Barry Steven Frank Sheene was a British professional motorcycle racer and television sports presenter. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing between 1971 and 1984, most prominently as a member of the Suzuki factory racing team where he won two consecutive 500cc World Championships in 1976 and 1977. Sheene's 1977 title remained as Britain's last solo motorcycle world championship until Danny Kent won the 2015 Moto3 championship. However, Sheene is still the last British champion in the premier class.
Motorsport(s) or motor sport(s) are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific terms automobile sport, motorcycle sport, power boating and air sports may be used commonly, or officially by organisers and governing bodies.
Road racing is a North American term to describe motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. The objective is to complete a predetermined number of circuit laps in the least amount of time, or to accumulate the most circuit laps within a predetermined time period. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on public roads. However, public safety concerns eventually led to most races being held on purpose-built racing circuits.
Royal Air Force Elvington or more simply RAF Elvington is a former Royal Air Force station which operated from the beginning of the Second World War until 1992 located at Elvington, Yorkshire, England. It is now the location of the Yorkshire Air Museum.
Hillclimbing, also known as hill climbing, speed hillclimbing, or speed hill climbing, is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course. It is one of the oldest forms of motorsport, since the first known hillclimb at La Turbie near Nice, France, took place as long ago as 31 January 1897. The hillclimb held at Shelsley Walsh, in Worcestershire, England, is the world's oldest continuously staged motorsport event still staged on its original course, having been first run in 1905.
Johnny Alberto Cecotto Persello, better known as Johnny Cecotto, is a Venezuelan former professional Grand Prix motorcycle racer and auto racer. He rose to prominence as a teenage prodigy in 1975 when he became the youngest motorcycle road racing world champion at the age of 19. Despite the auspicious beginning to his motorcycle racing career, he suffered numerous injuries and mechanical problems which curtailed his success in motorcycle Grand Prix racing.
Goodwood Circuit is a historic venue for both two- and four-wheeled motorsport in the United Kingdom. The 2.367-mile (3.809 km) circuit is situated near Chichester, West Sussex, close to the south coast of England, on the estate of Goodwood House, and completely encircles Chichester/Goodwood Airport. This is the racing circuit dating from 1948, not to be confused with the separate hillclimb course located at Goodwood House and first used in 1936.
The Goodwood Festival of Speed is an annual motorsports festival featuring modern and historic motor racing vehicles taking part in a hill climb and other events, held in Goodwood House, West Sussex, England, in late June or early July. The event is scheduled to avoid clashing with the Formula One season, enabling fans to see F1 machines as well as cars and motorbikes from motor racing history climb the hill.
Croft Circuit is a motor racing circuit located near Dalton-on-Tees in North Yorkshire, England. The tarmac circuit is 2.127 mi (3.423 km) long and is based on the lands of an airfield, but has long since moved on from being a basic airfield circuit. The circuit holds meetings of the British Touring Car Championship, British Rallycross and Pickup Truck Racing race series.
The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), also known as The Race to the Clouds, is an annual automobile hillclimb to the summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado, USA. The track measures 12.42 miles (19.99 km) and has over 156 turns, climbing 4,720 ft (1,440 m) from the start at Mile 7 on Pikes Peak Highway, to the finish at 14,115 ft (4,302 m), on grades averaging 7.2%. It used to consist of both gravel and paved sections, but as of August 2011, the highway is fully paved; as a result, all subsequent events will be run on asphalt from start to finish.
The British Automobile Racing Club (BARC) is one of the biggest organising clubs for auto racing in the United Kingdom.
Pat Hennen is an American former professional motorcycle racer. He competed in AMA dirt track and road racing competitions from 1971 to 1975 and in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1976 to 1978.
The motorcycle sport of racing includes motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Other categories include hill climbs, drag racing and land speed record trials.
Motorsport is a popular sport in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom is a key player in the world of motorsport, hosting rounds of the Formula One World Championship and Grand Prix motorcycle racing, amongst others. It is also the home of many of the current teams in Formula One, such as McLaren, Williams and Aston Martin, while teams such as Red Bull Racing, Mercedes, Alpine and Haas are also based in England. There are also a range of popular national series held such as the British Touring Car Championship and the British GT Championship amongst others. The Motor Sports Association is the official governing body of motorsport in the United Kingdom.
Guy Martin is a British former motorcycle racer and heavy vehicle mechanic who became a television presenter. In July 2017, Martin retired from motorcycle racing.
Phillip McCallen is a Northern Ireland born former motorcycle racer, now turned to dealer and commentator in his retirement from road racing.
The Duke Road Race Rankings was established in 2002 to analyse and acknowledge the season-long performances of riders involved in a series of motorcycle road racing events held on public roads. It was the idea of Isle of Man-based Peter Duke, son of former World Champion Geoff Duke, who in conjunction with road-racing journalist Leslie Moore, author Mac McDiarmid and archivist Phil Edge, developed a scoring system which would recognise the significance of the individual events. Riders' aggregate performances over a season-long assessment of several road racing events acknowledges the most consistent racer as the ‘championship’ winner. Since Ian Lougher's first-year win in 2002, all big names of road racing have been considered, such as Adrian Archibald, Richard Britton, Jason Griffiths, Darran Lindsay and, more recently, Manxman Conor Cummins.
Neil Robinson was a motorcycle circuit and road racer from Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Robinson died aged 24 during a practice session at Oliver's Mount racing circuit, Scarborough.
Glyn Philip Mellor was a Yorkshire-based English motorcycle racer. His career included racing on both road and race circuits. Mellor, from Shelley, near Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, died after an accident at Doran's Bend during the 1989 TT races on the Isle of Man.
Steven J. Henshaw was an English professional motorcycle racer and working motorcycle mechanic.
