Benutzer:Pessottino/Charlie Dodson

Charles Joseph Pownall/Pearson „Charlie“ Dodson (* 6. Dezember 1901; † 26. September 1983) war ein britischer Motorradrennfahrer.

Karriere Bearbeiten

Son of a barrister from Didsbury near Manchester. Successful motorcycle rider in 1925-1934 (Sunbeam, Excelsior, New Imperial). Winner of the amateur class at the Isle of Man TT in 1928 and 1929 (Sunbeam 500). In the 1930s he raced MG, Austin (factory driver) and Maserati. Won the Tourist Trophy in 1934 and 1936. After WW2 in 1949 he raced a Jaguar sports car at Silverstone. Died in Sidcup, Kent 1983. (Info supplied by Andrzej Jakubaszek & Granville Dodson)

1934: 2 Mannin Moar / 1 RAC Tourist Trophy (sports car handicap)
1936: NC Isle of Man (Voiturette) / 1* Tourist Trophy (sports car) / 5 Mountain
1936: 1 British Empire Trophy (Handicap)
1937 : DNF Campbell Trophy / DNS Isle of Man (Voiturette)
1939: 5 Nuffield Trophy (Voiturette)

Charlie Dodson-Dual TT Winner Diminutive Charlie Dodson's career was remarkable in that he was a dual TT winner at the Isle of Man and also at the RAC car Tourist Trophy. Murray McleodMurray Mcleod

Artist, Illustrator and published author 1934 Lightweight TTAlthough Charlie Dodson's name will always be associated with Sunbeam, the make on which he won the 1928 and 1929 Senior TTs, Dodson also performed in the Isle of Man and elsewhere on Excelsior and New Imperial machines. He was one of the few riders of whom it could be said that his light weight and small stature were mainly and directly responsible for a TT victory. Apprenticeship

Born in 1902, the son of a successful Manchester barrister Charlie was the youngest of four Dodson children; all boys, Charlie was left fatherless at age five. He was keen to pursue an engineering career, and on turning 17 he gained an apprenticeship at the Royal Ruby motorcycle factory. His employer recognised the youngster’s abilities and encouraged him to build a race bike in his spare time after work. The 350cc sprinter launched Charlie into competition riding and he rode it with moderate success during the 1922 season.

Isle of Man Debut Shortly afterwards Royal Ruby was forced to close down their operation; with the result that Charlie’s apprenticeship also came to an end. However his mother was prepared to support his racing endeavours and purchased a brand-new 500cc Long Stroke Sunbeam. Its price was £132 which represented a substantial sum of money in 1923, but it was on an older 350 Sunbeam that Charlie made his Isle of Man debut. This was the 350 class of the ‘Amateur’ event, forerunner of the Manx Grand Prix series. After sundry problems during the race he at least made it to the finish, and in his first essay at the TT in 1924 he finished in eighth place still riding his 350 Sunbeam.

Sunbeam Works Rider At the conclusion of the 1926 season his riding had attracted the attention of the Sunbeam management who offered him full work’s support. It was a situation that endured over the following four years and one that took Charlie to the top of his chosen profession. In 1927 the Sunbeam riders gained the manufacturer’s team prize; with Charlie finishing in eighth position. One of his team mates was the celebrated Graham Walker, father of the equally famous motor race commentator, Murray Walker.

TT Victory The following year was Charlie’s moment of triumph when he finally won that coveted Senior TT trophy. It proved to be one of the wettest TTs on record; with the stars of the day experiencing mechanical problems or race falls in the atrocious conditions. Charlie made a cautious start in the opening laps and with Jimmie Simpson’s retirement on lap three Graham Walker; now riding for Rudge went into the lead. Dodson had crashed spectacularly at Keppel Gate at that stage and despite a severe shaking he remounted, greatly hampered by the loss of his front mudguard. Severely blinkered by the spray of mud from his front wheel he did consider retirement, but for coming upon Walker in trouble by the roadside. After that he pressed on to the finish, almost blinded by the mud to win the slowest Senior since 1924, averaging 62mph.

Senior TT The 1929 Senior TT was the race in which his light weight and small stature were probably decisive. Being a stone lighter than Sunbeam rider Alec Bennett, these advantages enabled Dodson to fit a higher gearing to his machine. The difference in gearing gave him the edge he needed in maximum speed, and after Tyrell Smith(Rudge) had led and then crashed, and then Norton’s Tim Hunt did likewise after leading during the fourth lap, Dodson came through to win. In scoring two consecutive Senior wins, Charlie had also raised the race average to 72 mph; with Alec Bennett filling second place. Unfortunately for Sunbeam, they were involved in a take-over by a larger company, with the result that the 1929 machines were left unaltered for the 1930 season, and try as he might at the Senior TT Dodson could only finish in fourth place behind the Rudge and Norton stars

Excelsior Rider Dodson’s Sunbeam connection ended at the close of 1930 and for the following season he went to Excelsior, riding them in all categories; 500, 350 and 250 cc, but they were generally no match for the Nortons and Rudges of that period. For 1934, which was his final season on two wheels he rode for New Imperial, gaining his last international win at the 250 class of the Ulster Grand Prix.

On Four Wheels Following a successful career on two wheels Dodson directed his energies to motor racing, and in this venture he also appeared on the winner’s podium. On two occasions he gained first place in the prestigious RAC Tourist Trophy race. This was held annually at the Ards circuit near Belfast and was memorable for its variety of entrants, ranging from 750cc MGs to blown Bentleys. As a consequence it was run on a rather complex handicap system, with the result sometimes in doubt until the final lap. In 1934 Charlie was victorious at the wheel of a 1300cc MG Magnette, and in 1936 he co-drove the winning 1500cc Riley with the remarkable Freddie Dixon. Thus Charles Dodson became the first and in all probability the only person to win a Senior TT and also the RAC Tourist trophy.

Statistik Bearbeiten

Titel Bearbeiten

1933 – 250-cm³-Europameister auf New Imperial

Isle-of-Man-TT-Siege Bearbeiten

Jahr	Klasse	Maschine	Durchschnittsgeschwindigkeit
1928	Senior (500 cm³)	Sunbeam	62,98 mph (101,36 km/h)
1929	Senior (500 cm³)	Sunbeam	72,05 mph (115,95 km/h)

Rennsiege Bearbeiten

(gefärbter Hintergrund = Europameisterschaftslauf)

Jahr	Klasse	Maschine	Rennen	Strecke
1930	350 cm³	Norton	Großer Preis von Deutschland	Nürburgring
1931	350 cm³	Norton	Großer Preis von Belgien	Spa-Francorchamps
1933	350 cm³	Norton	Großer Preis von Belgien	Spa-Francorchamps
	350 cm³	Norton	Spanische TT	Castrejana
	500 cm³	Norton	Spanische TT	Castrejana
1934	500 cm³	Norton	North West 200
	350 cm³	Norton	Spanische TT	Circuito de las avenidas de Ensanche
	500 cm³	Norton	Spanische TT	Circuito de las avenidas de Ensanche
1935	500 cm³	Norton	North West 200
	500 cm³	Norton	Großer Preis der Schweiz	Bremgarten
	500 cm³	Norton	Dutch TT	Circuit van Drenthe
	500 cm³	Norton	Großer Preis von Deutschland	Badberg-Viereck
	500 cm³	Norton	Großer Preis von Belgien	Spa-Francorchamps
	500 cm³	Norton	Ulster Grand Prix	Clady Circuit
	350 cm³	Norton	Spanische TT	Circuito de las avenidas de Ensanche
	500 cm³	Norton	Spanische TT	Circuito de las avenidas de Ensanche
1936	500 cm³	Norton	North West 200
	350 cm³	Norton	Großer Preis der Schweiz	Bremgarten
	500 cm³	Norton	Großer Preis der Schweiz	Bremgarten
	500 cm³	Norton	Großer Preis von Deutschland	Badberg-Viereck
	500 cm³	Norton	Dutch TT	Circuit van Drenthe
	500 cm³	Norton	Großer Preis von Belgien	Spa-Francorchamps
1937	500 cm³	Norton	North West 200
	350 cm³	Norton	Großer Preis der Schweiz	Bremgarten
	500 cm³	Norton	Großer Preis der Schweiz	Bremgarten
	500 cm³	Norton	Großer Preis von Belgien	Spa-Francorchamps

Weblinks Bearbeiten

* [http://suite101.com/article/charlie-dodson-dual-tt-winner-a254977] (englisch)

Kategorie:Motorrad-Rennfahrer (Vereinigtes Königreich) Kategorie:Motorradeuropameister Kategorie:Sportler (Schottland) Kategorie:Brite Kategorie:Geboren 1902 Kategorie:Gestorben 1937 Kategorie:Mann

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KURZBESCHREIBUNG	britischer Motorradrennfahrer