Mick Doohan 5 consecutive 500cc World Championships 1994-1998

Lore & Background

Doohan made his Grand Prix debut for Honda on an NSR 500 cc two-stroke motorcycle in 1989. Late in the 1990 season, he claimed his first victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix on his way to third in the championship. In 1991, he won the Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race with Wayne Gardner. He was leading the 1992 championship by 65 points when he was seriously injured in a practice crash before the Dutch TT, suffering permanent damage to his right leg. He returned for the final two races but lost the title to Wayne Rainey by four points. In 1994, Doohan won his first 500 cc World Championship, then dominated the class through 1998, winning five consecutive titles. In 1997, his most successful year, he won 12 out of 15 races. After another accident in 1999 during a wet qualifying session for the Spanish Grand Prix, he broke his leg again and announced his retirement.

Reader's Guide

Doohan is one of the few 500 cc or MotoGP World Champions to have won a Superbike World Championship race. He raced in Australian Superbikes in the late 1980s and won both races when the Superbike World Championship visited Oran Park, as well as the second leg of the Japanese round. He also won the final Australian motorcycle Grand Prix held in the TT format at Mount Panorama. After retirement, he worked as a roving adviser to Honda's Grand Prix race effort until the end of the 2004 season.

Did You Know?

• Doohan switched to a left thumb-operated rear brake after his 1992 crash, as his right foot could no longer perform this function.
• He tested a Formula One car, the Williams FW19, at Circuit de Catalunya in April 1998 and crashed against a guard rail.
• Doohan was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1996 and received an Australian Sports Medal in 2000.
• The first turn at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit is named after him.