| Ben Drinkwater | |||||||||||
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 Drinkwater after finishing third at the 1947 Lightweight TT | |||||||||||
| Nationality | English | ||||||||||
| Born | (1910-02-13)13 February 1910 Rochdale, England | ||||||||||
| Died | 9 June 1949(1949-06-09) (aged 39) Isle of Man | ||||||||||
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Reuben Thomas "Ben" Drinkwater (13 February 1910 – 9 June 1949) born in Rochdale, Lancashire, England, was a railway signalman and motorcycle racer who competed in the Isle of Man TT races and the Manx Grand Prix.
After riding in the 1946 Manx Grand Prix, the first post-war event on the Snaefell Mountain Course, Ben Drinkwater returned to race in the 1947 Isle of Man TT, finishing in third place in the controversial 1947 250 cc Lightweight TT race won by Manliff Barrington.
While competing in the 1949 350cc Junior TT race, the first ever race of the new FIM World Championship, Drinkwater collided with a bank trying to avoid a fellow competitor near Cronk Bane farm, close to the 11th milestone marker post, and was killed. The distinctive S-bend corner on the Mountain Course near to the accident location was renamed "Drinkwater's Bend" or the 11th Milestone.
TT career summary
| Finishing Position | 3rd | 4th | DNF |
| Number of times | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Sources
- ^ Isle of Man Examiner pp4 dated 17 June 1949
- Manx Independent pp58 dated 11 June 1999 – Isle of Man Newspaper Group
- Motocourse History of the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy Races 1907-1989 by Nick Harris pp58 (1990)(1st Edition) Hazelton Publishing ISBN 0-905138-71-6
External links
- TT database rider profile iomtt.com
- TT database TT results iomtt.com
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