The First BOY RACER

I remember watching the Yamaha 350LC racing series on the television and hearing them referred to as ‘boy racers’. I’m not sure there was ever an official classification so-named, but essentially, I took it to mean that if the blue riband 500cc class was for men, then it was left to the boys to battle it out in the 350 category. Throughout racing history, the smaller capacity has provided thrills and spills and the riders have often used this smaller size as a stepping-stone towards their ultimate aim.

Back in the 1920s it was no different, and the 1921 TT races demonstrated the full potential of the AJS ohv 350 single. Revived in 1920 after the cessation of hostilities, the TT was the ultimate shop window for manufacturers and a successful IoM campaign resulted in big sales on the showroom floor. For 1921 the works teams were back in force, twelve in all for the senior race and 133 riders prepared for battle. Among them, a young Howard R Davies, riding the new AJS 350. The Stevens rockets romped home, taking first, second, third AND fourth places, with Davies coming in second despite setting a new Junior lap record of 55.15mph.