Hi Jake,

Firstly, are you sure that it's Les Graham in the photo? He never had a riding number 86 in any TT.

In the 1953 Senior TT, 86 was Carlo Bandirola's number on the other MV that started - he withdrew in sympathy after Les's fatal accident. Carlo rode with a star on the front of the hat.

It may be a practice shot - you can tell, since side numbers were not used in practice. It may well be that Les took out Carlo's bike in practice, but there's no reference to this in the contemporary reports.

If you'd like to scan the photo to me, I'll be able to tell you who it is!!