John Hartle

Does anyone have any photographs, information or stories regarding the late John Hartle, motorcycle road racer in the 50's & 60's?

I suggest you move this to the Motorcycle Racing Nostalgia section, Richard, where you are bound to get some response.

Well, I can tell you that he tested for a seat with the Aston Martin sports car team in 1959 at the same time as John Surtees and had a monumental accident at Goodwood - although it wasn't his fault. That's all I know about him, I'm afraid.

He made a comeback riding Seeley Matisse bikes after his original retirement. If he hadn't he wouldn't have been killed in a racing accident.

I remember Jenks introducing me to John Hartle in the paddock at the Nurburgring in 1968, I think. It was a hot, sunny day and he had his leathers rolled down to the waist, leaving his upper body exposed to the sun. He was covered by a maze of injury and operation scars....but in period this was nothing out of the ordinary for Real Racers. He was another warrior - as all could see. I remember the shock at reading - not long after - of his death at Oliver's Mount - just one-inch of news, single column as I recall, in the Monday morning newspaper...

For more on him, see here: http://motorcycle-ra...ate_john_hartle

DCN

Edited by Doug Nye, 06 August 2009 - 16:19.

Someone recently contacted me about John Hartle and it reminded me of an allegation put to me some time ago that his fatal crash at Scarborough was not simply 'a racing accident'. It seems he and John Blanchard's bikes collided sending Hartle off the track and the collision with an iron bridge support. I appreciate than John Blanchard is still with us and careful that I may be walking on shakey ground here, but what was the final decision of the cause of the crash? A racing accident or was anyone to blame?