TGR Staff - 2/10/2022
Pictures from a moment in time, in this case, 1935. An unknown photographer captured men on their racing motorcycles in Sydney, Australia. It is most likely that the riders were in the city to drum up publicity for the race. Motorcycle racing was extremely popular in Australia in the early 1930s with riders like Lionel Van Praag, Bluey Wilkinson, Dicky Smythe, Billy Lamont, and Jack Chapman competing for the world championship in the Speedway Series.
Both Praag and Wilkinson would go on to win Speedway World Championship titles before World War II brought racing to an end in 1939. It would be a decade before the next championship would be run again in London's Wembley Stadium. Australian riders would go on to win more titles than any other riders in the Speedway Series history.
Motorcycling was very different in the 1930s, you can see some riders are wearing specially designed clothing from the more common leather jackets and goggles, to complete protective over-suits. Almost all wear large leather gloves and one brave man is cruising around knickers and argyle socks. Today, outside of the Distinguished Gentleman's Ride, it's safe to say that most bikers don't dress up to go for a ride.
Enjoy more photos from 1935 below:
Motorcycle rider posing with a Velocette racing bike, No. 13
Motorcycle rider posing with a Calthorpe racing bike, No. 15
Motorcycle rider posing with a Coventry Eagle racing bike, No. 116
Photos Via the State Library of New South Wales
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