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Meetings 1931 - 1950

TT 1936

Woods returned in 1936 without the Moto Guzzis as a result of Italy’s involvement in the war in Abyssinia.

Naturally, he still had the pick of the best machinery and joined Ted Mellors and Ernie Thomas in the Velocette team for the Junior and Senior. In the Lightweight class he rode the two-stroke twin DKW, together with Otto Steinbach and Arthur Geiss.

The opening race of the week, the Junior, brought a storm of controversy and protest from the record crowd that thronged the circuit following the 'disqualification' of Guthrie on the fifth lap.

The Scotsman was leading when he stopped at Hillberry to replace a rear chain. He continued in second place behind his new teammate, Manx Grand Prix winner Freddie Frith. However, he was stopped at Ramsey on the sixth lap and told he had been excluded because he had received outside assistance.

A furious Guthrie denied the charge and carried on to finish fifth. Frith duly recorded his first TT victory, but the Guthrie saga was not over. At the prize giving the ACU agreed they had been wrong to disqualify Guthrie and allowed him to collect second prize. However, in the final placings he was only counted as a finisher (which was enough to give Norton the manufacturers' award). 'Crasher' White was second, with the Velocette of Mellors third. His teammate Woods retired on the first lap with engine problems.

Guthrie took ample revenge in the Senior following a superb battle with his great rival Woods. After 264 miles Guthrie won by 18 seconds, although Stanley established a new lap record of 86. 98 mph. Frith confirmed his arrival on the scene by finishing third.

The Lightweight was postponed by a day because of bad weather, and once again turned into a close affair. Woods hammered the noisy DKW to the front for the first three laps, but was pushed down to second by Bob Foster's New Imperial.

Woods fought back and regained the lead but, with Foster pushing him to the limit, the DKW cried enough, which allowed Foster to take an unchallenged win from the Excelsior of Tyrell-Smith and Geiss's DKW.