Peter Williams (motorcyclist)

Peter Williams (27 August 1939 – 20 December 2020)^[2] was a British former professional motorcycle racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle road racing from 1966 to 1973.^[3] He also competed at many levels on home short-circuit races. He raced many times on the Isle of Man TT course from 1966 to 1973. His father was Jack Williams who ran the Associated Motor Cycles (AMC) race department.^[4] Williams trained in mechanical engineering and introduced via racing alloy wheels, an innovation which is commonplace on today's road bikes, and was also an early pioneer of solo-motorcycle disc brakes.

Peter Williams
Peter Williams on the 1974 Norton with Space Triangulation frame^[1]
Nationality	British
Born	(1939-08-27)27 August 1939
Died	20 December 2020(2020-12-20) (aged 81)
Motorcycle racing career statistics Grand Prix motorcycle racing Active years 1966 – 1973 First race 1966 350cc Dutch TT Last race 1973 500cc Isle of Man TT First win 1971 350cc Ulster Grand Prix Last win 1971 350cc Ulster Grand Prix Team(s) MZ Championships 0 Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 18 1 11 N/A 1 119

Riding career

Williams was born in Nottingham, England. He started his racing on UK race circuits in 1964 and won the 250 cc class of the 1964 Thruxton 500 race on an AJS model 14 CSR partnered by Tony Wood.^[5]

He first entered the Isle of Man Manx Grand Prix in 1964 on a Norton^[6] In 1965 he entered the Senior race on his Dunstall Norton Dominator 500 cc twin suffering con-rod breakage of the left cylinder when lying 3rd but scored a third place in Lightweight 250 cc^[7][8] category riding an Orpin Greeves Silverstone.^[9]

Williams entered selected Grand Prix races from 1966. He also regularly competed in TT races from 1966, scoring one 1st place and seven 2nd places.^[10] He won the 1966 North West 200 500 cc race in Northern Ireland on a Matchless, and placed 2nd in the 250 cc class on a Greeves Silverstone^[11]

His best Grand Prix season was in 1967 when he finished in fourth place in the 500cc world championship on a Matchless G50 motorcycle.^[3] In early 1967, Williams marketed an engineering solution to enable a proprietary disc brake assembly produced and merchandised by Rickman Motorcycles to be fitted to Manx Norton and AJS 7R/Matchless G50 racing machines.^[12]

He had a long-standing relationship with sponsor Tom Arter,^[5][13] riding his Arter-AJS (350 cc) and Arter-Matchless (500 cc) machines which were later developed with special lightweight frames, disc brakes and six-spoke, solid-cast (non wire-spoked) Elektron wheels^[14] dubbed "cart wheels"^[14] and artillery wheels by the UK press.^[15]

In 1969 Williams and Arter started a new project intended to replace the 1950s Matchless G50-engined machine, with a prototype Weslake twin-cylinder 500 cc engine which was abandoned due to failure of the engine project.^[16]

 

Peter Williams' 1973 John Player Norton 750 with sheet stainless steel semi-monocoque frame, exhibited at Castletown, Isle of Man in 1999

As a Norton employee from 1969,^[17] Williams entered larger-capacity races on Norton Commando twins. He teamed with Charley Sanby to win the 1969 Thruxton 500 endurance race^[18] and was placed second in the 750 cc class Production TT race in 1970.^[19]

Williams won his only world championship race in 1971 in the 350 cc Ulster Grand Prix,^[3] and also won the 1973 Isle of Man Formula 750 TT race on a John Player Norton with a semi-monocoque frame, in the role of team designer/rider.^[20] The machine was designed as an integrated package with a Peel-type fairing incorporating handlebar blisters which helped to reduce the drag coefficient to 0.39.^[21][22]

Williams was the standout performer for the British team at the 1973 Transatlantic Trophy match races aboard the John Player Norton.^[23] The Transatlantic Trophy match races pitted the best British riders against the top North American road racers on 750cc motorcycles in a six-race series in England. Williams ended the series as the top individual points leader with three victories along with a second place and third place results.^[23]

At the second round held at Mallory Park, Williams, riding the slower but better handling Norton battled for the lead with Yvon Duhamel, riding the faster Japanese three-cylinder two-stroke engined Kawasaki H2R.^[24] Three laps from the end, Duhamel's motorcycle developed a stiff throttle, allowing Williams to take the victory. DuHamel came back to win the second race over second-placed Williams.^[24]

At the third round at Oulton Park, Williams claimed the first race victory after early leader, Art Baumann's Kawasaki developed transmission troubles.^[24] In the second race, Williams was able to overtake Kawasaki teammates Gary Nixon and Duhamel to claim his third victory of the series.^[24] Williams tied Duhamel as the highest individual points scorers, both with 84 points.^[23]

His competitive riding career was ended by injuries suffered in a racing accident at Old Hall Corner, Oulton Park on August Bank Holiday Monday, 26 August 1974, when the fibreglass one-piece fuel tank/seat/tail unit became detached. Williams agreed to an out of court settlement with Norton.^[25][26]

Career after racing

In the 1970s, Williams presented the intelligent face of bikers at public appearances giving open lectures at Universities.^{[citation needed]} He provided insight into the engineering issues of racing the restricted-budget works Norton against multi-cylinder bikes from Japan, highlighting the pros and cons of using the 1940s-designed Norton engine. The crank shaft of the 360-degree parallel twin was supported on only two main bearings and as more power was developed from the engine a noticeable flex could be measured using a dial gauge placed on the end of the shaft.^{[citation needed]}

In the later 1970s, Williams operated a Kawasaki motorcycle dealership in Southampton.^[27]

More recently Williams was involved in the development of a carbon-fibre monocoque designed superbike at Lotus Cars and an electric-powered racing bike, the EV-0 RR, planned for an outing at the TTXGP Zero Emissions race at the Isle of Man TT in June 2009. He has a number of patents relating to frame and engine design.

In 2013, Williams established a new business Peter Williams Motorcycles to recreate a limited number of his 1973 Norton Monocoque race bikes.^[28]

Motorcycle Grand Prix results

^[3][20]

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6
Points	8	6	4	3	2	1

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Class	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Points	Rank	Wins
1966	125cc	EMC	ESP -	GER -		NED -		DDR -	CZE -	FIN -	ULS -	IOM -	NAT 5	JPN -		2	-	0
	350cc	AJS		GER -	FRA -	NED -	BEL -		CZE -	FIN -	ULS -	IOM 2	NAT -	JPN -		6	11th	0
	500cc	Matchless		GER -		NED -	BEL -	DDR -	CZE -	FIN -	ULS 6	IOM 7	NAT 2			7	9th	0
1967	350cc	AJS	GER -	IOM NC	NED -		DDR -	CZE -		ULS -	NAT -		JPN -			0	-	0
	500cc	Matchless	GER 2	IOM 2	NED 3	BEL -	DDR -	CZE -	FIN -	ULS -	NAT -	CAN -				6	4th	0
1968	350cc	AJS	GER -		IOM 21	NED -		DDR -	CZE -		ULS -	NAT -				0	-	0
	500cc	Matchless	GER 3	ESP -	IOM -	NED 4	BEL -	DDR -	CZE 5	FIN -	ULS -	NAT -				9	6th	0
1969	500cc	Matchless	ESP -	GER -	FRA -	IOM -	NED 2	BEL -	DDR -	CZE -	FIN -	ULS -	NAT -	YUG -		12	18th	0
1970	350cc	AJS	GER -		YUG -	IOM NC	NED -		DDR -	CZE -	FIN -	ULS -	NAT -	ESP -		0	-	0
	500cc	Matchless	GER -	FRA -	YUG -	IOM 2	NED 7	BEL -	DDR -		FIN -	ULS 5	NAT -	ESP -		22	10th	0
1971	250cc	MZ	AUT -	GER -	IOM NC	NED -	BEL -	DDR -	CZE -	SWE -	FIN -	ULS 4	NAT -	ESP -		8	22nd	0
	350cc	MZ	AUT -	GER -	IOM -	NED -		DDR -	CZE -	SWE -	FIN -	ULS 1	NAT -	ESP -		15	15th	1
	500cc	Matchless	AUT -	GER -	IOM 2	NED -	BEL -	DDR -		SWE -	FIN -	ULS -	NAT -	ESP -		12	13th	0
1972	500cc	Matchless	GER -	FRA -	AUT -	NAT -	IOM NC	YUG -	NED -	BEL -	DDR -	CZE -	SWE -	FIN -	ESP -	0	-	0
1973	500cc	Matchless	FRA -	AUT -	GER -	IOM 2	YUG -	NED -	BEL -	CZE -	SWE -	FIN -	ESP -			12	15th	0

References

1. Motorcyclist Illustrated, June 1974. Rear page John Player Norton colour advertisement. "A new look, a new bike, and a new season." Accessed 2014-01-26
2. Miller, Robin (21 December 2020). "Peter Williams has died". BikeSport News. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
3. "Peter Williams career statistics". motogp.com. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
4. Rider-Engineer Peter Williams Dies at 81 Cycle World, 23 December 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2021
5. Motor Cycle, 25 June 1964. p.122 Thruxton 500 race report and result and p.7a Associated Motor Cycles full page factory advertisement "250cc class. 1st AJS 14 CSR. Riders: Peter Williams and Tony Wood. Entered by: Arter Bros Ltd." Accessed 2014-01-21
6. Motor Cycle, 27 August 1964. Manx Grand Prix Entry List Accessed 2013-06-28
7. Motor Cycle, 16 September 1965. Manx Grand Prix, Senior Race report and Lightweight Results Accessed 2013-06-28
8. Motor Cycle, 23 September 1965. Scarborough road race report. "500 cc Race results, Second, P.J.Williams (Dunstall Dominator)". Accessed and added 2014-10-22
9. Motor Cycle, 9 September 1965. Manx grand Prix Practising Accessed 2013-06-28
10. [1] Official TT Results Competitor Profile: Peter Williams Retrieved 2013-06-02
11. . Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Official NW200 Results 1966 Results Retrieved 2013-06-02
12. Racing Line by David Dixon The Motor Cycle, 9 March 1967, pp.302-303. Accessed 15 January 2021
13. Motorcyclist Illustrated, April 1968, p.48 Arter Bros advert Arter Bros. Ltd. AJS - Francis Barnett - Matchless - Greeves Dover Road, Barham, Kent Tel. Barham 356. Accessed and added 2015-03-11
14. Motorcycle Mechanics, February 1968, Full Chat by John Day: "On Tom Arter's AJS and Matchless specials, he will set a new style, for one of his machines will be fitted with wheels built with only six spokes. They will be one-piece cast magnesium units similar to those fitted to racing cars. One might imagine that such bulky looking "cart" wheels would be heavy... Peter will fit them to his 500, which will also have disc brakes front and rear." Accessed 2013-07-20
15. Motorcycle Sport, July 1979, p.350 Wheels and Wheels by Ted Davis (ex-Vincent Chief Tester) "After 100 years we are back to 'artillery' wheels". Accessed and added 2014-06-23
16. Four valves per cylinder www.sintich.com Retrieved 2013-06-01
17. Motorcycle Mechanics, October 1969, p.22 Full Chat by John Day. "The cast-magnesium wheels which Peter Williams is developing and which he tested for the first time at the Hutchinson 100, suggest that he will have any number of new and revolutionary ideas to impart in his new job as project engineer with Norton Villiers" Accessed 2014-02-09
18. [2] Southampton & District Motor Cycle Club. Official Site. Race result 1969. Retrieved 2013-08-15
19. [3] Official TT Results 1970 750cc Production race results. Retrieved 2014-01-21
20. "Peter Williams Isle of Man TT results". iomtt.com. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
21. Motor Cyclist Illustrated, September 1973, p.2 full page colour advert, From John Player Norton: The Norton Twins. "The unique semi-monococque construction gives the Norton the advantage of less weight, improved ground clearance and better banking angles than other, ordinary bikes. Even the blunt fairing was designed to reduce the drag coefficient to a remarkable 0.39". Accessed and added 2015-01-20
22. "Motorcycle Technology - Future Perfect - Up To Speed". motorcyclistonline.com. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
23. "Transatlantic Trophy Match Races". Racingmemo.free.fr. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
24. Riggs, Randy (1 August 1974). "John Player Transatlantic Trophy Races". Cycle World. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
25. Power, prudence & 'that silly old G50'. Classic Racer, Autumn 1986, pp.10-15, p.67 Accessed 6 January 2021
26. Williams seriously injured at Oulton. Motorcycle News, 28 August 1974, p.1 (front cover). Retrieved 14 March 2022
27. Motor Cycle News 15 August 1979 p.67 Advert "Peter Williams 76-78 London Road, Southampton. Wall to wall Kawasaki". Accessed and added 2014-10-01
28. Peter Williams John Player Norton - First Look Cycle World, June 2013. Peter Williams' John Player Norton Replicas. Retrieved 2013-06-28