Meetings 1951 - 1970

TT 1958

The 1958 TT was marked by MV's total domination of all four solo classes, a classic Junior and Senior double by John Surtees and the first appearance in the TT of Mike Hailwood.

The Lightweight race turned into all-Italian showdown between Tarquinio Provini and Carlo Ubbiali, riding their immaculate MV four-strokes. They fought a fabulous duel round the demanding Clypse Course, with Ubbiali leading in the early stages. At the end of the fourth lap they were side by side as they crossed the line, but Provini slowly pulled away to win by 8.2 seconds, establishing new race and lap records.

Possibly even more significant was the performance of young Mike Hailwood. He eventually finished third after a thrilling dice with NSU teammate Bob Brown.

The MV duo faced a sterner test in the Ultra-Lightweight race. Luigi Taveri, riding one of the Italian Ducati's, harried the MV's and led at the end of the second lap. Provini then snatched the initiative, but crashed at the Nursery on lap four, and when Taveri retired with engine trouble at Creg-ny-Baa, Ubbiali had a clear run to the flag.

Mike Hailwood was seventh on a Paton to complete a memorable debut for the one of the TT's sons. He also finished 12th in the Junior, 13th in the Senior, third in the Lightweight.

The BMW whitewash of the Sidecar class continued, with Walter Schneider winning comfortably from teammate Florian Camathias. British driver Jack Beeton was third, but even more impressive was the ride by former World Champion, Eric Oliver. He coaxed a standard Norton Dominator, fitted with the standard Watsonian Monaco sports sidecar, into tenth place. With Mrs Pat Wise in the chair, they averaged an incredible 59.95mph and gained a bronze replica.