Mick Walker (motorcycling)
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Michael John Gilbert Walker (30 November 1942 – 8 March 2012), commonly known as Mick Walker, was acknowledged as one of the world's leading motorcycle authorities. Walker was a British former motorcycle dealer and racer with a particular interest in Italian motorcycles, who played a key role in popularising the
Ducati Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. () is the motorcycle-manufacturing division of Italian company Ducati, headquartered in Bologna, Italy. The company is directly owned by Italian automotive manufacturer Lamborghini, whose German parent company is Au ...
marque in Britain, but was also an expert on numerous other models of motorcycle dating from the 1950s to the present. He was the writer of over 130 published books about motorcycles and motorcycle racing, and an autobiography.


Early life

Walker was born 30 November 1942 in Wretton, Norfolk, England and was educated at Downham Market Secondary Modern School. After leaving full-time education at the age of 15, he joined the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
in 1958, serving in the UK, Aden and Cyprus. Walker's first powered two-wheeler was a
Lambretta Lambretta () is the brand name of mainly motor scooters, initially manufactured in Milan, Italy, by Innocenti. The name is derived from the word Lambrate, the suburb of Milan named after the river Lambro which flows through the area, and whe ...
Li150 scooter purchased in 1960 to access his home from the RAF base, and he bought his first motorcycle, the second Ducati 250 Daytona to arrive in the UK (known as a Diana in most markets) in 1961.''
Motor Cycle News ''MCN'' or ''Motor Cycle News'' is a UK weekly Motorcycle, motorcycling newspaper published by Bauer Verlagsgruppe, Bauer Consumer Media, based in Peterborough, United Kingdom. It claims to be "the world’s biggest weekly motorcycle newspape ...
'' 20 April 1994, p.53 ''My Bikes'' Accessed and added 10 February 2015


Racing

Walker began racing competitively in 1963, while serving with the RAF and continued riding in club and international events until 1972 with considerable success at circuits such as
Snetterton Snetterton is a village and civil parish in Norfolk, England. The village is about east-northeast of Thetford and southwest of Norwich. The civil parish has an area of . The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census recorded a parish population o ...
, Cadwell Park (where he made headlines in
Motor Cycle News ''MCN'' or ''Motor Cycle News'' is a UK weekly Motorcycle, motorcycling newspaper published by Bauer Verlagsgruppe, Bauer Consumer Media, based in Peterborough, United Kingdom. It claims to be "the world’s biggest weekly motorcycle newspape ...
by winning three club races at one meeting in October 1968) and
Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...
and also competed in the
Manx Grand Prix The Manx Grand Prix motorcycle races are held on the Isle of Man TT Course (or 'Snaefell Mountain Course, Mountain Circuit') every year for a two-week period, usually spanning the end of August and early September. New for 2022 is a period re ...
. He was a personal friend of many motorcycle stars of the era including
Mike Hailwood Stanley Michael Bailey Hailwood, (2 April 1940 – 23 March 1981) was a British professional motorcycle racer and racing driver. He is regarded by many as one of the greatest racers of all time. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle ...
,
Barry Sheene Barry Steven Frank Sheene (11 September 1950 – 10 March 2003) was a British professional motorcycle racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing even ...
, and Arthur Wheeler. Later, after he became a motorcycle dealer, Walker sponsored other riders. Following the death of his son Gary in a start line incident at Brands Hatch in 1994, he set up the Mick Walker Racing team to mentor young British talent. Among its pupils were Darren North, Ollie Bridewell, Dijon Compton, Steven Neate,
James Toseland James Michael Toseland (born 5 October 1980) is an English former motorcycle racer and vocalist of his own rock band named Toseland. For 2020, he is team-manager of Wepol Racing with riders in World Supersport and Supersport 300.Berliner Motor Corporation Berliner Motor Corporation was the US Distribution (business), distributor from the 1950s through the 1980s for several European motorcycle marques, including Ducati, J-Be, Matchless, Moto Guzzi, Norton Motorcycle Company, Norton, Sachs Motorcycl ...
, the business – which was based in
Wisbech Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland Port of Wisbech, port and civil parish in the Fenland District, Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bord ...
, Cambridge – expanded steadily and Walker became the official UK importer for Ducati spares in the mid-1970s. With greatly enlarged premises, Mick Walker Motorcycles moved on to retailing models manufactured by Ducati,
Moto Guzzi Moto Guzzi is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer and the oldest European manufacturer in continuous motorcycle production. Established in 1921 in Mandello del Lario, Italy, the company is noted for its historic role in Italy's motorcycling ma ...
,
Harley-Davidson Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depressi ...
,
Aermacchi Aermacchi was an Italian aircraft manufacturer. Formerly known as Aeronautica Macchi, the company was founded in 1912 by Giulio Macchi at Varese in north-western Lombardy as Nieuport-Macchi, to build Nieuport monoplanes under licence for the It ...
,
Cagiva Cagiva is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer. It was founded in 1950 by Giovanni Castiglioni in Varese, originally producing small metal components. Giovanni's sons, Claudio and Gianfranco Castiglioni, went into the motorcycle industry in 1978. ...
,
Benelli Benelli may refer to: *Benelli Armi SpA, an Italian firearm manufacturer *Benelli (motorcycles), an Italian motorcycle manufacturer *HSR-Benelli, an Austrian-Italian manufacturer of personal watercraft * Andrea Benelli (born 1960), Italian sports sh ...
, Garelli, Testi,
MV Agusta MV Agusta (, full name: MV AGUSTA Motor S.p.A., original name: Meccanica Verghera Agusta or MV) is a motorcycle manufacturer founded by Count Domenico Agusta on 19 January 1945 as one of the branches of the Agusta aircraft company near Milan in ...
, Jawa and
Derbi Derbi is a manufacturer of motorcycles, scooters, mopeds and recreational all-terrain vehicles produced by Nacional Motor S.A.U., a Spanish subsidiary of Piaggio & Co. SpA. History Derbi's origins began with a little bicycle workshop in the v ...
, as well as Russian motorcycles, and was the UK importer for several marques. The Mick Walker Group became a victim of the recession of the early 1980s and ceased to trade at the start of 1982. However, Walker continued to provide Ducati parts and servicing with his brother Rick (as Rick & Mick Walker) until 2005.


Writing career

Following the closure of his motorcycle dealership, Walker began writing about motorcycles and was appointed Assistant Editor of the British magazine ''Motorcycle Enthusiast'' in 1983. His first book ''Ducati Singles'' was published in 1985, and he went on to become one of the most prolific motorcycle writers in the world, gaining a reputation for detailed and meticulous research. Unusually, Walker's work is all written in longhand. He was interviewed by the BBC after the publication of his 100th title.


Favourite bikes

In a 1994 interview with ''
Motor Cycle News ''MCN'' or ''Motor Cycle News'' is a UK weekly Motorcycle, motorcycling newspaper published by Bauer Verlagsgruppe, Bauer Consumer Media, based in Peterborough, United Kingdom. It claims to be "the world’s biggest weekly motorcycle newspape ...
'', Walker confirmed his then-current road bike – a
Yamaha FZ750 The Yamaha FZ750 is a sports motorcycle produced by Yamaha Motor Corporation between 1985 and 1991. The FZ750 is notable for several reasons, perhaps the most radical being the 5-valve cylinder head with a radial arrangement. This became somethin ...
– as having a "superb" motor, handling and braking. His best ride was a 1970s 125
Derbi Derbi is a manufacturer of motorcycles, scooters, mopeds and recreational all-terrain vehicles produced by Nacional Motor S.A.U., a Spanish subsidiary of Piaggio & Co. SpA. History Derbi's origins began with a little bicycle workshop in the v ...
racer, and the machine he would most like to ride was the Mike Hailwood
297 Honda Six The Honda RC174 was a racing motorcycle built by Honda for the 350 cc class of Grand Prix motorcycle racing in the 1967 season. Based on the 250 cc class Honda RC166, it had less than 300 cc, yet won seven out of the eight races ...
. His most unreliable was a
BSA B50 The BSA B50 was a single-cylinder ohv motorcycle, produced by BSA at their factory in Small Heath, Birmingham. The last of the big capacity unit-construction singles from the Birmingham Small Arms company, it had an alloy engine with a bore ...
Gold Star which failed on the way to the TT races, being swiftly replaced for the trip by his
Ducati 160 Monza Junior The Ducati 160 Monza Junior is a single cylinder bevel drive SOHC motorcycle produced by the Italian manufacturer Ducati from 1964 to 1970. The model was the most successful of the Ducati OHC singles. The exact number produced is not known, b ...
. He described his relief that, although he had crashed his 250 Ducati Mach 1 at around 120 mph during practising for the 1966
Manx Grand Prix The Manx Grand Prix motorcycle races are held on the Isle of Man TT Course (or 'Snaefell Mountain Course, Mountain Circuit') every year for a two-week period, usually spanning the end of August and early September. New for 2022 is a period re ...
, it was on the Sulby Straight where he slid in a straight line without impacting the sides, adding "anywhere else on the course and it would heve been curtains for me".


Honours and awards

Mick Walker retained strong links with the Italian motorcycle industry, and in 1998 was one of the 50 VIPs invited to Italy to celebrate Ducati's half-century in production. That same year, he played an instrumental role in setting up
The Art of the Motorcycle The Art of the Motorcycle was an exhibition that presented 114 motorcycles chosen for their historic importance or design excellenceSawetz. "The Art of the Motorcycle is curated by Thomas Krens, Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, ...
exhibition at the
Guggenheim Museum in New York The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum at 1071 Fifth Avenue on the corner of East 89th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It is the permanent home of a continuously ex ...
, writing around one-third of the entries in the catalogue. In 1999, the British Ducati Owner's Club presented him with a Lifetime Achievement Award, the first of its kind ever made. In 2000, his part in helping to set up a major Ducati exhibition at the University of Northumbria Gallery was acknowledged by director Mara-Helen Wood, who was 'indebted to Mick Walker, Ducati author, historian and consultant, whose involvement was crucial to the success of the Expo'.


Bibliography

Walker wrote over 130 books, starting with ''Ducati Singles'' in 1985 and ending with his autobiography ''Mick Walker the Ride of My Life'', completed before his death in 2012 but published a few days after. Many of Walker's books were motorcycle marque histories, although he also wrote restoration guides and biographies of a number of racing stars, including Giacomo Agostini,
Geoff Duke Geoffrey Ernest Duke (29 March 1923 – 1 May 2015) was a British multiple motorcycle Grand Prix road racing world champion. Born in St. Helens, Lancashire, after retirement from competition he was a businessman based in the Isle of Man. He ...
, Bob McIntyre,
Sammy Miller Samuel Hamilton Miller, MBE (born 11 November 1933) is a Northern Irish championship winning motorcycle racer, in both road racing and trials. He was appointed an MBE in the 2009 New Year Honours. In 2013, Miller was named an FIM Legend for ...
and
John Surtees John Surtees, (11 February 1934 – 10 March 2017) was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver. On his way to become a seven-time Grand Prix motorcycle World Champion, he won his first title in 1956, and followed with ...
.


Partial listing

* * * *


References


External links


Amazon's Mick Walker pagePublisher's list of titles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Mick Motorcycling writers 1942 births 2012 deaths English autobiographers English motorcycle racers English non-fiction writers 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel English male non-fiction writers Royal Air Force airmen 20th-century English businesspeople