Today in motorcycle history, September 17, 1940

 


 

    



 

  Italian Grand Prix motorcycle racer, Gilberto Parlotti is born in Zero Branco, Treviso, Italy.

  After winning the first two races of the 1972 Grand Prix season in West Germany and France, Gilberto Parlotti was leading the 125cc World Championship riding a works Morbidelli and decided to race at the Isle of Man TT to take advantage of his main rival Angel Nieto's absence from the Mountain Course. Tragically, he was killed on the second lap of the race when he crashed in the pouring rain at the Verandah section on the A18 Mountain Road.




  Parolotti's death helped bring about the end of the Isle of Man TT Races as a World Championship event.  His close friend Giacomo Agostini, overcome with grief, declared that he would never race on the Island again and was supported by the MV Agusta factory.  Agostini considered it too unsafe to be a part of the FIM World Motorcycle Championship calendar.  At the time, the Isle of Man TT was the most prestigious race on the World Championship calendar.  Other top riders soon joined his boycott of the event and by 1976, the event was dropped from the Grand Prix championship schedule. 

  Today in motorcycle history proudly supports the National Association for Bikers with a Disability (NABD).  www.nabd.org.uk

Today in motorcycle history, September 16, 1961

  



  

  

 

  Hurricane Debbie destroys Alan Gleeson's 1951 350cc Royal Enfield Bullet (and the garage it was in).

  Hurricane Debbie made landfall in Dooega on Achill Island during the morning of September 16.  Shortly thereafter, it had moved into the Irish mainland over County Mayo. When Debbie struck Ireland, it became the only known tropical cyclone to do so while still tropical.  She brought with her record winds, a few locations reporting excess of 100 mph, including at Balleykelly, Tiree and Snaefell.  A peak gust of 114 mph measured just offshore. These winds caused widespread damage and disruption, downing tens of thousands of trees and power lines. Countless structures (including garages and pubs) sustained damage or were destroyed.


  Across Ireland Hurricane Debbie was responsible for the deaths of 18 people, 12 in the Republic of Ireland and six in Northern Ireland.  It caused $40–50 million in damage in the Republic and at least $4 million in Northern Ireland.



  Alan Gleeson had bought his Bullet after Johnny Brittain won a gold medal on his 350cc in the 1950 International Six Days Trial (ISDT) in Wales.





  Today in motorcycle history proudly supports the National Association for Bikers with a Disability (NABD).  www.nabd.org.uk