1973 Isle of Man TT
The 1973 Isle of Man TT motorcycle road races were held between 2-8 June 1973 on the 37-mile Snaefell Mountain Course. It was the fifth round of the 1973 FIM Motorcycle Grand Prix World Championship (now MotoGP). In 1973, most of the World Championship contenders were absent from the Isle of Man TT races with the exception of Jack Findlay and the sidecar contenders.[1] The rest joined the reigning 500cc World Champion Giacomo Agostini in boycotting the Isle of Man TT event over safety concerns, despite extensive resurfacing of the circuit.[1] The resurfacing allowed an increasing number of competitors to surpass the prestigious 100 mph average lap time.[1]
The racing began on Saturday, 2 June with Production Class racing that consisted of 750, 500 and 250cc machines as well as the 750cc Sidecar Class.[2] Peter Williams led the 750 class on the John Player Norton by half a minute when a gearbox problem forced him to abandon the race allowing Tony Jefferies to take victory riding a Triumph Trident motorcycle known as Slippery Sam.[1] The victory marked the third of five consecutive Isle of Man TT victories for Slippery Sam.[3][4] Stan Woods (Suzuki) led the 500 class by half a minute, when on the last lap his engine began to misfire, allowing Bill Smith (Honda) to claim the victory.[1] Charlie Williams (Yamaha) won the 250 class.[1] 250 Class competitor John Clarke (Suzuki) was killed in an accident at Union Mills on the first lap.[1] World Champion Klaus Enders and Ralf Engelhardt won the 750 Sidecar Class ahead of his BMW teammates Siegfried Schauzu and Wolfgang Kalauch in second place.[1]
On Monday, 4 June, Charlie Williams rode a Yamaha TZ 250 to win the Lightweight TT while in the 500cc Sidecar TT, Enders set a new lap record and finished the race over 2 minutes ahead of his BMW teammate Schauzu.[1] Tony Rutter won the Junior TT on 6 June in a class dominated by the newly released Yamaha TZ 350.[1] 38-year-old Tommy Robb (Yamaha) won the Ultra-Lightweight TT later that same day, marking the first TT victory of his career which began at the 1958 Isle of Man TT.[5]
The final events of the week were the Formula 750cc TT and the Senior TT held on Friday 8 June. After his abandonment earlier in the week, Peter Williams redeemed himself by setting the second fastest-ever lap of the mountain course at 107.27mph and won the Formula 750cc TT ahead of his John Player Norton teammate Mick Grant.[6] Helmut Dähne scored an impressive ninth place riding a shaft driven BMW R75/5 better known for its long distance touring capabilities.[1] The final race of the week was the Senior TT where 38-year-old veteran Jack Findlay rode a Suzuki TR500 to win the first TT race of his career after Mick Grant (Yamaha) crashed on an oil slick while leading the race at Ramsey Square on the third lap.[1] Peter Williams rode an underpowered but agile single cylinder Matchless G50 prepared by Tom Arter to score an impressive second place result.[7] Williams' average of 100.62 mph was 2.6 seconds quicker than Mike Hailwood's winning speed in 1961 on a Norton Manx, making them the only two competitors at that point in time to have averaged over 100 mph on a single cylinder machine in the Senior TT.[1]
World championship races
1973 Isle of Man Lightweight TT 250cc final standings
Monday, 4 June 1973 – 4 Laps (150.92 Miles) Mountain Course.
| Place | Rider | Machine | Speed | Time | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Charlie Williams |
Yamaha TZ 250 | 100.05 mph | 1.30.30.0 | 15 |
| 2 | John Williams |
Yamaha TZ 250 | 99.6 mph | 1.30.54.6 | 12 |
| 3 | Bill Rae |
Yamaha TZ 250 | 98.86 mph | 1.31.35.4 | 10 |
| 4 | Derek Chatterton |
Yamaha TZ 250 | 98.00 mph | 1.32.23.0 | 8 |
| 5 | Alex George |
Yamaha TZ 250 | 97.94 mph | 1.32.27.0 | 6 |
| 6 | Tony Rutter |
Yamaha TZ 250 | 97.57 mph | 1.32.48.0 | 5 |
| 7 | Phil Carpenter |
Yamaha TZ 250 | 97.14 mph | 1.33.12.8 | 4 |
| 8 |  Helmut Kassner |
Yamaha TZ 250 | 96.73 mph | 1.33.39.6 | 3 |
| 9 | Tom Herron |
Yamaha TZ 250 | 96.61 mph | 1.33.43.4 | 2 |
| 10 | Barry Randle |
Yamaha TZ 250 | 96.05 mph | 1.34.16.2 | 1 |
| Sources:[8] | |||||
1973 Isle of Man Sidecar 500cc TT final standings
Monday 4 June 1973 – 3 Laps (113.00 Miles) Mountain Course.
| Place | Rider | Machine | Speed | Time | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Klaus Enders/Ralf Engelhardt |
BMW | 94.93 mph | 1.11.32.4 | 15 |
| 2 | Siegfried Schauzu/Wolfgang Kalauch |
BMW | 91.4 mph | 1.14.18.2 | 12 |
| 3 | Rolf Steinhausen/Karl Scheurer |
König | 89.84 mph | 1.15.35.4 | 10 |
| 4 | .svg.png){kind=small} Michel Vanneste/Serge Vanneste |
BMW | 86.24 mph | 1.18.44.6 | 8 |
| 5 | Robin Williamson/Jack McPherson |
BMW | 85.05 mph | 1.19.50.8 | 6 |
| 6 | Roger Dutton/Tony Wright |
BMW | 83.68 mph | 1.21.09.4 | 5 |
| 7 | George O'Dell/N Boldison |
BSA | 79.82 mph | 1.25.04.6 | 4 |
| 8 | Dick Hawes/Eddie Kiff |
Weslake | 79.55 mph | 1.25.22.0 | 3 |
| 9 | Roy Woodhouse/Doug Woodhouse |
Honda | 77.95 mph | 1.27.07.4 | 2 |
| 10 |  Martin Candy/Eddy Fletcher |
BSA | 77.73 mph | 1.27.22.0 | 1 |
| Sources:[9] | |||||
1973 Isle of Man Junior TT 350cc final standings
Wednesday, 6 1973 – 5 Laps (188.65 Miles) Mountain Course.
| Place | Rider | Machine | Speed | Time | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tony Rutter |
Yamaha TZ 350 | 101.99 mph | 1.50.58.8 | 15 |
| 2 | Ken Huggett |
Yamaha TZ 350 | 100.58 mph | 1.52.31.6 | 12 |
| 3 | John Williams |
Yamaha TZ 350 | 100.32 mph | 1.52.49.4 | 10 |
| 4 | Barry Randle |
Yamaha TZ 350 | 100.011 mph | 1.53.10.2 | 8 |
| 5 | Phil Carpenter |
Yamaha TZ 350 | 99.49 mph | 1.53.45.8 | 6 |
| 6 | Derek Chatterton |
Yamaha TZ 350 | 98.77 mph | 1.54.36.0 | 5 |
| 7 | Alex George |
Yamaha TZ 350 | 98.76 mph | 1.54.36.2 | 4 |
| 8 | Helmut Kassner |
Yamaha TZ 350 | 96.74 mph | 1.57.00.2 | 3 |
| 9 | Tom Dickie |
Yamaha TZ 350 | 96.68 mph | 1.57.04.4 | 2 |
| 10 | Paul Cott |
Yamaha TZ 350 | 96.41 mph | 1.57.24.2 | 1 |
| Sources:[10] | |||||
1973 Isle of Man Ultra-Lightweight TT 125cc final standings
Wednesday, 6 June 1973 – 3 Laps (113.19 Miles) Mountain Course.
| Place | Rider | Machine | Speed | Time | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tommy Robb |
Yamaha TA125 | 88.44 mph | 1.16.47.0 | 15 |
| 2 |  Jan Kostwinder |
Yamaha TA125 | 87.79 mph | 1.17.21.6 | 12 |
| 3 | Neil Tuxworth |
Yamaha TA125 | 86.56 mph | 1.18.27.2 | 10 |
| 4 | Ivan Hodgkinson |
Yamaha TA125 | 85.49 mph | 1.19.26.0 | 8 |
| 5 | Alan Jones |
Maico RS-125 | 83.3 mph | 1.21.31.6 | 6 |
| 6 | Lindsay Porter |
Yamaha TA125 | 82.54 mph | 1.22.16.4 | 5 |
| 7 | Clive Horton |
Yamaha TA125 | 82.43 mph | 1.22.23.2 | 4 |
| 8 | Richard Stevens |
Maico RS-125 | 82.03 mph | 1.22.47.0 | 3 |
| 9 | Bob Ware |
Yamaha TA125 | 82.02 mph | 1.22.48.0 | 2 |
| 10 | John Kiddie |
Honda CB125S | 81.69 mph | 1.23.07.6 | 1 |
| Sources:[11] | |||||
1973 Isle of Man Senior TT 500cc final standings
Friday 8 June 1973 – 6 Laps (226.38 Miles) Mountain Course.
| Place | Rider | Machine | Speed | Time | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | .svg.png){kind=small} Jack Findlay |
Suzuki TR500 | 101.55 mph | 2:13.45.2 | 15 |
| 2 | .svg.png){kind=small} Peter Williams |
Matchless G50 | 100.62 mph | 2:14.59.4 | 12 |
| 3 | Charlie Sanby |
Suzuki TR500 | 100.27 mph | 2:15.27.6 | 10 |
| 4 | Alex George |
Yamaha TZ 350 | 98.73 mph | 2:17.34.20 | 8 |
| 5 | Roger Nicholls |
Suzuki TR500 | 98.06 mph | 2:18.30.20 | 6 |
| 6 | David Hughes |
Matchless G50 | 96.62 mph | 2:20.34.20 | 5 |
| 7 | Dudley P.Robinson |
Suzuki TR500 | 95.96 mph | 2:21.32.80 | 4 |
| 8 | John Taylor |
Suzuki TR500 | 94.79 mph | 2:23.16.80 | 3 |
| 9 | Selwyn Griffiths |
Matchless G50 | 94.05 mph | 2:24.25.20 | 2 |
| 10 | Graham Bayley |
Kawasaki H1R | 94.04 mph | 2:24.26.20 | 1 |
| Sources:[12] | |||||
Non-championship races
1973 Isle of Man TT Production 750cc final standings
Saturday, 2 June 1973 – 3 Laps (113.00 Miles) Mountain Course.
| Place | Rider | Machine | Speed | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tony Jefferies |
"Slippery Sam" | 95.62 mph | 1.34.41.6 | |
| 2 | John Williams |
Triumph Trident | 94.9 mph | 1.35.24.8 | |
| 3 | David Dixon |
Triumph Trident | 91.56 mph | 1.38.33.6 | |
| 4 | Helmut Dähne |
BMW R90S | 90.32 mph | 1.40.14.8 | |
| 5 | Ernie Pitt |
Triumph Trident | 89.38 mph | 1.41.57.8 | |
| 6 | Darryl Pendlebury |
Triumph Trident | 88.73 mph | 1.42.03.0 | |
| 7 | Hans-Otto Butenuth |
BMW R90S | 87.65 mph | 1.43.25.4 | |
| 8 | Hugh Evans |
Honda CB750 | 87.27 mph | 1.43.45.2 | |
| 9 | Roger Corbett |
Triumph Trident | 86.86 mph | 1.44.14.6 | |
| 10 | Ken Huggett |
Triumph Trident | 84.94 mph | 1.46.36.4 | |
| Sources:[13] | |||||
1973 Isle of Man TT Production 500cc final standings
Saturday, 2 June 1973 – 3 Laps (113.00 Miles) Mountain Course.
| Place | Rider | Machine | Speed | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bill Smith |
Honda CB500 Four | 88.1 mph | 1.42.47.0 | |
| 2 | Stan Woods |
Suzuki T500 | 88.01 mph | 1.42.55.2 | |
| 3 | Keith Martin |
Kawasaki H1 Mach III | 87.87 mph | 1.43.02.8 | |
| 4 | Clive Brown |
BSA B50 | 87.79 mph | 1.43.14.8 | |
| 5 | Roger Bowler |
Triumph Tiger 100 | 86.92 mph | 1.44.10.2 | |
| 6 | Bill Milne |
Kawasaki H1 Mach III | 85.4 mph | 1.46.01.8 | |
| 7 | Ray Knight |
Triumph Tiger 100 | 83.05 mph | 1.49.01.8 | |
| 8 | Nigel Rollason |
BSA B50 | 83.05 mph | 1.49.01.8 | |
| 9 | John Wilkinson |
Suzuki T500 | 82.98 mph | 1.49.02.0 | |
| 10 | Godfrey Benson |
Suzuki T500 | 79.55 mph | 1.53.49.4 | |
| Sources:[14] | |||||
1973 Isle of Man TT Production 250cc final standings
Saturday, 2 June 1973 – 3 Laps (113.00 Miles) Mountain Course.
| Place | Rider | Machine | Speed | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charlie Williams |
Yamaha RD250 | 81.76 mph | 1.50.45.0 | |
| 2 | Eddie Roberts |
Yamaha RD250 | 81.24 mph | 1.51.22.0 | |
| 3 | Tommy Robb |
Yamaha RD250 | 80.06 mph | 1.53.05.8 | |
| 4 | Roger Hunter |
Suzuki GT250 | 79.52 mph | 1.53.52.2 | |
| 5 | Peter Courtney |
Kawasaki S1 Mach I | 79.05 mph | 1.54.32.4 | |
| 6 | Phil Carpenter |
Honda CB250 | 78.65 mph | 1.55.08.0 | |
| 7 | Jim Curry |
Honda CB250 | 78.09 mph | 1.55.57.4 | |
| 8 | John Kiddie |
Honda CB250 | 77.76 mph | 1.56.26.2 | |
| 9 | Lindsay Porter |
Suzuki GT250 | 75.54 mph | 1.59.51.8 | |
| 10 | John Kidson |
Honda CB250 | 75.28 mph | 2.00.12.6 | |
| Sources:[15] | |||||
1973 Isle of Man Sidecar 750cc TT final standings
Saturday, 2 June 1973 – 3 Laps (113.00 Miles) Mountain Course.
| Place | Rider | Machine | Speed | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Klaus Enders/Ralf Engelhardt |
BMW | 93.01 mph | 1.13.00.1 | |
| 2 | Siegfried Schauzu/Wolfgang Kalauch |
BMW | 91.72 mph | 1.14.02.4 | |
| 3 | John Brandon/Cliff Holland |
Honda | 84.75 mph | 1.20.08.0 | |
| 4 | Mick Boddice/Ken Williams |
Kawasaki | 84.54 mph | 1.20.20.0 | |
| 5 | Bill Crook/Kenny Arthur |
BSA | 83.53 mph | 1.21.18.0 | |
| 6 | Robin Williamson/Jack McPherson |
BMW | 83.08 mph | 1.21.44.2 | |
| 7 | Dick Hawes/Eddie Kiff |
Weslake | 82.65 mph | 1.22.09.8 | |
| 8 | Richard Wegener/Derek Jacobson |
BMW | 81.35 mph | 1.23.29.0 | |
| 9 | Michel Vanneste/Serge Vanneste |
BMW | 81.24 mph | 1.23.35.4 | |
| 10 | Mick Potter/Bernie Coverdale |
BMW | 80.62 mph | 1.24.14.2 | |
| Sources:[16] | |||||
1973 Isle of Man Formula 750 Classic final standings
Friday 8 June 1973 – 5 Laps (188.65 Miles) Mountain Course.
| Place | Rider | Machine | Speed | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter Williams |
John Player Norton | 105.47 mph | 1.47.19.2 | |
| 2 | Mick Grant |
John Player Norton | 102.56 mph | 1.50.21.6 | |
| 3 | Tony Jefferies |
Triumph Trident | 102.04 mph | 1.50.55.2 | |
| 4 | Charlie Williams |
Yamaha TZ 350 | 102.03 mph | 1.50.56.0 | |
| 5 | Stan Woods |
Suzuki TR750 | 101.89 mph | 1.51.05.2 | |
| 6 | Ken Huggett |
Yamaha TZ 350 | 99.69 mph | 1.53.32.4 | |
| 7 | Geoff Barry |
Oakley-Seeley | 99.41 mph | 1.53.51.4 | |
| 8 | Paul Cott |
Yamaha TZ 350 | 97.43 mph | 1.56.10.4 | |
| 9 | Helmut Dähne |
BMW R75/5 | 96.79 mph | 1.56.56.4 | |
| 10 | Graham Bailey |
Triumph Trident | 96.61 mph | 1.57.09.4 | |
| Sources:[17] | |||||
Sources
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Nicholls, B.R. (1 September 1973). "Isle of Man TT". Cycle World. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
- ↑ "TT 1973". iomtt.com. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
- ↑ "The Legend of Slippery Sam". roaddirt.tv. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
- ↑ "1974 Triumph Trident Slippery Sam". gasoline.com. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
- ↑ "Tommy Robb Isle of Man TT results". iomtt.com. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
- ↑ "John Player Norton, a Monocoque Masterpiece". Motorbike Mad. 19 November 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
- ↑ "The Arter Matchless G50 – The Ultimate British Single". peterjamesinsurance.co.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
- ↑ "TT 1973 Lightweight TT Race Results - iomtt.com". iomtt.com. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
- ↑ "TT 1973 Sidecar 500cc Race Results - iomtt.com". iomtt.com. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
- ↑ "TT 1973 Junior TT Race Results - iomtt.com". iomtt.com. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
- ↑ "TT 1973 Ultra-Lightweight TT Race Results - iomtt.com". iomtt.com. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
- ↑ "TT 1973 Senior TT Race Results - iomtt.com". iomtt.com. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
- ↑ "1973 Isle of Man TT Production 750cc Race Results - iomtt.com". iomtt.com. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
- ↑ "1973 Isle of Man TT Production 500cc Race Results - iomtt.com". iomtt.com. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
- ↑ "1973 Isle of Man TT Production 250cc Race Results - iomtt.com". iomtt.com. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
- ↑ "TT 1973 Sidecar 7500cc Race Results - iomtt.com". iomtt.com. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
- ↑ "TT 1973 Formula 750 Classic Race Results - iomtt.com". iomtt.com. Retrieved 14 April 2026.