Graeme Crosby

Graeme Crosby (born 4 July 1955) is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from New Zealand. Crosby has won the Daytona 200, the Imola 200, the Suzuka 8 Hours, and the Isle of Man TT.

Crosby began his racing career in 1974 in the New Zealand racing scene. In 1976, he raced in the Australian Superbike championship. He then left for Europe to compete in Britain where he won the 1980 Isle of Man Senior TT. By 1980, he had worked his way up to the 500cc road racing world championship on a Suzuki RG 500. Also in 1980, he teamed up with Wes Cooley on a Yoshimura Suzuki to win the Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race and won the 1981 TT Formula One on a Suzuki.

Crosby finished fifth in the 1981 500cc championship and successfully defended his TT Formula One title. He then joined Giacomo Agostini's Yamaha factory racing team. He began the 1982 season by winning the prestigious Daytona 200. Despite injuries, Crosby still managed second overall in the championship. Frustrated by the internal politics of his race team Crosby quit the Grand Prix circuit after the 1982 season.

Grand Prix

Grand Prix (French pronunciation: ​[ɡʁɑ̃pʁi], meaning Grand Prize; plural Grands Prix) may refer to:

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Barry Sheene

Barry Steven Frank Sheene MBE (11 September 1950 – 10 March 2003) was a British World Champion Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, who remained as Britain's last champion in 1977 until Danny Kent in 2015.

After a racing career stretching from 1968 to 1984 he retired from competition and relocated to Australia, working as a motorsport commentator and property developer.

Early life

Sheene was born off the Gray's Inn Road, London, the second child of parents Frank (resident engineer at the Royal College of Surgeons, himself a former competitive rider who retired in 1956 and an experienced motorcycle mechanic) and Iris. He grew up in Queen Square, Holborn, London. Before entering road racing Sheene found work as a messenger and delivery driver.

Racing career

Sheene first started to race in 1968, winning his first races at Brands Hatch riding father Frank's 125 cc and 250 cc Bultacos. He improved to second behind Chas Mortimer in 1969 in the 125cc class on the Bultaco.

He became the British 125cc champion at age 20 in 1970, riding an ex-works 1967 Suzuki twin, previously ridden by Stuart Graham in the 1968 GPs and in selected 1969 events, that he purchased for £2,000!. In 1971 still riding that RT67 Suzuki twin, he finished second in the 125 cc World Championship, probably missing the title due to injuries sustained in a well paid non championship race at Hengelo (Netherlands) and during the Race Of the Year at Mallory Park (compression fractures of three vertebrae and five broken ribs).

Randy Mamola

Randy Mamola born (1959-11-10) November 10, 1959 in San Jose, California, USA is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He is considered to be one of the most talented riders never to have won a world championship.

Career

Mamola's first 500cc motorcycle Grand Prix race was in Sweden in 1979, riding a Yamaha. His first victory in the 500cc class was at Belgium in 1980. He went on to win a total of 13 Grands Prix, and finished second in the championship four times: in 1980, 1981, 1984 and 1987. During his Grand Prix career he rode for Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda and Cagiva.

Mamola signed with Cagiva to help them develop their GP500 race bike. He stayed with the Italian team for three years, but lack of funds hampered the teams success. After sitting out the 1991 season, he returned in 1992 for one last year on a privately supported Yamaha. He has maintained his crowd pleasing manner, often wearing humorous wigs on camera during interviews with riders. He was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2000.

New Zealand

New Zealand (/njuːˈziːlənd/ new-ZEE-lənd, Māori: Aotearoa [aɔˈtɛaɾɔa]) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses – that of the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu – and numerous smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres (900 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long isolation, New Zealand developed a distinctive biodiversity of animal, fungal and plant life. The country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland.

Somewhere between 1250 and 1300 CE, Polynesians settled in the islands that were to become New Zealand, and developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, Abel Tasman, a Dutch explorer, became the first European to sight New Zealand. In 1840, representatives of the British Crown and Māori Chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, making New Zealand a British colony. Today, the majority of New Zealand's population of 4.5 million is of European descent; the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealand's culture is mainly derived from Māori and early British settlers, with recent broadening arising from increased immigration. The official languages are English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, with English predominant.