The name behind the race: Mike Hailwood

Stanley Michael Bailey Hailwood was born in 1940 into a family with motorsport in its blood. His father, Stan Hailwood, was a millionaire MD of a car dealership, sold motorbikes on the side and raced them – he was the ideal father for an aspiring sportsman in an expensive sport. 

While other kids rode bicycles, Hailwood, aged seven, was already learning his trade on a minimoto in a field at his home, graduating aged 11 to a 125cc he used to tear around his own scramble track. Hailwood's father soon spotted his son's talent, timing him; he realised that Mike was faster than the rider his dealership sponsored at the time. 

His college career didn't last, and after a brief spell working for the family business, followed by a job at Triumph, it was almost inevitable that he'd make his motorcycle racing debut aged just 17 on a 125cc MV Agusta at Oulton Park. He finished 11^th.  

After making his Grand Prix debut in the 125cc class in 1958, Hailwood won his first World Championship race at Ulster in 1959 as he also began to compete more regularly in the 250, 350 and 500cc classes.

By 1961, Honda – itself a young up-and-comer at the time – had taken notice of the new star who'd won several races in his opening seasons and picked up the Pinhard Prize awarded to the best under-21 motorcycling talent. He was a PR dream: young, polite, and blindingly quick.

After signing a contract, Hailwood’s partnership with Honda immediately bore fruit. Hailwood won his first world title that year in the 250cc class and, over the next several seasons, added eight more in 250cc, 350cc and 500cc categories. Between 1959 and 1967, he won 76 Grand Prix.

He followed his 250cc triumph with the 500cc crown in 1962, which he retained in ’63, ‘64 and ’65. His dominance was almost absolute in 1966 and ’67 as he scored consecutive double titles in the 250 and 350cc classes, just barely missing out on the treble in both campaigns.

What made Hailwood stand out wasn't just his results but his ability to switch between classes and still dominate. In an afternoon, he could go from a delicate 125cc single-cylinder to a violent 500cc four-stroke, riding each with the same composure. His nickname "Mike the bike" alluded to his ability to become at one with any motorcycle.

If his success on Grand Prix circuits showcased his precision, his exploits at the Isle of Man TT confirmed his courage. The TT turns stone walls, telegraph poles and hedgerows into a 37-mile blur where concentration is everything and lapses are brutally punished.  

Hailwood treated it like a second home. In June 1961, he became the first rider in the event's history to win three races – the 125, 250 and 500cc categories – in one week and by 1967, he'd taken 14 TT wins. 

His 1967 Senior TT win – after a legendary duel with Giacomo Agostini that saw the pair separated by seconds over two hours of racing – is still regarded as one of the greatest races ever run on the island. Hallwood set a record at the time, lapping the famous street course at an average speed of almost 109mph. 

Halwood's raw speed was phenomenal, but it was the way he extracted it that stood him out from other riders, caressing his bike's controls with a Jim Clark-like mechanical sympathy, steering on the power and tipping into corners more than any other rider. 

But while Jim Clark stuck to car racing, Hailwood would move from bikes to cars – a shift few riders have managed with any success – making his Formula 1 debut at the British Grand Prix in 1963. His career led him to drive for Lotus, Surtees and McLaren, where he competed in 50 Grands Prix between 1963 and 1974.

His driving career never matched his riding, but it wasn't without flashes of brilliance. A podium at the 1971 Italian Grand Prix proved he could compete at that level, and his actions at the 1973 South African GP became the stuff of legend when he pulled Clay Regazzoni from his burning car after the pair collided on the third lap of the race. Bravery that earned him the George Medal. 

He was forced to step away from racing in 1974 after he suffered a badly broken leg in an accident at the German Grand Prix, but in 1978, eleven years after first retiring from motorcycle competition, Hailwood surprised everyone by announcing a return to the Isle of Man TT.

Few expected much from Hailwood, now a 38-year-old racing rivals half his age, but they were wrong to doubt Mike the Bike. He won the Formula 1 TT outright on a Ducati 900SS, beating the reigning champion Phil Read and slicing ten seconds off the lap record in the process.

A year later, he won the Senior TT on a Yamaha, setting – you guessed it – another lap record, before finishing second in the Classic race just two seconds behind the leader. It was a fairytale send-off for one of the legends of the sport. 

Hailwood looked set for a comfortable retirement, setting up a Honda motorcycle dealership with friend and fellow racer Rodney Gould, but sadly his life was cut short.

On Saturday, the 21^st of March, Hailwood drove his Rover SD1 to the local fish and chip shop with son David and daughter Michelle, when a lorry made an illegal turn in front of them. The resulting accident claimed the lives of Hailwood and his daughter. After such a remarkable and successful career in one of the world’s most dangerous sports, it was a cruel twist that he was taken from us at just 40 years of age.

His legacy lives on not just in the records he broke or the bikes he tamed, but in the race that bears his name – Goodwood’s Hailwood Trophy – which showcases the stunning machines atop which he was such a master. It's a fitting tribute to a man who rode with both fearlessness and grace, who bridged the gap between two and four wheels, and who remains, to this day, the very definition of a pure racer.

The 83^rd Members' Meeting presented by Audrain Motorsport takes place on the 18^th & 19^th April 2026. Tickets are on sale now for GRRC Members and Fellows.

You can sign up for the Fellowship now. Click here to find out more.