Kevin Magee
Nationality	Australia
Born	(1962-07-16)16 July 1962 (age 62) Horsham,Victoria, Australia
Motorcycle racing career statistics Grand Prix motorcycle racing Active years 1987 -1991,1993 First race 1987 500ccJapanese Grand Prix Last race 1993 500ccJapanese Grand Prix First win 1988 500ccSpanish Grand Prix Last win 1988 500cc Spanish Grand Prix Team(s) Yamaha,Suzuki Championships 0 Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 36 1 3 1 1 326.5

Kevin Magee (born 16 July 1962 inHorsham,Victoria) is anAustralian formerGrand Prixmotorcycleroad racer who raced in 36 grands prix during his career, winning the1988 Spanish Grand Prix. He is currently a television commentator forFox Sports Australia.

His career began with production andSuperbike racing, at home in Australia and also in Japan. He gained early notice racing the Bob BrownDucati in Australian Superbike races and then joined Mike Dowson at the Warren Willing-managed Yamaha Dealer Team to race the then premier Production race series as well as the growing Superbike series. In 1986 he gained international attention when he and Dowson scored a second place in theSuzuka 8 Hours Formula One race on a lower-spec Superbike.^[1] His Grand Prix debut was delayed after he broke his leg crashing at the Arai 500 race atBathurst when, leading by a clear margin, he was confused by his pitboards and thought another rider was closing in on him. At the end of year big-money Swann-Series he was given the opportunity to ride a Yamaha factory Grand Prix bike and distinguished himself by winning two of the six races.

In1987, he got his break in the 500cc world championship with three wildcard appearance on theKenny RobertsYamaha team. Crashing in the openingJapanese Grand Prix, he earned a point in the rain-affectedDutch TT before scoring an impressive third place in his third ever Grand Prix at thePortuguese Grand Prix round. Having teamed up withMartin Wimmer to win the 1987 Suzuka 8 Hoursendurance race, and having also won the 1987 round of the now-defunctFormula 1 motorcycle championship atSugo, he became the only rider to stand on the podium of three different World Championships in a calendar year.^[2][3]

In1988, he was awardedRandy Mamola's place in the Kenny Roberts team, competing as teammate toWayne Rainey for the next two seasons. He also returned to the Suzuka 8 Hours race, teaming with Wayne Rainey to claim another win.^[4]

Magee won his first Grand Prix at the1988 Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix atJarama and the future looked bright for the young rider. However, at the1989 United States motorcycle Grand Prix, he was involved in a terrible crash withBubba Shobert on the cool off lap after the race, wherein Shobert drove into the back of Magee's motorcycle. Magee stopped his motorcycle in the middle of the track and performed a rear-wheel "burnout", presumably due to frustration that dwindling fuel had cost him 3rd place in the race.^[5] The wreck occurred while Shobert was congratulating racer Eddie Lawson and it ended Shobert's career. Ironically, Magee would crash at the same spot during the1990 race, suffering head injuries that put him out for the season. In1991 he appeared a couple of times forSuzuki and once for Team Roberts, along with another wildcard Grand Prix appearance in1993.

Magee also entered a fewSuperbike World Championship races, winning twice at his home race atPhillip Island in1991 and1992. He also raced in theAMA Superbike series in 1994, for the AmericanHonda team before announcing his retirement.^[6] Magee was never able to capture the early brilliance of his career after his accident with Shobert.

Magee is still a familiar face with Australian motorcycle-racing fans in his position as co-commentator on Australian Grand Prix and Superbike telecasts on Australia's largestPay-TV providerFoxtel teaming withWarren Smith onFox Sports. He is also an occasional tester and writer for Two Wheels magazine. In 2020 he appeared in the documentary movieDark Rider, as navigator for the blind motorcycle rider Ben Felten, setting the world speed record for a blind rider.^[7]

On 27 April 2002, Kevin's 19-year-old nephew Liam Magee, the son of his older brother Peter, was racing in theAustralian Superbike Championship when he was killed in practice for the round at theMallala Motorsport Park inSouth Australia. The younger Magee crashed at turn 4 (the kink, on the back straight) his bike slid off the track into the concrete retaining wall located only a short distance from the track and he died at the scene, the bike reportedly travelling at over 100 km/h at the time of impact. The concrete wall Liam Magee hit had replaced an old tyre wall in 1998 in an effort to provide more grandstand seating for the circuit.^[8]

Source:^[9]

Points system from 1969 to 1987:

Points system from 1988 to 1992:

Points system from 1993 onwards:

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

• 1962 births
• Living people
• Australian motorcycle racers
• 500cc World Championship riders
• Superbike World Championship riders
• Sportsmen from Victoria (state)
• Australian sports broadcasters
• 20th-century Australian sportsmen

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