Mike Hailwood

Mike Hailwood

Motorcycle Grand Prix Career
Nationality	Great Britain
Active years	1958 - 1967
Team(s)	Honda, MV Agusta
Grands Prix	152
Championships	250cc - 1961, 1966, 1967 350cc - 1966, 1967. 500cc -1962,1963,1964,1965.
Wins	76
Podium finishes	112
Pole positions	N/A
Fastest laps	N/A
First Grand Prix	1958 250cc Isle of Man TT
First win	1959 125cc Ulster Grand Prix
Last win	1967 350cc Japanese Grand Prix
Last Grand Prix	1967 350cc Japanese Grand Prix

Stanley Michael Bailey Hailwood MBE (April 2 1940 – March 23 1981) was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racer regarded by many as possibly the greatest racer of all time. He was known as Mike "The Bike" because of his natural riding ability. Later in his career he went on to compete in Formula One auto racing, becoming one of the few men to compete at the Grand Prix level on motorcycles and in auto racing.

Mike Hailwood was born at Great Milton in Oxfordshire, His father, who also raced in the pre-World War II era, owned a large motorcycle distributorship and young Hailwood was raised in relative affluence. He began riding at an early age, starting on a minibike as a small boy. He learned to ride in an eight-acre field near his home and wore an oval track from the constant laps he rode on Sunday afternoons after church. He was educated at Pangbourne College, but left early and worked for a short time in the family business before his father sent him to work at Triumph motorcycles. He married Pauline Barbara Nash on 11 June, 1975 and had a son and a daughter.

Motorcycle Racing Career

Hailwood first raced on 22 April 1957, at Oulton Park. Barely 17, he finishing in 11th place, but was soon winning on a regular basis. By 1961, Hailwood was racing for a Japanese upstart factory named Honda. Riding a four-stroke, four-cylinder 250cc Honda, Hailwood won the 1961 250cc world championship. In 1962, Hailwood signed with MV Agusta and went on to become the first rider to win four consecutive 500cc World Championships. After his success with MV Agusta, Hailwood went back to Honda and won four more world titles in 1966 and 1967 in the 250cc and 350cc categories.

Hailwood is perhaps best known for his accomplishment at the renowned Isle of Man TT. By 1967, he had won 12 times on the infamous island mountain course. He won what many historians consider to be the greatest Isle of Man race of all time, the 1967 Senior TT against his great rival, Giacomo Agostini.[1]

In 1968, Honda pulled out of Grand Prix racing, but paid Hailwood not to ride in expectation of keeping him as its rider upon return to competition. But Hailwood would never return to motorcycle racing on a full-time basis, instead electing to pursue a career in auto racing.

Auto Racing Career

While he never attained the success in cars that he had on motorcycles, Hailwood became a respected driver in Formula One and World Sports Cars. He won the 1972 Formula Two world title and earned a podium finish at the 24 Hours of LeMans. He participated in 50 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting in the British Grand Prix on July 20, 1963. He achieved two podium finishes, and scored a total of 29 championship points. Hailwood earned the admiration of fans and fellow drivers when in the 1973 South African Grand Prix, Hailwood stopped his car on the circuit to pull Clay Regazzoni from his burning car after an accident, an act for which he was awarded the George Medal. He left Formula One after being injured at the 1974 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring.

The Comeback

In 1978, after an 11 year hiatus from motorcycling, Hailwood performed one of the most legendary comebacks in motor sports at the Isle of Man TT. Few observers believed the 38 year old would be competitive after such a long absence. Riding on a Ducati 900SS, he was not only competitive, but managed a hugely popular win. He raced the following year at the Isle of Man TT before retiring for good at the age of 39. He retired with 76 Grand Prix victories, 14 Isle of Man TT wins and 9 World Championships.

He was awarded the Segrave Trophy in 1979.

Legacy

Hailwood died tragically in an automobile accident on March 23, 1981. His daughter, Michelle, was also killed in the crash, and his son, David, survived.

An annual "Mike Hailwood Memorial Run" takes place in March every year. The start point is the former Norton factory in Aston, Birmingham. The run goes out to Portway, where the accident occurred and then onto the church in Tanworth-in-Arden where Mike and Michelle are buried. 2006 is the 25th anniversary of this tragic accident. More details of the run can be found at www.madeinbirmingham.org

Motorcycle Grand Prix results

Year	Class	Classification	Machine	Victories
1958	250cc	4th	NSU	0
1958	350cc	6th	Norton	0
1959	125cc	3rd	Ducati	1
1959	250cc	5th	Mondial	0
1960	125cc	10th	Ducati	0
1960	250cc	5th	Mondial	0
1960	500cc	6th	Norton	0
1961	125cc	6th	Honda	1
1961	250cc	1st	Honda	4
1961	350cc	8th	MV Agusta	0
1961	500cc	2nd	MV Agusta	2
1962	125cc	5th	EMC	0
1962	350cc	3rd	MV Agusta	1
1962	500cc	1st	MV Agusta	5
1963	250cc	6th	MZ	1
1963	350cc	2nd	MV Agusta	2
1963	500cc	1st	MV Agusta	7
1964	350cc	4th	MV Agusta	0
1964	500cc	1st	MV Agusta	7
1965	250cc	10th	Honda	1
1965	350cc	3rd	MV Agusta	1
1965	500cc	1st	MV Agusta	8
1966	250cc	1st	Honda	10
1966	350cc	1st	Honda	6
1966	500cc	2nd	Honda	3
1967	250cc	1st	Honda	5
1967	350cc	1st	Honda	6
1967	500cc	2nd	Honda	5

Complete Formula One results

(Note: grands prix in bold denote points scoring races.)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Team
1963	Lotus	MON	BEL	DUT	FRA	GBR	DEU	ITA	USA	MEX	SAF						Lola
1964	Lotus	MON	DUT	BEL	FRA	GBR	DEU	AUT	ITA	USA	MEX						Lotus
1965	Lotus	SAF	MON	BEL	FRA	GBR	DUT	DEU	ITA	USA	MEX						Lotus
1971	Surtees	SAF	SPA	MON	DUT	FRA	GBR	DEU	AUT	ITA	CAN	USA					Surtees
1972	Surtees	ARG	SAF	SPA	MON	BEL	FRA	GBR	DEU	AUT	ITA	CAN	USA				Surtees
1973	Surtees	ARG	BRA	SAF	SPA	BEL	MON	SWE	FRA	GBR	DUT	DEU	AUT	ITA	CAN	USA	Surtees
1974	McLaren	ARG	BRA	SAF	SPA	BEL	MON	SWE	DUT	FRA	GBR	DEU	AUT	ITA	CAN	USA	McLaren

References

• 50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix (1st edition). Hazelton Publishing Ltd, 1999. ISBN 1-874557-83-7
• Motorcycle Hall of Fame

Sources

• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

External links

• " The Mike Hailwood Memorial Run" website