Walter F Rusk

Walter Rusk was born in Belfast in 1910 and from an early age he developed a passion for speed, particularly on two wheels. His first road race win was the 1931 Temple 100 on a 500 Norton. His ability caught the attention of two manufacturers; firstly AJS who provided a factory bike for the 1931 Ulster Grand Prix. Mechanical problems resulted in a retirement, and for 1932 he was on a 250 works Rudge.

Norton Works Team
In 1933 he was entered for the Senior TT on a Sunbeam. The ‘Beam failed to finish; but his dashing style caught the attention of Joe Craig. The outcome was an invitation to join the Norton works team alongside Stanley Woods and Tim Hunt. His first race on a works Norton was the 1933 Ulster. Team orders were for Hunt to win the Senior class, which was an arrangement that greatly displeased Woods, who was naturally keen for success in front of a home crowd. Right from the start Hunt and Woods became involved in a wheel-to-wheel battle, which finally ended with Hunt’s retirement. Rusk made a strong challenge to pass Woods but the wily Dubliner held his lead to the chequered flag. Still on Nortons, Rusk won the 350cc class of the 1934 North West 200. This was an important event in Irish races and was held just prior to the TT in June. Walter was entered on Velocettes for the TT; in which he finished seventh in the Junior. On the new 500 Velo he prevented a Norton clean sweep by finishing third in the Senior, and later in the year he scored a memorable win in the Senior Ulster and with a record lap of 92mph.

1935 Season
For 1935 he re-joined the Norton team, and at the NW 200 he scored another win in the 350 race. Then it was off to the TT where Nortons were fielding a four-man team of Guthrie, Rusk, Duncan and White. The Junior was a predictable Norton 1-2-3 of Guthrie, Rusk and White but due to impossible weather conditions Friday’s Senior race was postponed until the Saturday. It was a major disappointment for hundreds of spectators who were unable to extend their travel and accommodation bookings. For those who could, it proved to be one of the most dramatic of all Senior TTs.

A Dramatic Senior TT
Earlier in the week Stanley Woods scored a convincing Lightweight win on a 250 Moto Guzzi. He was entered for the Senior on the rear-sprung twin Guzzi. It was regarded as fast but fragile and unlikely to seriously challenge the Nortons. For six of the seven laps Guthrie held a commanding lead. Woods had climbed to second place but appeared well beaten. But Woods called on all his resources to put in a final record lap to beat Guthrie by a margin of four seconds after three hours of intense racing. Two minutes in arrears was third-placed Walter Rusk.

Disaster at Ulster
The 1935 season culminated with the Ulster Grand Prix, which was also that year’s Grand Prix d’Europe. Rusk was naturally anxious to repeat his 1934 Velocette victory and he and Guthrie set a furious pace well ahead of the field. Both came to grief on melting tar at Muckamore; Guthrie was quickly up and away but Rusk suffered a fractured arm. It proved to be a serious injury and was enough to put him out of racing until the 1938 TT. Despite not being 100% fit he returned to the series with a 250cc OK Supreme. Walter’s TT ended in retirement but he enjoyed better fortune riding Nortons in that year’s continental races. For 1939 he was entered for the TT and the Ulster on a works AJS. His mount for the Junior TT was a new Mk.VIII KTT Velocette.

Final Events
Since its last outing at the 1936 TT the blown AJS V4 had undergone serious changes, including water cooling. Walter Rusk and Bob Foster each rode one in the 1939 Senior. They were down on speed, but at least they held together for the entire race, with Rusk finishing 11th and Foster 13th. At the 1939 Ulster Grand Prix, Rusk gave the fearsome AJS a moment of glory when he initially led the 500cc race. In so doing he became the first rider to lap a British circuit at 100 mph. But the pounding the Ajay received was just too much for it. Walter was leading by 20 seconds when he was forced to retire with a broken fork link. Italian star, Dorino Serafini went on to score a convincing win on the supercharged Gilera.

Royal Air Force
Ulster was the final event in a memorable decade of racing. Days later World War 2 began and seven long years were to pass before those daring young men donned their leathers again. Many of the old faces were missing and sadly Walter Rusk was one of them. He was not prepared to sit out the war at home and volunteered for the RAF. Walter was accepted for the pilot’s course, and on completion of his primary training he then moved on to advanced training at No.7 Training School at Peterborough. On an early morning flight a Hawker Hart crashed into a hillside,;killing its student pilot. Walter Rusk’s death robbed Ulster of one of its best-loved racers. Källa: Wikipedia.