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The bigger question BMW R51SS
Following our telephone conversation, here are some pictures of the BMW R51SS. It was displayed in the Faulkes-Halbard museum in East Sussex. Mr Faulkes-Halbard bought this machine in the late 1970s and it remained in the museum until recently offered at auction, when I bought it.
The auctioneer’s description stated ‘1939 BMW R51 Racing – delivered new to AFN Ltd, Isleworth. Race prepared to R51SS specification to include close ratio gearbox and large RS500 factory type petrol tank. Believed to be prepared by Jock West.’
Friends have informed me that Dave Treen from Hastings (also in East Sussex) raced a BMW like mine about 40/45 years ago in VMCC racing, but this may be a coincidence.
Jeremy Ewen, email, London.
Thank you for the photos and brief details of your BMW R51SS, which is the factory applied model code stamped onto the machine’s ID plate. It represents an interesting piece of racing history that was common to a number of German – and other Continental – factories, both before and after the Second World War.
As I’m sure you know, Jeremy, BMW ran an extensive racing programme before the Second World War, in part because it was good publicity for the factory and assisted machine development, but also because German participation in motorsport was actively encouraged by the then ruling authority in the mid to late 1930s.
Following development of their sohc
