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 Derek Chatterton at the Donington Classic Motorcycle Festival August 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Derek Chatterton (Born 31 January 1945) is a British former professional motorcycle road racer. [1]
| Derek Chatterton | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Derek Chatterton at the Donington Classic Motorcycle Festival August 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | British | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Derek Chatterton (Born 31 January 1945) is a British former professional motorcycle road racer. [1]
Born in Lincolnshire, England, Chatterton's motorcycle road racing career spanned thirty years, beginning in 1961 at the age of 16.[ citation needed ] His first race was at Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire on a 1949 250 cc (15 cu in) Velocette, early promise that year didn't initially translate to good results until Mallory Park at the end of the season where Chatterton, riding an NSU Sportmax, finished third in the Junior race collecting 'Rider of the Meeting' in the process.[ citation needed ] In 1967, riding a Ducati framed Yamaha TD1, he won the British 250cc National championship.[ citation needed ] Chatterton also won the 1970 British 350cc National championship. [2] In 1974 Chatterton scored an impressive 500cc class victory over multi-time world champion Giacomo Agostini at Cadwell Park. [3]
Chatterton also competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing. His best season was in 1975 when he finished the year in 15th place in the 250cc world championship. [1] At the 1977 500cc British Grand Prix, Chatterton finished in seventh place on a Suzuki RG500. [4] He was also a two-time winner of the North West 200 road race in Northern Ireland, winning the 250cc event in 1971 and 1975 on a Yamaha. Chatterton was a regular Isle of Man TT competitor from 1968 until 1991, his best result was a second-place finish in the 1975 Lightweight 250cc race on a Chat Yamaha. [5] During practice for the 1991 Isle of Man TT races, he suffered a high speed crash on a Honda RS250 at Ballaspur which resulted in multiple injuries which ended his racing career.[ citation needed ]
Chatterton is still involved in the motorcycle industry however, running his long-standing motorcycle business Chatterton Motors and is still active in historic motorsport events such as; the 1998 Dutch TT Centennial meeting at Assen, the 60th anniversary Scarborough meeting at Olivers Mount, the 2014 Cadwell Park 80th anniversary meeting and at the Donington Park Classic Motorcycle Festival where he paraded a Yamaha TZ 350cc racebike.[ citation needed ]
Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start of the twentieth century and large national events were often given the title Grand Prix. The foundation of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme as the international governing body for motorcycle sport in 1949 provided the opportunity to coordinate rules and regulations in order that selected events could count towards official World Championships. It is the oldest established motorsport world championship.
Giacomo Agostini is an Italian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. Nicknamed Ago, he amassed 122 Grand Prix wins and 15 World Championship titles. Of these, 68 wins and 8 titles came in the 500 cc class, the rest in the 350 cc class. For these achievements obtained over the course of a career spanning 17 years, the AMA described him as "...perhaps the greatest Grand Prix rider of all time". In 2000, Agostini was inducted into the MotoGP Hall of Fame as a MotoGP Legend, while in 2010, he was named an FIM Legend for his motorcycling achievements.
Jarno Karl Keimo Saarinen was a Finnish professional Motorcycle racer. He competed in the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1968 to 1971 as Yamaha privateer, before receiving the Yamaha factory's full support in 1972 and 1973. In the early 1970s, he was considered one of the most promising and talented motorcycle road racers of his era until he was killed during the 1973 Nations Grand Prix in Italy. Saarinen's death led to increased demands for better safety conditions for motorcycle racers competing in the world championships. He remains the only Finn to have won a solo motorcycle road racing world championship. Saarinen was inducted into the F.I.M. MotoGP Hall of Fame in 2009.
Franco Uncini is an Italian former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racing. He was 1982 FIM Road Racing World Champion with Suzuki. He was inducted into the F.I.M. MotoGP Hall of Fame in 2016.
The 1967 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 19th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix season. The season consisted of thirteen Grand Prix races in six classes: 500cc, 350cc, 250cc, 125cc, 50cc and Sidecars 500cc. It began on 30 April, with the Spanish Grand Prix, and ended with Japanese Grand Prix on 15 October.
The 1978 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 30th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
Phillip William Read, was an English professional motorcycle racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from 1961 to 1976. Read is notable for being the first competitor to win world championships in the 125 cc, 250 cc and 500 cc classes. Although he was often overshadowed by his contemporary, Mike Hailwood, he won seven FIM Grand Prix road racing world championships.
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Luigi Taveri was a Swiss professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He competed in the FIM motorcycle Grand Prix world championships from 1954 to 1966. Taveri is notable for being a three-time 125cc road racing world champion. Although he specialised in the smaller engined machines, Taveri is the only competitor to have scored points in six Grand Prix classes: 50cc, 125cc, 250cc, 350cc, 500cc and Sidecars. In 2016, he was named an FIM Legend for his motorcycling achievements.
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