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John Hartle

Record type: Motorsport Biographies

Biography: Mounts: Junior – Norton
Senior – Norton
Lightweight – R.E.G.

Age 23, John Hartle comes from Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire.

John first rode in the Island in the 1953 Manx Grand Prix, finishing 21st in the Junior race and 15th in the Senior (winning the Newcomer’s Award for the latter performance). He began the 1954 season with a fourth at Scarborough, and went on to win the Cadwell Park Coronation Cup – then came the Manx Grand Prix. After finishing third in the Junior race, he was well in the lead in the Senior – but ran out of petrol only ten miles from the finish.

As a member of the 1955 Norton team, John did extremely well; he was sixth in the Junior T.T. and 13th – after pushing from Hillberry – in the Senior race.

He won the 350 c.c. Swedish G.P., and was seconf in both classes of the Ulster.

Last year saw him again under the Norton flag; at Silverstone he won the 350 c.c. championship in deplorable weather conditions, and was going well in the 500 c.c. race when he overslid on a bend and spilled.

John put up a most impressive display in the 1956 T.T. series. Riding “works” Bracebridge Street models, he was second behind John Surtees’ M.V. in the Senior race at 95.69 m.p.h., and was placed third in the Junior event behind Kavanagh and Derek Ennett in the Junior race. His speed on his 350 c.c. Norton was 85.75 m.p.h.

He was second in the recent German Grand prix, and crashed when leading the Junior T.T. last Monday.
(TT Special, 5 June 1957, pp.13, 24.)

Age 25, John Hartle comes from Vicars Cross, Chester.

John first rode in the Island in the 1953 Manx Grand Prix, finishing 21st in the Junior race and 15th in the Senior (winning the Newcomer's Award for the latter performance). He began the 1954 season with a fourth at Scarborough, and went on to win the Cadwell Park Coronation Cup - then came the Manx Grand Prix. After finishing third in the Junior race, he was well in the lead in the Senior but ran out of petrol only ten miles from the finish.

As a member of the 1955 Norton team, John was sixth in the Junior TT and 13th - after pushing from Hiliberry - in the Senior race.

He won the 350 c.c. Swedish G.P. and was second in both classes of the Ulster.

In 1956 he was again under the Norton flag; at Silverstone he won the 350 c.c. championship in deplorable weather conditions, and was going well in the 500 c.c. race when he overslid on a bend and spilled.

John put up a most impressive display in the 1956 TT series. Riding "works" Bracebridge Street models, he was second behind John Surtees' M.V. in the Senior race at 95.69 m.p.h. and was placed third in the Junior event behind Kavanagh and Derek Ennett in the Junior race. His speed on his 350 c.c. Norton was 85.75 m.p h.

He was second in the 1957 German Grand Prix, and crashed when leading the Junior TT, which put him out of both Lightweight and Senior races.

Last year, turning to M.V.'s, he was unlucky in the TT, retiring in both the Junior and Senior races, but on the Continent he was second to his team-mate John Surtees in several events, including both 350 and 500 c.c. classes of the Dutch and German. He finished the season as runner-up World Champion in both classes.

He has started the year well by winning the 500 c.c. class of last month's Austrian Grand Prix.

(TT Special, 8 June 1959, p.22)

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Competed in

RacePositionTimeSpeedMachine
1968 Senior TTRMV
1968 Production 750 TTRTriumph
1967 Senior TT62:19:50.0097.14Matchless
1967 Production 750 TT11:09:56.8097.1Triumph
1967 Junior TT72:26:37.0092.65Metisse
1963 Senior TT22:11:01.80103.67Gilera
1963 Junior TT22:29:58.2090.58Gilera
1960 Senior TT22:15:14.20100.44MV
1960 Junior TT12:20:28.8096.7MV
1959 Senior TTRMV
1959 Junior TT22:49:12.2093.65MV
1958 Senior TTRMV
1958 Junior TTRMV
1957 Junior TTRNorton
1956 Senior TT22:45:36.6095.69Norton
1956 Junior TT33:04:48.6085.75Norton
1955 Senior TT132:56:56.6089.56Norton
1955 Junior TT62:56:55.0089.58Norton
1954 Senior MGPR0Norton
1954 Junior MGP32:40:03.0084.87Norton
1953 Senior MGP152:45:28.0082.1Norton
1953 Junior MGP212:53:07.0078.47AJS

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