Phil Read

Phil Read (born January 1, 1939 in Luton, England) is an English former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer nicknamed "the Prince of Speed." Although he would often be overshadowed by his contemporary, Mike Hailwood, he would become the first man to win world championships in the 125cc, 250cc and 500cc classes.

Biography

In 1964, he gave Yamaha their first world title when he won the 250cc class. He would repeat as champion the following year. For 1966, Yamaha would introduce a new, four cylinder 250cc bike. Teething problems with the new engine meant he would lose the crown to Hailwood. In 1967 he would battle Hailwood on his six-cylinder Honda all the way to the final round. They would end up tied but, Hailwood took the crown due to having five wins to Read's four.

Phil Read i

The 1968 season proved to be controversial for Read. The Yamaha factory had wanted Read to concentrate on winning the 125cc title and team-mate Bill Ivy to take the 250cc crown. After winning the 125cc championship, Read decided to disobey team orders and fight Ivy for the 250cc title. They finished the season tied in the points and Read was awarded the championship based on elapsed times. It was a costly decision as Yamaha would never offer him another ride.

After sitting out most of the 1969 and 1970 seasons when the major Japanese factories all withdrew from Grand Prix racing, he returned in 1971 on an Eric Cheney modified privateer Yamaha with no factory support. On this bike he was able to claim his fifth world championship.

In 1972 he was given a ride with the MV Agusta team and in 1973, he took the 500cc world championship. He successfully defended his crown in 1974 in what would be the last world championship for the legendary Italian marque. It would also be the last time a four-stroke machine would win a title until the advent of the MotoGP class in 2002.

File:Phil Read No 10 i.jpg

Phil Read No 10 i

He would give Agostini's Yamaha a strong fight for the 1975 500cc championship but finished in second place. Realizing the writing was on the wall for four-stroke machinery, he left the Italian company to campaign a privateer Suzuki in the 1976 season after which, he retired from Grand Prix racing. His last race was at the Isle of Man TT in 1982 at the age of 43. The FIM named him a Grand Prix "Legend" in 2002.

A less well-known aspect of Read's career was his involvement in endurance racing. He rode a Honda in the 24-hour Bol d'Or endurance race at Le Mans; and he was involved in the 8-hour race at Thruxton.

Motorcycle Grand Prix results

Year	Class	Classification	Machine	Victories
1963	250cc	10th	Yamaha	0
1964	125cc	8th	Yamaha	0
1964	250cc	1st	Yamaha	5
1964	350cc	6th	AJS	0
1965	125cc	10th	Yamaha	1
1965	250cc	1st	Yamaha	7
1965	350cc	9th	Yamaha	0
1966	125cc	4th	Yamaha	1
1966	250cc	2nd	Yamaha	0
1966	350cc	8th	Yamaha	1
1967	125cc	2nd	Yamaha	2
1967	250cc	2nd	Yamaha	4
1968	125cc	1st	Yamaha	6
1968	250cc	1st	Yamaha	5
1969	250cc	13th	Yamaha	1
1969	350cc	13th	Yamaha	1
1971	250cc	1st	Yamaha	3
1972	250cc	4th	Yamaha	2
1972	350cc	5th	MV Agusta	1
1973	350cc	3rd	MV Agusta	0
1973	500cc	1st	MV Agusta	4
1974	500cc	1st	MV Agusta	4
1975	500cc	2nd	MV Agusta	2
1976	500cc	10th	Suzuki	0