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Stephen James Parrish (born 24 February 1953 in
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
, England) also known as "Stavros", 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
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 ...
and
truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...
racer, who is now a
motorsport
Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...
television commentator and speaker/entertainer.
Racing career
Parrish turned professional at the age of 22 in 1976, winning the
ACU Solo title in the
British Motor Cycle Championship. He was a team mate to
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 ...
on a
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 ...
in 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 ...
500 cc
world championship
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
, finishing fifth overall, but returned to British-based riding to become the 1978 500cc ACU 'Gold Star' Champion. He also won the British Shell 500 title in both 1979 and 1980, and a British
Superbike
A sport bike (sports motorcycle, or sports bike) is a motorcycle designed and optimized for speed, acceleration, braking, and cornering on asphalt concrete race tracks and roads. They are mainly designed for performance at the expense of comfor ...
title in 1981.
Team management
After retiring from motorcycle racing in 1986, Parrish led a dual career both managing a successful
Yamaha Yamaha may refer to:
* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below).
** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...
factory team to three British Superbike championship titles;
and starting a successful
truck racing
Truck racing is a form of motorsport road racing which involves modified versions of heavy tractor units on road racing or Oval track racing, oval track Race track, circuits.
History
The sport started in the United States at the Atlanta Motor S ...
career, winning the 1987 British Open Truck Racing Championship. Parrish took both the
European
European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to:
In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...
and British Truck Racing championship titles in 1990, then held the British title for four years and retained the European title for three years driving for the
BP-
Mercedes Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
team. Parrish regained the prestigious European crown again in 1996 in
Jarama
Jarama () is a river in central Spain. It flows north to south, and passes east of Madrid where the El Atazar Dam is built on a tributary, the Lozoya River. It flows into the river Tagus in Aranjuez. The Manzanares is a tributary of the Jaram ...
. The most successful truck racer ever, he retired in 2002 at the age of 47 to hand over to
Terry Rymer
Terence William Rymer (born 28 February 1967) is an English former professional motorcycle road racer turned car and truck racer. Rymer won over 200 races in 20 years of competition during his motorcycle and car racing career.
__TOC__
Motorc ...
.
;Career highlights
* 1976: Winner, British Solo Championship
* 1975: Winner,
Grovewood Award The Grovewood Awards (later becoming the Cellnet Awards and then the McLaren Autosport BRDC Awards) were a series of British motor racing awards presented each year in the United Kingdom to the year's up-and-coming British and Commonwealth racing d ...
, Best Young Rider, Motorcycles
* 1977: 5th, 500cc World Motorcycle Championship
* 1978: Winner, 500cc ACU 'Gold Star' Championship
* 1979: Winner, 500cc Shellsport Motorcycle Championship
* 1981: Winner, British Superbike Championship
* 1987: Winner, British Open Truck Racing Championship
* 1989: 2nd, British Open Truck Racing Championship
* 1990: Winner, European and British Truck Racing Championship
* 1991: Winner, British Open Truck Racing Championship
* 1992: Winner, European and British Truck Racing Championship
* 1993: Winner, European and British Truck Racing Championship
* 1994: Winner, European Truck Racing Championship
* 1995: 2nd, European Truck Racing Championship
* 1996: Winner, European Truck Racing Championship
* 1997: 8th, European Truck Racing Championship
* 1998: 5th, European Truck Racing Championship
* 1999: 4th, European Truck Racing Championship
* 2000: 5th, European Truck Racing Championship
* 2001: 6th, European Truck Racing Championship
Commentary career
Steve provides commentary and analysis for
ITV's
ITV is a British free-to-air public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television network. It was launched in 1955 as Independent Television to provide competition to BBC Television (established in 1936). ITV is the ol ...
week-long coverage of 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 ...
, alongside former racer
James Whitham
James Michael "Jamie" Whitham (born 6 September 1966), is an English former professional motorcycle road racer. He raced in most major British and international championships, winning the British championship twice. The readers of Motorcycle N ...
, shown on
Velocity Channel in the US.
In 1985, Parrish started commentating for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
radio, and then transferring to television with
Sky
The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space.
In the field of astronomy, ...
with
Barry Nutley. From 1990, he commentated on the British 125 championship for the BBC.
Parrish was previously co commentator on
World Superbikes
Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette-class road racing series based on heavily modified production motorcycles, also known as superbike racing.
The championship was founded i ...
for the BBC with
Leigh Diffey
Leigh Diffey (born 3 March 1971) is an Australian American auto racing commentator. His career began calling motorcycle races in his home country before moving to the United Kingdom to cover other forms of motorsport. Diffey then moved to the ...
.
Parrish then teamed up with
Charlie Cox
Charlie Thomas Cox (born 15 December 1982) is an English actor. He is known for portraying Matt Murdock / Daredevil in several projects of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise, including lead roles in the television series ''Daredevil'' (201 ...
commentating on
MotoGP
Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start ...
coverage, until the BBC lost its contract at the end of 2013.
The pair had a rapport and commentated on a number of series for the BBC from the late 1990s, which were
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, ...
and
World Superbikes
Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette-class road racing series based on heavily modified production motorcycles, also known as superbike racing.
The championship was founded i ...
and MotoGP. A qualified pilot, Parrish is also a commentator for the
Red Bull Air Race series for
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
.
Other work and achievements
Away from television, he regularly tests various vehicles and racing machines, and is an expert witness for motor racing incidents. Parrish holds the
Guinness Book of Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
world record
A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...
for the "Fastest Speed Achieved in Reverse" (85 mph) using a
Caterham car.
With journalist and broadcaster
Nick Harris, Parrish co-authored ''Barry: The Story of Motorcycling Legend Barry Sheene ''(2008), a biography of his former team mate
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 ...
.
Personality
A notorious
practical joke
A practical joke, or prank, is a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. ...
r, Parrish is known to have carried out various pranks.
*He is permanently banned from the Chinese administrative region of
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
after setting off a home-made bomb outside a
brothel
A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...
. Several of his fellow riders were being 'serviced' inside at the time.
*He burnt down a toilet block in
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
.
*He once posed as a medical doctor to allow
John Hopkins to fly from Japan to the Australian GP.
*He upset his fellow village residents by registering PEN 15 as his car number plate.
*He once sabotaged a
Mini Moke
The Mini Moke (styled "MOKE") is a small, front-wheel-drive utility and recreational convertible, conceived and manufactured as a lightweight military vehicle by British Motor Corporation (BMC), and subsequently marketed for civilian use under ...
belonging to Team Bike, (a group of benefactors, mechanics, racers, journalists and helpers) by undoing every single wheel-nut to the last thread, in a revenge prank. The prank was discovered shortly before the vehicle was going to be driven off.
*He once posed as Barry Sheene in a qualifying session when the two were team-mates, as Sheene had turned up to the session with a hangover. Parrish put on Sheene's helmet/overalls and qualified on his behalf, then put his own clothing back on and qualified further down the grid as himself.
*Parrish owns an ambulance and has been seen using the ambulance to park on double yellow lines with the doors open in visits to his local bank.
*He also owns a fire engine and once hosed down the inside of a friend's packed pub on a Sunday afternoon.
*Steve appeared in Beadle's About pranked by one of his best friends. Beadle launched a military assault in the back garden of the ex-champion motorcycle racer. Beadle's About - S02E0
Steve Parrish on Beadles About
Personal life
Parrish commonly goes by the nickname of Stavros, named by Barry Sheene back in his racing days, after the 'Stavros' character in the TV show 'Kojak' who had a similar mop of black curly hair. Divorced from wife Ruth, the couple have two children.
Parrish remarried in December 2017, to Michelle, a television outside-broadcast floor manager.
Career statistics
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Races by year
(
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)
References
External links
Bio at the BBC Press Office
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parrish, Steve
1954 births
Grovewood Award winners
Living people
500cc World Championship riders
Motorsport announcers
Isle of Man TT riders