Manliffe Barrington
Manliffe[1] Barrington (19 November 1912 – 1999[2]) was an Irish professional motorcycle racer. He was a two-time winner at the Isle of Man TT races.
| Manliffe Barrington | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | Irish | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 19 November 1912 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 1999 (aged 86–87) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Motorcycle racing career
Barrington was born in Monkstown, County Dublin as the son of an official importer for CAV (a predecessor of Lucas) for tractors in Ireland. He first competed in the 1935 Isle of Man TT on an Excelsior, finishing the Senior TT in 11th place at an average race speed of 72.06 mph. Manliffe also occasionally raced cars including finishing 4th at Phoenix Park in 1937 driving a Rapier.
When motorsports activities resumed following the conclusion of the Second World War, Barrington was entered into the 1947 Isle of Man TT races riding a Moto Guzzi sponsored by former TT champion Stanley Woods. The 250 cc Lightweight TT race was won by Barrington in what proved highly controversial circumstances from teammate Maurice Cann. Despite Cann lapping consistently for the whole race at an average race speed of over 74 mph and Barrington at just over 73 mph, the 1947 250cc Lightweight TT Race was awarded to Barrington. Despite a protest to the ACU, the result was allowed to stand as "....in those days of wind-up watches and hand-written records, the officials had under-estimated Barrington's time by a minute."[3]
The first event of the new 1949 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 1949 Isle of Man TT Race. A further race win for Barrington in the new Grand Prix Championship was the 1949 250 cc Lightweight TT race at an average race speed of 77.99 mph again riding a Moto Guzzi.
During practice for the 1952 Senior TT race, Barrington was riding a 500 cc Norton when engine seizure at the left-hand bend before the Barregarrow cross-roads resulted in a crash, and a broken thigh caused his retirement from motorcycle racing.[4]
World Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)
| Year | Class | Motorcycle | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | IOM | SUI | NED | BEL | ULS | NAT | ||||||
| 250 cc | Moto Guzzi | 1 | 6th | 10 | ||||||||
| 350 cc | Norton | 18 | — | 0 | ||||||||
| 1950 | IOM | BEL | NED | SUI | ULS | NAT | ||||||
| 350 cc | AJS | 39 | — | 0 | ||||||||
| 500 cc | Vincent-HRD | Ret | — | 0 | ||||||||
| 1951 | ESP | SUI | IOM | BEL | NED | FRA | ULS | NAT | ||||
| 350 cc | Norton | 17 | — | 0 | ||||||||
| 500 cc | Norton | 5 | 19th | 2 | ||||||||
TT Race Wins
| Year | Race & Capacity | Motorcycle | Average Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | Lightweight 250cc | Moto Guzzi | 73.22 mph |
| 1949 | Lightweight 250cc | Moto Guzzi | 77.99 mph |
TT career summary
| Finishing Position | 1st | 5th | 11th | 17th | 18th | 39th | DNF |
| Number of times | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
1947 Lightweight TT Race Results
| Rank | Rider | Team | Speed | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Manliffe Barington |
Moto Guzzi | 73.22 mph | 3:36.26.6 |
| 2 |  Maurice Cann |
Moto Guzzi | 72.972 | 3:37.10.8 |
| 3 | Ben Drinkwater |
Excelsior | 70.139 | 3:34.57.0 |
Sources
- Ancestry.com. Ireland, Civil Registration Births Index, 1864-1958 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
- Manx Independent page 58 dated 11 June 1999
- Manx Independent Page 58 dated 11 June 1999
- Isle of Man Examiner dated 6 June 1952
External links
- TT database rider profile iomtt.com
- TT database TT results iomtt.com