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| Neville Miller - Preserving a Canadain Racing Legend |
| Ottawa Section CVMG |
Preserving a Canadian racing legend
Shannon Lee Mannion, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Friday, April 20, 2007
Ottawa motorcyclist Neville Miller travelled to Toronto on Feb. 10 to celebrate Alec Bennett's induction into the
Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame.
The Hall of Fame's purpose is to recognize the achievements of outstanding Canadian competitors in motorsport,
both in Canada and in international competition. And Alec Bennett was one of the jewels in the crown of Canadian
accomplishment.
Miller has documented Bennett's motorcycling successes in detail and created a replica of the machine he rode in
his fifth and final Isle of Man Tourist Trophy Race in 1928 (Also called the TT Race).
Alexander "Alec" Bennett was born in Craigantlet, in the north of Ireland, in 1897. His family came to Canada in
1905 and he grew up in Vancouver until he joined the Canadian army as a motorcycle mechanic in 1916.
Immediately deployed to Europe, he became a motorcycle dispatch rider in France.
After the war, he used his riding skills as what we'd refer to today as a factory rider. He rode for some of the big
names: Sunbeam, Douglas, Norton and Velocette.
He commanded Velocette to its first TT victory in 1926, setting a lap record of 68.75 m.p.h. and winning by a
margin of 10 minutes 25 seconds. In 1928, he broke the lap record three times, achieving speeds of 70.28 m.p.h.
on a 350 cc Velocette, winning by more than five minutes.
As a result of Bennett's win, Velocette decided to reproduce his bike and make it available to the public. They
renamed it from the KSS, K standing for overhead cam and SS for Super Sport, and called it the KTT, TT in
recognition of Bennett's remarkable Tourist Trophy win.
Bennett died at the age of 76 in 1973. At his induction this year, the Motorsports Hall of Fame noted: "To this day,
no Canadian rider has come close to matching his record. He was the most successful motorcycle racer Canada
ever produced."
Over cups of tea in Velocette-branded mugs, Miller and I looked at Alec Bennett memorabilia and talked about
how a similar motorcycle to the one he rode nearly 80 years ago found its way into Miller's hands.
Q: What is the story behind you acquiring this motorcycle?
A: I was in Texas in 2004 working in satellite communications. The bike was in Colorado and appeared for sale on
eBay. I was not the highest bidder, had reached my max and bowed out. However, the guy who was highest bidder
never came up with the money so the owner contacted me.
Q: Why was he selling this motorcycle?
A: The short answer: he didn't know what he had. The bike came from New Zealand. He'd inherited it as part of his
father-in-law's estate. We arranged to meet halfway, in Dumas, Texas, just north of Amarillo.
Q: Your anticipation must've been great as you drove to meet him. Had you clinched the deal?
A: I travelled with an empty truck and as long as the bike met certain criteria, I was planning to buy it.
Q: What criteria were you looking for?
A: That the machine was as he described it in the advertisement.
Q: Do you know of other Velocettes such as yours in Ottawa? Canada?
A: There are other Velocettes but no one else has one of these. I believe that mine is the oldest Velo in Canada.
Barry Brown (well-known collector of motorcycles) used to have a KN but it went back to England.
Q: Do you think this one will end up back in England?
A: Not unless I go with it.
Send Auto-Biography nominations to driving@thecitizen.canwest.com.
Shannon Lee Mannion, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Friday, April 20, 2007
Ottawa motorcyclist Neville Miller travelled to Toronto on Feb. 10 to celebrate Alec Bennett's induction into the
Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame.
The Hall of Fame's purpose is to recognize the achievements of outstanding Canadian competitors in motorsport,
both in Canada and in international competition. And Alec Bennett was one of the jewels in the crown of Canadian
accomplishment.
Miller has documented Bennett's motorcycling successes in detail and created a replica of the machine he rode in
his fifth and final Isle of Man Tourist Trophy Race in 1928 (Also called the TT Race).
Alexander "Alec" Bennett was born in Craigantlet, in the north of Ireland, in 1897. His family came to Canada in
1905 and he grew up in Vancouver until he joined the Canadian army as a motorcycle mechanic in 1916.
Immediately deployed to Europe, he became a motorcycle dispatch rider in France.
After the war, he used his riding skills as what we'd refer to today as a factory rider. He rode for some of the big
names: Sunbeam, Douglas, Norton and Velocette.
He commanded Velocette to its first TT victory in 1926, setting a lap record of 68.75 m.p.h. and winning by a
margin of 10 minutes 25 seconds. In 1928, he broke the lap record three times, achieving speeds of 70.28 m.p.h.
on a 350 cc Velocette, winning by more than five minutes.
As a result of Bennett's win, Velocette decided to reproduce his bike and make it available to the public. They
renamed it from the KSS, K standing for overhead cam and SS for Super Sport, and called it the KTT, TT in
recognition of Bennett's remarkable Tourist Trophy win.
Bennett died at the age of 76 in 1973. At his induction this year, the Motorsports Hall of Fame noted: "To this day,
no Canadian rider has come close to matching his record. He was the most successful motorcycle racer Canada
ever produced."
Over cups of tea in Velocette-branded mugs, Miller and I looked at Alec Bennett memorabilia and talked about
how a similar motorcycle to the one he rode nearly 80 years ago found its way into Miller's hands.
Q: What is the story behind you acquiring this motorcycle?
A: I was in Texas in 2004 working in satellite communications. The bike was in Colorado and appeared for sale on
eBay. I was not the highest bidder, had reached my max and bowed out. However, the guy who was highest bidder
never came up with the money so the owner contacted me.
Q: Why was he selling this motorcycle?
A: The short answer: he didn't know what he had. The bike came from New Zealand. He'd inherited it as part of his
father-in-law's estate. We arranged to meet halfway, in Dumas, Texas, just north of Amarillo.
Q: Your anticipation must've been great as you drove to meet him. Had you clinched the deal?
A: I travelled with an empty truck and as long as the bike met certain criteria, I was planning to buy it.
Q: What criteria were you looking for?
A: That the machine was as he described it in the advertisement.
Q: Do you know of other Velocettes such as yours in Ottawa? Canada?
A: There are other Velocettes but no one else has one of these. I believe that mine is the oldest Velo in Canada.
Barry Brown (well-known collector of motorcycles) used to have a KN but it went back to England.
Q: Do you think this one will end up back in England?
A: Not unless I go with it.
Send Auto-Biography nominations to driving@thecitizen.canwest.com.