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Competitor Profile: Mike Hailwood

TT Career Summary

Position123567121328DNF 0
No of times1414111311121

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Biography

One of the most successful TT riders of all time, Hailwood was regarded by many as the greatest rider ever to race on the Mountain Circuit. His fans worshipped him and he repaid them with an 18-year career which was nothing short of awe-inspiring. During his incredible reign ‘Mike-the-Bike’ scored no less than 14 TT victories and 9 World Championship titles. He was a natural rider and possessed a steely determination which was no better illustrated than in the 1965 Senior. He crashed at Sarah’s Cottage and amazingly restarted the engine. With a broken screen, and flattened exhaust megaphones - not to mention a bloody nose - he ran in for a pit stop to straighten his bent handlebars and then roared off to win the race. He was a fighter and the fans loved him for it. He first rode in 1958, winning four replicas. He gave Honda their first TT wins in 1961 with a Lightweight double and added the Senior on a Norton for the first TT hat-trick. In 1962 he won 4 races with MV Agusta before returning to Honda in 1966, winning the Lightweight and Senior. After winning the Junior, Lightweight and Senior in 1967 - his second hat-trick - he retired and turned to cars. Two of his most amazing TT victories were made during his comeback in 1978. After 11 years in retirement Hailwood crossed the finishing line on a Ducati victorious in the Formula One and in 1979 returned once more to win his last ever TT, the Senior Race.

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