REG 250 DOHC parallel twin Bob Geeson 1953 250cc Ulster Grand Prix photo

Description

A superb and rare photo of the magnificent
Robert E. (Bob) Geeson
, seen in action with his self constructed
250cc R.E.G. d.o.h.c. Grand Prix racer
during the
1953
250cc
Ulster
Grand Prix
which was ridden on
August 15, 1953
. R.E.G. or
REG
stands for
R
obert
E
.
G
eeson, the owner and builder of this very special motorcycle, that represented the top of the home build racing bikes in that specific era. It is a very nice image that is very rare.
This great photograph of the Grand Prix of Ulster was taken during the 250cc race of 1953. The race was won by Reg Armstrong (
Ireland
) on a NSU Rennmax with an average race speed of
81.76 mph
(
131,58 km/h
).
Bob Geeson is seen riding the
REG
double overhead camshaft racing twin. The story of this DOHC racing twin started just after the Second World War when racer/engineer Bob Geeson took up the challenge of building a British bike to win the Lightweight TT. Together with toolmaker Gordon Allen, Geeson created the Allen-REG in which first took to the track in 1949. Their early machine was based around a 250cc parallel twin engine that Allen had been working on, combined with frame and cycle parts from Geeson’s previous Rudge/REG project. The 54mm x 54mm motor was of all alloy construction with gear-driven double overhead cams, roller big ends and a three-bearing crankshaft. Its first season didn’t go so well (three outings and three DNFs with seized big ends), but Bob Geeson soldiered on with the project. The bottom end was given a complete overhaul so that a one-piece crank now ran on lipped roller bearings at either end with a plain centre bearing. Oil flowed through the hollow crankshaft with feeds to both big ends. The conrods were changed and the valve gear refined, so that the camshaft was driven by six spur gears, each supported on both sides by ball bearings. All this lived inside magnesium crank and timing cases. The REG was raced, fettled and developed during the 1950 and subsequent seasons and finally finished 10th in the 1953 Lightweight TT – ridden by its creator at an average speed of 71.74mph. Thereafter some of the most famous names in British motorcycle racing campaigned the REG around the
UK
, starting with John Surtees. Surtees claimed the REG’s first victory at the end of season race at Brands Hatch, taking the 250 race and setting new lap and race records for the class. In the following year Surtees went on to win another 15 races and captured yet more records. At the end of the season Bob Geeson set about building two more complete bikes which were then ridden into the early 1960s by a variety of famous names – among them John Hartle and Derek Minter, who scored a number of victories at the turning point of the decade. Geeson tried all manner of tuning mods to get the best from his bike, including coil ignition, then back to magneto, then a twin-plug ignition and so on, sometimes campaigning just one bike and occasionally running both for a complete season.
The REG was effectively a home-made special but can be seen as the premier home-spun racer of the post-war era.
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 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!
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