It is with sadness that we have learnt of the passing of yet another legend of motorcycling in New Zealand. Dunedin’s Noel McCutcheon passed away this morning. A top New Zealand racer both in domestic racing but also Internationally. Noel also competed in other areas of the sport, such as scrambles and trials. He was an MNZ official right into his later life. He was a life member of the Otago Motorcycle Club. His son Michael was also a leading racer as was his Grandson Adam. He also owned a motorcycle shop in Dunedin for many years. In 1957 Noel and fellow Kiwis John Hempleman and Peter Murphy won the Junior and Senior TT Teams prize on the Isle of Man. The team repeated that in 1958 with Teammates John Anderson and Peter Pawson with Noel as team captain. Noel finished 9th in the 1957 Junior TT at the Isle of Man. He also competed in Europe, in what was known as the continental circus at the time. A series of World Championship and International race meetings in various countries. In the 1980s and 90s, he was still racing and was also a manager of the New Zealand Team at the Isle of Man, where the team won the Maudes Trophy. He was inducted as a life member of Motorcycling New Zealand in 2011.
Words by Ian Dawson