VALE Phil Read

Motorcycle road racing has lost one of its champions in Phil Read, the ‘Prince of Speed’, who passed away peacefully on 6 October, aged 83.

Born in Luton, England, on 1 January, 1939, Read started racing in 1958 and would take his first win at grand prix level at the 1961 Isle of Man TT on a 350cc Norton.

Wins at the Thruxton 500 and podiums at the North West 200 saw him drafted into Gilera’s GP team in 1963, taking podiums in both the 350cc and 500cc classes.

Read made his Yamaha debut in the same year, and while he didn’t achieve Yamaha’s first race win in grand prix competition, he did deliver the Japanese brand’s first world championship, in the 250cc class in 1964. Read won the 250cc World Championship again in 1965, along with race wins in the 125cc and 350cc classes for Yamaha.

In 1968, Read won both the 125cc and 250cc world championships, but his performance in the latter, denying Bill Ivy a championship, was criticised by Yamaha and saw him lose factory support.

Although ostracised by Yamaha, Read continued to race their bikes as a privateer and it was in this capacity that he would take his fifth world championship in 1971.

In 1972, Read was invited to ride MV Agusta’s 350cc contender and took three podiums from six starts, leading to an expanded programme in 1973 that included time on MV Agusta’s 500cc bike.

After winning the 500cc World Championship with MV Agusta in 1973, Read repeated the feat in 1974, taking what would be MV Agusta’s last motorcycle grand prix world championship to date.

Although he retired from grand prix racing in 1976 and the TT in 1982, Read remained close to motorcycling, running a Honda dealership and selling motorcycle gear initially, then as a regular special guest at motorcycle shows and racing events throughout the UK and Europe.

The first rider to achieve world championships in the 125cc, 250cc and 500cc classes, Phil Read was inducted as a MotoGP Legend in 2002. He is survived by children Michael, Graham, Phil Jr, Roki and Esme.