Cyril Pullin

Cyril George Pullin was born 1892 in Wandsworth, London. He became a well known motorcycle racer and in 1914 won the Isle of Man TT race.

Racing career

In 1914, Pullin won the Isle of Man TT with a record average of 49.49 mph (79.65 km/h) on a Rudge Multi which had a variable belt drive gearbox giving an effective option of over 20 speeds which made a huge difference on the hills. The race, which ran for over four hours was led by Oliver Godfrey (riding an Indian) and Howard R Davies (on a Sunbeam) who dead heated for second place when Pullin overtook them both to win by only 6.4 seconds. Pullin's success on the day was sadly marred when fellow competitor in the Junior TT Frank Walker came round the final corner on his Royal Enfield to find the road blocked by people trying to see the finish. He did his best to avoid injuring spectators but was killed in the crash. Following the tragedy the organisers of the TT introduced rope barriers and crowd control.

On 23 March 1922 at Brooklands, Pullin established a new record and became the first ever British motorcyclist to be timed at over 100 m.p.h. on a 3 hp Douglas 500cc motorcycle.

Car and motorcycle business

In 1928, Pullin took over the former Phoenix factory in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, to produce Ascot-Pullin Motorcycles and the Ascot car based on the Hungarian Fejes, with chassis and 10 hp engine assembled from welded steel pressings. It never went into production.

A larger car, the Ascot Gold Cup Six with a 2423 cc six-cylinder engine possibly made by Continental, three-speed gearbox and servo brakes did become a reality and a few production cars were made. It was advertised as being available as a two-seat sports, coupé or fabric saloon.