Ron Haslam

Haslam in 1985 at the Bol d'Or races in the South of France

Nationality

British

Website

Ron Haslam Race School Experience

Motorcycle racing career statistics

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

Active years

1977 - 1993

First race

1983 500cc South African Grand Prix

Last race

1993 500cc British Grand Prix

Team(s)

Honda, Suzuki, Cagiva, Norton

Starts	Wins	Podiums	Poles	F. laps	Points
106	0	9	1	0	115

Ronald Haslam (born 22 June 1956) is a British former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer who has been racing for over thirty years, winning three World titles, four British championships and having ridden in almost 110 GPs.

Haslam on a 1990s rotary-engined Norton

One of ten brothers and sisters from Milnhay Road in the mining town of Langley Mill, near Heanor, Derbyshire, Haslam started racing in 1972 at the age of 15 on a 750cc Norton Commando owned jointly by elder brothers Phil and Terry. On a wet and slippery track at Cadwell Park he finished seventh and eighth in his two races. He raced just a couple of meetings that year and only a handful in 1973. Following the death of Phil in a racing accident at Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough, in July 1974, the teenager pulled out of the sport for the rest of that season. In 1984 another brother, Terry, was killed racing a sidecar outfit at Assen, the Netherlands. Despite those cruel blows, Haslam kept on riding in his chosen sport, with his most recent outing being on a Ducati 998 at the Race of the Year at Mallory Park in October 2004. Haslam spends much of his time helping his son, Leon Haslam, in his expanding racing career and training riders and racers alike at the Ron Haslam Race School at Donington.

Career record

Haslam was runner-up in the 750 British championship in 1975, ‘76 and ‘77 and second in the British Formula One series in 1978. Between 1979 and ‘84 he won four British titles, the 1979 British TT Formula One, the 1981 MCN British Streetbike - when he won seven out of eight rounds - the 1982 British TT Formula One and the 1984 ITV World of Sport Superbike series. He has also won two World titles - the TT Formula One crown in 1979 and the TT Formula Three championship in 1980. Haslam won the gruelling Macau GP six times – a record. He was also runner-up in the 1982 TT Formula One World series. He is a world speed record holder, after his efforts on the 500 Elf on a private, banked circuit in France in 1986, when he claimed the Flying Kilometre, the Standing Start Mile and Standing Start 10 Kilometre records

Early career

In his early days, Haslam raced on the British short circuits, at first under the sponsorship of Halifax car dealer Mal Carter and then with Honda Britain. In the 1976 season he had 16 wins. In 1978 he rode 125, 250, 500, 1000cc, Superbike and F1 machinery and after adding a 350 to his stable the following year he became the first rider to win five different races in a day at Oulton Park and repeated the feat at Carnaby later the same season. Haslam has raced in many Endurance events, with his best result being a second in the 1979 Suzuka 8 Hours race in Japan.

Motorcycle Grand Prix

Haslam made his Grand Prix debut at the 1977 500cc British Grand Prix at Silverstone on a 500 Suzuki, crashing out of the race. In 1982 Haslam raced in three more GPs on the experimental four-stroke Honda NR500. He finished in 12th at the Dutch TT at Assen in June, 11th the following weekend at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps and then 15th at Silverstone in August. At the end of the season Haslam took the new two-stroke Honda NS500 to Malaysia and won the non-world championship Kuala Lumpur Grand Prix.

Haslam demonstrating the Elf Honda in 2013

In 1983 he was back for a full season on a factory Honda as team-mate with American Freddie Spencer. He raced in the 500 class from then until the end of the 1990 season, spending three years developing the experimental Elf Honda race bike with its single-sided swinging arm front and rear suspension.

In eight years in the premier class, Haslam had 61 top ten finishes, including nine on the podium. His best result in 1985, his third and final year with Honda, was when he was second in the Dutch TT at Assen. Haslam was beaten to the line by Randy Mamola, but was nearly 23 seconds in front of third placed finisher Wayne Gardner, who set the fastest lap of the race. He was third in eight other races, including the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in 1984 to Randy Mamola and Eddie Lawson. In his final season on the Italian Cagiva alongside Randy Mamola and Alex Barros. In 1987 when he ended the season fourth behind champion Wayne Gardner, runner-up Randy Mamola and third placed Eddie Lawson. Haslam was fastest in practice just once, at the Swedish Grand Prix at Anderstorp in 1984. These results put Haslam as Britain’s second best Grand Prix competitor behind Barry Sheene.

Macau

Haslam raced in the Macau Grand Prix six times at the Guia circuit and won a record-breaking six times. His first victory at the race in 1981 marked the first time a four-stroke had ever won there. His record of 6 wins was equalled by Michael Rutter at the 2005 meeting, and it's just broken at the 2011 one.

Isle of Man TT Races

Haslam made his mark at the Isle of Man TT in 1981, when he was named winner of the Formula 1 TT, only for the organisers to give the win the following day to Graeme Crosby. Haslam was back the following year to claim an undisputed victory.

Transatlantic Match Motorcycle Races

Haslam was a member of the British team in the then-annual Transatlantic Match Races between Britain and the USA. Haslam was at his best in the 1983, ending the three-day meeting as overall top points-scorer. In the opening round at Oulton Park on the Good Friday, Haslam was beaten to the finish line by Randy Mamola in the first of two, 11 lap races. Haslam, on the Honda NS500, equaled the lap record as he strove to beat the American. In race two Mamola again came out on top, with both riders this time sharing the fastest lap, which was one tenth of a second off the record. At that point, Britain led 79 points to 69. At Snetterton two days later Haslam notched-up victories in the rain, chased home each time by Kenny Roberts. Britain’s lead had grown to 28 points, 161 to 133. In the dry at Brands Hatch the following day Haslam again won both team races to lead Britain to a 245 to 198 victory. Haslam had scored 70 points of his team’s total, 15 more than Roger Marshall and 30 better than the next best, Barry Sheene. The Langley Mill racer was the highest British points-scorer again in 1984, on a standard road-going Honda VFR750 in the series in 1986, on which he took two thirds at Donington Park.

Later racing career

After racing during 1990 in motorcycle Grands Prix with Cagiva, Haslam was back full-time in the UK in 1991 with Norton. He finished second in the British Superbike Championship, and stayed with Norton the following season. In 1993 he managed to score two points in the 500cc British Grand Prix in which took part as a wild card, with a 14th place finish, surviving an incident-packed race. In the same race, Haslam's pupil, James Haydon, made his debut on the international scene by finishing in the points at 11th place. British Grand Prix fans witnessed an impressive performance when he took a self-tuned production Yamaha into 12th place in the 250 support race at the British Grand Prix at Donington Park in 1994. In 1995 Haslam contested the first Triumph Speed Triple series, winning the Oulton Park round of the championship. When Haslam’s son Leon Haslam switched from motocross to road racing in 1997, the elder Haslam concentrated his efforts on helping the youngster’s career. He competed in the British 125 championship to give real practical assistance to Leon out on the track, and also took fifth place at Donington Park in 1998. Haslam rode the 125 again the following year, but pressure from the organisers made him stop after just a couple of rounds and restrict his coaching to the pits. In 2000, Haslam raced a Honda Fireblade in the British Superstock series, marking his 28th year of competitive racing, with a best result of 6th at Donington Park. The same year he and Leon made history by becoming the first British father and son, as well as the oldest and youngest riders, to race in the same Grand Prix when he competed on the Sabre Racing bike in the 500 class and Leon raced the factory Italjet in the 125 event at Le Mans, France.

Present

The Haslam farmhouse home is in Smalley, Derbyshire, where he lives with wife Ann. His son, motorcycle racer Leon Haslam lives nearby with his family. Haslam’s popularity with British race fans was shown when he was voted MCN Man of the Year in 1981. Haslam’s abilities as a trainer were recognised by Robert Fearnall, the former promoter at Donington Park, who launched Team Great Britain in 1992. The programme ran for five-years and Ron’s instruction helped launch the careers of two top British riders, James Haydon and the late Karl Harris. Haslam runs a race school based at Donington Park having been temporarily relocated at Silverstone due to the re-instatement of track facilities due to the failed revamp plans of the Donington circuit. The British Motorcycle Grand Prix was held there in 2014. Haslam is a qualified private pilot, and he flies a Renegade Spirit biplane (with flat-twin BMW engine).

Motorcycle Grand Prix results ^[1]

Points system from 1969 to 1987:

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Points	15	12	10	8	6	5	4	3	2	1

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 onwards:

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

(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	13	14	15	Points	Rank
1977	500cc	Suzuki	RG500	VEN -	AUT -	GER -	NAT -	FRA -	NED -	BEL -	SWE -	FIN -	CZE -	GBR NC					0	-
1982	500cc	Honda	NR500	ARG -	AUT -	FRA -	ESP -	NAT -	NED 12	BEL 11	YUG -	GBR 15	SWE -	RSM -	GER -				0	-
1983	500cc	HRC-Honda	NS500	RSA 3	FRA 3	NAT NC	GER NC	ESP NC	AUT NC	YUG NC	NED DNS	BEL 8	GBR 7	SWE 9	RSM 9				31	8th
1984	500cc	HRC-Honda	NS500	RSA NC	NAT 6	ESP 4	AUT 4	GER 4	FRA 4	YUG 5	NED 4	BEL 5	GBR 3	SWE NC	RSM 3				34	6th
1985	500cc	Rothmans-Honda	NSR500	RSA 4	ESP 8	GER 3	NAT 6	AUT 16	YUG 4	NED 2	BEL 6	FRA 5	GBR 14	SWE 3	RSM 5				73	5th
1986	500cc	Elf-Honda	Elf3	ESP 10	NAT NC	GER 8	AUT NC	YUG NC	NED 7	BEL NC	FRA 7	GBR 9	SWE 9	RSM 9					18	9th
1987	500cc	Elf-Honda	NSR500	JPN 5	ESP 3	GER 3	NAT 5	AUT 4	YUG 4	NED 5	FRA 5	GBR 7	SWE 6						72	4th
1987	500cc	Elf-Honda	Elf4											CZE 14	RSM NC	POR 9	BRA 11	ARG 10	72	4th
1988	500cc	Elf-Honda	Elf5	JPN 12	USA 7	ESP 10	EXP NC	NAT 16	GER NC	AUT 8	NED 13	BEL 7	YUG 9	FRA 10	GBR 14	SWE 11	CZE 7	BRA NC	68	11th
1989	500cc	Pepsi-Suzuki	RGV500	JPN 12	AUS 7	USA NC	ESP 7	NAT DNS	GER NC	AUT 7	YUG 8	NED 7	BEL DNS	FRA DNS	GBR 7	SWE 6	CZE 8	BRA 5	86	8th
1990	500cc	Cagiva	GP500	JPN NC	USA NC	ESP DNS	NAT DNS	GER DNS	AUT 12	YUG NC	NED 9	BEL 8	FRA 10	GBR 10	SWE 10	CZE 12	HUN 11	AUS -	46	15th
1991	500cc	Norton	NRV588	JPN -	AUS -	USA -	ESP -	ITA -	GER -	AUT -	EUR -	NED -	FRA -	GBR 12	RSM -	CZE -	VDM -	MAL -	4	25th
1993	500cc	ROC-Yamaha	ROC	AUS -	MAL -	JPN -	ESP -	AUT -	GER -	NED -	EUR -	RSM -	GBR 14	CZE -	ITA -	USA -	FIM -		2	37th

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ron Haslam.

References

↑ Ron Haslam career statistics at MotoGP.com

Sporting positions
Preceded by Mike Hailwood	TT Formula One World Champion 1979	Succeeded by Graeme Crosby
Preceded by Barry Smith	TT Formula Three World Champion 1980	Succeeded by Barry Smith
Preceded by Sadao Asami	Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix Winner 1981-1983	Succeeded by Mick Grant
Preceded by Mick Grant	Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix Winner 1985-1987	Succeeded by Kevin Schwantz

Authority control	VIAF: 96789314