1957 Senior Newcomers MGP

Course name: Mountain (post 1914)

Course length: 150.92 miles (4 laps)

Description: Race report from the Isle of Man Weekly Times, 6 Sept. 1957 (p.12,13) below which is a full list of competitors:

Brookes Retires With Engine Trouble
Hodgson and Nutter Off at Sulby Bridge
AND 22-YEAR-OLD PRATT GOES INTO THE LEAD
The Junior Newcomers proved to be an unexpected win for D. Pratt, 22-year-old driver from Sedbergh, Yorkshire, previous Clubman’s Trophy competitor, who finished the four laps in 1 hour 49 minutes 11.2 seconds – average speed 82.94 m.p.h.
D. Williams (B.S.A.), aged 24, a constructional plater from Rainhill, near Liverpool, was second in 1 hour 49 minutes 47.2 seconds – speed 82.49 m.p.h.
But the victory and position of runner-up were gained at the expense of the really “fast” men of the day, who went out of the lead for various reasons.
M. T. Brookes (Norton), 23-year-old salesman from Shirley, Birmingham, who had shown the others the way during practice, led for half the race distance – then at the end of his third lap his engine petered out, and the ominous “R” was painted up under his racing number.
At that time he was well ahead of Pratt, and ill-fortune had also overtaken his previous runner-up, P. R. Hodgson (Norton), office manager from Hampstead, London. He crashed at Sulby Bridge on his third lap; J. T. Nutter (Norton) was following him and slid off his machine when it ran into a patch of oil. Both men were uninjured.
FIRST LAP
The Start Monday
Non-started cut the field from 77 to 69 men, last minute bad luck hitting Jock Muir. He had come all the way from Malaya to complete, but his Norton developed engine trouble between the depot and the Start – Jock was a spectator! First report of trouble in the race proper, came from Braddan Bridge, where B. Carr (B.S.A.) retired with a seized engine.
This was by no means all – reports of retirements continued to come in, including that of J.D. Hamilton (A.J.S.), who packed up at Sulby Bridge with engine trouble. The same sort of problem faced G. K. Penson (Velocette), who called it a day at Handley’s Corner, and a broken footrest assembly at the pits put N.H. Vivian (A.J.S.) out of the race.
G.de Orfe, who came off his machine during practice, sustaining face injuries, completed one lap of the race and then packed up. He complained that every time his mount hit a bump, his goggles rubbed the wound painfully.
Tailpiece: N. J. Davenport passed the stands with his shirt tail fluttering vigorously in his slipstream.
Mike Kelly, of Crosby, completed the lap in 28 mins. 17.8 secs. and Ted Corlett in 29 mins. 55.4 secs.

SECOND LAP
BROOKES INCREASES LEAD
Brookes increased his 35-second advantage to a lead of over one minute over second man, Hodgson, with a lap at 87.21 m.p.h.; time, 25 mins. 57.4 secs.
Third and fourth positions remained unchanged, but D. Williams brought his B.S.A. on to the leader board in fifth place, relegating Nutter to sixth position.
Mike Kelly’s growing time was 56 mins, 8.6 secs. and Corlett’s time for two laps was 58 mins. 46 secs.
Retirements numbered 11 at this stage.

Sensation in Third Lap – Brookes out
Lap 3 began and ended sensationally. The first and sixth men dropped off the leader board, while the second placed man fell back two positions.
Hodgson, who had held second place, and Nutter, lying sixth, crashed at Sulby Bridge. Hodgson was unhurt and remounted to continue the race. Nutter, following close behind, slid off his machine in a patch of oil. He, too, was uninjured, but retired.
Riders following were given the oil warning flag.
This left Brookes way out in front, with Pratt as his nearest challenger over 2½ minutes in arrears, but more sensation was to follow. The engine of Brookes’ Norton seized before the end of the lap and he coasted into the pits to retire.
Kelly completed three laps in 1 hr. 23 mins. 47.8 secs., and Corlett took 1 hr. 29 mins. 43 secs.

Pratt Wins
Mike Kelly in 7th Place
Pratt, 22-year-old driver from Sedbergh, Yorks., rode steadily on towards an unexpected victory, fractionally increasing his lead over Williams. His last lap was completed in 27 mins. 9.4 secs., a speed of 83.36 m.p.h.
Hodgson, who had managed to stay on the leader board after his third lap spill at Sulby, dropped back but finished the course in tenth position in 1 hr. 51 mins. 59.4 secs.
The third, fourth, fifth and sixth finishers all made their first appearance on the leader board during the final lap.
A fine ride by young Mike Kelly earned him seventh place in 1 hr. 51 mins. 33.8 secs. Ron Sutcliffe, an Australian who works at the Martin Baker factory at Ronaldsway, was eighth in 1 hr. 51 mins. 35.6 secs.
The fastest lap was set up by Brookes on his second circuit in 25 mins. 57.4 secs., a speed of 87.21 m.p.h.

Competitors

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