It’s almost TT time once again, and this year will be an extra special event for British manufacturer Avon Tyres as they celebrate the 60th anniversary of the first 100mph lap around the famous mountain course.
Scottish rider Bob McIntyre achieved the prestigious milestone back in 1957 on a four cylinder Gilera motorcycle, shod with Avon’s Speedmaster GP race tyres.
The injured Geoff Duke had previously been credited with the first 100mph lap in 1955, but this was revised down to 99.97mph by official time-keepers at the TT Grandstand.
Bob bagged the factory Gilera ride when Duke was injured at Imola, and put in a 99.99mph lap from a standing start before hitting 101.03mph on the following flying lap. He pushed that up to 101.12mph on the fourth lap as he beat Sir John Surtees by more than 2 minutes.
Visitors to this year’s TT can see a replica McIntyre Gilera complete with period Speedmaster and GP tyres fitted.
This year Avon will be supported riders in several classes including the record breaking Birchall brothers in the sidecars along with Manxmen Dave Molyneux and Dan Sayle, plus Frenchman Timothee Monot in the Supertwin, Supersport 600 and TT Zero races, the latter using the manufacturer’s 3D Ultra Xtreme treaded race rubber.
You can view Avon’s race range here.
