Mike Hailwood: The Fan's Favourite

Never in the history of motorcycle racing has there been a more popular champion than ‘Mike-the-Bike’ Hailwood, and he is thought by many to be the greatest-ever motorcycle road racer. In this new study, which comes almost a quarter of a century after Mike’s untimely death, MickWalker examines his long career, from his first race, aged 17, on a borrowed MV Agusta at Oulton Park in April 1957, to his final race at Mallory Park in June 1979. Mike was one of the most experienced motorcycle riders ever. In the course of his competitive career he rode in more races than any other rider ever, and he could ride any bike. In his time he straddled everything from a 49cc Itom single-cylinder two-stroke to a 1000cc Dunstall-Suzuki GS1000 four-cylinder superbike. He could switch capacity sizes and makes at the same meeting on the same day and give breathtaking winning performances regardless. Among his many achievements he could count 14 TT victories, 10World titles and 76 Grand Prix victories. There is no doubt that Mike Hailwood was put on the path to success by his larger-than-life father Stan, a multi-millionaire who could ensure his son always had access to the best bikes, but it soon became clear that Mike had more than enough talent to hold his own at the highest level of motorcycle racing. A modest, even shy man, never motivated by money or glamour, he shied away from the massive publicity he attracted with his winning performances on the track. His down-to-earth approach made him a huge favourite with the fans, and his memory is treasured by all those with an interest in motorcycling. Mick Walker’s in-depth study describes Mike’s long and varied career in detail, concentrating on the racing years and the motorcycles, but also considering the influence of his father on his early career and his life away from the track. A full race-by-race record appears at the end of the book. Mick Walker is a leading authority on all forms of motorcycle sport, and he has written about most of them. He has been a successful racer, tuner and team manager. He has been involved in virtually every aspect of the motorcycle business, and he still rides regularly. Between 1983 and 1987 he was editor of Motorcycle Enthusiast and in 1985 his first book was published. Since then he has published over 90 titles covering motorcycles from many countries, in particular Ducati, Norton, Triumph and BMW. Mick Walker has an intimate and unparalleled knowledge of the racing scene and the evolution of the racing motorcycle over the last 50 years.