John Hartle (22 December 1933 – 31 August 1968) was an English professional road racer who competed in national, international and Grand Prix motorcycle events.

Motorcycling career

Born in

Chapel-en-le-Frith Chapel-en-le-Frith () is a town and civil parish, in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It has been dubbed the "Capital of the Peak", in reference to the Peak District, historically the highland areas between the Saxon lands (below ...

, Derbyshire, Hartle began racing in 1952 when working for Eric Bowers Motorcycles, riding a BSA Gold Star at Brough Aerodrome, in the

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, often abbreviated to the East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, S ...

, England. Gaining more experience at other nearby short circuits including Cadwell Park and

Oulton Park Oulton Park is a hard surfaced Race track, track used for motor racing, close to the village of Little Budworth, Cheshire, England, from Winsford, from Chester city centre, from Northwich and from Warrington, with a nearby rail connection a ...

in 1953,Ton-up TT racer wins recognition
Buxton Advertiser, March 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2014 he also finished in three out of four races entered in the 1953 and 1954

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

Manx Grand Prix The Manx Grand Prix motorcycle races are held on the Isle of Man TT Course (or ' Mountain Circuit') annually, usually at the end of August and early September. Traditionally the event has been staged over a two week period but this was reduce ...

. He rode for the works Norton team during the 1955 season and again in

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

in what would be factory team's last year in Grand Prix racing, returning to ride for Eric Bowers in 1957.

MV Agusta MV Agusta (, full name: MV AGUSTA Motor S.p.A., original name: Meccanica Verghera Agusta or MV) is an Italian high end motorcycle manufacturer. It was founded by Domenico Agusta, Count Domenico Agusta on 19 January 1945 as one of the branches of ...

signed him in

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

at the urging of

John Surtees John Norman Surtees (11 February 1934 – 10 March 2017) was a British racing driver and motorcycle road racer, who competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from to , and Formula One from to . Surtees was a seven-time Grand Prix motorcycl ...

. He ended the season as runner-up to Surtees in the 500 and 350 classes. In

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

he won his first

Isle of Man TT The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May and June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907 Isle of Man TT, 1907. The event begins on the UK Spring Bank Holiday at the e ...

race, the Junior TT event. After being released by MV Agusta, he then rode for

Geoff Duke Geoffrey Ernest Duke (29 March 1923 – 1 May 2015), born in St. Helens, Lancashire, was a British multiple motorcycle Grand Prix road racing world champion. He raced several brands of motorcycle: Norton, Gilera, BMW, NSU and Benelli. Af ...

's privateer

Gilera Gilera is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded in Arcore in 1909 by Giuseppe Gilera (1887–1971). In 1969, the company was purchased by Piaggio. History Giuseppe Gilera founded his self-named motorcycle company in 1909 (aged 22) near M ...

team, alongside Derek Minter. In his early career Hartle was sponsored for non-championship races by Eric W Bowers CoachesDerbyshire Blue Plaques, John Hartle
Retrieved 20 October 2014 and later Comerfords, a large London retailer of roadgoing and sporting motorcycles, until his retirement in 1964. He returned to racing during 1967, winning the Isle of Man inaugural Production Race 750 category for road-based machines on a Triumph Thruxton Bonneville, and scoring World Championship points in both 350 cc and 500 cc races. Hartle was killed in

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

after crashing at the

Oliver's Mount Oliver's Mount is an area of high ground overlooking Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. It offers views over the town, a tribute monument to the war dead, camping and caravanning at selected times of the year, 10 football pitches, 1 rugby l ...

circuit in

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

. Hartle was proud of his connection with his hometown of Chapel-en-le-Frith, always carrying the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

as his 'pudding basin' helmet

emblem An emblem is an abstract art, abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a monarch or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and ''symbol'' ...

with the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

motto ''Cava et Spera'', which translates to 'Caution and Hope'. He was recognised in his hometown in 2010 by a blue wall-plaqueOrigins and Development of the Blue Plaque
Retrieved 20 October 2014 attached to the building which now stands where he used to live.

John Hartle Trophy

The John Hartle Trophy is an annual award at the Isle of Man TT Races. The trophy is presented to the winner of the Superstock TT.

Motorcycle Grand Prix results

Source: ( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

Image of John Hartle Blue Plaque

John Hartle on Gilera, Ulster Grand Prix 1963
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartle, John 1933 births 1968 deaths People from Chapel-en-le-Frith Sportspeople from Derbyshire British motorcycle racers English motorcycle racers 250cc World Championship riders 350cc World Championship riders 500cc World Championship riders Isle of Man TT riders Motorcycle racers who died while racing Sport deaths in England Place of birth missing 20th-century English sportsmen