Alan Shepherd

Alan Shepherd (28 September 1935 – 16 July 2007) was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. His best seasons were in 1962 and 1963, when he rode a Matchless to finish in second place in the 500cc world championship, both times to Mike Hailwood.^[1] Shepherd was a three-time winner of the North West 200 race in Northern Ireland and finished on the podium twice at the Isle of Man TT.^[2]

Shepherd was a rider for the East German MZ factory team. In 1964 when a resident of Grange-over-Sands, Lancashire, England, he was allowed to keep his 125 cc single cylinder and 250 cc twin cylinder machines as part of his earnings due to currency difficulties, which he then offered for sale through Motor Cycle, a UK weekly magazine.^[3]

Shepherd retired in 1965 after recovering from a head injury suffered in late 1964 when testing a works Honda in preparation for the 1964 Japanese Grand Prix. He told Motor Cycle's David Dixon in June 1965 that – whilst he felt fully recovered – he no longer had the confidence to be a top-runner, and would not ride Hondas unless he could give the best possible performance.^[4]

He died peacefully at Summerhill Nursing Home, Kendal, Cumbria in July 2007, with a funeral service at Cartmel Priory followed by cremation at Lancaster.^[5]

Motorcycle Grand Prix results

(key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

References