# Freddie Frith

Frederick Lee Frith OBE (30 May 1909 – 24 May 1988) was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racing world champion. A former stonemason and later a motor cycle retailer in Grimsby, he was a stylish rider and five times winner of the Isle of Man TT. Frith was one of the few to win TT races before and after the Second World War. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1950 Birthday Honours.

## Motorcycle racing career

Frith entered his first major race, the first Manx Grand Prix in 1930 riding an over-the counter, 350 cc Velocette KTT in the Junior event, finishing third at a speed of 60.34 mph. He retired from the 500 cc race with a blown engine, again riding his 350, when holding third place.
He won the 1935 Junior Manx Grand Prix and then joined the Norton team for the 1936 TT Races. It was a winning combination as he claimed the Junior TT and finished second in the Senior TT as well as winning the 350cc European Championship. In 1937 he went one better in the Senior and took a brilliant win and setting the first 90 mph plus lap of the Snaefell Mountain Course.
After finishing third in the 1939 Senior he missed the 1947 TT due to a practice spill on a 500cc Moto Guzzi. Turning to Velocettes in 1948 he won the Junior Race, repeating this success a year later. Freddie was the first ever 350cc World Champion in 1949, winning all five events of the inaugural campaign, using a single-overhead-camshaft engine in the Ulster race.
Frith, alongside other riders from BSA, Ariel and Matchless works teams, served in the army during World War 2 at the Infantry Driving & Maintenance School stationed at Keswick, where officers and NCOs learned how to ride cross-country. Sgt. Freddie Frith taught teams of four on Norton 500s over Skiddaw in all weathers. A special treat on the last day was reserved for roadwork, following Frith's track-style fast cornering.

## Motorcycle Grand Prix results

1949 point system
| Position | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Fastest lap |
| Points | 10 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1 |
(key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Class | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Points | Rank | Wins |
| 1949 | 350cc | Velocette | IOM 1 | SUI 1 | NED 1 | BEL 1 | ULS 1 | | 33 | 1st | 5 |
| 1949 | 500cc | Velocette | IOM NC | SUI 5 | NED - | BEL - | ULS - | NAT - | 5 | 11th | 0 |

## Sources

* ↑ England and Wales births Retrieved 17 June 2015
* ↑ England and Wales deaths Retrieved 17 June 2015
* ↑ "Freddie Frith career statistics at MotoGP.com". Archived from the original on 27 August 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2009.
* ↑ Motorcycle Sport, UK monthly magazine, August 1978, p.296 Freddie Frith Limited, official advert. The latest and greatest shaft drive motorcycles from Honda & BMW. 119 Victoria Street Grimsby. Accessed 17 June 2015
* ↑ Keig, Stanley Robertson (1975). The Keig Collection: six hundred photographs from the Manx House of Keig of T.T. riders and their machines from 1911 to 1939, vol 1. Bruce Main-Smith & Co.pp.28-29 ISBN 0-904365-05-0
* ↑ British Empire: "No. 38929". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 June 1950. p. 2787.
* ↑ Motorcycle Sport, UK monthly magazine, April 1969, p.155 Accessed 16 June 2015
vte350cc World Riders' Champions :
1949  F. Frith
1950  B. Foster
1951  G. Duke
1952  G. Duke
1953  F. Anderson
1954  F. Anderson
1955  B. Lomas
1956  B. Lomas
1957  K. Campbell
1958  J. Surtees
1959  J. Surtees
1960  J. Surtees
1961  G. Hocking
1962  J. Redman
1963  J. Redman
1964  J. Redman
1965  J. Redman
1966  M. Hailwood
1967  M. Hailwood
1968  G. Agostini
1969  G. Agostini
1970  G. Agostini
1971  G. Agostini
1972  G. Agostini
1973  G. Agostini
1974  G. Agostini
1975  J. Cecotto
1976  W. Villa
1977  T. Katayama
1978  K. Ballington
1979  K. Ballington
1980  J. Ekerold
1981  A. Mang
1982  A. Mang :