Barry Sheene 1950–2003: The Biography

Barry Sheene 1950–2003: The Biography
Stuart Barker

The definitive life story of the seventies world 500cc motorcycle champion Barry Sheene – the Brit whose death-defying crashes and playboy lifestyle made him the most famous bike racer on the planet. Written by the only journalist to have ridden on the roads with him, and featuring interviews with closest friends, team mates and former rivals.Born in London's East End in 1950, Sheene was introduced to motor sport at the age of five, with his father Frank building him his first ever motorbike.His story traces his humble beginnings as a maverick opposed to every educational influence, through an apprenticeship as a part-time rider and full-time mechanic, to a works team racer, with a host of diversions in pursuit of the opposite sex.It charts his success between 1975 and 1982, a golden period during which Sheene won more international 500cc and 750cc Grand Prix titles than anyone, including the world 500cc title in 1976 and 1977. This despite the horrendous carnage from a series of near-fatal crashes from which Sheene miraculously survived and overcame, against all odds.Outside the sport, Sheene discovered an acting talent, appearing in the ITV show Just Amazing and in numerous TV commercials, making him a household name. On his retirement, he found fulfilment (and a friendlier climate for his battered body) in Brisbane as an expert motor sport commentator and an accomplished businessman. After being diagnosed with cancer in 2002 he shunned conventional treatments, preferring natural remedies, but died early in 2003.This is the complete portrait of perhaps the greatest circuit racer of them all.

BARRY SHEENE

1950–2003

THE BIOGRAPHY

STUART BARKER

COPYRIGHT (#ulink_acfcb368-4db4-5604-9799-a1e4113b1412)

Thorsons Element

an imprint of HarperCollinsPublisbers 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

First published in 2003

This paperback edition first published in 2004

© Stuart Barker 2003

The Author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Source ISBN: 9780007161812

Ebook Edition © FEBRUARY 2016 ISBN 9780007378586

Version: 2016-01-05

DEDICATION (#ulink_4f2159dd-d0a3-53e9-af64-d79065d8ab4c)

For my parents, Jim and Josie Barker,

for starting this whole thing.

CONTENTS

Cover (#u0cc9b168-dcca-5e23-8587-86b080535109)

Title Page (#u00168d07-36d5-5c9d-98d2-63a2c22e91a0)

Copyright (#u4e730787-b2ef-5035-b84d-b5764991e638)

Dedication (#u5913b042-8783-5984-a241-c5df6c2bce81)

Introduction (#u3a010c60-3100-5181-9c40-d92a91f564c0)

1 Cockney Rebel? (#ub941ff92-8998-59dd-b685-3df2b6ad897c)

2 The Racer: Part One (#u703ff5f4-5527-5593-a412-c770b495713f)

3 Playboy (#ub756a25f-a504-520e-9ef8-1ebcf3133321)

4 No Fear (#litres_trial_promo)

5 The Racer: Part Two (#litres_trial_promo)

6 The Great Divide (#litres_trial_promo)

7 The Racer: Part Three (#litres_trial_promo)

8 Crusader (#litres_trial_promo)

9 The Racer: Part Four (#litres_trial_promo)

10 What It Takes (#litres_trial_promo)

11 Never Say Never Again (#litres_trial_promo)

12 Cancer (#litres_trial_promo)

13 A Star Without Equal (#litres_trial_promo)

Major Career Results (#litres_trial_promo)

Keep Reading (#litres_trial_promo)

Select Bibliography (#litres_trial_promo)

Index (#litres_trial_promo)

Acknowledgements (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

INTRODUCTION (#ulink_e8a4d2c5-389e-5d29-b535-0905bc00a09c)

‘I’m not going to let fucking cancer get in the way of me enjoying myself.’

It was like nothing had ever changed. The famous Donald Duck logo on the black and gold crash helmet could just be made out as the tall, gangly rider tucked in behind the bike’s screen, reducing wind drag to gain a fraction of a second over his pursuer. The equally famous number seven, crossed through European-style, was emblazoned on the bike’s bodywork as it had been almost 30 years before. It had always been lucky for him. Maybe it could be again.

His 51 years counted for nothing when he was on a motorcycle; it was as much a part of him as the plates, pins and 27 screws that held his legs together. The smooth but aggressive riding style, the determined and sustained attack, could all have belonged to a 20-year-old kid with a fire in his belly and a burning desire to win against the odds. Any odds.