5 Star Motor Sports - A guide to motorsport.

Stanley Woods was born in 1903 in Dublin and he died aged 90 in 1993. During his professional career as a motorcycle racer he won the Isle of Mann TT races on 10 occasions and won Motorcycle Grand Prix 29 times.

He first raced in the Isle of Mann TT when he was seventeen and finished in fifth place in the Junior TT race on a Cotton despite loosing his brakes before the end of the race, but the following year he finished in first place, also on a Cotton.

In 1926 he teamed up with Norton and he continued the association until 1934. During that time he won 5 TT races, in 1926, 1932 when he won the Junior 350 cc and the senior 500cc, and in 1933 when he again won those two races. Also during his Norton years he won the Dutch TT race on 6 occasions and 15 Motorcycle Grand Prix.

For some reason his relationship with Norton soured somewhat and in 1935 he switched to Moto Guzzi and delivered the first Isle of Mann TT victory to the Italian motorcycle manufacturer. One of his reasons for leaving Norton was money; the Italian manufacturer was far more generous that Norton had been.

Between 1936 and 1939 he rode for Velocette and found that he was happy there despite the fact that they could not pay him as much as he had been used to, however he received good bonuses when he won, which he dis so at the Isle of Mann TT in 1938 and 1939.

In his obituary Jim Reynolds wrote that the final link with 1930s motorcycle racing had been severed, adding that his 10 TT wins had been an unbroken record for 25 years until finally it was broken by Mike Hailwood. Woods was present when he did so in order to congratulate him.

Stanley Woods had a fearless riding style yet off the track he was a modest man who did not set himself above his peers. His success has placed him firmly in the small band of motorcycling heroes.

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