding a 350cc four-cylinder MV Agusta in the Coppa d'Oro Shell Race, Ray Amm lost control at the Rivazza Corner as he pursued Kavanagh and crashed in slippery conditions and died of his injuries on the way to hospital.
This is your rare chance to own this
non period
photo that reflects a very interesting and historic piece of motorcycle and Norton history. Therefore it is printed in a nice large format of ca. 8" x 12" (ca.
20 x 30
cm).
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)
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