What is the Hailwood Trophy (ft. Sheene Trophy)?

There’s little else like watching a field of historic motorbikes being ridden as hard as they were in period, by a group of heroic enthusiasts with more talent on two wheels than any of us could dream of mustering. The Hailwood Trophy (ft. Sheene Trophy) is a guaranteed source of entertainment as these riders throw it all on the line for glory at Goodwood. 

A unique showcase at the Members’ Meeting, this is the only multi-class race in the schedule, incorporating four-stroke Formula 750 bikes from the 1970s, and 250cc and 350cc two-stroke Grand Prix machinery from the 1980s. It's split into two parts of seven laps each, the results of each are combined to declare an overall winner. The Hailwood Trophy is awarded to the highest placed Grand Prix rider, while the Sheene Trophy is given to the best Formula 750 bike. Named after two legends of motorcycle racing, Mike Hailwood and Barry Sheene, these are two immensely prestigious prizes within the world of historic motorsport. 

Hailwood was a nine-time Grand Prix motorcycle World Champion across 250cc, 350cc, and 500cc classes. Riding for the likes of Honda and MV Agusta he claimed 76 Grand Prix wins between 1959 and 1967, becoming one of the most successful motorcycle racers of all time. He was also hugely successful in road racing, a 14-time winner at the Isle of Man TT, he was the first rider to claim three race victories in a week at the TT when he achieved the feat in 1961. 

He paused his World Championship bike racing career at the end of 1967, while still at the top of his game, and turned to car racing where he competed in sportscars at the Le Mans 24 Hours, spent three seasons in Formula 5000, and won the 1972 Formula 2 Championship on his way to securing a full-time drive in Formula 1 with Team Surtees before spending a season with McLaren in 1974. 

A competitive return to motorcycles came in 1978 when he claimed one final victory at the Isle of Man aged 38. Atop a Ducati 900SS he won that year’s Formula 1 race and retired for good a year later. He was tragically killed in a road traffic collision, aged 40, in 1981, but we honour his memory and his extraordinary career each and every year at the Goodwood Members’ Meeting. 

Sheene was a two-time Grand Prix World Champion on 500cc bikes, he took 23 victories between 1971 and 1981, enjoying a dominant spell with Suzuki during which time he also won the Formula 750 Championship in 1973. He also made a brief foray into car racing, with several appearances in the British Saloon Car Championship throughout the 1980s. 

His Grand Prix motorcycle career began in 1970 when he finished second on his debut, riding a 125cc bike at the final round of the season in Spain. He claimed his first 125cc victories the following year at Spa-Francorchamps, Sweden and Finland, and took second in the Championship after finishing on the podium in all but one of the races he started. 

His big break came in 1973 when he secured a contract with Suzuki and began a remarkable run of form that saw him win more than half of the races he entered over the next four seasons across the Formula 750 and 500cc classes. Sheene was instrumental in pushing Suzuki to continue developing its RG500 bike, and his efforts were rewarded with back-to-back Championships in 1976 and ‘77. 

A move to Yamaha in 1980 saw him go winless in a season for the first time since 1974, but by the end of 1981 and into 1982 Sheene was back to his best and a permanent fixture on the podium. He suffered devastating injuries in a crash during practice for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, and while he returned for the 1983 season, he never quite hit the same heights before retiring at the end of 1984.

Sheene’s prodigious talent and charisma away from the track turned him into a superstar, and he became one of the most popular motorcycle racers of all time. Following his retirement, he turned to historic racing and became a regular guest at the Goodwood Revival. He competed in his final race on British soil here at Goodwood in 2002 just two months after being diagnosed with cancer. He died in March the following year but will forever be remembered as a friend of Goodwood. 

Fittingly, it’s the racing action in the Hailwood Trophy (ft. Sheene Trophy) that pays the perfect homage to these two great champions. Without fail, this grid of 1970s and ‘80s motorcycles delivers a great showcase of that legendary era of two-wheeled racing. 

Since its inaugural running at the 74th Members’ Meeting in 2016, the Hailwood Trophy has evolved into its current two-class race featuring the bikes of the once standalone Sheene Trophy within a single grid. The Sheene Trophy ran twice in its own single-class format at the 75th and 77th Members’ Meetings before the merger was made for the 79th Members’ Meeting in 2022. 

Since then, it has been a two-part race, with the results combined to crown overall winners of both the Hailwood Trophy and the Sheene Trophy. Dan Jackson and Michaell Russell took respective honours in 2025, and we’re looking forward to enjoying more of the same at the 83rd Members’ Meeting. 

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.

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Photography by Jordan Butters, Charlie Brenninkmeijer, Toby Whales and Izzie Fitzgerald.