Mick Grant
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 Mick Grant at Parliament Square, Ramsey, Isle of Man during a Classic Parade in 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | British | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Mick Grant (born 10 July 1944) is a former professional motorcycle road racer. A works-supported rider for Norton, Kawasaki, Honda and Suzuki, he is a seven-time winner of the Isle of Man TT motorcycle race on various bikes, including 'Slippery Sam', a three-cylinder Triumph Trident.[1] For British racing fans of the 1970s, The soft-spoken, down-to-earth Yorkshireman provided a sharp contrast to the brash, playboy image presented by Londoner Barry Sheene.[2]
He quickly was to become a works Norton rider alongside Peter Williams and Phil Read. In 1972, he teamed with Dave Croxford to win the Thruxton 500 endurance race on a 745 cc Norton Commando, [4] and finished second to Williams in the 1973 F750 TT.[5][6] In 1975, it was Grant who finally broke Mike Hailwood's Isle of Man TT lap record, which had stood since 1967,[7] raising the average-speed of one lap to 109.82 mph on a Kawasaki two-stroke triple.[8]
Grant raced in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing circuit in 1977 for the Kawasaki factory team alongside team-mate Barry Ditchburn and the following year with Kork Ballington and Gregg Hansford.[9] In 1979, Honda chose Grant to help develop their exotic oval-cylindered NR500, unfortunately with disappointing results.[10] Grant also won the Macau Grand Prix in 1977 on the Kawasaki KR750 and again in 1984, riding a Heron-Suzuki.
He usually raced with number 10 and carried the initials JL on his helmet, even after retirement from competition, as a tribute to his early sponsor – mechanic, fabricator and frame-builder Jim Lee of the 'Dalesman' marque.[7]
Grand Prix motorcycle racing results[1][9]
Points system from 1969 onwards:
| 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)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Mick Grant career profile at the Isle of Man TT web site
- ↑ Barker, Stuart (2003). Barry Sheene 1950-2003: The Biography. UK: CollinsWillow. p. 148. ISBN 0-00-716181-6.
- ↑ Motorcycle Mechanics, November 1973, p.56/57. Mick's Giant Killer. Yamaha TZ350 track impressions by Charles Deane. "...Mick Grant kindly brought his race wagon complete with a brace of Yamahas to Snetterton..." "You'll find she's much more flexible than the two-fifty...". Accessed 2013-07-25
- ↑ Southampton and District Motor Cycle Club Thruxton 500 Race Results Retrieved 2014-01-01
- ↑ IOM TT Database 1973 F750 TT race results Retrieved 2014-01-01
- ↑ Motorcycle Mechanics, December 1974, centrepage MCM Superstars Mick Grant. "Kawasaki's No,1 rider of the Boyer prepared 750H2R, he regularly storms to success on the John Davidson Yamahas in the 250 and 350 classes...Mick Grant must make an even greater impact for Kawasaki next year". Accessed 2014-01-01
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 McDiarmid, Mac (2004). The Magic of the TT: A Century of Racing over the Mountain. UK: Haynes. p. 121. ISBN 1-84425-002-4.
- ↑ TT Official site, 1975 races overview. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Mick Grant career statistics at MotoGP.com
- ↑ Mick Grant at world.honda.com
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Chas Mortimer |
Macau Motorcyle Grand Prix Winner 1977 |
Succeeded by Sadao Asami |
| Preceded by Ron Haslam |
Macau Motorcyle Grand Prix Winner 1984 |
Succeeded by Ron Haslam |
|