1953

AMC developed its G9/7R hybrid into the G45 production racer (the ‘45’ reflected the 500 twin’s claimed power output).

In the USA Professor Red Lombard was granted a patent for a crash helmet.

The BSA Gold Star was treated to swinging arm rear suspension. Also new from Hall Green was the Super Flash, a tuned plunger-framed Golden Flash. Within months the A10 got swinging-arm suspension and the Super Flash became the Road Rocket.

Road racing returned to London with the revival of the Crystal Palace circuit by the London County Council. Facilities included a trackside railway station.

The World Road Racing Championship, started in 1949 with six rounds, had grown to nine ‘classics’: the TT and the Ulster, Belgian, Dutch, French, German, Swiss, Italian and Spanish Grands Prix. The best five performances counted towards each manufacturer’s points standings.