Giacomo Agostini vs Barry Sheene

Lore & Background

Sheene was the first motorcycle racer to gain commercial endorsements from outside the sport, including television advertisements for Brut cologne. He was a strong proponent of race track safety and was one of the first competitors to object to racing at the Isle of Man TT street circuit. He recognized his value to race promoters as a gate attraction and used his influence to force race promoters to increase rider safety.

Reader's Guide

Sheene's racing career stretched from 1968 to 1984. He won his maiden Grand Prix victory at the 125cc Belgian Grand Prix at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. He also won the 50cc Czechoslovakian Grand Prix in 1971, helping Jan de Vries secure the 50cc World Championship. In his rookie 125cc season, he finished second in the World Championship behind Ángel Nieto. For the 1972 season, he was signed by Yamaha factory to ride a specially made Yamaha YZ635 in the 250cc World Championship.

Did You Know?

• Sheene learned to ride a motorcycle at age 5 on a homemade minibike built by his father.
• He wore a crash helmet with a Donald Duck image and drilled a hole in the chin piece to smoke cigarettes on the starting grid.
• He favored Gitanes cigarettes with heavy tar content, which later contributed to his death from cancer.
• Sheene first met American champion Gary Nixon in 1971 and wore a Gary Nixon t-shirt beneath his leathers as a good luck charm.