Bert le Vack
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Bert le Vack | |
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Born | 1888 London,England |
Died | 16 September 1931 nearBern,Switzerland | (aged 42–43)
Nationality | British |
Occupation(s) | Racer and specialist engine tuner |
Known for | Motorcycle racing and world records |
Herbert 'Bert' le Vack(1888 – 16 September 1931) was amotorcycleworld speed record holder throughout the 1920s and earned the nickname the 'Wizard of Brooklands' for his exploits atBrooklands.
An expert racing engine tuner, le Vack worked for some of the great marques and in the late 1920s joinedMotosacocheinSwitzerlandas the works rider, chief designer and tuner. Le Vack was killed in a sidecar accident on 16 September 1931 near Bern, but is generally regarded as being one of the greatest racing motorcyclists of his day.
Life
[edit]Bert le Vack was born in North London and was of Scottish descent, the son of an upholsterer and antique dealer Albert Edward le Vack. Bert's grandfather was John le Vack, a Scottish steam locomotive engineer, who moved to London from his birthplace inCaithness.Bert's first job was with Legros and Knowles, ofWillesden Junction.He moved on to work forDaimler,Napierand theLondon General Omnibus Company.Le Vack began his racing career on bicycles but once he visitedBrooklandshe began tuning motorcycles and won the first hill climb he entered on a 1909Triumph.In 1912 he competed in the London to Edinburgh Run and in 1913 he was working with another JAP test rider at Brooklands called John Wallace, who was sacked for being 'under age'. On the outbreak ofWorld War Ithey both joined Scottish car makersArrol-Johnstonand turned their talents to designing, assembling and testing aero engines. Wallace foundedDuzmo MotorcyclesIn the 1914 Senior TT he averaged 45 mph (72 km/h) and won a Gold Medal.
After the war le Vack had his own garage and it was a chance exchange of a Scott for anMAG-enginedEdmund that re-awakened his interest in motorcycle racing. Tuning up the Edmund led to the neglect of his business, so when he had an offer of employment from Wallace he agreed and began developing Duzmo engines. He then built a competition motorcycle that he used in competitions and demonstrations.[1]He called the bike the 'Ace' and then it became the 'Duzmo' in 1920 when Bert became well known as a racer.
Towards the end of 1920 Bert moved to the Hendee Manufacturing Co, who madeIndian motorcyclesinSpringfield,Massachusetts.He joined their London Depot and developed the eight valve Indian engine. Bert married Ethel Dale in 1912 and there were four children. He divorced Ethel in 1929 and later remarried.
Le Vack was very much in favour of using alcohol-based fuels in racing and obtained supplies from a London distillery. This led to an offer to work as an engine designer for John A. Prestwich, founder of theJAPcompany who produced racing engines for many top marques, includingBrough Superior.Le Vack used his experience of theIndianPowerplus on which he won the famous 500-Mile Race at Brooklands in 1921 to helpJAPdevelop their British vee-twin into what he called a "Yank-buster" – the 'Super Big Twin', so called because of its 986 cc ohv engine. (Indian subsequently dropped out of international competition).
Although le Vack only stayed with JAP for four years he played a significant part in their success and JAP advertisements in theMotor Cycleshowed Bert on aBrough Superiorwith the 976 cc vee-twin JAP engine. As well as his tuning knowledge, le Vack gained a reputation for blending special racing fuels and had his own workshop in theTottenhamfactory. Described as a quietly spoken man with few friends, le Vack became something of an enigma. in a rare interview forThe Motor Cyclein 1923 with the title 'The Making of a Speed Man', he described his early days when he nearly blew himself up by looking into a petrol tank at night with a match.[2]
On 1 January 1930 he joinedMotosacocheinGeneva,Switzerland, for whom he had already ridden in the 1914Isle of Man Tourist Trophy.Motosacoche built racing motorcycles and le Vack joined as the works rider, chief designer and tuner and was killed in theSwiss Alpson 16 September 1931, while driving a motorcycle combination, 16km from Bern on a business trip to Geneva, accompanied by a Bosch engineer as his passenger. He appears to have had a stroke or heart attack, which caused the outfit to swerve off the road, hitting a tree. Both Le Vack and Passenger were thrown off. Le Vack broke his neck, but the passenger was uninjured. The event was reported in the Journal de Geneva of 17 September 1931.[3]His ashes were returned to England and interred near Brooklands in St Mary's churchyard,Byfleetnot far from the grave of racing driverParry Thomas.The inscription on his gravestone simply states 'In Loving Memory of Herbert Le Vack, Dearly Beloved Husband of Mary Helen Le Vack, Who Died in Switzerland, 16 September 1931'.
Racing career
[edit]Bert le Vack rode forBrough Superiorand helped keepT. E. Lawrence's Broughs tuned. He also rode for the leading manufacturers of the 1920s, includingIndian,New Imperialand Zenith, After a time inBirminghamat the New Hudson works, Bert went to Motosacoche and rode for them in the 1914Isle of Man Tourist TrophyRaces. Bert won the Brooklands 500 in 1921 on a 1000 cc Indian. In 1923 he secured second place in the 1923 Lightweight Tourist Trophy Races with aNew Imperial250 cc – despite a breakdown that meant he had to push the bike half a mile to the finish.
World records
[edit]Year | Place | Country | Motorcycle | Speed |
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1921 | Brooklands | UK | Indian | 107.5 miles per hour (173.0 km/h) |
1923-11-10 | Brooklands | UK | 108.48[4] | |
1924 | Cavendish Drive,Clipstone,Nottinghamshire | UK | Brough Superior | 111.1 m.p.h[5] |
1924-7-6 | Arpajon | France | Brough Superior 867 cc | 118.93 |
1929-8-25 | Arpajon | France | Brough Superior 995 cc | 129.07 |
1927 | Brooklands | England | New Hudson 500 cc | 100[6] |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"Duzmo Motorcycles".Archived fromthe originalon 23 June 2008.Retrieved16 July2008.
- ^"New Hudson History".Archived fromthe originalon 11 June 2011.Retrieved16 July2008.
- ^"Memorial to Bert le Vack".Archived fromthe originalon 4 August 2012.Retrieved16 July2008.
- ^"Two-wheeled Land Speed Record".Archived fromthe originalon 16 May 2008.Retrieved17 July2008.
- ^"Cavendish Drive speed trials".Archived fromthe originalon 12 May 2008.Retrieved3 August2008.
- ^"Bert le Vack".Retrieved16 July2008.[dead link]
Further reading
[edit]- Bird, Roger (2008) 'A Glimpse of the Vintage Years of Motorcycling at Brooklands' (published by the author, no ISBN).