Loss of A Legend
LOSS OF A LEGEND
BARRY SHEENE, 500CC World Champion in 1976 and ’77 and early Grand Prix rival of three-time series champ Kenny Roberts, has died in Australia of cancer at the age of 52.
Sheene came up as a teenage prodigy on Bultacos prepared by his father, whom everyone called “Franko.” Franko was a fixture in British paddocks in the late 1960s, minding a flock of the Spanish Singles. Barry gained his first world championship points on a 125cc Suzuki in 1971, then graduated to factory rider aboard Formula 750 and 500cc GP Suzukis.
Sheene’s route to two world titles was not without incident. During practice for the 1975 Daytona 200, a tire failure put him on the ground at 170 mph, resulting in multiple fractures and vertebral compressions. In seven weeks, he was racing again, under warning from his doctors that to crash with pins in place would explode his bones.
Tiring of an interviewer’s inane questions, Sheene simply took over the microphone as if it were his own property. Thus began his long affair with the British public. His cockney wit and personality were an instant success, elevating him to celebrity status and taking motorcycle racing upward with him. He was a natural pioneer of marketing in what had been a parochial sport. Hob-knobbing with the rich and famous (Beatles, Formula One stars, supermodels) soon became and remained part of his repertoire.
Legend now surrounds the intense 1978 confrontation between then-World Champion Sheene and U.S. aspirant Roberts. Roberts emerged the victor, but both men were magnified by the contest, focusing further attention upon GP racing.
Sheene lived with the conviction that the world was made for his entertainment and could not hurt him. As I once inched along in an endless line of cars and vans, waiting to reach the Paul Ricard circuit in the south of France, along came Sheene in his Rolls-Royce at 100 mph straight against oncoming traffic. Cars headed for the ditch as he hurtled on his way-no waiting! Once his primacy was established among British racers, Sheene begrudged time spent getting to and from circuits. F-l drivers arrive in helicopters, right? Why not myself? He bought himself an Enstrom and soloed in record time.
Moving from Suzuki to Yamaha, he was as fast as ever but times were changing. In 1982, a collision with a crashed machine during mixed practice at Silverstone broke both his legs. Again, he came back quickly, this time on Heron Suzukis. The day of the square-Four had passed, however, and new Yamahas and Hondas were setting the pace. After a succession of low placings and DNFs, he retired.
Moving to Australia in 1987, Sheene settled on the Gold (east) Coast, and continued his romance with helicopters while operating an advertising agency and serving as a television commentator for MotoGP. He is survived by his wife, Stephanie, two children, Sidonie and Freddie, and an army of appreciative race fans. —Kevin Cameron
