Derek Minter

Derek Minter
Minter pictured before his retirement from mainstream motorcycle racing in 1967
Nationality	British
Born	(1932-04-27)27 April 1932 Kent, England
Died	2 January 2015(2015-01-02) (aged 82)
Motorcycle racing career statistics Grand Prix motorcycle racing Active years 1957 – 1960, 1962 – 1965, 1967 First race 1957 500cc Belgian Grand Prix Last race 1967 500cc Belgian Grand Prix First win 1962 Isle of Man 250cc Lightweight TT Last win 1962 Isle of Man 250cc Lightweight TT Team(s) Honda Championships 0 Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 25 1 8 N/A N/A 82

Derek Minter (27 April 1932 – 2 January 2015) was an English former Grand Prix motorcycle and short-circuit road racer. A versatile rider, he rode a variety of machinery between 1955 and 1967 at increasing levels of expertise and in varying capacities and classes. His best season was in 1958 when he finished the year in fifth place in the 500cc world championship.^[1] In 1960, Minter won the North West 200 race in Northern Ireland. In 1962, he won the Isle of Man 250cc Lightweight TT^[2]

The Early Days

Derek Minter was an electrician who worked evenings and weekends as a farm labourer to earn the extra money needed to buy his first bike in 1948, a 350cc BSA which he also used for trials riding.^[2]

After National Service in the Royal Air Force, Minter worked for motorcycle dealer Ray Hallet at Hallets of Canterbury.

Hallets of Canterbury^[3]

Hallet had been a road race and grass track rider and Minter accompanied him to the Isle of Man as his mechanic for the Manx Grand Prix.^[2] Hallet provided Minter with a CB34 500cc BSA Gold Star which was prepared for racing and stripped of unnecessary weight, but retained the standard, roadster-based equipment and had no race fairing^[4]

Minter raced the Gold Star in 1955, initially entering non-expert races then progressing to expert races where the competition rode Manx Nortons and Matchless G45s. His performances in 1956 impressed Ron Harris, MV importer and proprietor of Wincheap Garages, who employed Minter as a car mechanic and created a team providing Minter with 350cc and 500cc Manx Nortons^[4]

The Middle Years

Minter's success continued with Steve Lancefield preparing his engines until 1960 when he became the first rider to lap of the Isle of Man TT course at over 100 mph on a single cylinder machine.^[5] This led to other rides with Bianchi, Moto Morini and MZ^[4]

After 1961 Ray Petty from Farnborough, Hampshire prepared the Norton engines. In 1962 Minter won the 250cc TT on a Honda 4 provided by importers Honda Ltd. Over the years he realised that riding in local events as a 'guest' rider for several teams earned him more money than being tied to a factory team^[4]

For the 1963 season Minter signed to ride in Championship races for Geoff Duke's Scuderia Gilera team (also known as Scuderia Duke) with new team mate John Hartle whilst planning to continue riding Nortons in home short circuit races.^[4]

The new team were to use older 1950s Gileras on which former World Champion rider Duke had much success, but with the newer, upgraded tyre technology of the 1960s were considered still competitive. The team was devised by Duke to challenge the domination of Mike Hailwood on the MV and had early successes at Silverstone, Brands Hatch and Imola, Italy^[4][6]

In May 1963 whilst riding a 500cc Manx Norton at Brands Hatch, Kent, Minter was involved in a battle for the lead with Dunstall Norton rider Dave Downer on a 650cc Dominator twin. During a last lap accident Minter suffered serious injuries and Downer died^[2][4][6]

Minter's place in the Gilera team had been taken temporarily by up and coming Phil Read. When contesting June's Isle of Man TT, the team claimed 2nd (Hartle) and 3rd (Read) to Mike Hailwood's MV(^[7] followed by Dutch TT at Assen where it was 1st (Hartle) and 2nd (Read) with Mike Hailwood's MV retiring

Minter soon recovered from his injuries, riding at Oulton Park^[8] then reclaiming his team place for the Dundrod Ulster GP in August^[6] with Gilera again scoring 2nd (Hartle) and 3rd (Minter) to Mike Hailwood's MV^[9] followed by East German GP where Minter was 2nd to Mike Hailwood's MV^[10] The Scuderia Duke team was disbanded at the end of 1963^[6]

The Final Years

Minter went on to achieve many more wins on Manx Nortons, a 250cc Cotton Telstar and for 1966 Seeley 350s and 500s. Midway through the season he changed bikes to again ride Nortons fettled by Farnborough's Ray Petty and entered by his old associates at Hallets of Cantebury,^[11] before retiring as a professional road-racer in 1967.^[12]

After retirement from racing, Minter was involved in road transport industry, operating as an owner/driver of an articulated unit, often delivering unaccompanied trailers from the Continent routed through the Dover ferry terminal near his home in Kent to destinations throughout the UK^[13]

He was one of the first to wear coloured racing leathers, using a green suit during the 1966 season,^[14] and regularly featured in Lewis Leathers advertising during the 1960s.^[15][16]

At Brands Hatch racing circuit, the Portobello Straight was renamed Derek Minter Straight.^[17] So successful and popular was Minter at Brands Hatch that commentator Murray Walker referred to him as "The King of Brands" an unofficial title which later became the name of an actual competitive meeting at the circuit.^[18]

In the 1990s he returned to the tracks to ride Summerfield Manx machines in leisure classic events until an accident at Darley Moor in 2000 finally ended his sport-riding career. He died in 2015.^[19][20]

References