Cycle News

VOL. 55 ISSUE 8 FEBRUARY 27, 2018 P119 primary reasons for that. At the end of 1979, the long association between Sheene and Suzuki came to a close. It was reported that Sheene felt Heron Suzuki wasn't providing him the kind of equipment he needed to con- tend for the world championship. It proved to be an ill-fated decision. After being either a world champion or serious contender for a half-doz- en seasons, Sheene found himself on the grid aboard a well-funded, but privateer Yamaha. The results couldn't have been starker. He went from third in the series in 1979 to 15th in 1980. But then he bounced back in 1981, when Sheene rode his Ya- maha to three podiums, including a victory—his last—in the final round of the year in Anderstorp, Sweden. Then it got even better early in 1982. Sheene was on the podium at all but a single race throughout the first half of the season. He was once again in the thick of the championship chase. Then came the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. In an open practice session on Wednesday before the GP, Sheene came over the rise Abbey Curve at an estimated 160 mph only to suddenly see a crashed bike lying on the track directly in his path. With no time to react, Sheene hit the machine at full song. Sheene was lucky to escape the crash with his life, but his massive injuries, which included two broken tibias, seemed destined to retire him. The orthopedic surgeon who operated on Sheene said it was the most complicated procedure he had ever performed. By then Sheene was almost 32 and could have easily been ex- cused if he chose to walk away from the sport. But Sheene, once again, defied the odds and came back to racing in 1983. While it was amazing that he even made it back to racing, the old speed Sheene displayed for most of his career was missing. In '83 he struggled to finish inside the top 10. It was tough for his legion of fans to watch. When Sheene announced he'd race again in 1984, there was not much excitement. It seemed the GP world had moved on to a newer generation of riders like Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson and a promising young Brit named Ron Haslam. The opening round of 1984 was at South Africa's Kyalami circuit. Defending world champ Spencer was the overwhelming favorite to defend his title in '84, but in practice a rear wheel on his factory Honda collapsed and Spencer was out with torn ligaments. Sheene was back with Suzuki and he qualified a respectable seventh for the race. But then on race day the skies opened up and the riders faced rac- ing in heavy rain. Sheene was in his element and worked his way up to third by the end of the race behind winner Eddie Lawson and runner-up Raymond Roche. Sheene claimed he should have finished second, saying he thought Roche was a lap down. "I could have made up the gap. I thought Roche was a backmarker. He was going so slow on the last lap. I think I could have passed him," Sheene said after finishing just 0.3 of a second behind Roche. The Sheene faithful hoped the South African podium was the start of a remarkable return to being a world championship contender, but it proved to be a one-off. Sheene went on to a solid season, finishing in the top-five on several occasions, but he was never a series contender and rounded out his career ranked sixth in his final season. While his last year in GP racing didn't necessarily provide a story- book ending, for one rainy weekend in South Africa, the veteran Sheene proved that, given the right moment, he still had the speed of the best in the business. CN Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives That same year, Sheene closed out his final year of racing sixth in the 500cc GP Championship.

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