Mike Hailwood

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Mike Hailwood bigraphy, stories - British motorcycle racer and racing driver

Mike Hailwood : biography

2 April 1940 – 23 March 1981

Stanley Michael Bailey Hailwood, MBE, GM (2 April 1940 – 23 March 1981) was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racer regarded by many as one of the greatest racers 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.

Footnotes

Legacy

An annual "Mike Hailwood Memorial Run" takes place in March. The starting 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. The 25th anniversary of this tragic accident was in 2006.

Hailwood retired with 76 Grand Prix victories, 112 Grand Prix podiums, 14 Isle of Man TT wins and 9 World Championships, including 37 Grand Prix wins, 48 Grand Prix podiums, 6 Isle of Man TT wins and 4 World Championships in 500cc. He was awarded the Segrave Trophy in 1979. The FIM named him a Grand Prix "Legend" in 2000. He was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2000 and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2001.

After Hailwood’s victory at the 1978 Isle of Man Formula One motorcycle race, Ducati offered a 900SS-based Mike Hailwood Replica for sale. Approximately 7,000 were sold.

In 1981, part of the TT course was named Hailwood’s Height in his honour.

Auto racing career

During his auto racing career, Hailwood never achieved the same level of success that he had on motorcycles. He posted respectable results in Formula One and World Sports Cars. He won the 1972 Formula Two European title and earned a podium finish at the 1969 24 Hours of Le Mans. Hailwood participated in 50 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting in the British Grand Prix on 20 July 1963. He achieved two podium finishes, and scored a total of 29 championship points. Hailwood was in contention for a victory at his first Formula One race in 6 years, the 1971 Italian Grand Prix. He and 3 other drivers finished 1-2-3-4 over two-tenths of a second, Hailwood finishing fourth. Hailwood was recognised for his bravery when in the 1973 South African Grand Prix he went to pull Clay Regazzoni from his burning car after the two collided on the second lap of the race. Hailwood’s driving suit caught fire, but after being extinguished by a fire marshall he returned to help rescue Regazzoni, an act for which he was awarded the George Medal, the 2nd highest gallantry award that a British civilian can be awarded. He left Formula One after being injured badly at the 1974 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring.

Sources

  • 50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix (1st edition). Hazelton Publishing Ltd, 1999. ISBN 1-874557-83-7
  • Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

Motorcycle Grand Prix results

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6
Points 8 6 4 3 2 1

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year Class Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Points Rank Wins
1958 125 cc Paton IOM7 BEL- GER- SWE- ULS- NAT- 0 0
Ducati NED10
250 cc NSU IOM3 NED4 GERRet SWE2 ULSRet NAT- 13 4th 0
350 cc Norton IOM12 NED5 BEL- GER4 SWE3 ULS8 NAT- 9 6th 0
500 cc Norton IOM13 NED- BEL- GER- SWE- ULS- NAT- 0 0
1959 125 cc Ducati IOM3 GER3 NED3 BELRet SWE4 ULS1 NAT8 20 3rd 1
250 cc FB-Mondial IOMRet GER5 NED4 SWE5 ULS2 13 5th 0
MZ NAT9
350 cc Norton FRA- IOMRet GER- 2 13th 0
AJS SWE5 ULSRet NAT-
500 cc Norton FRA- IOMRet GER- NED- BEL13 ULS- NATRet 0 0
1960 125 cc Ducati IOMRet NED8 BEL6 ULS- NAT- 1 10th 0
250 cc Ducati IOMRet BEL4 GER- ULS4 NATRet 8 5th 0
FB-Mondial NED5
350 cc AJS FRA- IOMRet NED- ULS- 0 0
Ducati NATRet
500 cc Norton FRA- IOM3 NED5 BEL4 GER- ULSRet NAT3 13 6th 0
1961 125 cc EMC ESP4 GERRet FRA4 16 6th 1
Honda IOM1 NEDRet BELRet DDRRet ULS5 NAT- SWE- ARG-
250 cc FB-Mondial ESPRet 44 1st 4
Honda GER8 FRA2 IOM1 NED1 BEL3 DDR1 ULS2 NAT2 SWE1 ARG-
350 cc AJS GERRet IOMRet NED- DDR- ULS- 6 8th 0
MV Agusta NAT2 SWE7
500 cc Norton GER4 FRA2 IOM1 NED2 BEL2 DDR2 ULS2 40 2nd 2
MV Agusta NAT1 SWE2 ARG-
1962 125 cc EMC ESP4 FRARet IOMRet NED5 BEL4 GER3 ULS- DDR- NATRet FIN- ARG- 12 5th 0
MZ FINRet
250 cc Benelli ESP- FRA- IOMRet NED- BEL- GER- ULS- NATRet ARG- 0 0
MZ DDR2
350 cc MV Agusta IOM1 NED2 ULSRet DDR2 NAT- FIN- 20 3rd 1
500 cc MV Agusta IOM12 NED1 BEL1 ULS1 DDR1 NAT1 FIN- ARG- 40 1st 5
1963 250 cc MZ ESP- GER- IOM- NED- BEL- ULS- DDR1 NAT- ARG- JPN- 8 8th 1
350 cc MV Agusta GER- IOMRet NED2 ULS2 DDR1 FIN1 NATRet 28 2nd 2
500 cc MV Agusta IOM1 NEDRet BEL1 ULS1 DDR1 FIN1 NAT1 ARG1 56 1st 7
1964 250 cc MZ USA- ESP- FRA- IOM- NED- BEL- GER- DDRRet ULS- NAT- JPN5 2 20th 0
350 cc MV Agusta IOM- NED2 GER- DDR- ULS- FIN- NAT- JPN2 12 4th 0
500 cc MV Agusta USA1 IOM1 NED1 BEL1 GER1 DDR1 ULS- FIN- NAT1 40 1st 7
1965 250 cc Honda USA- GER- ESP- FRA- IOM- NED- DDR- CZE- ULS- FIN- NAT- JPN1 8 10th 1
350 cc MV Agusta GER2 IOMRet NED2 DDRRet CZERet ULS- FIN- NATRet JPN1 20 3rd 1
500 cc MV Agusta USA1 GER1 IOM1 NED1 BEL1 DDR1 CZE1 ULS- FIN- NAT1 48 1st 8
1966 125 cc Honda ESP- GER- NED- DDR- CZE- FIN- ULS- IOM6 NAT- JPN- 1 15th 0
250 cc Honda ESP1 GER1 FRA1 NED1 BEL1 DDR1 CZE1 FIN1 ULS- IOM1 NAT1 JPN- 56 1st 10
350 cc Honda GER1 FRA1 NED1 DDRRet CZE1 FIN1 ULS1 IOMRet NAT- JPN- 48 1st 6
500 cc Honda GER- NEDRet BELRet DDRRet CZE1 FIN2 ULS1 IOM1 NATRet 30 2nd 3
1967 250 cc Honda ESPRet GER- FRA3 IOM1 NED1 BEL2 DDRRet CZE3 FIN1 ULS1 NATRet CAN1 JPNRet 50 1st 5
350 cc Honda GER1 IOM1 NED1 DDR1 CZE1 ULS- NAT- JPN1 40 1st 6
500 cc Honda GERRet IOM1 NED1 BEL2 DDRRet CZE1 FINRet ULS1 NAT2 CAN1 46 2nd 5