Belgian Grand Prix
- August 1921
GA Strange pauses at his pit during the 1921 Belgian Grand Prix, held at Spa. The works James rider was to go on to finish in fourth place, an impressive result in a high-quality field. Winner of the 500cc class was Hubert Hassall on his side-valve single cylinder Norton, with second and third respectively the Indian side-valve single-mounted pair of Bert Le Vack and Freddie Dixon.
By 1921, there was an array of machinery racing at the highest level in the half-litre class. There was of course the well-developed, reliable and quick British side-valve singles, exampled by particularly the Sunbeams and Nortons. There was a side-valve single for Indian too (basically the back half of a V-twin) though overhead valves were becoming in vogue, with the 350cc AJSs displaying breathtaking speed, while Triumph was hedging its bets, running four-valve ohv models and two-valve side-valvers alongside one another.
James, Douglas, ABC and Scott were among those makers campaigning twin-cylinder machinery, albeit in different guises. The Douglas and ABC were fore-and-aft four-stroke twins while the Scott, of course, displayed another philosophy entirely. The two-stroke, water-cooled two-speed machines were unlike anything else and had enjoyed success in the preceding few years.
James’ twin was a much more conventional machine. Using a V-twin engine with a capacity of 495cc, the James was actually somewhat of a dated design by 1921, it having appeared in the Greet firm’s range in 1914 in pretty much the same specification it was now offered. What’s more, James made a point of racing what was on sale to the public, a fact noted in The Motor Cycle in mid-June 1921, in a report on TT practice: “The 3½hp James machines, which, by the way, are the standard type as sold to the public for several years past, seem to have excellent acceleration powers.” Unfortunately, however great those powers of acceleration, they couldn’t help Strange or his team-mates Listone and Stobart in the race proper – in the event, of the trio only Strange finished in a lowly 21st (of 24) having suffered three crashes on the final circuit, all caused by punctures.
Sensationally (and famously) winner of the 1921 Senior TT was Howard Davies, riding his 350cc AJS, and actually using the same engine he’d employed to finish runner-up in the Junior TT. Second and third were the 500cc side-valve Indians of Freddie Dixon and Bert le Vack. Triumph’s Freddie Edmond, on a two-valve side-valve, set fastest laps of the race but was one of several high-profile non-finishers – other fancied runners who failed to see the chequered flag included Tommy de le Hay (Sunbeam), Victor Horsman, Graham Walker, (both Norton), Charles Sgonina, George Shemans (both four-valve Triumphs) and Clarrie Wood (Scott), as well as the entire – and expensively assembled – BSA team, while the beaten finishers included Alec Bennett (Sunbeam, fourth and a leader earlier on, but riding injured and tiring fast) and George Dance (Sunbeam, another earlier leader who finished seventh after a hefty fall and the loss of his bottom two gears with three laps to go).
So, to Belgium and the third of the International races of the season (the TT was the first, the second was the French GP, won by Bennett on a Sunbeam). There was a strong British contingent in Belgium and early on there was a breakaway group of eight riders, led by Edmond on the side-valve Triumph and containing Hassall, Walker and local man Breslau (all Norton), Le Vack, Dixon (both Indian), Shemans, Sgonina (ohv Triumphs) and Strange, on the James. Gradually, the field diminished and it was down to a British versus American battle; Hassall kept the Norton going, winning from the Indians of Le Vack and Dixon and fourth, Strange. Fifth and sixth were another pair of British machines, a pair of ABCs ridden by Claessens and Perrin.
James was never a company particularly entrenched in racing, with the best ever TT result Pollock’s 17th in the 1914 Senior. A 500cc V-twin featured in the James range for many years, being introduced in 1913. Post-WWI the model reappeared, where it was joined by a 662cc version, which was uprated to 750cc but failed to see the end of the 1920s. A 500cc ohv V-twin was added in 1929 – and very handsome it was too. The V-twins continued until 1935 when at season’s end they, along with all the other four-strokes in the range, were dropped. Strange, who rode a range of machines in TTs that befitted his name, achieved a 10th place finish in the 1923 Junior TT on an OK-Supreme, and also competed in the Island on a Beardmore Precision and a Sheffield Henderson.
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