Richard Britton (24 April 1970 – 18 September 2005) was one of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

's leading motorcycle road racers, as well as a team manager. He won the Regal 600 Championship four times and was the fastest Irishman to lap the

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 ...

circuit. After his death at the

Ballybunion Ballybunion or Ballybunnion () is a coastal town and seaside resort in County Kerry, Ireland, on the Wild Atlantic Way, from the town of Listowel. Tourism Ballybunion has two main beaches, divided by the Castle Green. The Ladies Beach is to ...

road races, he was honoured as Irish Motorcyclist of the Year.

Career

Britton's racing career began in the 1994 Irish Clubman series, which saw him win the 400cc class. In 1998 he moved to race on pure road circuits where he was sponsored by Alan Gregg of the Schimmell race team. At the end of that year he won the first of his four Regal 600 Championships but an accident at the 1999 season-opening Cookstown 100 saw him sidelined for most of the season with a broken arm. In 2000 Britton was taken under the wing of new sponsor PJ O'Kane and was drafted into the O'Kane racing team, after parting ways with Schimmell Racing at the Isle of Man TT. In the next two seasons, he won both of the Regal 600 championships. With new machinery for 2002, and for the first time in Irish history, Britton won his fourth, (and his third successive) Regal 600 Championship. 2002 also saw Britton become the fastest Irishman ever to lap the TT Circuit. In 2003, Patsy O'Kane withdrew from the sport but allowed Britton to keep the bike that he had campaigned his 2002 season on. He was also supplied with a

Kawasaki ZX-6R The Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R is a ''636 cc'' class motorcycle in the Ninja sport bike series from the Japanese manufacturer Kawasaki. It was introduced in 1995, and has been constantly updated throughout the years in response to new products ...

by Nick Morgan of MSS Kawasaki. Britton took it to the limit, winning races North and South, and was duly crowned Irish 600 Road Race Champion (the last year of the Regal Championship) at the

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

Road Races, Darver,

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

, at the end of 2003. In 2004 Britton ran a team himself, acquiring sponsorship locally and through friends and family. Despite a lack of factory support, he still had a successful season, with race wins at a number of national road races. He also rode for

British Superbike 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 ...

team Rizla Suzuki in a one-off ride at the

North West 200 The International North West 200 is a Northern Irish motorsport event established in 1929 for road racing motorcycles held on a street circuit known as ''the Triangle'' between the towns of Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush in Causeway Coast ...

. For 2005 Britton moved to the DMRR racing team, who had previously supplied him with a Supersport machine for the 2004 season. Although showing promise all season, a series of mechanical failures left him with little to show for the year, and he left the team mid-season, joining friend

Martin Finnegan Martin Finnegan (8 October 1979 – 3 May 2008)''Isle of Man Examiner'' pp2 dated 6 May 2008 was an Irish Motorcycle racing, motorcycle racer. Career Born in Lusk, County Dublin, Finnegan took up riding at a young age. At first he went grass ...

at the Vitrans Honda squad for the

Ulster Grand Prix The Ulster Grand Prix is a motorcycle race that takes place on the Dundrod Circuit made up entirely of closed-off public roads near Belfast, Northern Ireland. The first races took place in 1922 and in 1935 and 1948 the Fédération Internation ...

. Britton died on 18 September 2005 in a freak accident at a new Irish national road race at

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

, when the engine on his 250 machine seized. He was travelling at a reduced speed, around 30 to 35 mph, and landed against a stone wall at an awkward angle. Britton was posthumously awarded the title Irish Motorcyclist of the Year, the highest honour in Irish motorcycling, on 6 November 2005.

Personal life

He was married to Maria and had one son, Loris, named after the MotoGP star

Loris Capirossi Loris Capirossi (born 4 April 1973) is an Italian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, currently serving as Safety Advisor to Dorna Sports, the commercial rights holder of Grand Prix motorcycle racing. He is a 9-time Premier Class race wi ...

References

External links

Richard Britton RacingIsle of Man TT Database Entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Britton, Richard 1970 births 2005 deaths Irish motorcycle racers Sport deaths in the Republic of Ireland Motorcycle racers who died while racing