Michael Doohan

Mick Doohan
Born	June 4, 1965 (1965-06-04) (age 45) Brisbane, Australia

Michael "Mick" Doohan
Doohan aboard the Rothmans Honda NSR500
Nationality	Australian
Grand Prix motorcycle racing career
Active years	1989 - 1999
Teams	Honda
Grands Prix	117
Championships	500cc- 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998
Wins	54
Podium finishes	95
Career points	2283
Pole positions	58
Fastest laps	46
First Grand Prix	1989 500 cc Japanese Grand Prix
First win	1990 500 cc Hungarian Grand Prix
Last win	1998 500 cc Argentine Grand Prix
Last Grand Prix	1999 500 cc Japanese Grand Prix

Michael "Mick" Sydney Doohan AM born 4 June 1965 (1965-06-04) (age 45) in Brisbane, Australia, is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racing World Champion, who won five consecutive 500 cc World Championships, second only to Giacomo Agostini and surpassed by Valentino Rossi who has won 7. Doohan is considered to be one of the better motorcycle racers in the history of the sport.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Formula One 2 Mick Doohan's Motocoaster 3 Grand Prix career statistics [5] 4 References 5 External links

Biography

Originally from the Gold Coast, near Brisbane, Doohan raced in Australian Superbikes in the late 80s, and also won both races as Superbike World Championship visited Oran Park in 1988. He is one of the few 500 cc or MotoGP World Champions to have won a Superbike World Championship race ^[1]. Attended St. Joseph's College Gregory Terrace.

He made his Grand Prix debut for Honda on a 500cc two-stroke motorcycle in 1989. In 1991, he was paired with Wayne Gardner on a Honda RVF750 superbike and won the Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race. Doohan competed successfully throughout the early 1990s and appeared to be on his way to winning his first world championship when he was seriously injured in a practice crash before the 1992 Dutch TT. He suffered permanent serious damage to his right leg due to medical complications and, at one stage, risked amputation of the leg. At the time, Doohan was 65 points in the lead of the championship, but could not compete for eight weeks after the crash. After an arduous recovery, Doohan returned to racing for the final two races but could not prevent Yamaha rider Wayne Rainey from winning his third consecutive title.

Throughout 1993 he struggled to regain fitness and the ability to race the Honda at elite level. However, in 1994 he won his first 500 cc World Championship. From then until 1998 he dominated the class, winning five consecutive 500 cc World Championships. In 1997, his most successful year, Doohan won 12 out of 15 races, finished second in another two, and crashed out of the final race of the season at his home GP while leading by more than six seconds.

In June 1996 Doohan was inducted as a Member of the Order of Australia for his contribution to the sport of motor racing.

Despite up to eight soft/weak rivals on non factory HRC Honda motorcycles Doohan's margin of superiority over them was such that in many races Doohan would build a comfortable lead and then ride well within his limits to cruise to victory. Although pure riding skill clearly played a large part in his success, his Engineer Burgess ability to perfect the suspension and geometry of a racing motorcycle gave him an enormous advantage over his rivals, even though other Honda riders (particularly Doohan's teammates) benefited somewhat from his ability to perfect the bike's handling. It is generally accepted that Burgess development of the Honda throughout the 1990s helped the company to dominate racing for many years. At the time of Doohan's retirement, the Honda had developed into a much better handling machine than it had ever been previously.

One notable trait of Doohan's post-crash riding style was the use of a hand-operated rear brake developed during 1993. This was operated by a "nudge" bar similar to a personal water craft throttle, but mounted on the left handlebar. Some commentators have argued that this technique offered Doohan an additional advantage in rear brake control, though there was nothing to stop other riders from trying it (and some did, most notably Troy Corser and Miguel DuHamel, neither of whom had restricted use of their right foot).

In 1999 Doohan had another accident, this time in qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix. He again broke his leg in several places and subsequently announced his retirement. He was somewhat unlucky, as his accident rate was far lower than many competitors. For all his time in 500 cc class his chief engineer was Jeremy Burgess, who after his retirement became Valentino Rossi's chief engineer. After his retirement, he worked as a roving adviser to Honda's Grand Prix race effort. At the conclusion of the 2004 season, Doohan and Honda parted company. Mick married his long term partner Selina Sines of 11 years on Friday 21 March 2006, on Hamilton Island. Mick and Selina have two children, Allexis and Jack. Many current generation MotoGP riders consider Mick as an inspiration, including 2007 MotoGP world champion, Casey Stoner.^[2]

Formula One

After his success in Grand Prix motorcycle racing he got a chance to test a Formula One racecar, the Williams FW19, at Circuit de Catalunya, Spain, in April 1998. He found the car difficult to drive and crashed against a guard rail. ^[3]

Mick Doohan's Motocoaster

Michael Doohan helped design an Intamin AG Motorbike Launch Roller Coaster, named Mick Doohan's Motocoaster. The ride is located at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.^[4]

Grand Prix career statistics ^[5]

Points system from 1988 to 1992

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
Points	20	17	15	13	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1

Points system from 1993

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
Points	25	20	16	13	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1

() (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Class	Team	Machine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Points	Rank	Wins
1989	500cc	Rothmans Honda	NSR500	JPN DNF	AUS 8	USA 8	ESP DNF	NAT DNF	GER 3	AUT 8	YUG 6	NED 9	BEL 8	FRA 8	GBR -	SWE -	CZE -	BRA 4		81	9th	0
1990	500cc	Rothmans Honda	NSR500	JPN NC	USA 2	ESP 4	NAT 3	GER DNF	AUT 3	YUG 4	NED 4	BEL 6	FRA 4	GBR 4	SWE 4	CZE 9	HUN 1	AUS 2		179	3rd	1
1991	500cc	Rothmans Honda	NSR500	JPN 2	AUS 2	USA 2	ESP 1	ITA 1	GER 3	AUT 1	EUR 2	NED DNF	FRA 2	GBR 3	RSM 3	CZE 2	VDM 2	MAL 3		224	2nd	3
1992	500cc	Rothmans Honda	NSR500	JPN 1	AUS 1	MAL 1	ESP 1	ITA 2	EUR 2	GER 1	NED DNS	HUN INJ	FRA INJ	GBR INJ	BRA 12	RSA 6				136	2nd	5
1993	500cc	Rothmans Honda	NSR500	AUS DNF	MAL 4	JPN 7	ESP 4	AUT 2	GER DNF	NED 2	EUR 2	RSM 1	GBR DNF	CZE 3	ITA 2	USA DNF	FIM INJ			156	4th	1
1994	500cc	HRC Honda	NSR500	AUS 3	MAL 1	JPN 2	ESP 1	AUT 1	GER 1	NED 1	ITA 1	FRA 1	GBR 2	CZE 1	USA 3	ARG 1	EUR 2			317	1st	9
1995	500cc	Repsol Honda	NSR500	AUS 1	MAL 1	JPN 2	ESP DNF	GER DNF	ITA 1	NED 1	FRA 1	GBR 1	CZE 2	BRA 2	ARG 1	EUR 4				248	1st	7
1996	500cc	Repsol Honda	NSR500	MAL 5	INA 1	JPN 6	ESP 1	ITA 1	FRA 1	NED 1	GER 2	GBR 1	AUT 2	CZE 2	IMO 1	CAT 2	BRA 1	AUS 8		309	1st	8
1997	500cc	Repsol Honda	NSR500	MAL 1	JPN 1	ESP 2	ITA 1	AUT 1	FRA 1	NED 1	IMO 1	GER 1	BRA 1	GBR 1	CZE 1	CAT 1	INA 2	AUS DNF		340	1st	12
1998	500cc	Repsol Honda	NSR500	JPN DNF	MAL 1	ESP 2	ITA 1	FRA 2	MAD DNF	NED 1	GBR 2	GER 1	CZE DNF	IMO 1	CAT 1	AUS 1	ARG 1			260	1st	8
1999	500cc	Repsol Honda	NSR500	MAL 4	JPN 2	ESP -	FRA -	ITA -	CAT -	NED -	GBR -	GER -	CZE -	IMO -	VAL -	AUS -	RSA -	BRA -	ARG -	33	17th	0

References

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/doohan-in-court-over-assault-charge/2006/08/08/1154802855049.html

External links

• MickDoohan.com.au - Official site

Preceded by Kevin Schwantz

500 cc Motorcycle World Champion 1994-1998

Succeeded by Àlex Crivillé

500cc/MotoGP Motorcycle World Champions     1949 – L. Graham 1950 – U. Masetti 1951 – G. Duke 1952 – U. Masetti 1953 – G. Duke 1954 – G. Duke 1955 – G. Duke 1956 – J. Surtees 1957 – L. Liberati 1958 – J. Surtees 1959 – J. Surtees 1960 – J. Surtees 1961 – G. Hocking 1962 – M. Hailwood 1963 – M. Hailwood 1964 – M. Hailwood 1965 – M. Hailwood 1966 – G. Agostini 1967 – G. Agostini 1968 – G. Agostini 1969 – G. Agostini 1970 – G. Agostini 1971 – G. Agostini 1972 – G. Agostini 1973 – P. Read 1974 – P. Read 1975 – G. Agostini 1976 – B. Sheene 1977 – B. Sheene 1978 – K. Roberts 1979 – K. Roberts 1980 – K. Roberts 1981 – M. Lucchinelli 1982 – F. Uncini 1983 – F. Spencer 1984 – E. Lawson 1985 – F. Spencer 1986 – E. Lawson 1987 – W. Gardner 1988 – E. Lawson 1989 – E. Lawson 1990 – W. Rainey 1991 – W. Rainey 1992 – W. Rainey 1993 – K. Schwantz 1994 – M. Doohan 1995 – M. Doohan 1996 – M. Doohan 1997 – M. Doohan 1998 – M. Doohan 1999 – À. Crivillé 2000 – K. Roberts, Jr. 2001 – V. Rossi 2002 – V. Rossi 2003 – V. Rossi 2004 – V. Rossi 2005 – V. Rossi 2006 – N. Hayden 2007 – C. Stoner 2008 – V. Rossi 2009 – V. Rossi 2010 – J. Lorenzo