Reginald Armstrong (1 September 1928 – November 1979) was an Irish professional

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

motorcycle

road racer Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...

. He was born in Dublin, grew up in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

and raced for the

AJS A. J. Stevens & Co. Ltd was a British automobile and motorcycle manufacturer in operation from 1909 to 1931. The company was founded by Joe Stevens in Wolverhampton, England. After the firm was sold, the name continued to be used by Matchless, A ...

Velocette Velocette is a line of motorcycles made by Veloce Ltd, in Hall Green, Birmingham, England. One of several motorcycle manufacturers in Birmingham, Velocette was a small, family-owned firm, selling almost as many hand-built motorcycles during i ...

, Norton, NSU, and

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 In 1935, Gilera acquired rights to the Rondine four-cylinder engine. It was, at t ...

factory racing teams. He then became team manager for

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...

's racing team in

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wo ...

and

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

, and they won five world championships in that time. He was also in his lifetime a sales agent for NSU, Honda, and

Opel Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA ...

. He competed in Grand Prix Motorcycle World Championships and at the

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/June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907 Isle of Man TT, 1907. The event is often called one of the most dangerous racing ...

, usually placing highly. He died in a road accident in 1979.

Early days

Reg Armstrong was born in a nursing home at 37 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin, on September 1, 1928. Armstrong did not have a privileged background but, his father started a successful motor factoring business in Dublin and supported his early motorcycle racing as much as he could. A cousin, Harry Lindsay taught him to ride during the Emergency (as

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

was referred to in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

) and both rode 16H Nortons. Both joined the Irish

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, with the petrol ration a prime consideration.

Racing career

In 1946, Armstrong rode a pre-war Norton Manx at the Bangor Castle races in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

. His was fifth in his second race, a handicap event, the Mid-Antrim 150, and then failed to finish at the Skerries 100. He put in an entry for the 1946 Manx but was refused as his 18th birthday was on the same day as the race. He borrowed a 500 cc engine and put it into his Norton, and entered the 1947 Senior Manx race without success. In the 1948 Skerries 100 he rode a Tom Arter

AJS 7R The AJS 7R was a British 350 cc racing motorcycle built from 1948 to 1963 by Associated Motor Cycles. It was also commonly known as the ‘Boy Racer’, and won victories both for the factory and for privateers right from its introduction i ...

to success, boosting his confidence enough to purchase a Triumph GP, with the help of his cousin Harry. He set fastest lap at the

Cookstown 100 Cookstown ( ga, An Chorr Chríochach, IPA: �anˠˈxoːɾˠɾˠˈçɾʲiːxəx is a small town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the fourth largest town in the county and had a population of 11,599 in the 2011 census. It, along with Maghe ...

on that Triumph, at 74.79 mph, and at the 1949 Cookstown 100 raised it to 75.84 mph.

soon invited him to ride an AJS Porcupine at Ansty, and he managed to come fourth. AJS then signed him for the inaugural

1949 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

. Armstrong took fourth in the

Swiss Grand Prix The Swiss Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de Suisse, german: Großer Preis der Schweiz, it, Gran Premio di Svizzera), was the premier auto race of Switzerland. In its later years it was a Formula One race. History Bremgarten (1934–1939, 1947 ...

, fifth at Belgium, fifth in the Netherlands, third at the

Ulster Grand Prix The Ulster Grand Prix is a motorcycle race that takes place on the Dundrod Circuit made up entirely of closed-off public roads near Belfast, Northern Ireland. The first races took place in 1922 and in 1935 and 1948 the Fédération Internati ...

, sixth at

Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label= Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the Province of M ...

, and crashed at

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...

. Freddie Frith was 350 cc

world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, with Armstrong finishing in second. At the 1950 Isle of Man TT Armstrong came sixth in the Senior TT on a

. He came sixth in the 500 cc class, and seventh in the 350 cc class for the 1951 Grand Prix World Championship, and was then offered a place for the 1952 season on the Norton team. Armstrong won his first ride for Norton, the 500 cc class in the Leinster 200. He then won the German Grand Prix, and the Isle of Man Senior TT. It was Armstrong's most successful season so far, coming third in the 500 cc 1952 World Championship, and second in the 350 cc. In the Republic of Ireland, Reg was now the agent for NSU and Honda. From 1953 to

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yiji ...

, Armstrong rode successfully for Gilera and NSU. In 1953 he came second on a Gilera in the 500 cc class, and second in the 250 cc class on an NSU. In the 1954 he came fifth on a Gilera in the 500 cc class, and ninth in the 250 cc class on an NSU. In 1955 he came second on a Gilera in the 500 cc class. In the 1956 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season he came fifth on a Gilera in the 500 cc class, but growing business interests demanded more of his time and he announced his retirement from motorcycle racing.

Post racing career

In 1962, Honda asked Armstrong to become their racing team manager. They won three World Championships that year and two more the following year. By now, however, Armstrong's

Ringsend Ringsend () is a Southside (Dublin), southside inner suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the south bank of the River Liffey and east of the River Dodder, about two kilometres east of the city centre. It is the sou ...

plant ceased assembling NSUs and changed over to

s, Armstrong now being the Irish agent for them. In 1964 Reg tried his hand at car racing driving with limited success. He became a good clay pigeon shooter, representing Ireland in the 1978 World Championships, held in Korea. In November 1979 the 51-year-old Reg died in an accident while returning to his Ashford home.
Ireland ''Reg Armstrong Remembered'' (Retrieved 6 November 2006)

Motorcycle Grand Prix results

1949 point system Points system from 1950 to 1968 5 best results were counted until 1955. ( Template:Motorsport driver results legend, key) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Sources

External links

Reg Armstrong career profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Reg 1926 births 1979 deaths Irish motorcycle racers 125cc World Championship riders 250cc World Championship riders 350cc World Championship riders 500cc World Championship riders Isle of Man TT riders Road incident deaths in England Motorcycle road incident deaths