John Stephen Reynolds (born 27 June 1963) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

former professional

motorcycle racer Motorcycle racing (also called moto racing and motorbike racing) is the motorcycle sport of racing motorcycles. Major varieties include motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Oth ...

from Kimberley,

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. He won the

British Superbike Championship The British Superbike Championship (BSB), currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Bennetts British Superbike Championship, is the leading road racing superbike championship in the United Kingdom, and was once widely acknowledged as the p ...

in 1992, 2001 and 2004. Reynolds is an all-time great of BSB with his 37 career wins bettered only by Shane Byrne and Ryuichi Kiyonari. His 117 podiums is 2nd all time behind Byrne, what makes this mark impressive is Reynolds scored this in 202 starts. Making him one of a select few riders to finish on the podium in over half their career starts. His first domestic success led him into the 500 cc World Championship on a Padgetts

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, taking 8 top-10 finishes over two seasons. He joined Revé Kawasaki in World Superbikes for 1995, qualifying 2nd at

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently host ...

and taking 3rd-place finishes there and

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, en route to 10th overall. In 1996 he rode a Suzuki to 12th overall. Although he never did a full season of international racing again, he had a strong record as an occasional rider in future years, taking a win at

in 2000 and a pole position in 2003. In 1997. Reynolds returned to Revé, now running Ducatis in the reformed British Superbike series with Red Bull backing. He was immediately a front-runner, finishing in the championship top 5 each year between 1997 and 2000. He took 13 BSB wins in those seasons, and scored points in every BSB race in 2000. Jrnumberonebike

The dominant riders in 2000, together with Reynolds, had been

Neil Hodgson Neil Stuart Hodgson (born 20 November 1973) is a British former motorcycle racer, who won the 2000 British Superbike Championship, and the 2003 Superbike World Championship titles. He then went on to have a moderately successful four years in t ...

and Chris Walker. With these two having moved on, the stage was set for Reynolds and

Steve Hislop Robert Steven Hislop (11 January 1962 – 30 July 2003) was a Scottish motorcycle racer. Hislop won at the Isle of Man TT eleven times, won the British 250cc Championship (1990) and British Superbike championship (1995 and 2002). Hislop die ...

to duel in 2001, as only John’s team-mate, Sean Emmett, and

Michael Rutter Sir Michael Llewellyn Rutter CBE FRS FRCP FRCPsych FMedSci (15 August 1933 – 23 October 2021) was the first person to be appointed professor of child psychiatry in the United Kingdom. He has been described as the "father of child psych ...

also won races. Reynolds’s second championship came when Hislop was injured in a collision between the two men. For 2002 he moved to Suzuki's new 1000 cc four-cylinder bike, taking a win and six further podiums en route to 6th overall. He was championship runner-up in 2003, but was the fastest man by the end of the season. A run of 11 consecutive podiums at the start of 2004 made the title his to lose, and despite a less successful second half of the season he secured the title in the final round. Reynolds broke his leg in testing before the 2005 BSB season. After a poor season, Reynolds had a serious accident at the final round at

during practice on 7 October, breaking four ribs on his right side, puncturing his right lung and breaking his left

collarbone The clavicle, or collarbone, is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately 6 inches (15 cm) long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on the left and one on the right ...

, and suffered injuries to his neck and back. Reynolds commented from hospital: "When I hit the barrier it was like a switch in my head flipped. Instantly I knew it was time to stop. I had received a warning with my broken leg earlier in the year. I see this as a final warning and I’ve made the decision to stop racing, more for my wife Shelley’s sanity and for the good of my family than for me." After recovery, Reynolds took up a background role with Rizla Suzuki.

References

External links

John Reynolds full profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reynolds, John 1963 births Living people People from Kimberley, Nottinghamshire English motorcycle racers British Superbike Championship riders Superbike World Championship riders 500cc World Championship riders