23 February 2010

The world occasionally throws up an amazing motorcycling legend for us to marvel at. In Britain, we’ve had five notable Moto GP legends, from Barry Sheene to Mike Hailwood . If you are inspired to take up motorcycling yourself, make sure to take out appropriate motorbike insurance before you jump on the bike.

Barry Sheene

Sadly, legend Barry Sheene died of cancer in 2003. In his lifetime he accomplished much of what a normal man could not, such as being awarded with an MBE, winning two World 500cc Motorcycle Championships, and also being a source of inspiration many people around the world .

Carl Forgarty, a four-time World Superbike champion, said, "He (Sheene) was the guy who made motorbike racing famous." He was described as a great rider, racer, and an exceptionally nice man.

Geoff Duke

Born in 1923, Geoffrey Duke became a legend in the sport of motorcycling, standing head and shoulders above everyone else in the pack. He won his first major race at the 1949 Senior Clubmans TT in the Isle of Man. In total he won the TT six times and became a World Champion six times .

Geoff Duke was the first rider to wear revolutionary one-piece leathers, and was also awarded with an O.B.E in 1953.

John Surtees

It is easy to see why John Surtees was a hero of the 1950s, and why he remains a legend today. This Englishman was the only person to have won both the motorcycling World Championship and Formula One titles.

Surtees was the first person to win three TTs consecutively before heading to Ferrari to win at Formula One too. Two or four wheels, Surtees is an easy British legend.

Mike Hailwood

Born in 1940, Englishman Mike Hailwood would end up being famous in the world of motorsports on his motorcycle. Known as Mike-the-Bike, he had 76 Grand Prix wins in 500cc, 350cc, 250cc, and 125cc competitions.

Hailwood later participated in Formula One until he had a crash in Germany. He retired for 11 years before coming back to win two more Isle of Man TT races.

Phil Read

In his time, Phil Read won 52 Grand Prix’s and seven world titles in four different classes. He actually battled against two of the men already discussed, Mike Hailwood and Barry Sheene.

He raced in his first Grand Prix in 1961, and won his first world title in 1964. He continued racing until 1976 when he retired from the sport.