John Reynolds (motorcycle racer)
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John Reynolds (born June 27, 1965 in Kimberley, Nottinghamshire, England) is a retired British motorcycle racer 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.
In 1997 John 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.
The dominant riders in 2000, together with John, had been Neil Hodgson and Chris Walker. With these two having moved on, the stage was set for John and Steve Hislop to duel in 2001, as only John’s team-mate, Sean Emmett, and Michael Rutter 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.
Reynolds broke his leg in testing before the 2005 BSB season. After a poor season, Reynolds had a serious accident at the final round at Brands Hatch during practice on October 7, breaking four ribs on his right side, puncturing his right lung and breaking his left collarbone, and suffered injuries to his neck and back. Reynolds commented from hospital: "When I hit the barrier it was like a switch in my head flipped. Instantly I knew it was time to stop. I had received a warning with my broken leg earlier in the year. I see this as a final warning and I’ve made the decision to stop racing, more for my wife Shelley’s sanity and for the good of my family than for me.”[1]
After recovery, Reynolds took up a background role with Rizla Suzuki.
