This 1958 Isle of Man TT race shot is of Ernst Degner, a notable defector to the West in 1961 and winner of Suzuki’s first world championship in 1962.
Degner’s defection meant that MZ’s expertise with racing two-strokes went to the west with him, although it would be Suzuki that would benefit just one year later with the 50cc World Championship.
We love the setting of this shot – and many others like it – that we have in our archive. It is on the right-hander in Onchan Village opposite the Manx Arms Hotel on the Clypse Course which was used between 1954 and 1959. It clearly shows The Blue Dragon Café, a vantage point that was clearly a popular one over the years. In every shot you’ll see a small crowd of eager onlookers perched in the doorway of The Blue Dragon Café.
In the other solo shot, dating from 1955, it’s the Senior 500 Clubman’s TT and Triumph-mounted rider, Ian Atkinson, with a look of steely determination as he powers past the gathered crowd on his way to second place in the race. The Bradford Club rider would finish the race in 1 hour 23 minutes and 31 seconds to set an average speed lap of 69.77mph. Our sidecar shot from 1959 shows Ernie Walker chased by Helmet Fath and it also indicates how sharp that corner was.
The Isle of Man TT course in its various guises must rate as the most photographed track in the world, with racing going all the way back to 1907, but it’s still lovely to look back and see both the similarities and differences of the courses used over the century or so.
