BARRY SHEENEConsidered by many to be among the most talented and bravemotorcyclists of all time, Barry Sheene died on 10 March 2003, aged 52.He rose to fame quickly and had won his first British titleat the tender age of 20.Despite sustaining horrendous injuries throughout hiscareer, many more titles were to follow, including back to back worldchampionship wins in the mid-seventies.Captur ing the heart of the masses for his personality aswell as his driving skills, Mr Sheene is widely credited with boosting the profileof his sport throughout the world.Barry Sheene was born on 11 September, 1950 in London and spent hisformative years in the Holborn area of the city.Picking up his father’s love of motorcycles, he soonshowed signs of his great talent, racing to the British 125cc championship in1970.Mr Sheene soon moved through the ranks of his sport but thefrequency of his injuries rose proportionally with the speed of the machines herode.A horrific accident at the Daytona 200 in 1975, which lefthim with metal plates in both knees, threatened to end his career but he was backracing again only seven weeks later and went on to claim the 500cc worldchampionship for the next two years in a row.An MBE was awarded to Mr Sheene in 1978 but his career on the trackwas never again to be as successful and he retired from the sport in 1984.He suffered from arthritis and, following hisretirement, moved to Australia ’sGold Coast in an attempt to ease his suffering.The love he had for the sport never waned and he establishedhimself as a race commentator known for never disguising his feelings and hisaffinity for the cheekily delivered double entendre.In 2002 he was diagnosed with cancer of the throat but tookthe news in typical Sheene style, "Although this is a complete pain in thearse, it happens to a lot of people and a lot of people get over it," hesaid.Barry Sheene is a legend in the world of motorcycling – astatus he truly deserved after an outstanding career.He recovered from many injuries which would have ended thecareers of lesser men and he managed to do everything without ever losing histrademark cockney grin.His wife referred to him as ‘a cheeky little sod’ but tomotorcyclist enthusiasts he will simply be remembered as one of the greatest.And it was a fitting tribute when, after the reconstructionof Brands Hatch, part of the course was renamed ‘Sheene’s Corner’ in hishonour.
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