George Begg's interest in motorsport started with two wheels, not four. Like so many young New Zealanders in the late 1940s George turned to a motorcycle for cheap transport to take him to and from his job as a trainee fitter and turner. From a farming community in Southland, one of the most southerly parts of New Zealand's South Island, George realised his ambitions would take him into engineering, not farming, and he moved to the southern city of Dunedin. His older brother sold him a 1929 BSA Sloper motorcycle, no marvel as a sports machine but it enthralled the young rider. Sheer enthusiasm for motorcycling meant absorbing every detail about bikes, and bike racing, in particular the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy races. The urge to go racing resulted in the purchase of a 1938 Royal Enfield Silver Bullet 500cc single, with which George competed in club races. The Bullet, steadily modified further for racing, was joined by a BSA Golden Flash 650 twin. After completing his apprenticeship in 1952, George felt that fortunes were to made elsewhere and, in company with close friend Doug Johnson, headed north.
New racing challengesThe first step into serious racing was a 500cc Triumph GP twin, then a Velocette KTT was bought for the pair to share, to be joined by a Norton Manx 500cc, but Johnson was soon to sell out his share and return home after a family bereavement.For George the time had come to chase a particular dream; to compete at the Isle of Man. He sold up and in 1955 set sail for Britain in company with friend Bob Cook. En route from Southampton to Liverpool (to embark for the Isle of Man) he called in at the AJS works to collect his new 7R 350cc racer. These racers were extremely competitive as delivered from the factory, and provided hundreds of riders with fast, good-handling, reliable racing motorcycles. Taking part in the 1955 Manx Grand Prix races for amateur riders was exciting, terrifying, and enormously rewarding and a mid-field result in both the Junior (350) and Senior (500) GPs gave George two finisher's medallions.
After the Manx races the pair returned to England and competed in club events, against some very famous names, including Duke and Surtees. While the racing lacked the social enjoyment of New Zealand, the team-mates enjoyed some modest success. Working in a variety of engineering jobs to support themselves, George and Bob competed in the GP again in 1956, George again receiving a finisher's medallion, while Bob Cook won a silver winner's replica for his 25th place. Bob was to die in a racing accident at the Aintree circuit near Liverpool within a few months of the GP, a shattering blow. His heart no longer in it, George competed in the Ulster Grand Prix of 1956 knowing he was finishing with racing. The 7R and the rest of his equipment was sold and he prepared to return to New Zealand early in the new year. One thing had changed, however. On the Isle of Man he had met, and married, Freda. Back |
George Begg flat out at the bottom of Bray Hill, 1955 Manx GPs, on an AJS 7R.