Tourist Trophy trendsetter
As TT winners go, Alec Bennett isn't one of the most famous or most revered, neither does he any longer feature highly on the list of all time winners. For a long ¡ period though, in the late 1920s, he held the record for the most wins in the races. He also scored some landmark wins in TT history, including the last side-valve machine when he rode a Sunbeam to victory in 1922, the first overhead camshaft victory, for Velocette in 1926, and the first TT win for an overhead camshaft Norton, triumphing on the Walter Moore-designed CS1 in 1927. For these feats alone, Bennett warrants a place in the history of the TT.
Alec Bennett was born in Craigogantlet ( normally misspelled as Craigantlet, even on roads signs ... ), County Down, in what is now Northern Ireland, in 1897, though the Bennett family emigrated to Alberta, Canada, before moving onto Vancouver, British Colombia, where he enjoyed his first taste of motorcycling, racing on dirt tracks. He came to Europe during the First World War, initially serving as a dispatch rider before gaining a commission and serving in the Royal Flying Corps, piloting Bristol fighters.
After being demobbed and remaining in the UK, he approached motorcycle factories to try and secure a job as a works rider. Although BSA promised an opportunity, it came to nothing, so he went to
