Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/568010
IN THE WIND P36 WARREN WILLING PASSES A ustralian superstar of the '70s, Warren Willing, lost his long fight with cancer at 1 a.m., Satur- day, September 5. Warren had been hospitalized for many months but never lost the fighting spirit that saw him rise to the very top not just as a rider, but as one of the world's foremost grand prix engi- neers where his genius was an integral part of what made Team Roberts so successful in the 1990s. Warren's racing career began in a modest way on his self-tuned Suzuki T20 in Australian road racing, but it was the Easter Bathurst meeting in 1974 when he exploded into the big time with his epic battle with great mate Gregg Hansford in the Unlimited Grand Prix, which he won by a wheel. While Gregg moved to Kawasaki, Warren stepped up to become the leading light in Ya- maha's Australian race efforts locally, aboard his self-developed TZ700/750s with sponsorship from Levi's Jeans and Golden Breed. In battling with the works OW31 of Ikijuro Takai at Bathurst in 1976, Warren set the first 100 mph lap of the circuit by a motorcycle. Although he enjoyed success in the USA and made several attempts to break into the European scene as a rider, he was perenni- ally under financed and had made up his mind to quit when he was critically injured in a crash at the North West 200 in Northern Ireland in 1979. As he lay on the track, a bystander held his femoral artery together for nearly 30 minutes until he was eventually transported to hospital, where the doctor over-ruled other staff who wanted to amputate his leg. After almost five months in Coleraine Hospital, Warren and his wife Wendy were able to return to Australia. It was five years and 15 operations later before he was able to walk without crutches. Despite the need for continual hospitalization and medical treatment, Warren re-established his ties with Yamaha and eventually took over as manager of the local Toshiba Yamaha Dealer Team, running a three-rider squad with his brother Lenny, Ron Boulden and Gary Coleman—totally dominating the Australian 500cc Championship class for two years. Later, with the team spon- sored by Marlboro, he guided the careers of Kevin Magee, Michael Dowson and Michael Doo- han. All three went on to international success, and so did Warren, working with Wayne Rainey, Luca Cadalora, Eddie Lawson, John Kocinski, Kenny Roberts Jr. and Jean-Michel Bayle in the Kenny Roberts-run works Yamaha team. In 1999 he accepted an offer to join Suzuki's GP team as technical director and within two seasons Roberts Jr. had won the 500cc Championship. Stints with KTM and Ducati followed, as well as a brief return to the Roberts squad, but as the years passed Warren's health began to deterio- rate rapidly. To Warren's devoted wife Wendy, daughter Nicole, brother Glenn, sisters Rhonda and Julie and his extended family, Cycle News extends sincere condolences. Jim Scaysbrook Willing was an integral part of the Grand Prix scene for over 20 years. Willing and his self-tuned Yamaha TZ750/700 machines were the stars of the 1970s in Australia.