Eric Hinton....the Velobanjogent remembers a friend and a great rider from the "Continental Circus" and Australian motorcycle racing.....

Last December was a sad day for motorcycle racing with the passing of Eric Hinton after a long illness.....The day of his funeral was a cool wet day in early summer in Sydney, but many of his  friends, acquaintances and people who respected him for the man and great motorcycle racer that he was joined his family to say their farewells......

This remembrance from me is long overdue so lets follow Eric photographically through some of his motorcycle racing life.....
Many of the photos following are a result of the diligent work by motorcycle journalist Don Cox in the preparation of his "essential reading book"...
"Circus Life"  published in 2012 and reviewed by me the other year....
And I thank Don for his permission to use them

Eric was borne into what became the Hinton dynasty of motorcycle racers....his father Harry Hinton, elder brother Harry Hinton Jnr and younger brother Robert Hinton.....
He and Harry Jnr rapidly made a name for themselves in the world of European motorcycle racing in the period 1956 to 1965 over several period during this time. Sadly Harry Jnr died of pneumonia in hospital following a crash at Imola, Italy in April 1958 when the big end of his Norton broke and seized with the bike hitting a fence and cannoned back onto the track hitting Harry in the chest.....

 

L to R... Eric, Harry snr, Harry jnr.

Eric, #2, pushes off his 350 Norton in the 1956 IOM Junior TT

 Eric and fellow Aussie Dick Thomson's Ford V8 van, transport for 1956.
Following a conversation with Keith Campbell, Eric made the decision not to ride in GPs but to enter the lesser international race meetings where start money and prize money was better but the chance of being overlooked for a factory ride was the downside.

 Pierre Monnerett, factory 350 Gilera-4 harassed by Eric at Villefranche-de-Rouergue in 1956.

#80 Eric, 350 Norton....St Wendel, West Germany.

Eric with a new 350 Manx at St.Wendel, 1956. 

 Eric #4, full bin streamlined Norton follows #8 Hans Baltisberger likely 1956 in Czechoslovakia.

 In the Chemnitz Hotel, Chemnitz Germany August 1956...Eric centre, Keith Bryen by the gramophone, Bob Brown down to Eric's right, Alan Burt to the front of Bob.

 Team Hinton 1957, Eric and Harry jnr...

Eric at the IOM TT races, 1957. He finished 5th in the Junior TT.

Eric Hinton, the toast of St.Wendel after he won the 350 and 500 races on Nortons....

Eric wins the 500 class at St.Wendel 1957

 The Hinton brothers at St.Wendel 1957

 21-7-57 the German 350 GP at Noris-ring, Nuremberg. Keith Bryen 1st, Eric Hinton 2nd and Vally Lunberg 3rd.

Harry jnr, Keith Bryen, Eric , Vally Lundberg German GP 1957.

The Hinton "camp" at the 1958 IOM TT...Harry jnr had acquired the ex Geoff Duke Velocette with an ex works 350 DOHC engine. Later on the continent at the German GP when he entered it in the 350 class he was sniggered at...but the smiles soon vanished when he finished 5th on it....When Eric was in aged care several years ago I asked him why the Velocette and he said Harry jnr felt it was a better all round ride....

Eric with the 350 DOHC  Velocette at a friends house in the Birmingham area, 1958.

Eric with Ken Kavanagh at Brno, Czechoslovakia in 1958.

Eric on his 250 NSU Sportsmax at Schleiz, East Germany 1958.

On the road in 1966 during his final tour...Eric with Jack Ahearn.

 Eric in later years......

Jimmy Guthrie...the Norton "Star" of the 1930's until his untimely death in the German GP, 8th August 1937...

I don't intend this to be a life history of the Jimmy Guthrie, others have perhaps covered this elsewhere, rather it's a potted look at his racing in photographs I have in my archive from a variety of sources and for who I acknowledge copyright if it still exists.
Since I posted this originally an email has come in from Larry Devlin, pointing out a few corrections and these are always welcomed, so I've made the corrections, noted in green....
His racing career in the IOM TT spanned from 1923 when he retired on a Junior Matchless to 1937 when he won the Junior TT and retired in the Senior TT.....riding in 24 TT races in all.
He ran a business in Hawick, Scotland in the 1930's.....

Some of the following photographs come from correspondence with Guthrie and Allen Schafer of Grafton, NSW...

Whilst he was always associated with the Norton Racing Team, in the 1930 Lwt. IOM TT he rode an AJS, winning the event....he pictured to the left.

#20, starting the 1933 IOM Junior TT on a Norton...Guthrie finished 3rd.

#2, starting the 1934 Junior IOM TT race which he won.

At the 1934 French GP at Dieppe.

 

Sometime in 1936 not 1935 as originally noted and unsure where ...during the 1936 Ulster GP...Jim Guthrie, Stanley Woods and George Rowley entered on a factory AJSand not"Crasher" White .The #10 Norton is Jim Guthrie's mount.

#16 Jim Guthrie, Norton at the start of the 1935 Junior Swiss GP and during the race.#9 is Walter Rusk, also on a 350 Norton.

1935,1 hour record breaking Norton of Jimmy Guthrie, 114.092mph.

1935 during the Dutch TT at Assen.

 

At the start and during the 1936 Swiss GP.... #14 J.Guthrie,#18 H.Fleischmann NSU,#2 F.Kammer NSU.

During the 1936 Belgium GP at the Circuit de Floreffe on his 500 Norton, winning the race.

 After winning the 1936 Senior IOM TT.

 The winning 1936 Norton team.

 

Some of the work of the illustrator, Jock Leydon.

Guthrie at the 1937 IOM TT races...

 

In the pits of the fateful German GP of 1937, Sunday 8th...Stanley Woods wife Mildred, Jim Guthrie and Freddie Frith...perhaps the last photo of Guthrie before his untimely death during the race. There are conflicting reports of what happened, so I won't make comment here....

Condolence letter from Norton Motors to Allen Schafer.

Condolence photographs from Norton Motors with the text on the back.

The Guthrie Memorial on the TT course.