George Salt
Record type: Motorsport Biographies
Biography: Mounts: Junior – Norton.
Senior – Norton.
Age 27, George Thomas Salt is motor cycle stores manager, and comes from Much Wenlock, Shropshire.
He began competitive motor cycling shortly after his marriage in 1949, (odd that, since that’s when most riders give up!), trying his hand at trials and gaining a few 1st and 2nd class awards. Grass track racing followed, which led to a season with the Wolverhampton Wasps speedway team. Salt even had a go in a scramble or two, but this was given up because he says, it was costing more to repair himself than his machine! In fact, to quote his own words, he has “had a crack at just about everything in motor cycling except the Wall of Death”.
His first major road race was the 1952 Clubman’s T.T., in which (whisper it!) he fell off at Governor’s. IN 1953 he did much better, and finished 18th in the Junior Clubman’s at 76.55 m.p.h. He also had a fourth at Silverstone, and was runner-up for the Glover Trophy. In the 1953 Junior Manx he was 14th, collecting a silver replica.
“Wouldn’t two Silver Reps look nice on the sideboard!”, he said before the 1954 races – and sure enough the weekly consumption of metal polish in the Salt household has increased to just that extent, for George was 26th, on an A.J.S., in the Junior T.T., and 20th, on a Matchless, in the Senior race.
Later in the season, racing at Oulton Park, he was the winner of the newly-instituted “Les Graham 100” event.
At Thruxton this Easter he was fourth in the 500 c.c. race.
He declares as his hobby “To give service and satisfaction in my work”.
(TT Special, 8 June 1956, p.9.)
Junior - B.S.A.
Senior - Matchless
Age 26, George Thomas Salt is motor cycle stores manager, and comes from Much Wenlock, Shropshire.
He began competitive motor cycling shortly after his marriage in 1949, (odd that, since that’s when most riders give up!) trying his hand at trials and gaining a few 1st and 2nd class awards. Grass track racing followed, which led to a season with the Wolverhampton Wasps speedway team, Salt even had a go in a scramble or two, but this was given up because, he says, its was costing more to repair himself than his machine! In fact, to quote his own words, he has “had a crack at just about everything in motor cycling expect the Wall of Death”.
His first major road race was the 1952 Clubman’s T.T., in which (whisper it!) he fell off at Governor’s. In 1953 he did much better, and finished 18th in the Junior Clubman’s at 76.55 m.p.h. He also had a fourth at Silverstone, and was runner-up for the Glover Trophy. In the 1953 Junior Manx he was 14th, collecting a Silver Replica.
“Wouldn’t two Silver Reps look nice on the sideboard!:” he said before last year’s races - and sure enough the weekly consumption of metal polish in the Salt household has increased to just that extent, for George was 26th, on an A.J.S., in the Junior T.T., and 20th, on a Matchless, in the Senior race.
Later in the season, racing at Oulton Park, he was the winner of the newly-instituted “Les Graham 100” event.
He declares as his hobby “To give service and satisfaction in my work”.
(TT Special, 10 June 1955, p.20.)
Competed in
Race | Position | Time | Speed | Machine |
---|---|---|---|---|
1957 Senior TT | R | Norton | ||
1957 Junior TT | R | Norton | ||
1956 Senior TT | 9 | 2:54:19.20 | 90.92 | Norton |
1956 Junior TT | 17 | 3:12:56.00 | 82.14 | Norton |
1955 Senior TT | R | Matchless | ||
1955 Junior TT | R | BSA | ||
1954 Senior TT | 20 | 1:55:23.00 | 78.49 | Matchless |
1954 Junior TT | 26 | 2:16:01.00 | 83.23 | AJS |
1953 Senior MGP | 28 | 2:57:03.00 | 76.72 | AJS |
1953 Junior MGP | 14 | 2:49:10.00 | 80.29 | AJS |
1953 Clubman Junior TT | 18 | 1:58:17.80 | 76.55 | BSA |
1952 Clubman Junior TT | R | BSA |