A superb and rare photo of Stephen Murray , seen in action with his nice 250cc Excelsior Manxman during the 1953 250cc Ulster Grand Prix which was ridden on August 15, 1953. This image shows excellent detail of his interesting racing machine. Murray has adapted his frame for racing, adding amongst others a rear swinging arm. A typical feature of many Excelsior Manxman’s that was still active in racing in the 1950s.

This was Stephen Murray ‘s first Ulster Grand Prix. He was a 20 year old coal miner when this image was taken and his big hobby at the time was ice-skating. His Manxman was still a strong 250 contender in the 1950s.

This great photograph of the Grand Prix of Ulster was taken during the 250cc race of 1953. The race was won by Reg Armstrong (Ireland) on a NSU Rennmax with an average race speed of 81.76 mph (131,58 km/h).

The Excelsior Manxman was a British motorcycle designed and built by H. J. Hatch and Eric Walker of the Excelsior Motor Company in Tyseley, Birmingham. Although it never won the Isle of Man TT, the Manxman was a very popular and reliable motorcycle which was successful in international racing and the Manx Grand Prix. Production was halted by World War II and did not resume. The Excelsior Motor Company did not make engines before World War II so Excelsior's Eric Walker worked in partnership with Blackburne's Ike Hatch, building on ideas developed by Rudge motorcycles on four valve engines to develop an entirely new twin camshaft design with pushrod operated valves that they called the 'mechanical marvel'. This was planned as the power unit for a new motorcycle to be called the Marvel and the prototype won the 1933 lightweight TT. It was decided however, that this engine was too complicated for mass production so the team developed a simpler two valve single overhead cam configuration in in 250cc, 350 and 500cc capacities which were all marketed as the Manxman and had the Isle of Man emblem on the engine casing and a bronze cylinder head. Although riders found it heavy, the Manxman handled well and was very reliable - if a bit over engineered. Road and race versions were produced but the 500 was only ever marketed as a sports roadster. In 1936 a four valve version was developed and won second place in the 1936 and 1937 Lightweight TT races. The Manxman also became a popular choice for the independent TT racers or privateers who went on to achieve many wins until World War II stopped them racing. In 1937 the company developed a shorter-stroke 250 engine and an aluminum-alloy cylinder head with right-hand exhaust port.

The Ulster Grand Prix is a motorcycle road race that takes place on the Dundrod Circuit near Belfast, Northern Ireland. The first races took place in 1922 and in 1935 and 1948 the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme gave it the title Grand Prix d'Europe. The Ulster Grand Prix was included as one of the races in the inaugural 1949 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, a place it held until 1971. It also counted for the TT Championship between 1979 and 1990. According to the race organisers, it is the fastest road race in the world. Thomas Moles, motorcycle enthusiast and Member of Parliament, helped to push through parliament the first Road Races Act, which made it legal for the Clady Course to be closed for the first Ulster Grand Prix on 14 October 1922. That first race had 75 entries in four classes (250cc, 350cc, 600cc and over 600cc). The race has been held on three different circuits. The 20.5 mile Old Clady circuit was used from 1922 until 1939 and included a notoriously bumpy 7-mile straight. It also ran across part of the grass runway at RAF Aldergrove and for the first two years of its existence the pits were on the Seven Mile Straight, by Loanends Primary School. In 1926 the 500cc race was won by Graham Walker on a Sunbeam. He also won the 1928 Senior race on a Rudge. In the 1936 Lightweight (250cc) event, Ginger Wood and Bob Foster, both on New Imperials, crossed the line so close, that after over 200 miles of racing, it took the judges an hour to decide that Wood was the winner by one-fifth of a second. Foster was, however, adjudged to have achieved the fastest lap. The 1939 Grand Prix was almost called off, but went ahead in spite of an entry of only 60 riders. After World War II the new Clady circuit was used that, due to road improvements, was now 16.5 miles in length and in use between 1947 and 1952. In 1953 the race was moved to the 7.401 mile Dundrod Circuit where it is still held. The event was cancelled in 1972 because of the political situation in Northern Ireland and in 2001, during the Foot-and-mouth crisis, when the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT were cancelled, the race was held. The 2007 Grand Prix attracted an entry of 162 riders, including 38 new riders, and took place on 18 August 2007, sponsored by The Belfast Telegraph. Joey Dunlop won twenty four Ulster Grand Prix races during his career with Phillip McCallen winning fourteen races and Brian Reid nine wins. Some of the famous riders include: Stanley Woods (7 wins), Jimmie Guthrie, Jimmie Simpson, Artie Bell, Les Graham, Freddie Frith (3 wins), Geoff Duke (3 wins), John Surtees (6 wins), Ray Amm, Carlo Ubbiali (5 wins), Bill Lomas (3 wins), Mike Hailwood (7 wins), Giacomo Agostini (7 wins), Phil Read (3 wins), Bill Ivy (3 wins), Bob McIntyre, Gary Hocking (3 wins), Tom Herron (5 wins), Ron Haslam (5 wins), Jon Ekerold, and more recently Mick Grant, Wayne Gardner, Steve Hislop, Robert Dunlop (9 wins) and Carl Fogarty. The most recent rider to join the famous riders group is Guy Martin (5 wins).

Excelsior was based in Coventry. Besides motorcycles it also made cars and bicycles. They were Britain’s first motorcycle manufacturer, starting production of their own ‘motor-bicycle’ in 1896. Initially they had premises at Lower Ford Street, Coventry, and 287-295 Stoney Stanton Road, Hillfields, Coventry, Warwickshire before moving to Kings Road, Tyseley, Birmingham in 1921. Originally a bicycle company making penny-farthings in 1874 under their original name: Bayliss, Thomas and Co, they later sold bicycles under the names of Excelsior and Eureka and changed the company name to Excelsior Motor Co. in 1910. In the early years of motor-bicycle manufacture they used Minerva, De Dion, MMC and possibly a Condor 850 cc single but went on to produce a wide range of machines with engines from most major manufacturers. In 1914, they offered a JAP-powered twin. A deal to supply the Russian Imperial government with motorcycles ended with the Revolution and Excelsior wound up with an excess inventory as a result. The Walker family (father Reginald and son Eric) took over after World War I. R Walker & Sons of Tyseley, Birmingham had started as makers of ships lamps but in 1919 had made a range of motorcycles under the Monarch name to be sold by the London Department store Gamages. The company was re-registered as the Excelsior Motor Company Ltd, production moved to Birmingham and the Lower Ford Street factory in Coventry sold to Francis-Barnett. They made a range of motorcycles from 98 to 1,000 cc, mostly powered by JAP, Blackburne and Villiers engines, plus an 850 cc Condor engine. The new company put more effort in competition and racing. To avoid confusion with the American maker of the same name, they called themselves the "British Excelsior". Their first major racing success was in 1929 when they took the Lightweight TT race on a B14, soon to be their most popular model. Emerged from the Great Depression in a sound financial state, Excelsior commissioned Blackburne to design a 4-valve racing engine. Known as the Mechanical Marvel, it won the 1933 TT in its first outing. The ncomplex machine continued with great success on the Continent but was retired at the end of the 1934 season as it was too complex to offer for sale as a production racer. That role was filled from 1935 by the stunning 2-valve overhead camshaft Manxman. The Manxman was first raced at the 1935 Isle of Man Lightweight TT. The works bike had a left port aluminium head and barrel but had a very long stroke and was slow. The following year saw the first appearance of shorter stroke four-valve cammy racers. They raced again in 1937 TT in both 250 and 350 capacities but were retired in May 1938 before that year's TT. The TT bikes reverted to 2 valve heads but had plunger rear suspension. They were just as quick as the 4-valvers and much easier to set up. Excelsior did not officially contest the 1939 TT but a syndicate raced the previous year's machines as well as a prototype 500cc production racer. Although Excelsior Manxman did not win a TT before the war, they came 2nds in 36, 37 and 38 and 3rd in 1939. Perhaps their greatest success was winning the European GP in front of 200,000 people at Chemnitz in Germany in 1936. Their major contribution to the war effort was the 98 cc (6 in³) Welbike (Corgi), a collapsible motorcycle delivered in a pod by parachute, intended to be used by paratroops for 'rapid' movement around a battlefield. But the company wasn't doing well and in the lean years following World War II racing and luxury machines were sidelined in favour of cheap two-stroke engines. After the war, they used Villiers engines to make the 250 cc Viking and in 1949 the Talisman, a smooth two-stroke with 180-degree crank. A later 328 cc twin-carb sports version didn't sell well. In 1919 the company made an experimental 3 wheel car with air-cooled engine but this did not go into production. But, in 1920 Excelsior entered the car business with a range of 4 wheel models and used the name Bayliss-Thomas as there was already a Belgian car called the Excelsior. Cars were still listed in catalogues until 1931 but it is likely that none were made after 1929. Excelsior last manufactured a motorcycle in 1964 and folded in 1965. Britax, a car accessory company bought the name and produced limited numbers of Britax-Excelsior machines in the late 1970s.

This is a very nice and very rare non period photo that reflects a wonderful era of 1950s motorcycle history in a wonderful way. This is your rare chance to own this photo, therefore it is printed in a nice large format of ca. 8" x 12" (ca. 20 x 30 cm). It makes it perfectly suitable for framing!

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