Obituary: Former Manx Grand Prix winner Dave was unassuming and underrated

When Dave Broadhead won the Junior Manx Grand Prix in 1981 he did not initially receive the credit he so richly deserved.

For a tall man on a compact 350cc Yamaha twin he always looked to be above the screen, which was a disadvantage, but he could certainly ride.

Rob Vine was quickest in practice, followed by Rob Britton and Kenny Shepherd, but ‘Broadie’ got off to a flyer in the race to enjoyed a two-second advantage over Shepherd, with Vine another 3.8s down in third.

The lead was up to seven seconds over Vine after two laps, with Kevin ‘Mad Yank’ Wilson fourth and Dave Ashton fifth.

Vine lead-frogged ahead of Broadhead on lap three and was 40s ahead going into lap five, with Broadhead and Shepherd tying for second place.

Broadhead got the ‘hurry up’ message and halved Vine’s advantage, but the latter had an unscheduled extra pit stop at the end of lap five with gear lever issues, enabling the Foxdale man to retake the lead. He ultimately won by 19s from Ashton, with Shepherd another 3.6s down in third.

Having lost more than a minute-and-a-half in the pits, Vine came home fifth, sandwiched between Canada-born Laxey resident Wilson and Sulby’s Chris Grose.

Broadhead’s race average of 105.91mph was the quickest by a 350cc in the Manx to that point but he was not credited as the Junior record holder as Clive Watts had gone quicker two years earlier on a RG Suzuki when, for some bizarre reason, the capacity class was upped to 500cc for that year.

As a 350 (the traditional Junior capacity), Broadhead’s race average stood for a full decade until Dave Milling won at 109.68mph in 1991.

Also interesting was the fact that Broadhead and Vine tied for the fastest lap in 1981 with a speed of 107.95mph (both 20m 58.2s!).

Dave had a Suzuki RG for the Senior and was third quickest in practice behind Mark Johns and Nick Jefferies (ahead of Rob McElnea), but that expired early on in the race and Dave East won.

Stepping up to the TT, Broadie never really had top-quality machinery, probably because in his unassuming way he never pushed himself for sponsorship and preferred to do things his own quiet way.

He rode the TT from 1982 to 1989 but only managed two finishes from nine starts, with a best of 18th in the 1983 Junior 350cc won by Phil Mellor.

After that he stepped away from racing and lived a relatively private life, happy with his lot. He’d achieved his two-wheel ambition and simply concentrated on his marriage and family, almost reclusive but always enjoying a chat about the old days. It was like the closing of one chapter and the opening of a new very different one.

Known by his mates as ‘Worzel’ in his racing days, because of his straight, straw-like fair hair, he definitely had more of a Goth look about him in recent times. That was Dave - certainly different, but generous, understated and always up for a laugh.

Dave died recently of cancer at the age of 69. A funeral service will be held at Douglas Borough Crematorium next Wednesday, July 8, at 11.30am, no particular dress code. Donations in lieu of flowers may be sent to Hogg Motorsport Association.