TT 1935
Stanley Woods always had a new trick up his sleeve and he arrived on the Island for the 1935 races (in the middle of a general strike) armed with 250 and 500cc Moto Guzzi’s - and a new teammate, Omobono Tenni.
It heralded the real start of the foreign invasion, with Woods securing a memorable double for the Italian factory. He was a comfortable winner of the Lightweight, leading once again from start to finish, chased home by the Rudges of Tyrell-Smith and Nott.
The Senior was a very different story and produced one of the greatest TT battles of all time. The race was postponed for a day because of bad weather, but that 24-hour wait was well worthwhile. Norton-mounted Jimmy Guthrie started at the front, but Woods, at number 30, had to wait 15 minutes before firing the Guzzi twin into action. Guthrie was in brilliant form and led by 26 seconds going into the last 37.73 miles.
The Norton team thought Woods would have to stop for fuel at the start of that final lap and the signalling station at Ramsey told Guthrie to take it easy. They found they were wrong, however, as Woods raced through the start-and-finish area to commence the fastest lap ever recorded over the Mountain Circuit.
Unaware of the Guzzi threat, Guthrie duly followed his instructions and cruised to the finish, where he was met by some worried faces. Woods was narrowing the time difference every mile and crossed the line with a four-second advantage over the unfortunate Scotsman. His lap time of 26m 10s - a speed of 86.53mph - was the fastest yet.
Earlier in the week Guthrie had been the easy winner of the Norton-dominated Junior, with Rusk second and 'Crasher' White third to secure a clean sweep for the British factory.
This year saw the appearance of travelling marshals on the course, while pit attendants were allowed to assist with running repairs for the first time.
The 1935 races also marked the end of the career of the great Wal Handley after he lost part of his thumb trying to make adjustments to the rear brake of his Velocette on the Sulby Straight during practice. He had won four TTs.
Wal switched to car racing after retiring from two wheels, but was later killed while serving as a pilot in the Second World War.