John Grace

Record type: Motorsport Biographies

Biography: Age 35, Johnny Grace hails from Gibraltar, and over a number of seasons he has achieved a formidable reputation in races in Southern Europe and North Africa. He is no stranger to the Island, for he first rode in the T.T. in 1952, when he was 15th in the Junior race and 16th in the Senior.
1953 found Johnny finishing 18th in the Junior and 10th in the Senior, while Continental successes that year included the Grand Prix de Navarre and the Madrid G.P. For 1954 he brought over a brace of Nortons, and in addition he was an official Montesa entry in the 125 c.c. race; he was 20th in the Junior TT., and seventh in the Clypse circuit 125 c.c. event — incidentally on the only two-stroke to last the race out.
In 1955 Grace was again winner of the G.P. de Navarre, and was second (to Francisco Gonzalez.) in the Grand Prix of Portugal. He had bad luck in the 1956 T.T., for he retired in both 125 c.c. and Senior races. He entered for the T.T. again last year—having been an "absentee" from 1957 to 1959—but his luck was out, for he retired on the first lap of the 125 c.c. race. (TT Special, 12 June 1961, p. 27)

Mounts: Junior—Norton.
125 c.c.—Montesa.
Senior—Norton.

Age 28, “Johnny Grace” has the following of every motor-cyclist on the “rocky” home of Gibraltar, and during the past few seasons he has built up a “Duke” reputation his own part of the world.

He finished 6th in the 350 Spanish Grand Prix of 1951, which Tommy Wood won. He held fifth place for most of the race, dropped back to ninth when engine trouble developed, and then pulled back to take a place on the leader board.

In 1952 he first visited the Island, and rode in two T.T. races, the Junior and the Senior, on Nortons, and finished in them both—15th in the Junior at 80.30 m.p.h., and 16th in the Senior at 85.21. He won a Bronze Replica in the Junior and a Silver in the Senior.

Last year he finished 10th in the Senior and 18th in the Junior, winning Silver Replicas in both races.

Riding his Nortons in the 1953 Madrid Grand Prix he won the 350 c.c. and was fourth in the 500 c.c. race after plug trouble had lost him the lead. In August last year he won the Grand Prix de Navarre at 61.92 m.p.h.
(TT Special, 16 June 1954, p.13.)

Nationality: Gilbraltarian

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