Mike the bike Hailwood

[trevor]

AZR and I were watching a doc on Joey Dunlop last night and got talking about the impressive Mike Hailwood.
Check this race out. Very good camera work for how old it is.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0LnNP7mw7XY

[hampshirehog]

If I remember correctly, Mike had approached Honda that year for a works ride but they turned him down because he was too old.

[Rob S.]

AZR and I were watching a doc on Joey Dunlop last night and got talking about the impressive Mike Hailwood.
Check this race out. Very good camera work for how old it is.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0LnNP7mw7XY

I have only watched the first few minutes but I've got a shortcut to it on my home screen. Man, do I like that. I mean love. "The four strokes are dominating."

What year was that race? I'm very unschooled in these matters, but I'm guessing late '70's, very early '80's - the heyday of the big air cooled fours.

[trevor]

1978....

[eddie21]

It's always a treat to see those older racing vids. Hailwood is so interesting to watch, no jumping back and forth 'hanging off', just staying upright on the bike and being incredibly smooth. Ahhh, the good old days...

[OldTimeBiker]

The bike Mike was riding in that film was a Ducati twin. He rode it and won on it at the Isle of Man as well. I believe he was in his late 30's at the time and very near announcing his retirement from racing altogether. I never saw him race live but, in the films I've seen he was the smoothest rider in the field. One of the reasons he didn't adopt the "knee out...hang off" style was because in the heyday of his carreer, the tires wouldn't support that style. Very cool film...thanks for sharing!

[trevor]

The bike Mike was riding in that film was a Ducati twin. He rode it and won on it at the Isle of Man as well. I believe he was in his late 30's at the time and very near announcing his retirement from racing altogether. I never saw him race live but, in the films I've seen he was the smoothest rider in the field. One of the reasons he didn't adopt the "knee out...hang off" style was because in the heyday of his carreer, the tires wouldn't support that style. Very cool film...thanks for sharing!

The TT win you speak of was around the same time. He had come out of retirement and had not raced in the TT for TEN years!! No one expected him to win but win he did. A lot of people think it was the most amazing win at the TT.

Comeback[edit]

On June 3, 1978, after an 11-year hiatus from mainstream motorcycling, Hailwood performed a now-legendary comeback at the Isle of Man TT in the Formula I race, a class based on large-capacity road machines.^[1][2][36] Few observers believed the 38-year-old would be competitive after such a long absence. Riding a Ducati 900SS provided by Manchester (UK) dealership Sports Motorcycles, he was not only competitive, but managed a hugely popular win.^[16][37][38]
He raced the following year at the Isle of Man TT before retiring for good at the age of 39. In that final Isle of Man appearance, Hailwood rode a two-stroke Suzuki RG 500 to victory in the Senior TT.^[16] He then opted to use that same 500cc bike in the Unlimited Classic and diced for the lead with Alex George (1100cc Honda) for all 6 laps in yet another TT epic. A minute or two apart on the road, they were rarely a few seconds apart on time each lap, Hailwood losing by just 2 seconds.

[trevor]

A cool old video...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc3BMeYYB6g

[Nessism]

Thanks for the links Trevor. Great fun watching the "old man" teach the kids a lesson or two.