Stanley Michael Bailey Hailwood, MBE GM (2 April 1940 – 23 March 1981) was an English professional motorcycle racer and racing driver. He is regarded by many as one of the greatest racers of all time.[1][2] He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle world championships from 1958 to 1967 and in Formula One between 1963 and 1974. Hailwood was known as "Mike The Bike" because of his natural riding ability on motorcycles with a range of engine capacities.[3][4]
| Mike Hailwood MBE GM | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Hailwood at TT Assen, 21 June 1967 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |  British | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 2 April 1940 Great Milton, Oxfordshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 23 March 1981 (aged 40) Warwickshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Formula One World Championship career | |
|---|---|
| Active years | 1963 – 1965, 1971 – 1974 |
| Teams | Lotus, Lola, Surtees, McLaren |
| Entries | 50 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 2 |
| Career points | 29 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 1 |
| First entry | 1963 British Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1974 German Grand Prix |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
|---|---|
| Years | 1969–1970, 1973–1974 |
| Teams | John Wyer Automotive Engineering, Gulf Research Racing |
| Best finish | 3rd (1969) |
| Class wins | 0 |
A nine-time world champion, Hailwood won 76 Grand Prix races during his motorcycle racing career, including 14 Isle of Man TT victories and four consecutive 500 cc world championships. After his motorcycle racing career concluded, he went on to compete in Formula One and other classes of car racing, becoming one of the few men to compete at Grand Prix level in both motorcycle and car racing. He returned to motorcycle racing at the age of 38, taking victory at the 1978 Isle of Man TT.
Hailwood died in 1981 following a road traffic accident in Warwickshire, England.
- ^ "AMA Motorcycle Museum Hall of Fame | Mike Hailwood". Motorcyclemuseum.org. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
- ^ "Who Was The Man Many Call The Greatest Roadracer Ever?, by Dean Adams, Superbike Planet, 1998". Archived from the original on 13 November 2006. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
- ^ Motor Cycle, 19 August 1965. p. 242/244. Hutchinson 100. Hailwood assortment. "Doesn't make much odds what model Mike the Bike wheels out; he's likely to win on it. As at Silverstone last Saturday at BMCRC Hutchinson 100 meeting where, on such a variety of machinery as an AJS three-fifty, a BSA LIghtning, and (well, of course) the MV Agusta four, he collected a trio of laurel wreaths." Accessed 30 March 2014
- ^ Carrick, Peter Motor Cycle Racing Hamlyn Publishing, 1969, p. 68 ISBN 0 600 02506 3 "Between 1962 and 1965 Hailwood was supreme in the 500 cc class, winning race after race...He also rode frequently and with success in other classes." Accessed 22 March 2014