Arthur Wheeler (motorcyclist)

Arthur Frederick Wheeler was an English professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. Wheeler gained a reputation as one of the top privateer racers on the Grand Prix circuit.

Early life

Born in Epsom, Surrey, Wheeler left school at the age of 15 to be an apprentice electrician and engineer. He began his competitive motorcycling career campaigning a Velocette in grass track racing. Opening a motorcycle shop in 1937, he used his profits to enable his motorcycle racing career. When World War II started, Wheeler's engineering skills led him to being chosen to work alongside Barnes Wallis in developing the bouncing bomb.

Motorcycle racing career

After the war, his motorcycle business boomed, allowing him to enter Grands Prix racing on the circuits of Continental Europe. Wheeler won the 1954 250 cc Nations Grand Prix at Monza after the dominant NSU factory racing team withdrew from the race. He was a five-time winner of the North West 200 race in Northern Ireland and won the Leinster 200 at least twice. His best season was aboard a Moto Guzzi in 1962, when he won the 250 cc Argentine Grand Prix and had a fourth-place finish in the Isle of Man Lightweight TT, finishing in third place in the 250 cc world championship behind Jim Redman and Bob McIntyre. At the end of that year he retired at the age of 46. His victory in Argentina made him the oldest rider to have won a Grand Prix motorcycle race in any class, a record that stands to this day.
Wheeler continued to develop the long-outdated Moto Guzzi all through his career, using home built streamlined 'dustbin' and 'dolphin' fairings and along with Ken Sprayson at Reynolds tubing he developed a spine frame with swinging arm rear suspension and oil bearing top tube. Wheeler was a close friend with many of the Guzzi factory riders, and it was through Fergus Anderson that he acquired his first Guzzi from the factory, a pre-war Albatross 250 cc, which was to be developed through the 1950s to Gambalunghino spec and beyond. After his win at the Nations Grand Prix it was Moto Guzzi factory rider Enrico Lorenzetti who gave Wheeler his stock of factory spare parts, enabling him to campaign the Guzzis long after the official factory team had disbanded.

Motorcycle Grand Prix resultshttp://www.iomtt.com/TT-Database/Events/Races.aspx?meet_code=ALL&ride_id=908 [Arthur Wheeler Isle of Man TT results at iomtt.com]

Points system from 1950 to 1968:

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6
Points	8	6	4	3	2	1

Year

Class

Team

Points

Rank

Wins

1949

350cc

Velocette

IOM
20

SUI
-

NED
-

BEL
-

ULS
10

–

1949

500cc

Triumph

IOM
NC

SUI
-

NED
-

BEL
-

ULS
-

NAT
-

–

1950

350cc

Velocette

IOM
12

BEL
16

NED
-

SUI
-

ULS
10

NAT
-

–

1950

500cc

Norton

IOM
26

BEL
-

NED
-

SUI
-

ULS
-

NAT
-

–

1951

250cc

Velocette

SUI
-

IOM
5

FRA
-

ULS
3

NAT
-

7th

1951

350cc

Velocette

ESP
-

SUI
-

IOM
47

BEL
-

NED
-

FRA
-

ULS
-

NAT
-

–

1951

500cc

BSA

ESP
-

SUI
-

IOM
NC

BEL
-

NED
-

FRA
-

ULS
-

NAT
-

–

1952

250cc

Moto Guzzi

SUI
-

IOM
9

NED
4

GER
6

ULS
-

NAT
-

12th

1952

350cc

Velocette

SUI
-

IOM
NC

NED
12

BEL
-

GER
-

ULS
-

NAT
-

–

1952

500cc

Norton

SUI
-

IOM
21

NED
-

BEL
-

GER
-

ULS
-

NAT
-

ESP
-

–

1953

250cc

Moto Guzzi

IOM
4

NED
-

GER
-

ULS
6

SUI
-

NAT
-

ESP
-

10th

1953

350cc

AJS

IOM
19

NED
-

BEL
-

FRA
-

ULS
-

SUI
-

NAT
-

ESP
-

–

1953

500cc

Matchless

IOM
NC

NED
-

BEL
-

GER
-

FRA
-

ULS
-

SUI
-

NAT
-

ESP
-

–

1954

250cc

Moto Guzzi

FRA
-

IOM
7

ULS
4

NED
6

GER
4

SUI
-

NAT
1

4th

1954

350cc

AJS

FRA
-

IOM
10

ULS
-

BEL
-

NED
-

GER
-

SUI
-

NAT
-

ESP
-

–

1954

500cc

AJS

FRA
-

IOM
28

ULS
-

BEL
-

NED
-

GER
-

SUI
-

NAT
-

ESP
-

–

1955

250cc

Moto Guzzi

IOM
4

GER
5

NED
6

ULS
7

NAT
10

11th

1955

350cc

AJS

FRA
-

IOM
12

GER
16

BEL
14

NED
-

ULS
14

NAT
9

–

1955

500cc

Matchless

ESP
-

FRA
-

IOM
17

GER
-

BEL
15

NED
-

ULS
-

NAT
-

–

1956

125cc

MV Agusta

IOM
NC

NED
-

BEL
-

GER
-

ULS
-

NAT
-

–

1956

250cc

Moto Guzzi

IOM
6

NED
-

BEL
-

GER
-

ULS
3

NAT
-

9th

1956

350cc

Moto Guzzi

IOM
18

NED
-

BEL
11

GER
-

ULS
-

NAT
-

–

1957

125cc

MV Agusta

GER
-

IOM
NC

NED
-

BEL
-

ULS
-

NAT
-

–

1957

250cc

Moto Guzzi

GER
-

IOM
8

NED
6

BEL
4

ULS
-

NAT
-

13th

1957

350cc

Moto Guzzi

GER
-

IOM
19

NED
-

BEL
-

ULS
-

NAT
-

–

1957

500cc

Moto Guzzi

GER
-

IOM
23

NED
-

BEL
-

ULS
-

NAT
-

–

1958

125cc

Mondial

IOM
9

NED
-

BEL
-

GER
-

SWE
-

ULS
6

NAT
-

13th

1958

250cc

Mondial

IOM
NC

NED
5

BEL
-

GER
-

SWE
-

ULS
-

NAT
-

16th

1958

350cc

AJS

IOM
NC

NED
-

BEL
-

GER
-

SWE
-

ULS
-

NAT
-

–

1958

500cc

AJS

IOM
35

NED
-

BEL
-

GER
-

SWE
-

ULS
-

NAT
-

–

1959

125cc

NSU

IOM
7

14th

1959

125cc

Ducati

GER
-

NED
-

BEL
-

SWE
-

ULS
6

NAT
-

14th

1959

350cc

AJS

FRA
-

IOM
21

GER
-

BEL
-

SWE
-

ULS
-

NAT
-

–

1959

500cc

AJS

FRA
-

IOM
NC

GER
-

NED
-

BEL
-

ULS
-

NAT
-

–

1961

125cc

Ducati

ESP
-

GER
-

FRA
-

IOM
13

NED
-

BEL
-

DDR
-

ULS
-

NAT
-

SWE
-

ARG
-

–

1961

250cc

Moto Guzzi

ESP
-

GER
-

FRA
-

IOM
7

NED
-

BEL
-

DDR
-

ULS
-

NAT
-

SWE
-

ARG
-

–

1961

350cc

Moto Guzzi

GER
-

IOM
39

NED
-

DDR
-

ULS
-

NAT
-

SWE
-

–

1961

500cc

Matchless

GER
-

FRA
-

IOM
27

NED
-

BEL
-

DDR
-

ULS
-

NAT
-

SWE
-

ARG
-

–

1962

250cc

Moto Guzzi

ESP
-

FRA
-

IOM
4

NED
6

BEL
5

GER
5

ULS
4

DDR
-

NAT
-

ARG
1

3rd

1962

350cc

Moto Guzzi

IOM
23

NED
-

ULS
-

DDR
-

NAT
6

FIN
-

17th

1962

500cc

Moto Guzzi

IOM
NC

NED
-

BEL
-

ULS
-

DDR
-

NAT
-

FIN
-

ARG
-

–

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