Australia is a great nation. By size, certainly, but also by stature. Initially influenced by the other major Commonwealth countries, the culture evolved over the years to adopt new standards. Thus, certain sports are endemic to the country-continent.
This is not the case with the motorcycle.
Car racing, then motorcycling, has always punctuated the lives of young Australians. MotoGP, like Formula 1, does not escape its share of “aussies”, who have always been present. Let's look back together at the ten greatest Australian riders in motorcycle Grand Prix.
This episode follows the introduction explaining the rules as well as the selection criteria, published yesterday (found right here).
No. 10: Gregg Hansford
Not the best known of Australians, we admit. However, he was the representative of an entire country in the late 1970s. Gregg was raging in the smaller categories. In 250cc and 350cc, he was the faithful representative of Kawasaki. This epic, now eclipsed, nevertheless fascinated more than one.
After years spent racing the tracks of Australia and New Zealand, he arrived in Europe with a hunger for victories. Quickly, the Kawasaki duo, Hansford/Ballington
sweeps up everything in its path since 1978.
Unfortunately for our good Gregg, the advantage goes to his South African teammate. He was beaten in both 250cc and 350cc but managed to collect victories in his first year on the old continent.
In 1979, fate persisted. Ballington won both categories again, much to the chagrin of the Australian. This year crowned with three new successes will, in reality, be the last. Preferring cars, he abandoned two-wheelers in 1980, only showing up on rare occasions. A serious accident at Spa-Francorchamps in 1980 convinces
Hansford to abandon motorcycling to move towards a – successful – career in motorsport. It was while driving a racing car at Phillip Island that he died in 1995, aged just 42.
Behind the three behemoths that are Doohan, Stoner et Gardner, he is the Australian with the most Grand Prix victories (10). Longevity prevents him from climbing a few places in the rankings.
No. 9: Jack Ahern
Photo: The Sydney Morning Herald.
We go back in time again to cross paths with Jack Ahern, the precursor. Less known than its predecessor in the ranking, Ahern is forgotten in view of his achievements in Grands Prix. He was a major championship driver in the 1950s and 1960s. A long career punctuated by breaks, but marked by real exploits.
In 1964, on Norton, he managed to stand up to the great Phil Read on a regular basis. In addition to three podiums, he managed to get the best of Mike Duff during the Finnish Grand Prix to win. This propels him into second place in the general ranking, behind a Mike Hailwood untouchable
(100% wins when participating).
Regular for his time, Ahern was a regular in the top 5 in the following years, until his first retirement at the end of 1966. In 1974, at the age of 50, he came out of retirement to run the most dangerous of events, the Tourist trophy. He ranks 34th, although position doesn't matter.
His achievements earned him the Australian Sports Medal in 2001, commending a twenty-year career. Ahern died in 2017 in Home, a magnificent city overlooking the Pacific.
Ranked 9th, he could claim better, but his only victory and his (only) three good seasons say the opposite.
That's all for today ! See you tomorrow for the reveal of the places n°8 and n°7
