Leslie Harris

Record type: Motorsport Biographies

Biography: Junior - Velocette
Senior - Norton

Age 39, a garage proprietor of Hull, Leslie Harris is an “old-timer” who began grass-track racing over twenty yearsago. He rode at Syston as far back as 1929, and at other short-circuit events of the next four years. Gave up racing at the end of 1933 for business reasons, but returned to the game in 1948, when he rode a Velocette in both Junior and Senior TT Races, finishing 22nd in the Junior at 73.1 mph, but retiring in the Senior on the third lap. In 1949, he rode a KTT Velocette in the Junior TT, finishing 63rd and gaining a bronze replica at 72.96 mph. Riding Velocettes he was 32nd in the Junior TT of 1950 at a speed of 77.24 mph gaining a second-class replica, and in the Senior was just outside second-class replica time, being 44th at a speed of 76.73 mph. He rode Velocettes again on the Continent, when he finished sixth in the 350 race at Barcelona, and fourth in the same class at Roubaix.

He also gained fourth place in Schaffhausen and Nice (500 class) and was second in the Norwegian Grand Prix, all on a 350 model.
(TT Special, 4 June 1951, p.13.)

Mounts: Junior – Velocette
Senior – Velocette

Age 38, a garage proprietor, of Hull, Leslie Harris is an “old-timer” who began grass-track racing over twenty years ago. He rode at Syston as far back as 1929, and at other short-circuit events of the next four years. Gave up racing at the end of 1933 for business reasons, but returned to the game in 1948, when he rode a Velocette in both Junior and Senior finishing 22nd in the Junior at 73.1 m.p.h., but retiring in the Senior on the third lap. Last year, he rode a K.T.T. Velocette in the Junior T.T., finishing 63rd and gaining a bronze replica at 72.96 m.p.h.

His machine for both this year’s races is the same 1949 Velocette, with the engine bored out to 354 c.c. for the Senior. He states that so many hours have been spent on it in buffing and special finishing, that he would expect to win first award in a Concours d’Elegance!
(TT Special, 5 June 1950, p.21.)

Age 39, a garage proprietor, of Hull, Leslie Harris is an "old-timer" who began grass-track racing twenty years ago. He rode at Syston as far back as 1929 and at other short circuit events of the next four years. Gave up racing at the end of 1933 for business reasons, but returned to the game last year when he rode a Velocette in both Junior and Senior finishing twenty-second in the Junior at 73.1 m.p.h. but retiring in the Senior on the third lap.
His machine is a 1949 KTT model with some modifications carried out by himself.
(TT Special, 13 June 1949)

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