| John Newbold | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | British | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 14 December 1952 Jacksdale, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 15 May 1982 (aged 29) Coleraine, Northern Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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John Newbold (14 December 1952 – 15 May 1982) was an English professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. [1]
Newbold was born in Jacksdale, where his parents ran a butchers shop, and grew up in Jacksdale, and later in married life, lived in South Normanton. [2] He began riding motorcycles on grass when he was 15. [2] He progressed from riding at Darley Moor on a bike loaned to him by John Cooper, to performing in front of 50,000 crowds at Silverstone Circuit. [2]
His best season was in 1976 when he finished in fifth place in the 500cc world championship riding a Suzuki motorcycle. [3] Newbold won his only world championship race in 1976 at the 500cc Czechoslovak Grand Prix. [4] He was a teammate of Barry Sheene and Mick Grant at Suzuki. [2]
Newbold won the 1978 North West 200 race in Northern Ireland. [5] He made his debut at the Isle of Man TT in 1981, finishing fourth and third. [6] Also in 1981, Newbold was the top points scorer for Great Britain in the Transatlantic Trophy competition between British and American riders of the day. [7] Newbold was killed after colliding with Mick Grant at the 1982 North West 200 in Coleraine. [2] [8]