Hailwood

HAILWOOD

BOOK REVIEW

Once in a while, you pick up a book, start reading it and find that you can’t put it down until you’ve reached the end. You carry it everywhere with you,to the head, in a lineup, on the bus. Every chance you get, you open it up and greedily devour the contents. Mike Hailwood is a hero of movie star status in his own country. Everywhere he goes, autograph-hunters crowd around him, people stare at him, girls long to get close to him. This book tells about Hailwood, the man, his bravery and his frustrations.

For the millions of people who have watched him ride and wondered what it’s like to be a champion, here are the answers. No racer has ever been as frank in telling what it is really like before the start of a world championship race, the nails being chewed down until they bleed, the hundred trips to the bathroom, and the bravura to hide his true feelings.

Those who aspire to be road racers of world championship status, read this book and see how you think you would have reacted in Hailwood’s shoes. His descriptions of the rides on the MV Agusta and the Hondas are so vivid you can almost imagine yourself on the machine with him. The Honda rides were terrifying, as can be witnessed by the hundreds of thousands of spectators who watched him wrestle the machine around the different circuits. A lesser man would have given up on it.

Of the MV he says: “In four years of really hard riding, the MV broke down on me only twice.” Also, “The MV was a masterpiece of machinery, a racing thoroughbred. Do you know I could lean it over at 59 degrees from the vertical?”

Of the Honda he says: “I think Tilget Honda to enter it for the Grand National.

It should stand a good chance......” Also,

“I don’t think Honda pays me enough to ride this thing. It won’t be the same next year. I’m going to screw them for all I can get out of them. It’s hardly worth sticking my neck out like I do for the money I get.”

We learn the true role that his father, Stan Hailwood, played in his career. True, his father paved the way for him, but it was his own grit and determination that took him to the top and helped him stay there. Of his father, Mike says: “The only thing he’s given me for free is this nose. I’ll never forgive him for that. I look like Mr. Punch.”

Other interesting quotes:

On girls: “When I meet a girl for the first time I can hardly speak. I bumble along talking all sorts of rubbish.”

On racing: “It’s a rough business and there’s no room for sentiment. I don’t ask any quarter and I don’t give any.”

On Count Agusta: “The Count was a terribly difficult man to understand. I could never fathom him.” And, “He is the iron-handed, autocratic boss who never leaves to somebody else what he can do himself.”

On Agostini: “For my money, Agostini is the finest Italian rider since Ubialli; he’s a quick learner, he has plenty of courage and he’s brimming with skill.” And, “I wish he’d bloody well clear off home. It would make life a lot easier.”

On gear changes: “Somebody once asked me how many gears there were on the 250 Honda. I said I’d only found seven, and I was being honest: I couldn’t remember how many there were.”

Of himself: “Look at me. I look a hundred years old. An old man before my time. That’s what racing does to you.” “I’d better make sure my feet are clean enough to go to the hospital.” “Jeez, did I stick my neck out today! Still, look at the money. It’s better than working.” “When I do turn it in there will never be enough for me to do to fill in the time.” On car racing: “One of the things that annoyed me most of all about car racing was the tribe of hangers-on.” “I noticed, too, that there was very little mixing between car drivers.” “It doesn’t matter how fierce the rivalry is among motorcycle racers, there is a great feeling of comradeship.”

On the difference between bikes and cars: “Contrary to the widely held belief, I think that bikes are far more comfortable than Formula One cars. Fatigue, for one thing, is far less pronounced. Weariness comes more quickly in a racing car.” Author Ted Macauley faithfully captures the human, and inhuman, drives which have made Hailwood the world’s greatest rider. Mike dedicates the book to his father with the simple quote: “To Stan with gratitude for everything.” [O]