Brief
Biography
MIKE HAILWOOD
April 2, 1940 - March 23, 1981
Few sportsman have made such an
indelible impact on the fast moving worlds of motorcycle
and car racing as the legendary MIKE HAILWOOD. The son of
a millionaire who bought him the best machinery that
money could buy, he quickly cast aside the 'rich man's
kid' image which had been thrust upon him to earn the
respect and admiration of his peers through the enormity
of his talent, the strength of his personality and his
outrageous sense of fun.
He won nine motorcycle World
Championships between 1961 and 1967, then turned to motor
racing, following in the wheel tracks of John Surtees,
with whose cars he became European Formula 2 Champion and
began his Formula 1 career. In time he might well have
added a Formula 1 World Championship to his list of
achievements, but his motor racing career ended abruptly
in 1974 when he crashed his McLaren on Germany's daunting
Nurburgring.
Disabled by his leg injuries, he
retired to New Zealand, where he quickly became bored,
and by 1978, at the age of 38, he was back at the Isle of
Man, the scene of so many of his earlier triumphs, not
only to race bikes once again, but to take on and beat
the entire field. His victorious return to 'The Island'
has been described as one of the most emotional moments
of 20th century sport.
