Charlie Salt

Record type: Motorsport Biographies

Biography: Mounts: Senior – B.S.A.
Junior – B.S.A.

Age 40, Charlie Salt, a draughtsman from Spondon, Derby, has grass racing and scrambles experience before taking to road racing, his first over the Island course being in 1946, when he was sixth in the Junior Manx Grand Prix and ninth in the Senior event. The following year, again on a Norton, he finished fourth in the Senior “Manx”, and in 1948 he came home fourth in the Junior “Manx” and third in the Senior – after pushing in from Governor’s Bridge.

In 1949 he was 28th in the Junior T.T. and qualified for a first-class replica. He was second in the Junior Ulster Grand Prix on a Velocette, and riding the same machine at Silverstone he finished second in the “Dunholme” 100 miles race. He retired in the 1950 Junior T.T. after averaging 84.60 m.p.h. for the first two laps. In the Junior Belgian Grand Prix he was fifth at 94.89 m.p.h.

Charlie averaged 52.50 m.p.h. on a B.S.A. to take 13th place in the 125 c.c. T.T. of 1951. A burst oil tank forced him to retire in the Senior race.

His Senior mount for 1952 was a B.S.A. 497 c.c. twin with an Earles light-alloy frame and Earles special front fork. His Junior machine, a 350 c.c. KTT Velocette, also had an Earles frame. He retired in the Junior on the fourth lap, but was tenth in the Lightweight on a Pike-Rudge and 18th in the Senior, winning two Bronze Replicas.

He retired on the fifth lap of the 1953 Junior race, but brought his Senior B.S.A. into 16th place to gain a silver replica.

He was B.S.A.-mounted for both Junior and Senior events in 1954, and finished in both, being 23rd in the Junior and 22nd in the Senior; his reward was a Silver and a Bronze Replica, respectively.

In the 1955 season he was 17th in the Junior T.T., second in the 350 c.c. class of the Leinster 200, and third in the 500 c.c. Munster 100.
(TT Special, 8 June 1956, pp.8-9.)

Mount: Junior – Velocette

Aged 35, a draughtsman, from Spondon, Derby, Charlie Salt owes his introduction to road racing to Humphry and Andrew of Mansfield, but before this he had two seasons of scrambles and grass racing, with fair success, and he has also won races at Cadwell Park and Brough Airfield.

Until 1949 his Island appearances were all in the M.G.P. series, the first being in 1946, when he finished sixth in the Junior and ninth in the Senior, each time on the same 350 c.c. Norton. In 1947, again riding a Norton, he finished fourth in the Senior, and in 1948 he came home fourth in the Junior on a Velocette and third in the Senior on a Norton – which he pushed in from Governor’s Bridge!

Last year he finished 28th in the Junior T.T. on a Norton at 77.36 m.p.h., winning a first-class replica.

In the Senior race, however, also Norton mounted, he retired on the sixth lap after making fastest lap by a private owner.

In the Ulster Grand Prix he took over Nigel Spring’s 350 Velocette in place of Ernie Lyons, and rode it into second place just over half-a-minute behind the winner Fred Frith. Riding the same machine at Silverstone, he finished second in the “Dunholme” 100 miles race, twelve seconds only behind the winner, Peter Romaine on an A.J.S.

Hobbies: Cross-country running and swimming – keeps fit during the winter by trials and running.

He is entered for this year’s event by Nigel Spring; he may also be riding in the Senior Race.
(TT Special, 5 June 1950, p.16.)

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