Barry Sheene

Silverstone in August was again the venue for the British round of the 1976 FIM Formula 750 series. Although Barry’s focus was on the 500cc World Championship, his battle with Ron Haslam and Frenchman Patrick Pons in the opening 35-lap race thrilled the crowd. An excellent dice saw Barry get the better of Pons to take second place while Haslam’s Yamaha seized, but it was American Steve Baker who won the race, his advantage over Barry almost a minute after nearly an hour in the saddle.

‘If I could rewind time, I wouldn’t change anything. Well, apart from not running Dunlops at Daytona in 1975 and making sure they had enough bloody marshals at Silverstone in 1982.’ BARRY SHEENE

Barry warms up the 500cc Heron Suzuki prior to a non-Championship 500cc race at Chimay in Belgium in June 1976, a last-minute cigarette part of his pre-race preparations. Such events were generating large crowds as the popularity of motorcycle racing increased. French jeans manufacturer Mashe were one of the first companies to pay to sponsor Sheene and have their logos emblazoned on his helmet and leathers.

It took around eight seconds, 300 yards of falling, one Thames TV film crew and broken bones in his thigh, arm and leg for Barry Sheene to make the journey from the track to the operating theatre to the nation’s sofa. ‘If I’d been a racehorse they would have shot me,’ he later said.

His 175mph crash in March 1975 at Daytona was a disaster that could easily have been the end of a life and career. Instead, the horror show pricked at Britain’s voyeurism and made him famous. The six-week fightback, achieved with what seemed to the public like charismatic ambivalence, and then his swift ascent to the top of the world, was a Boy’s Own war story. Little wonder that Martyn Ogborne, his chief mechanic, recalled: ‘I said to Barry, “If you’d been in the Second World War, you’d have been a bloody Spitfire pilot.” I have never seen such determination. All we understood was we had to get Barry’s machine here in England ready in six weeks or less! People just laughed.’

It seemed apposite that Barry’s nadir should come in front of cameras, and the subsequent documentary was his platform to display his skill and personality. Rattling off his manifold injuries to a lens with the pay-off quip, ‘Other than that, I feel brand new’, he was a natural showman. Certainly, he attracted an audience and caught the attention of model Stephanie McLean, who would become his wife and confidante, an ever-present figure in the pits and paddocks of the world.

However, while his News at Ten crashes caused the nation to wince, the remarkable chronology is often forgotten. He made his self-imposed deadline to come back at Cadwell Park and found he could still ride even if he had a 46-centimetre (18-inch) rod in his thigh. For the first Grand Prix of the season, the team went to the notorious Salzburgring circuit in Austria, known colloquially as Tin Can Alley because the track was lined with metal barriers. However, in this era of push-starts, officious organisers refused to allow the handicapped rider to begin from the back of the grid with a designated pusher. If that was frustrating, the scale of the task and risk lying ahead was later made known to Ogborne. ‘I asked a surgeon about racing with a metal pin in the thigh bone and he told me that if the bone broke again it would simply shatter. Barry had to teach himself to ride with that scenario in the back of his mind. He went into battle – and that is what it was then – knowing he could never afford to throw the machine away at any time.’

It was a horrible predicament that would hover over him for two long years, through the shattered knee he suffered after obliging fans by pulling a wheelie at the end of 1975 and all the way to the start of the 1977 season when a doctor finally removed the pin with a large hammer. Again, the cameras were there; carnage and catharsis were played out on the small screen, but his was a wide-screen drama of broad scope and fine margins.

Three months later, at his first post-crash Grand Prix in Assen, Holland, Barry won his maiden 500cc world championship race. He did it at a fabled old road circuit, known as the Cathedral of Motorcycling, and in some style, playing with the mind (it was cruel and just for the hell of it) of the most successful racer of them all, Giacomo Agostini, before finally passing him on the last lap.

Off the track, 1975 would be a crossroads too and his pursuit of women would end with Stephanie. However, the extracurricular frivolity remained unchecked into the 1990s with the formation of the Squadron, a ribald band of brothers with Barry as Wing Commander. One member recalled Barry not only escaping a parking ticket on the King’s Road but also persuading the traffic warden ‘to get her tits out, which he signed with a marker pen.

Barry in his home workshop. Both he and Franco were always looking to use their mechanical skills to gain a competitive advantage over his rivals.

His fan base grew and Barry would spend hours signing autographs. Some of his working-class northern peers regarded him as a cocky southerner with a flash van. Flash he might have been, but he was determined that the sport could not continue as it was: unsafe, unwashed and unseen on the periphery.

The rivalries intensified in tandem with Barry’s dominance in 1976. On his peerless Suzuki he won the first four races he entered, skipping the Isle of Man TT as it made its farewell bow as a World Championship round. The first racer to beat him that year was John Williams, a compatriot and fellow Suzuki rider, but a man whose gratitude was grudging when Barry probably saved his life ahead of the title-decider in Sweden. Seeing Williams fall in a practice session, Barry stopped and freed his tongue. Williams struggled to fully acknowledge the debt he owed Sheene all the way to his death in a road race two years later.

By then Phil Read, twice the World Champion and once a friend, had also become a sworn enemy following a row. Could Barry and should Barry have helped his compatriot in his 1975 title duel with Agostini?

Barry could not have cared less. He had won the world title with four rounds to spare and so didn’t bother to turn up for the last races of the year. If some later suggested he didn’t have a stellar field to test him in 1976, his dominance provided proof of his skill. That he did it all so soon after the trauma of Daytona was proof of a unique psyche.

By the start of the following season he was sitting at sport’s top table, a friend of motorsport fan George Harrison and co-conspirator of Formula One hedonist James Hunt, but with an everyman appeal that meant he could party with lords and splash it on with Henry Cooper. Not that Stephanie would have approved of too much Brut 33. ‘I’d have gone mad if he’d have splashed that all over him,’ she told a documentary film crew. ‘We had buckets of it, so we would give it to his uncle, who used to stink of it.’

The scent of success endured through 1977, though it was never easy, according to Ogborne, who recalled that, despite his injuries, his man had developed incredible upper-body strength and stamina. ‘Every time we went to Venezuela he won. Now that was a true endurance test, not only at the circuit but even getting your machines out of the airport without being killed or arrested. If you were unlucky enough to crash, you were advised to stand up quickly, as the circuit was surrounded by rattlesnakes. It was 48°C in the shade, and riders and mechanics were passing out.”

Barry ignored the ice that workers cut with machetes, after hearing it was contaminated, and instead sucked on the peel of a lime before expelling it during the race. Like most things that year, it worked.

Pat Hennen’s Suzuki and the Yamahas of Steve Baker and Johnny Cecotto were no match. Rod now removed from his thigh, he was an explosive force. His power was such that an ultimatum he issued to the team saw a new manager, Rex White, brought in, and to the outside world it was business as usual: a year of relentless superiority marred only by more tragedies on the track and further safety issues.

Barry was a maverick, willing to mouth strong opinions, and he took such matters seriously. This was why he led the bulk of the field in a boycott at the Salzburgring that year, following a horrendous crash and the death of Hans Stadelmann. Some critics have suggested that Barry was in some way lacking bravery when it came to this most treacherous track. The argument is risible: the truth lay in his knowledge of the cost of living fast.

Yet the Isle of Man legacy followed him and fans at Oliver’s Mount road circuit at Scarborough, loyal to Yorkshire hero Mick Grant, would even throw beer cans at him. Barry wondered whether it was his way of doing things that so irked the people he characterised as tattooed, brown ale drinkers. As for his bravery, if the comeback did not convince the casually sceptic, then his astonishing 137.149mph lap at Spa – the fastest ever recorded in a Grand Prix – should have done. Factor in the slow sections and Barry’s average speed on such narrow roads strained credulity. Ogborne kept a grisly record of deaths in the Suzuki GB Race Team from 1969 to 1988; the final tally was 62. Barry was the quick and the brave.

In 1976 Britain had celebrated having world champions in both the 500cc and Formula One series, but James Hunt faded to fifth on four wheels in 1977, leaving Barry to fly the flag.

His sixth win of the season in Sweden took him to Finland and the edge of victory. Steve Baker needed to win to keep alive his gossamer hopes, but he struggled with mechanical gremlins. Barry’s Suzuki was also plagued by an overheating problem and so he settled for the sixth place that he needed to clinch the crown.

His status was now undisputed and he could again afford to sit out the remaining rounds, only coming out for the British Grand Prix at the end of the season. It was a race that showed the precariousness and precociousness of his racing life. Having been forced to retire through bike failure, he stood on the pit wall and watched his great friend, Steve Parrish, head towards victory. Parrish had just one lap to go to win the first Silverstone Grand Prix and finish third in the world championship when he spotted his friend leaning over the wall and brandishing a board. Barry had scrawled in chalk, ‘Gas it wanker’. Parrish obliged and crashed. It effectively cost him his seat alongside Barry for 1978.

Sporting success is fleeting, even when fame lingers, and Kenny Roberts changed things. The teak-tough, hard-nosed Californian soon arrived on the Grand Prix scene, redefining riding with his rear-end slides and dirt-tracking past. If Barry had not had a true arch-rival before, he now dragged the sport to centre stage with another all-time great.

They fought and bickered and initially exchanged wins, Barry’s season opener in Venezuela followed by Kenny’s in Spain, but the world championship hat-trick attempt was undermined by a debilitating, strength-sapping virus. It festered for months, but Barry was still only three points adrift by the time of a British Grand Prix that descended into farce: rain, pit stops and confusion gave way to a shortened race and timekeepers cutting through the mayhem with the declaration that the American had won. The title went down to the wire, where Roberts became King Kenny with a 10-point margin.

Barry enjoys some welcome shade prior to the 1979 Venezuelan Grand Prix: temperatures at the San Carlos venue were soaring. Despite his cigarette habit, Barry was remarkably fit and the heat was no barrier as he won by almost 20 seconds.

The 1979 season would see Roberts continue his success on his Yamaha, while Barry’s flat-lining relationship with Suzuki would end in acrimonious divorce at the end of the year, following a season of discontent and mechanical failures. The two protagonists joined forces to back the new World Series, an ill-fated attempt to wrest control from the much-loathed Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), and this year also featured the seminal 1979 British Grand Prix, a race of derring-do, passing moves and Barry’s two-fingered salute. ‘He’s waving at Roberts,’ Murray Walker said with a delicious euphemistic flourish. Barry refused to accept second best and so came within an inch of the edge of the track and 0.03 seconds of his rival after a move on the final turn. ‘It might as well have been three laps,’ he said, but it was testament to his authorship of great sporting chapters that nobody would forget his greatest defeat.

The Japanese winter provided excellent conditions for some high-speed testing. Barry and mechanic Ken Fletcher get to enjoy a breather and survey proceedings from higher ground.

Barry won his last Grand Prix with Suzuki at Le Mans before riding Yamahas, but his time as a title-challenger was over. Yet the story ran and ran. There was another Grand Prix win in 1981 in Sweden – the last of 19 in the 500cc class and the last by a Briton for 35 years. He still had the class and courage. Freddie Spencer, the world champion in 1983 and 1985, remembers watching Barry at Silverstone in 1982 and ‘just smiling’ at his pace. World champion again was an easy assumption. ‘A few minutes later it was over.’ He fell at 165mph on a track where multiple classes were practising at the same time. Ogborne too thought that the championship should have been his, pointing out that Franco Uncini, the champion, failed to score any points in the final three races.

Speculation is redundant, though. Barry hit the stricken Yamaha of Patrick Igoa, a 250cc rider, as he shot over a blind summit. They ended up in neighbouring beds in hospital. This time there would be metal plates and 27 screws in Sheene’s legs. Roberts, one of the first on the scene, removed his rival’s helmet and likened what he saw to a ‘plane crash’.

Barry came back again and was still making the podium in his last season in 1984, but he retired the following January. World titles bookended by two awful accidents summed up the highs and lows; the rise, fall and remount of an indomitable character. He was dubbed ‘bionic’, but he was also flesh and blood and broken bone. Britain has never had a sportsman like him.

The Daytona 200 in America was the traditional curtain-raiser to the international road-racing season, but the 1975 meeting was one that was going to change Barry’s life forever. He had gone into the event as one of the pre-race favourites and his growing reputation meant that a television crew led by award-winning producer Frank Cvitanovich accompanied him to catch the build-up and race.

‘I had just nicked sixth gear and the bike was not far short of 180mph, perhaps around 178mph,’ said Barry. ‘Suddenly it happened. The rear wheel locked solid. I immediately grabbed the clutch lever, but to no effect and the bike had a mind of its own. The sensation of the machine swinging sideways in a sudden jerking movement was terrifying. Together we went crazily down the banking and I was projected over the handlebars with maximum velocity.’

On 28 February 1975, Barry had completed five laps of his practice session and was hitting speeds of over 170smph around the banking when rubber from the rear wheel flew off and locked the rear wheel. Within an instant, the rear wheel came round and catapulted Barry over the handlebars and flung him over 100 yards down the road. Amazingly, he was still conscious, but he’d sustained a broken left femur, a right wrist, forearm, six ribs and collarbone. It was the fastest crash in motorcycle racing history, and Barry was suddenly on the front pages of newspapers and on television screens all around the world as millions of viewers witnessed the crash footage for themselves. Sheene became a national hero overnight.

‘Broken femur, collarbone and ribs, busted wrists and forearm, and a lot of skin off in the wrong places . . . Other than that, I feel brand new.’ BARRY SHEENE

Although Barry was back racing within seven weeks of the Daytona crash, he suffered for some years afterwards, particularly with his circulation. Former Suzuki boss Maurice Knight sometimes witnessed Barry massaging his legs for up to 30 minutes in the morning before he could start his day. The 18-inch steel pin used to repair his thigh was removed under the watchful eye of a live television audience, the surgeon famously using a mallet to hammer the pin out of Barry’s leg!

A relaxed Barry returned to the saddle in late April 1975 for a national race meeting at Cadwell Park, just over seven weeks after the Daytona crash.

The Daytona crash ruled Sheene out of the first two rounds of the nine-round 1975 FIM Formula 750 series and two rounds of the 500cc World Championship. In the 750 series, a broken exhaust ended Sheene’s race hopes at Mettet in Belgium and it was only at Magny Cours in France that he gained his first points and victory. Further victories came at Anderstorp in Sweden and at his home round at Silverstone. But just when it looked like he would regain the FIM Formula 750 series crown, he stepped off a trials bike at another meeting at Cadwell Park at 7mph, only for his injured right leg to give way and fold painfully beneath him. Sheene’s season ended as it had started – in hospital – paving the way for Aussie Jack Findlay to take the title by a solitary point.

In the 500cc World Championship, Sheene was forced to miss the French and Austrian Grands Prix, but he recovered in time to take the chequered flag in the Dutch Grand Prix and Swedish Grand Prix. He came sixth in the final title standings with 30 championship points, the legendary Italian rider Giacomo Agostini a distant winner with 84 points. The Daytona crash had certainly handicapped Sheene, but nothing would hold him back in the 1976 World Championship …

‘. . . after the Daytona crash, I wasn’t worried about whether I could race again.’ BARRY SHEENE

The 1975 season was a defining moment for the careers of both Barry and Suzuki: this was the year the combination won their first 500cc Grand Prix.

Barry continued to race the 750cc Suzuki and again contested the Formula 750 Championship in 1975, when he was again competitive. Wins were taken in France, Sweden and Great Britain, but he lost out to Jack Findlay in the title race, the Australian’s consistency giving him a one-point advantage at season’s end.

A delighted Barry is driven on a lap of honour after winning the 1975 John Player Special International event at Silverstone. With the British Grand Prix still taking place on the Isle of Man, Silverstone hosted a major International race every year before finally, in 1977, becoming the venue for the British Grand Prix for the first time. The 1975 meeting comprised two legs, which counted towards the FIM Formula 750 series. Barry won both and he ended the year second overall, after taking maximum points at the three races he finished. Kawasaki’s Barry Ditchburn (obscured) finished runner-up in the first leg.

‘After I dismounted people seemed to be everywhere around me offering congratulations.’ BARRY SHEENE

Sheene started the 1976 World Championship season in the best way possible by winning the opening Grand Prix at Le Mans. He held off the talented Venezuelan Johnny Cecotto to win by nearly 4 seconds.

The Austrian circuit of Salzburgring was the venue for the second round of the 1976 500cc World Championship (shown here) and Barry claimed pole position by a second from Cecotto (3) on the factory Yamaha. The front row also featured Marco Lucchinelli (40), Phil Read (2), Tepi Lansivouri (4) and Michel Rougerie (20). Read led in the opening laps before Lansivouri took over. Sheene was very much in contention and re-took the lead with 13 laps to go. The Suzuki rider was never threatened again, eventually taking the win from Lucchinelli by almost 14 seconds.

Barry may have been the rider, but it was very much a team effort that got him onto the top step of the podium. Dad Franco, girlfriend Stephanie and his army of mechanics all worked tirelessly to give their man the best chance of victory.

Barry gets some essential rest in between practice sessions at the 1976 Austrian Grand Prix.

Barry puckers up to the camera as he strolls round the Salzburgring paddock for the 1976 Austrian Grand Prix. Traditionally held at the beginning of May each season, the circuit was surrounded by alpine forests. The paddock looks empty here, but by the time Friday arrived it was packed to the hilt – and the hillsides all the way round the 2.6-mile course were similarly crowded. The weather was always unpredictable – it could be freezing cold with rain or even snow, or the sun could be beating down.

To add to his opening round victory in France, Barry’s assault on the 1976 500cc World Championship continued in earnest at round two in Austria with a crushing 14-second victory over Marco Lucchinelli.

The front row line-up at the start of the 1976 Italian 500cc Grand Prix at Mugello: Barry Sheene (7) waits for starters orders alongside Johnny Cecotto (55), Tepi Lansivouri (4), Phil Read (2) and Virginio Ferrari (28).

The third round of the 1976 500cc World Championship took place at Mugello, Italy, and saw Barry tighten his grip on the title with his third successive victory. The all-conquering MV Agusta was a shadow of its former self and the two-stroke Suzukis and Yamahas would fight it out for the race wins, the former in particular. Barry was mounted on the official factory Suzuki entry, but old-stager Phil Read, already a seven-times world champion, had secured a privateer machine for the season and there was nothing between the two for the entire 29-lap race distance. On the run to the line on the final lap, Barry nosed ahead and got the verdict – albeit by just one-tenth of a second!

‘I can’t stand people who are legends in their own lunchtime. I’m the sort of bloke who, if you’ve got time for me, I’ve got time for you.’ BARRY SHEENE

The British round of the 1976 World Championship was once again held on the Isle of Man as part of the TT (albeit for the final time), so Barry opted out, resuming his challenge for the 500cc World Championship at Assen in Holland. He set pole position, but a poor start left him sitting on the line trying to coax the 4-cylinder 2-stroke Suzuki to fire cleanly, and he was mired in the pack. He set off 22nd out of a field of 27, but he was soon tearing through the pack, overhauling the likes of Karl Auer (8), Giacomo Agostini (1) and Phil Read (9), and was already up to eighth at the end of the opening lap. During practice, Barry had lapped the Dutch circuit two seconds quicker than anyone else and he crossed the finish line with hands raised after winning by a massive 45 seconds from American Pat Hennen.

The Dutch Grand Prix at Assen was held in sweltering temperatures of almost 38°C on 27 June 1976. The race was the sixth round of the 500cc World Championship and gave Barry his fourth win of the series. His grip on the title strengthened as he moved on to 60 points, opening up an already formidable looking 38-point lead over the nearest challengers, Phil Read and Marco Lucchinelli.

Barry was blessed with a huge amount of natural ability and switching back and forth between a wide range of bikes didn’t cause him any problems. One of his biggest strenghths was his adatability and he never got engulfed in the ‘red mist’ that descended upon other riders. Indeed, 1970s photographer Vic Barnes described him as a master of improvisation, someone who analysed all around him and reacted accordingly, dropping one plan of attack and adopting another as the drama unfolded.

Chimay in Belgium hosted one of the numerous non-Championship international races that were held during the 1976 season. These prestigious events attracted the sport’s stars, offering substantial start and prize money. Chimay took place in June and so, when many riders were on the Isle of Man for the British Grand Prix, Barry headed to the 6.4-mile Belgium road circuit instead. There he duly won the 500cc race from Grand Prix rivals Phil Read and Marco Lucchinelli, who had also opted not to compete in the race held as part of the Isle of Man TT. He’s pictured here with Lucchinelli (obscured, left) and his good friend the American Gary Nixon (right).

‘I thought Barry was a cheeky little sod, very cocky and outrageous.’ STEPHANIE SHEENE

Barry enjoys a loving embrace with his girlfriend, the model Stephanie McLean. The couple met after Stephanie saw Barry on TV and thought modelling his leathers would be a different idea and a good addition to her portfolio. With the duo both represented by IMG, she was able to contact him directly and the duo soon became inseparable, forming one of the most glamorous couples of the 1970s. Stephanie recalled about meeting him: ‘I thought Barry was a cheeky little sod, very cocky and outrageous.’

Her appearance alongside Barry at the 1976 French Grand Prix became a press sensation and only added to the aura surrounding Sheene. Barry’s life changed and Stephanie, like his parents, would be by Barry’s side at all of his races from that moment on.

The sight of Barry wearing a Gary Nixon t-shirt soon became familiar to everyone. Although he was wearing it when he crashed at Daytona, it was his lucky charm and he never raced without it.

Barry cruising at Mallory Park in 1976. Barry’s Texaco Heron Suzuki teammate for the 1976 World Championship season was John Williams. The pair were far from friends, Williams believing he should have been on equal machinery, but Barry was the dominant rider with Williams registering only one championship win at Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgium Grand Prix.

Barry’s strongest opposition came from a number of other Suzuki riders, although they had the disadvantage of racing on the production version of the RG500. Phil Read ran him close in the opening rounds, before sensationally quitting Grand Prix racing midway through the season. Other significant threats came from Tepi Lansivouri, Pat Hennen, Marco Lucchinelli and the 15-times World Champion Giacomo Agostini. Suzuki ultimately filled 11 of the top 12 positions at the conclusion of the season.

Barry lifts the front wheel of the RG500 Suzuki as he crests the rise of Deer’s Leap at Oulton Park in April during the 1976 season. He was contesting the 500cc World Championship, but competing in the domestic championships remained part of his contract with Suzuki and it was something Barry was keen to do in order to repay his loyal fans. The MCN Superbike and Shellsport 500cc Championships, as well as the Transatlantic Trophy races against the USA, were always contested where there was no clash with the Grand Prix calendar.

‘I remember in the old days, after I’d won the world title, I’d sit on the end of a lorry at some race meeting talking for an hour to a 10-year-old if he wanted to.’ BARRY SHEENE

In addition to the 500cc World Championship, Sheene continued to compete in the 1976 FIM Formula 750 series. He competed in six of the ten rounds, but Barry’s 750 Suzuki-3 was dogged with reliability problems, meaning he secured just one point-scoring finish – third at Imola on 4 April. Barry is seen here chatting to Victor Palomo, and it was the Spaniard – an ex-water skiing World Champion – who ended up as champion. Despite failing to score at the first three rounds, a run of three victories at the end of the season saw him come out on top and have his finest moment on two wheels.

As the most famous motorcycle racer in the world during the 1970s, Barry was more than used to being surrounded by his fans as they looked to get as close as possible to their hero.

‘I was in no doubt I would win the title, provided the bike did not strike trouble. No one could tell me any different.’ BARRY SHEENE

The Mallory Park circuit in Leicestershire played annual host to the International Race of the Year meeting, an end of season non-Championship event that regularly attracted the world’s finest road racers along with crowds in excess of 50,000. Traditionally held in September, when the Grand Prix World Championships had ended, Barry won back-to-back races in 1974 and 1975. Here, in 1976, however, he had to settle for second behind American sensation Steve Baker. Alongside Barry on the grid is eight times World Champion Phil Read (2).

‘I don’t think there’s many real friends to be had in racing. If you’ve got more than half a dozen, you have to ask yourself who the genuine ones are.’ BARRY SHEENE

With the 1976 500cc World Championship won, Barry returned to the UK circuits as a hero. He didn’t always come out on top, like the second place finish at the Mallory Park Race of the Year mentioned previously, but that mattered little to the British public. They idolised him whether he finished first, second or third. Wherever Barry raced, his fans flocked to see him displaying slogans and messages from the grandstands and grass banks, and surrounding him upon his return to the paddock.

Barry never hid his love of cigarettes and nearly always enjoyed a crafty drag prior to the race. He gave up smoking in 1998.

Barry clinched his maiden 500cc World Championship at Anderstorp, Sweden on 25 July, 1976, in convincing fashion. It wasn’t all plain sailing though as he was caught napping at the start and had to fight hard to come through the pack. Once there, the only man to challenge him was Tepi Lansivouri. The Finn’s hopes were dashed when the swinging-arm fixing bolt came loose and he had to slacken the pace, eventually finishing fourth. That left Barry clear in the lead and he eventually won the race by 34 seconds from Jack Findlay. This was his fifth victory from six starts. He was finally world champion.

The scene afterwards, with Stephanie and Franco naturally among the first to congratulate him, was typically chaotic. Speaking to Motor Cycle after the race he could barely believe the magnitude of his achievement. ‘I still don’t know if it’s true. It’s hard to know how it feels at the moment and all I can say is that I want to thank the rest of the team for their help during the season.’

‘I enjoyed every race I rode in 1976. It was so nice to clinch the world championship and it was something I’d set my heart on ever since I started racing. To finally achieve it made all the hard work and pain of crashing in ’74 and ’75 worthwhile.’ BARRY SHEENE

When he returned to the UK for the end-of-season international meetings, his status as a national hero was confirmed and at the Powerbike International at Brands Hatch in October, where he was surrounded by his adoring fans, who joined him in the celebrations.

Barry became good friends with Gary Nixon on his first racing trip to America in 1971 and it was a friendship that continued right up until Barry’s death; indeed, the two had weekly telephone conversations. Barry helped get Nixon a test with the factory Suzuki team in 1974 and when his friend was seriously injured it sat heavily on Barry’s shoulders. His own accidents never led him to contemplate retirement, but the crash and injuries received by Nixon upset Barry greatly, and he later admitted that if his good buddy hadn’t pulled through he might well have walked away from the sport.

Barry’s team may have been small but it was close knit with dad Franco beside him throughout. He also had a group of loyal mechanics during his career including Don Mackay, Martyn Ogborne and Ken Fletcher and it was a highly successful team. They got the best out of the RG500 Suzuki with Barry’s technical and mechanical skills playing a huge part not only in the set-up, but also in securing every possible gain over his rivals.

‘My best moments were the fun times off the circuit and mucking about in the paddock.’ BARRY SHEENE

The 1977 season saw Barry continue with Suzuki for the fifth consecutive year. Despite being world champion, he continued to use his famous No.7 instead of taking the No.1 plate. Yamaha’s hopes were pinned on Steve Baker and Johnny Cecotto, while Pat Hennen and Steve Parrish joined Barry at Texaco Heron Suzuki. Early indications suggested that it would be harder for Barry to win the title than it had been the year before because there was increased competition on the 1977 grid.

‘The 500cc title is not just a garland of honour, it is a supreme test of nerve, skill, fitness and bloody-minded determination.’ BARRY SHEENE

For some riders, the start line was a nerve wracking place – but not for Barry. He was always a picture of relaxation moments before a race, often using it to his advantage as he looked to out-psyche his rivals. This is Barry on the starting grid prior to competing for Suzuki in a Superbike race at Brands Hatch, England, in 1977.

Barry had two competitive teammates at Texaco Heron Suzuki in 1977, Pat Hennen and Steve Parrish, but his biggest threat came from Yamaha and American ace Steve Baker. Baker and Hennen had already impressed in the UK during the Transatlantic Trophy match races, and it seemed that Barry would find it hard to retain the title.

However, while the duo did finish second and third overall, it was Barry who again ended the year as world champion with six wins being taken in Venezuela, Germany, Italy, France, Belgium and Sweden. Sixth place in Finland in August saw him clinch his second successive World Championship and at the conclusion of the 11-rounds, he was 27 points clear of runner-up Baker.

The Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium hosted the seventh round of the 1977 500cc World Championship and a brilliant start saw Barry take an early lead, but it was no start-to-finish romp to victory as Frenchman Michel Rougerie pushed him all the way.

The 10-lap 1977 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa saw Barry, Rougerie, Steve Parrish, Pat Hennen and Tepi Lansivouri battle each other in the early stages before Barry and Rougerie pulled away. Both repeatedly broke the lap record, Barry eventually claiming it at a staggering 137.149mph (the fastest lap ever recorded in a Grand Prix race), but Rougerie’s superb ride ended on the penultimate lap when the piston broke on his RG500 Suzuki and he was forced to retire. Barry swept to his fifth win of the season to take another giant step towards retaining his 500cc world title.

Barry’s second race win of the 1977 season came at Hockenheim in Germany and it was another clear-cut victory. After taking pole position by over a second, he set a new lap record in the race on his way to a commanding nine second victory over team-mate Pat Hennen.

Barry and the RG500 Suzuki were a hard act to beat and another key component of what was a formidable combination were the Michelin tyres. The French company worked tirelessly with Barry and were rewarded with two successive world championships.

The 1977 500cc World Championship was perhaps more hard fought for Barry than his maiden title in 1976 but, at the same time, it was perhaps more impressive. The FIM changed the rules by allowing points from all 11 rounds count, instead of the best six, as in 1976, to make Barry, more than anyone else, contest all the rounds. The competition was more intense this time around, but it only took him one more race to clinch the title. Some critics pointed to his publicity machine as detracting from other British riders, but his success did the sport more good than harm.

For the first time since 1949, the British round of the World Championship moved to the mainland and Silverstone for 1977. This was the result of an increasingly large number of riders choosing to boycott the Isle of Man TT over safety concerns. Barry was one of the ringleaders, and throughout his career he was always ready to lead from the front and stand up for riders’ interests.

Barry lined up on the grid for the 1977 British Grand Prix on pole position after beating Johnny Cecotto (Yamaha) by over half a second. The race, the final round of the season, turned out to be a damp and dismal affair though, and the anticipated battle between the two failed to materialise: Barry retired on the ninth lap of 28 with a blown head gasket and Cecotto followed not long after. Barry’s mood then worsened as steam from the blown gasket misted his visor and he crashed into the pit wall! Only four riders completed the full 28 laps with victory going to Barry’s team-mate Pat Hennen.

Getting around the paddock in quick fashion was never a problem for Barry and Stephanie, with Suzuki again providing speedy transportation. Barry’s shoulder-length hair, casual style of dress and boyish looks saw him become motorcycling’s first pin-up. Photo shoots became the norm and not just for racing purposes; he became a regular in the tabloid newspapers and mainstream magazines too. Modelling, fan clubs and business ventures upset a few of the diehard fans, but he made motorcycling cool and fans all across the world took him to their heart.

Health and safety was less of a concern in 1977 as Barry rides his bike around the paddock in just a t-shirt and no helmet. The paddock was often a chaotic place and open not just to mechanics, but also the media and fans in the days and hours prior to the racing.

The 1978 season gave Barry an increased challenge from Heron Suzuki team-mate Pat Hennen. The accomplished dirt-track racer from Phoenix, Arizona, had become the first American to win a world championship race when he triumphed in Finland in 1976, and had finished third overall in both 1976 and 1977. He was immediately on the pace in 1978 too. The duo now contested the MCN/Brut 33 Superbike and Shellsport 500cc Championships and Hennen soon proved he hadn’t joined the team to play second fiddle to Barry. Indeed, the pair never saw eye to eye.

Victory in the opening rounds of the Shellsport 500cc series gave the 24-year-old Texan an early championship lead and it wasn’t until round three that Barry took his first win. After two defeats – he’d finished second in the first round before retiring in the second – victory at Oulton Park was both timely and morale-boosting. However, Hennen fought back straightaway at round five at Cadwell Park, passing Barry on lap three, raising the outright lap record and winning by a considerable margin. After five rounds, the score stood at 4–1 in the American’s favour with 72 points to Hennen and 51 for Barry.

By June, Hennen was also lying in second place to fellow American Kenny Roberts in the World Championship, and he now headed to the Isle of Man TT, where he was making his second appearance. He smashed the outright lap record, becoming the first rider to lap the 37.73-mile Mountain Course in less than 20 minutes as he strove to win the Senior race, but he crashed heavily on the final lap, sustaining serious head injuries. He eventually recovered, but was never able to race again.

The calm before the storm: Barry sits patiently on the Suzuki just before the beginning of a 500cc Grand Prix in 1978. As can be seen in the background, the grid was a very busy place in the 1970s and safety standards were often minimal both on the grid and trackside, where obstacles were plenty. Mechanics, sponsors, marshals, photographers and general fans would all be milling around on the grid just as a rider was trying to prepare himself for what lay ahead. Here, though, Barry seems very content and relaxed, firmly focused on the job in hand.

With two back-to-back 500cc world championships in 1976 and 1977, Barry found that the winter months brought him into the public eye more than ever. In January 1978 he became the latest subject of the popular This is Your Life TV series. Surprised and slightly bashful (although he later admitted Gary Nixon had tipped him off about it happening), Barry was the latest ‘victim’ of host Eamonn Andrews and his famous red book at the Horticultural Halls at the Sporting Motorcycle Show in London. For the 30-minute show, more than 19 million viewers tuned in.

Barry was awarded the MBE for services to motorcycling in the 1978 New Year’s Honours list and shows off his award alongside dad Franco and mum Iris. Only two guests were allowed to accompany him to Buckingham Palace, and wife Stephanie insisted that he took his parents – and wore a suit. For once, Barry did as he was told!

‘Now you be careful, young man.’ HRH QUEEN ELIZABETH WHEN PRESENTING BARRY WITH HIS MBE IN 1978

With no other riders in sight, Barry leads Kenny Roberts through the iconic Eau Rouge during the 1978 500cc Belgium Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. They were only battling for second, however, as Wil Hartog led the race – although team orders dictated he wait for Barry and let him by in order to reduce Roberts’ then 12-point lead. However, on the penultimate lap, Suzuki gave the Dutchman the signal to go and win the race. Roberts then chose his moment to overtake and Barry, furious with Hartog for taking points off him, could only finish third.

Barry was 1.78 m (5’10”) but had a 90-cm (36-inch) inside leg – this was a handicap on the smaller bikes, but an advantage on the bigger bikes. On the 500, he had his weight hard up against the fuel tank, which allowed the rear tyre to move around and forced the front tyre to ‘bite’ into the tarmac. As the tyres developed, his long legs acted as a third wheel.

‘Kenny Roberts couldn’t develop a cold never mind a motorcycle.’ BARRY SHEENE

After two years of dominating the 500cc World Championship, Barry lost the title in the 1978 season to Kenny Roberts by ten points, the American winning by 110 points to Sheene’s 100. Sheene had faced all manner of challenges, first from team-mate Pat Hennen, and then from Roberts, who went on to win the title three years in a row between 1978 and 1980. Barry had also battled illness: after winning the opening race of the season in Venezuela in March, he started to feel unwell on the journey home and the illness refused to go away, playing a significant part in his early season performances. A viral infection was later revealed to be Bornholm disease, but he battled on, and as the season progressed, he recovered to be close to his best. It wasn’t enough, though, and he lost his title.

For the 1979 season, Barry had two new team-mates at Heron Suzuki: Ulsterman Tom Herron and Steve Parrish joined him to attack the 500cc World Championship and MCN Superbike and Shellsport 500cc titles. Parrish, a close friend of Barry, had previously ridden for the team in 1977. Herron was an expert on road circuits like the Isle of Man TT and North West 200, and had earned his ride after impressing in the 250cc and 350cc World Championships in the previous two seasons.

Two new versions of the RG500 were launched in 1979 and these were made available to all of the Suzuki-sponsored teams, including Heron Suzuki, Team Gallina and Team Nimag. Of the two versions, Barry preferred the one with the radiator placed in the nose of the bike, because it gave better handling, but Virginio Ferrari (Team Gallina) and Wil Hartog (Team Nimag) preferred the other. Outvoted two to one, Barry had to race the entire season on a machine he ultimately didn’t like. It was clear Barry was no longer Suzuki’s favourite son.

The UK team was humiliated by the USA in the 1979 Transatlantic Trophy races, losing by some 93 points. Seen here with fellow Brits Mick Grant (10) and Keith Huewen (16), Barry took three wins and a second in the first four races, but a sick engine and then a broken main bearing in the final two races at Oulton Park brought his hopes of captaining the UK to another victory to an end.

‘After three or four Grands Prix on the trot it used to be great to get back to England, because I had such great support . . . without those people you are nothing.’ BARRY SHEENE

Barry’s victory in the 1977 500cc World Championship saw him get the better of his Yamaha rival Steve Baker by 27 points. By 1979, the American rider was back in the privateer ranks, but continued to enjoy close battles with Barry – none more so than in the annual Transatlantic Trophy Match Races. Pictured here at Brands Hatch in April that year, Barry won both races at the Kent venue in front of some 50,000 fans and millions more watching on TV. Baker struggled with an ailing Yamaha and an injured arm broken the previous year, and he managed just a 14th place.

Intent on proving the loss of his 500cc World Championship crown in 1978 was a mere blip, Barry set about making the 1979 title his. He got off to the best start possible, winning the opening round of the 1979 500cc World Championship in Venezuela. However, he then suffered disappointment at rounds two and three in Austria and Germany. Brake problems saw him finish a disastrous 12th in Austria, and at Hockenheim a shattered big end bearing led to a 14th lap retirement. The situation was far from helped by the fact that his arch rival Kenny Roberts would go on to triumph in the German Grand Prix. With the season only three races old (and with 10 left to race), Sheene was already facing an uphill battle to regain his title.

Try as he might, Sheene continued to struggle to find top form, and over the next five races he recorded a fourth in Italy and second in Holland, failing to score in Spain, Yugoslavia and Belgium. By contrast, Roberts was victorious in three of the races. The season did see Sheene take the chequered flag in the Swedish and French Grands Prix, but it wasn’t enough and, come the end of the season, Sheene finished third on 87 points (with three wins). He was 26 points behind Roberts, who had registered five Grand Prix wins that season, including the British Grand Prix.

Powering along the Cooper Straight at Brands Hatch, the 1979 Transatlantic Trophy Match races saw Barry dominate proceedings with two race wins, although the British team was hammered in the overall points by the American underdogs.

They may have been arch rivals, but Barry and Kenny Roberts had the utmost respect for each other and could still hang out in the race paddocks where the banter and jibes would, more often than not, be in frequent supply!

Barry had countless battles with American ace Roberts, dating as far back as 1974, but the biggest, and most famous, of them all was the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on 12 August, 1979. Many consider the race to be one of the greatest Grands Prix of all time, Barry overcoming the speed advantage of Roberts’ Yamaha with some brilliant overtaking manoeuvres on the brakes. The lead changed hands on numerous occasions, but the verdict ultimately went the way of Roberts by just 0.03 seconds. It was the closest Barry ever got to a British Grand Prix victory.

Despite taking place over 30 years ago, the 1979 500cc British Grand Prix at Silverstone is still regarded as one of the greatest races ever and all three men on the podium – Barry, Kenny Roberts and Wil Hartog – played their part.

The trio soon broke away from the rest of the field and although Hartog slipped off the pace slightly at mid-race distance, Sheene and Roberts continued to battle for the lead. They continued to swap the lead throughout the 28-lap event, with Roberts winning ahead of Barry by the tiny margin of just 0.03 of a second.

‘I really like the publicity – in the end it can only be good for motorcycling.’ BARRY SHEENE

15-times World Champion Giacomo Agostini’s career was coming to an end just as Barry’s was reaching its peak – indeed, the Italian retired at the end of the 1977 season – but he remained a fixture in the paddock and his friendship with Barry continued. The Italian was known to enjoy the finer things in life and such was his admiration for Barry that he flew all the way from Italy to be part of the celebrations when Barry appeared on This is Your Life. Barry could be heard saying ‘the party’s going to start now’ when Ago walked in and you can bet it didn’t end until the small hours!

The mechanical skills Barry had gained as a child meant that he was very much ‘hands on’. He was able to give in-depth feedback to his long-serving mechanics Don Mackay and Ken Fletcher after each practice session, which enabled them to find the best possible set-up.

Barry takes on some pre-race fluids, essential when racing in temperatures that could exceed 38˚C.

Barry may have been chasing World Championship glory, but he was equally determined to sweep all before him whenever he raced – not just the domestic championships, in the form of the MCN Superbike and Shellsport 500cc series, but also the numerous non-championship internationals. 1979 was typically busy, and September’s AGV Nations Cup meeting at Donington Park saw him take no less than four race wins against a star-studded field that featured the likes of Kenny Roberts, Wil Hartog, Gregg Hansford, Marco Lucchinelli and Graeme Crosby. He finished the season by winning the Powerbike International race at Brands Hatch to once again confirm that he was the UK’s leading bike rider.

After failing to win the 1979 500cc World Championship, Barry returned to the UK to contest the end-of-season Internationals and as well as being victorious at Donington Park and Brands Hatch, he dominated proceedings at the Gold Cup meeting at Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough in September. Riding his 500cc Grand Prix machine, Barry won the prestigious Gold Cup for the third time in his career before switching to the larger capacity 680cc Heron Suzuki for the two 10-lap Duckhams/MCN Superbike Championship races. He claimed victory in both races, beating regular British rivals Dave Potter, Mick Grant and Roger Marshall, also setting a new outright lap record around the tricky 2.43-mile road circuit.

Barry’s biggest fear when it came to crashing was amputation and he simply couldn’t bear the thought of losing a part of his body. For that reason, he rated his crash at the French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard on 25 May, 1980, as the worst of his career, despite the tally of injuries being far less than those he sustained at Daytona in 1975 and Silverstone in 1982.

Experiencing patter from the front end of the machine, Barry touched the front brake – and down he went. When the bike hit the tarmac, the little finger on his left hand was trapped under the right handlebar. Although he was otherwise unhurt, the damage to the finger was considerable. Surgeons in Marseille saved the finger with some fine surgery and wire, but when he made his return to racing, the finger was far from healed and was proving more and more troublesome. After three more operations to try to save it, he reluctantly agreed to have the top half of it amputated in July.

A cast of Barry’s hand showing the amputated little finger on his left hand, the result of the injury he sustained at the French Grand Prix in 1980.

Barry had gone under the knife earlier that year, in March, when he had had a plate removed from his collarbone, the legacy of a crash earlier in his career in Belgium, when he broke the offending bone.

Sheene switched from Suzuki to Yamaha for the 1980 500cc World Championship season, but it soon became clear that Barry’s privateer TZ500 Yamaha was no match for the works machines of Kenny Roberts and Johnny Cecotto or the Suzukis of Randy Mamola and Marco Lucchinelli. The first two rounds yielded only 10 points – fifth in Italy and seventh in Spain – and at the third round at the Paul Ricard circuit in France, Barry again had to ride over the limit just to try and stay in touch. On this occasion he tried too hard and was spat off the Yamaha while running in sixth.

Dad Franco and mechanic Ken Fletcher looked after both the 500cc and 750cc Yamahas during the season, but 1980, Barry’s 10th year of Grand Prix racing, saw him go back to privateer status and as a result the season was hard.

The 1980 season may have been difficult for Barry on the Grand Prix trail, but his decision to focus on the International meetings in Britain for the final third of the season proved wise – particularly at Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough. Barry is seen here on his 750cc Akai Yamaha – on the approach to Mere hairpin and also when leaving the holding area. The feature Gold Cup eluded him on this occasion, but he took overall victory in the MCN Superbike Championship. Sharing first and second place finishes with Dave Potter, Barry equalled his own year-old lap record for a haul of 32 points, which moved him up to sixth overall in the title table, despite only contesting two rounds.

He may not have been riding the strongest machine, but by the time Sheene arrived for the ninth race of the season – the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on 2 August – he was lying in fourth place in the 500cc World Championship. This was thanks to podium finishes in Italy and San Marino, and he was 31 points adrift of the championship leader Marco Lucchinelli. In addition, Sheene was given a new square-four-cylinder Yamaha at Silverstone and hoped that this would help him make a late challenge for the championship title.

It wasn’t to be, though, and Sheene was again denied a maiden win at his home Grand Prix when Crosby crashed, taking both Barry and Lucchinelli down with him.

The Salzburgring circuit in Austria got the 1981 500cc World Championship season underway and it was the first opportunity for Barry to test both himself and the new Yamaha against all his Grand Prix rivals. The Suzuki riders Randy Mamola, Graeme Crosby and Hiroyuki Kawasaki dominated the race, and mechanic Ken Fletcher relayed the information to Barry during the race, his pit board here telling him he’s in fourth position with three laps to go. That was where he finished, being the first Yamaha rider to take the chequered flag, and getting his world title campaign up and running in solid fashion.

After a hugely disappointing year in 1980, Barry knew that if he was to have any chance of fighting for the 500cc world title he’d need better machinery. Mitsui, Yamaha’s British importers, agreed and they worked tirelessly to get him back in favour with the company in Japan. They secured Barry an invitation for a Yamaha-only event in Sugo at the end of the 1980 season and, although he crashed out of the second race while leading, he impressed Yamaha’s management with his courage and determination. He was still not on the same spec machinery as Kenny Roberts, but he was rewarded with the promise of works machinery for the 1981 season and ace tuner Erv Kanemoto being added to his team.

Barry lined up alongside Roberts and other leading riders, including Randy Mamola and Graeme Crosby, at April’s John Player Gold Cup meeting at Donington Park held on 11–12 April, 1981. The race saw Barry finish third on his across-the-frame four-cylinder Yamaha behind the two superior Suzuki bikes.

Barry preparing for a practice session in 1981.

Barry takes the outside line on his 750cc Yamaha as Kork Ballington opts for the inside at the Mallory Park hairpin. Contesting the 1981 Race of the Year meeting, Barry eventually got the better of the South African rider, who finished third, but he had to settle for second at the end of the 40 laps, victory going to Kiwi Graeme Crosby. With development and production of the 750cc Yamaha coming to an end, it was rapidly becoming outgunned by the smaller, yet more nimble, 500cc machines and results were harder to come by. Barry did, however, win the prestigious race in 1974, 1975 and 1978.

Sheene bounced back from the Silverstone disappointment by winning the final round of the series at Anderstorp in Sweden on 16 August. This was his first Grand Prix victory since Le Mans, France, in September 1979.

He ended the 1981 500cc World Championship in fourth overall with 72 points, behind Randy Mamola and Kenny Roberts, and 33 points behind the championship winner Marco Lucchinelli.

At the end of the season, Barry was invited by Yamaha to Sugo, Japan, to take part in a number of test sessions in preparation for the following year. Victory at the Swedish Grand Prix, as well as his triumphs in prestigious end-of-season meetings in Spain and Malaysia, encouraged the Yamaha team bosses and helped improve Sheene’s standing within Yamaha. Here he is enjoying a series of closed-season sessions testing machinery at Sugo, Japan, where he was promised superior machinery for the 1982 season.

In 1982, with tobacco company John Player now the title sponsor of Barry’s team, Yamaha provided him with a new, updated version of the 500cc square four called the OW60. He took rostrum finishes in Argentina, Austria, Spain, Holland, Belgium and Yugoslavia, but his hopes of receiving identical machinery to Kenny Roberts were shattered as early as the second round in Austria. There Yamaha wheeled out the V4 OW61 for the American. It was soon clear to Barry that his OW60 was down on power to the V4, but Yamaha had promised that he’d get the new model for his home Grand Prix at Silverstone. The OW61 was finally delivered to Barry on the Monday of race week and he needed only a few laps to realise that major changes were needed to the frame geometry.

The changes were duly made and he got the bike back in time for unofficial practice on Wednesday, when his lap times were impressive. However, just after 4.30 p.m. on 28 July, Barry swept round Abbey Curve and ploughed into the wreckage of a 250cc Yamaha that had been in a collision with a 125cc MBA moments earlier. Barry hit the stricken machine at over 160mph, smashing the front end off the V4, and was catapulted into and over the handlebars. Launched some 10 metres into the air, Barry landed over 100 metres further down the track, unmoving and unconscious. The bike was torn and twisted into numerous lumps of metal.

‘I came over the crest of the rise on my usual line and there was a bike lying in the road and I hit it. Then all I can recall seeing was a big ball of flame. Nothing else.’ BARRY SHEENE

The x-rays from Barry’s crash were shown on every news channel and printed in every newspaper, and astonished the general public: Barry was labelled the ‘bionic man’.

Sheene was given regular doses of pethidine to numb the pain and, just like his response after the Daytona crash of 1975, his levels of recovery astounded everyone, particularly surgeon Nigel Cobb. The stitches that sewed his legs back together can be clearly seen here, and while Cobb usually discharged his patients after three months, Barry was discharged after just three and half weeks.

Barry knew that he was in for another long and painful road back to full fitness, but his high pain threshold and previous experiences meant he knew all about self-physiotherapy. His spirits remained high and he was back on a bike 10 weeks after the second crash of his career, which had almost claimed his life. With good friend Steve Parrish offering support, should anything go wrong, Barry completed two laps of Donington Park on this road-going RD350 Yamaha, the 25,000-strong crowd cheering him every inch of the way.

‘I didn’t consider myself as brave. All I had to do was get my legs mended as quickly as possible and get back on a bike.’ BARRY SHEENE

When it came to Barry, nothing could surprise people. If anything came close, it was his decision while convalescing from his Silverstone crash to return to Suzuki for the 1983 season. Despite working his way back into favour with Yamaha and rewarding them with some fine results, Barry was irritated that he was never given machinery equal to that of Kenny Roberts, as he explained in his column for Motor Cycle Weekly. ‘To be perfectly honest, I’m not sad to be leaving Yamaha. I was always promised the same machines as Kenny but never actually got them. The bikes were always designed to suit Kenny’s style, which meant they were totally wrong for everyone else.’

However, when he returned to Suzuki he was once again at the foot of the ladder. With the factory bikes already having been given to Randy Mamola and Virginio Ferrari, all he had for 1983 were production RG500 machines. He was in playful mood with the photographer on this test day (left) and was spraying the champagne after the Transatlantic Trophy races, where the GB team, again captained by Barry, beat the USA by 245 points to 198. For Barry, though, it would prove to be a long and difficult year, scoring just nine points during the 500cc Grand Prix season.

Coming back to Suzuki in 1983 after three years at Yamaha was the sort of challenge Barry relished, especially after the setback of the Silverstone crash the year before. Suzuki gave him two production versions of the RG500 and his first laps on them came at a snowy Donington Park in February. He got more laps on the bikes during March before heading off to Kyalami in South Africa for the opening round of the World Championship, a circuit he had last raced in 1972. Still confident in his own ability, the bikes were far from competitive, Barry stating: ‘I have no chance of getting in the top six unless it rains.’ Seventh in the French Grand Prix, at Le Mans on 2 April 1983, was his best result of the year, although ninth at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix on 31 July, 1983 saw him get the biggest cheer of the day from his ever faithful fans.

‘I’ve got more chance of being punched in the face by the Pope than finishing in the top three.’ BARRY SHEENE

Barry’s outings on four-stroke machinery were most unusual. This rare picture, taken at Oulton Park in April 1983, shows Barry on the 997cc F1 Suzuki usually campaigned by team-mate Rob McElnea. When the four-stroke rider crashed and was injured in practice, Barry stepped in to try and help the Heron Suzuki team. Jumping on an unfamiliar bike at the last minute is always a tall order and he finished in a solid seventh place.

Some of Barry’s first race outings in 1983 came in the annual Transatlantic Trophy races, which kicked off at Oulton Park on Good Friday. He was given a year-old works RG500 Suzuki as the team looked to upgrade his machinery. Grand Prix rivals Kenny Roberts and Randy Mamola were in attendance on full factory spec machinery, and although Great Britain won comfortably, Barry could only manage a best finish of fourth from the six races held at Oulton (Friday, 30 April), Snetterton (Sunday, 1 May) and Brands Hatch (Monday, 2 May). He is pictured here riding past the parked cars, caravans and fans littered around the Oulton Park paddock.

Barry’s return to Suzuki didn’t yield the results he’d hoped for and the promise of better machinery failed to materialise. The whole season was a struggle with his best Grand Prix finish being a lowly seventh. This is Barry in reflective mood after a disappointing result at the Italian Grand Prix in 1983.

‘I always used to be in that [winning] position and I can still ride a bike . . . but to carry on racing I must have a faster bike.’ BARRY SHEENE

During the 1984 season it was becoming clear to Sheene that he was in the twilight of his motorcycling career. His last UK race win came on Sunday, 16 September at the Scarborough Gold Cup and Barry’s final competitive outing came in the televised World of Sport Superbike race at Donington Park a week later on Saturday, 22 September. There was to be no fairy-tale victory, but he pushed eventual winner Ron Haslam all the way and only a photo finish could determine who had won. He admitted it had been fun and had felt like old times, and he didn’t announce his retirement immediately since he was still working on a possible deal with Italian manufacturer Cagiva for 1985.

‘I was riding as good as I’d ever done, but I got fed up with all the Japanese factory bullshit. If Cagiva had got their act together, I would have ridden for them in 1985, but they didn’t and that was that. I’d always planned to retire at 35 and had done everything I wanted to do. I was totally happy with myself – I was fulfilled, I had no regrets.’

‘I’d always planned to retire at 35 and had done everything I wanted to do. I was totally happy with myself – I was fulfilled, I had no regrets.’ BARRY SHEENE

With his torn leathers behind him, a permanent reminder of his Daytona crash in 1975, Barry retired at the end of the 1984 season after a 17-year career. It was one he could look back at and reflect upon with pride. Two 500cc World Championships, 21 Grand Prix wins, a 750cc FIM European Championship title, five MCN Superbike Championships, five 500cc Shellsport Championships, two 125cc British Championships, five times winner of the MCN Man of the Year and an MBE awarded by the Queen – it’s fair to say he’d achieved plenty.

Barry’s final win before retiring came at the International Gold Cup meeting at Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough. He had made his debut at the circuit almost 15 years earlier and his love for the venue never waned: he was ever-present at September’s Gold Cup event, missing the 1982 meeting only because of his Silverstone Grand Prix crash. Conditions for the 1984 meeting were far from ideal and Barry found himself locked in battle around the tree-lined circuit with old sparring partner Mick Grant and rising stars David Griffith, Roger Burnett and Rob McElnea, all of them on identical RG500 Suzukis. Griffith won the first leg from Grant and Barry, but Sunday’s 10-lap second leg saw Barry roll back the years and take the win, and with it the overall victory – the fourth time his name was added to the famous trophy.

‘There are other things in life besides motorcycle racing and you cannot do it for ever.’ BARRY SHEENE