John Reynolds (motorcycle racer)

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John Reynolds at a corporate event during his last season racing with Rizla Suzuki.
John Reynolds at a corporate event during his last season racing with Rizla Suzuki.
The number one plate on JR's 2005 Rizla Suzuki.
The number one plate on JR's 2005 Rizla Suzuki.

John Reynolds (b. June 27, 1965) is a retired motorcycle racer from Kimberley, Nottinghamshire, England, who won the British Superbike Championship in 1992, 2001 and 2004.

His first domestic success lead him into the 500c World Championship on a Padgetts Yamaha, taking 8 top 10 finishes over two seasons. He joined Revé Kawasaki in World Superbikes for 1995, qualifying 2nd at Brands Hatch and taking 3rd place finishes there and Assen, en route to 10th overall. In 1996 he rode a Suzuki to 12th overall. Although he never did a full season of international racing again, he had a strong record as an occasional rider in future years, taking a win at Brands Hatch in 2000 and a pole position in 2003.

For 1997 he returned to Revé, now running Ducatis in the reformed British Superbike series with Red Bull backing. He was immediately a front-runner, finishing in the championship top 5 each year between 1997 and 2000. He took 13 BSB wins in those seasons, and scored points in every BSB race in 2000.

With Neil Hodgson and Chris Walker having moved on after dominating 2000, the stage was set for John and Steve Hislop to duel in 2001, as only John's team-mate Sean Emmett also won races. John's second championship came when Hislop was injured in an unfortunate collision between the two men.

For 2002 he moved to Suzuki's new 1000cc four-cyclinder bike, taking a win and six further podiums en route to 6th overall. He was championship runner-up in 2003, but was the fastest man by the end of the season. A run of 11 consecutive podiums at the start of 2004 made the title his to lose, and despite a less successful second half of the season he secured the title in the final round. Sadly he broke his leg in testing before the 2005 season, and coupled with a serious crash in practice for the last round of the 2005 season, John took the decision to retire from racing and take up a background role with Rizla Suzuki.