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Pat Hennen (born April 27, 1953 in
Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...
) is an
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
former
Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...
motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...
road racer. He is notable for being the first American to win a 500 cc World Championship race, the 1976 500cc Finnish Grand Prix. Competing as a non-factory rider, he finished third overall in the GP World Championship standings that season, only 2 points behind runner-up
Tepi Länsivuori Tepi may refer to: * Tepi, Ethiopia, a town in Ethiopia * Tepi, Georgia, a village in Georgia * Tepi Länsivuori (born 1945), Finnish motorcycle road racer * Tepi Moilanen (born 1973), Finnish football player See also * Tepe (disambiguatio ...
and fellow Suzuki factory rider
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 ...
. When competing in the 1978
Isle of Man TT The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May/June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907. The event is often called one of the most dangerous racing events in the world ...
races, he suffered career-ending injuries after recording the first ever sub-20 minute lap on a 500 cc Suzuki in the
Senior TT The Senior Tourist Trophy is a motorcycle road race that takes place during the Isle of Man TT festival, an annual event traditionally held over the last week in May and the first week in June. The Senior TT is the Blue Riband event of the festi ...
.


Early racing career

Hennen began his career racing in dirt track AMA District 36 dirt track racing events in Northern California. In 1973, he was teamed with John Gennai and later Rick Hocking riding Steve Doi-sponsored bikes, both of whom went on to AMA Pro National Championship Series dirt track racing. Hennen's dirt track success earned him the support of Suzuki factory road racer Ron Grant, who mentored Hennen and played a key role in helping him build a successful pro road race career. Hennen switched from professional dirt track to road racing full-time in 1973, but occasionally competed in selected AMA dirt track races, believing that his dirt track experience gave him a distinct advantage in road racing.


Early pro career

In 1974, Hennen won all but one race of the AMA's Junior Road Race National Championship Series, earning him a spot on U.S. Suzuki's factory road race team for the 1975 season, alongside teammate and multi-time AMA National Champion
Gary Nixon Gary Nixon (January 25, 1941 – August 5, 2011) was an American professional motorcycle racer who most notably won the A.M.A. Grand National Championship in 1967 and 1968 as a member of the Triumph factory racing team. He was also the winner of ...
. At the end of the ’75 season, the U.S. national gas crisis severely impacted all forms of motorsports in the U.S., prompting U.S. Suzuki to shut down its factory road race team for the following season. Riding as a privateer in 1976, Hennen rode an ex-factory Suzuki TR750 to third overall in the
Daytona 200 The Daytona 200 is an annual motorcycle road racing competition held in early spring at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The race was founded in 1937 when it was sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association ...
, the first time a Suzuki had finished in the top 3 at Daytona. Riding a production Yamaha TZ250 in the 250cc race at Daytona, he finished a very close runner-up to Yamaha factory rider Roberts after a race-long duel.


Grand Prix career

Hennen moved to the European Grand Prix circuit after Daytona in 1976, competing as a privateer in the 500cc World Championships series on a production
Suzuki RG 500 Suzuki RG 500 was a Japanese road racing motorcycle manufactured by Suzuki which competed in the 500cc class of Grand Prix motorcycle racing from 1974 to 1980. The motorcycle won seven manufacturers' titles in succession and became the motorcycle ...
. He also competed in the fledgling
Formula 750 Formula 750 was a FIM motorcycle road racing series based on a 750 cubic centimeter engine capacity. History The series began in 1971 as a collaboration between the American Motorcyclist Association and the Auto Cycle Union. The FIM adopte ...
series on the same ex-factory TR750 he rode at Daytona that year. The 500cc World Championships were the highest level of professional road racing during that era. After a slow start to the season learning to compete on the GP circuits, Hennen finished runner-up in the Dutch GP at Assen, behind Sheene and ahead of multi-time World Champion Giacomo Agostini. From that race on, Hennen consistently finished in the top three and won his first GP, the Finnish GP, behind the legendary Finnish rider Länsivuori, who later became Hennen's mentor. Länsivuori was responsible for Hennen's adopting the style of riding made popular by Länsivuori and fellow legendary Finnish rider Jarno Saarinen, where they stayed very low while hanging off the side of the bike dramatically when cornering, their knee lightly dragging over the tarmac. Having established himself as one of the top three GP riders in ’76 earned Hennen a position on Suzuki Japan's factory GP road race team for 1977, teamed with newly crowned 500cc World Champion Sheene and fellow Brit Steve Parrish, now a TV motorsports commentor. Hennen's many often contentious battles on and off the track with Sheene were widely publicized in the world press. A sports fan poll conducted by a major UK newspaper in 1977 found that Hennen was the second most recognized American athlete worldwide, behind tennis player John McEnroe. Sheene was unhappy about being teamed on a British-based team with a young American who was a clear threat. Hennen's bid for the 1977 World Championship was spoiled by a 170 mph crash at the Italian GP, at Imola, two laps after he took the lead in the race. The leg injury he sustained also cost him points at the next two GPs, but he regained his form by season's end, winning the
1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World C ...
at
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 ...
, the first ever GP held on the British mainland. Beatle George Harrison and his wife hosted the victory dinner for Hennen and the rest of the Suzuki factory team after his Silverstone win. Harrison and Ringo Starr were close friends of Sheene and regularly attended GP events as VIP guests of the Suzuki GP team. Hennen followed that win up by winning the Race of Year at Mallory Park. Sheene won the opening round at Caracas, Venezuela, and Hennen the next round at Jarama, Spain, in convincing style, followed by Roberts, who then took the next round, at Nogaro, France. The title had become a two-man battle between Hennen and Roberts, with Sheene consistently finishing behind the two. At midseason, Roberts led Hennen by 3 points, with Sheene some distance back. With the most challenging GP circuits ahead of them, Hennen had become the odds-on favorite of many GP racing cognoscente to win the World Championship. But Hennen's title chase came to an end when he suffered a career-ending crash at the 1978 Isle of Man TT, regarded as the world's most dangerous circuit. He had just recorded the first ever sub-twenty-minute lap in TT history when he clipped a curb at 160 m.p.h. There was a suggestion at the time that he had struck a bird although this is now considered an unfounded rumor. The horrific crash caused injuries that ultimately led to his retirement from racing. Roberts was later quoted as saying, “I had everyone covered in ’78 but Pat Hennen.”


Car racing career

In 1976, after recording his first win on the European continent at a national race at the Österreichring circuit, Austria, Hennen was introduced to the head of the BMW car factory's fledgling driver development program. After turning in an impressive test drive at the Österreichring in a Formula Ford, Hennen was signed to a three-year development driver contract. Whenever his Grand Prix motorcycle schedule would permit it, Hennen started competing in car races to learn how to race first closed wheel and then open wheel race cars. He finished second overall in the Saturday round of the 1977 Formula Ford Festival, at Brands Hatch, England, competing against Chico Serra and Nigel Mansel, who later became front-running F1 drivers.


Other racing successes

* Won the 1977 Race of the Year, at Mallory Park, the biggest "national" race in the UK during the 1970s. * Top points scorer at the 1978
Transatlantic Trophy The Transatlantic Trophy (initially called Anglo-American Match Races) was an annual series of motorcycle races between the United Kingdom and America held from 1971 to 1988 and again in 1991. They were mostly held over the Easter weekend at Br ...
match races, ahead of Kenny Roberts, scoring three wins, two seconds and a third.American Motorcyclist, June 1978, Vol. 32, No. 6, ISSN 0277-9358
/ref> * Won the New Zealand Marlboro series three consecutive years (1974–75, 1975–76 and 1976–77), riding Suzuki TR500, TR750 and RG500 machines. The South Pacific's most prestigious road race series during the ‘70s, the Marlboro Series was run over five seasons.


Honors and awards

* Hennen was inducted into the AMA
Motorcycle Hall of Fame The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum is an offshoot of the American Motorcyclist Association, recognizing individuals who have contributed to motorcycle sport, motorcycle construction, or motorcycling in general. It also displays motorcycles ...
in 2007. * In the GP/MotoGP racing’s record books, Hennen is still ranked in the top 10 in podium finishes, along with other legendary GP riders like Mike Hailwood, Giacomo Agostini, Sheene and Roberts.


Personal life today

Hennen resides in Northern California, in the San Francisco Bay Area, and regularly attends GP Legends and Vintage Race Motorcycle events around the world. He has returned to the Isle of Man twice since his career-ending crash there.


Grand Prix career statistics

(
key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)


External links


Pat Hennen at the AMA Hall of Fame

Pat Hennen in January 1977 American Motorcyclist Magazine article on European road racing

Reminiscences of Hennen's visits to Australia

An Interview With Pat Hennen


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hennen, Pat 1953 births Living people American motorcycle racers 500cc World Championship riders Isle of Man TT riders Sportspeople from Phoenix, Arizona