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Mike Hailwood:
The Fans' Favourite
Mick Walker
Never in the history of motorcycle racing has there
been a more popular champion than ‘Mike-the-Bike’
Hailwood. In this new study, which comes almost 25
years after Mike’s untimely death, Mick Walker
examines his long career, from his first race, aged
17, at Oulton Park in April 1957, to his final race
at Mallory Park in June 1979.
In the course of his competitive career Mike rode
in more races than any other rider, 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 12 TT victories, 10 World titles and
76 Grand Prix victories.
Mike’s larger-than-life father Stan, a multi-millionaire
who could ensure his son always had access to the
best bikes, put Mike on the path to success, but it
soon became clear that Mike had more than enough talent
to hold his own at the highest level. A modest, even
shy man, never motivated by money or glamour, he shied
away from the massive publicity he attracted.
Mick Walker’s book describes Mike’s long
and varied career, concentrating on the racing years
and the motorcycles, but also considering the influence
of his father and his life away from the track. A
full race-by-race record appears at the end of the
book.
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About the
Author
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