| Graeme Crosby | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Graeme Crosby (born in 1955) is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from New Zealand. A supremely versatile rider, Crosby holds the distinction of having won the Daytona 200, the Imola 200, the Suzuka 8 Hours, and the Isle of Man TT.
Crosby began his racing career in 1974 in the New Zealand racing scene. In 1976, he made an impression in the Australian Superbike championship. He then left for Europe in 1980 to compete in Britain where he won the Isle of Man Senior TT.[1] By 1980, he had worked his way up to the 500cc road racing world championship on a Suzuki RG 500. Also in 1980, he teamed up with Wes Cooley on a Yoshimura Suzuki to win the Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race,[2] and he was the TT Formula One World Champion for Suzuki. After finishing fifth in the 1981 500cc championship - the year in which he was British TT F1 champion - he made a move to the Agostini Yamaha factory racing team. He began the 1982 season by winning the prestigious Daytona 200. Despite injuries, Crosby still managed second overall in the championship. Frustrated by the internal politics of his race team Crosby quit the Grand Prix circuit after the 1982 season.
After his retirement Crosby returned to New Zealand and has run a number of successful motorcycle businesses. He also took up four-wheelers, driving successfully in Touring car racing, mostly in New Zealand and Australia. Crosby was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.[3] In 2007, he was inducted into the New Zealand Motorcycling Hall of Fame.
During 2010, Graeme Crosby was busy writing his revealing autobiography. 'CROZ - Larrikin Biker' (ISBN 9781869508579) was published in New Zealand by Harper Sports at the end of that year. [4]
Points system from 1968 to 1987.
| Position | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Points | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
(key) (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 | Points | Rank | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 500cc | Heron-Suzuki | RG500 | NAT Ret |
ESP 12 |
FRA 5 |
NED 8 |
BEL 4 |
FIN DNS |
GBR 13 |
GER 2 |
29 | 8th | 0 | ||||
| 1981 | 500cc | Heron-Suzuki | RGB500 | AUT 2 |
GER 13 |
NAT 2 |
FRA 3 |
YUG 4 |
NED Ret |
BEL 7 |
RSM 3 |
GBR Ret |
FIN 5 |
SWE 5 |
68 | 5th | 0 | |
| 1982 | 500cc | Marlboro-Yamaha | YZR500 | ARG Ret |
AUT 4 |
FRA - |
ESP 4 |
NAT 3 |
NED 4 |
BEL Ret |
YUG 2 |
GBR 3 |
SWE 3 |
RSM 3 |
GER Ret |
76 | 2nd | 0 |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ron Haslam |
TT Formula One World Champion 1980-1981 |
Succeeded by Joey Dunlop |