| Mick Grant | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Mick Grant atParliament Square,Ramsey, Isle of Man demonstrating a 1980s Suzuki during a Classic Parade in 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | British | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1944-07-10)10 July 1944 (age 80) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mick Grant (born 10 July 1944) is anEnglish former professional motorcycleroad racer and TT rider. A works-supported rider for Norton, Kawasaki, Honda and Suzuki, he is a seven-time winner of theIsle of Man TT motorcycle race on various makes, including 'Slippery Sam', a three-cylinderTriumphTrident.[1] The son of acoal miner, the soft-spoken, down-to-earthYorkshireman fromWakefield, was a sharp contrast to the brash,playboy image presented by LondonerBarry Sheene during the 1970s.[2]
Grant began his racing career as aprivateer, entering his firstManx Grand Prix in 1969 on aVelocette 500 cc, and his first TT in the following year, again using the Velocette and placing 18th in the Junior (350 cc) class on a Lee-sponsoredYamaha TD2.[3][4]
Later supported by businesses including Clive Padgett, heading Padgetts of Batley, onTD2 250 cc and TR2 350 cc Yamahas, and Brian Davidson of John Davidson Group onTZ Yamahas,[5] he was equally versatile on either two- or four-stroke machines.
He quickly became a works Norton rider alongsidePeter Williams andPhil Read, part of the firstNorton factory team since the Norton race-shop was disbanded in 1962, headed by ex-racerFrank Perris.[6] In 1972, he teamed with Dave Croxford to win theThruxton 500endurance race on a 745 ccNorton Commando,[7] and finished second to Williams in the1973 F750 TT.[8][9]
In 1974, Grant was the chosen rider for the then-new, UK-based Boyer Kawasaki Racing Team, based on twoair-cooled triples. Stan Shenton, head of motorcycle business Boyer of Bromley, previously having a long background of racingTriumphs, was Team principal. They were one of a selected network of regional Kawasaki dealers, part of a controlled expansion and roll-out to establish a UK dealer-network. As part of the development process, Grant's racing includedOntario, California in late 1974.[10]
In 1975, Grant completed the first-ever 120 mph lap of theNorth West 200 circuit.[11] Also in 1975, it was Grant who finally brokeMike Hailwood's absolute TT lap record for the Isle of ManSnaefell mountain course, set in1967 on a500 Honda,[12] raising the average-speed of one lap to 109.82 mph on aKawasaki KR750 two-stroke triple entered by the Boyer team and Stan Shenton.[4][13] Although Grant failed to finish the race, retiring at theGooseneck with a broken chain caused by a mis-aligned rear wheel spindle,[14] he won the 500 ccSenior TT race.[15] In 1977, Grant raised the lap record to 112.77 mph, again on a 750 cc Kawasaki.[14]
Grant raced in theGrand Prix motorcycle racing circuit in1977 for theKawasaki factory team alongside teammateBarry Ditchburn and the following year withKork Ballington andGregg Hansford.[16] In1979,Honda chose Grant to help develop their exotic oval-cylinderedNR500, unfortunately with disappointing results.[17] Grant also won theMacau Grand Prix in 1977 on the Kawasaki KR750 and again in 1984, riding aHeron-Suzuki.
He usually raced with number 10 and carried the initials JL on his helmet, even after retirement from competition, as a tribute to his early sponsor – mechanic, fabricator and frame-builder Jim Lee of the 'Dalesman' marque.[4][12][18][19]
Points system from 1969 onwards:
| Position | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Points | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
Despite being reduced to just over nine miles, speeds were continuing to rise at an alarming rate and whilst the first 110 mph lap was recorded in 1973 by Tony Rutter, it only took two more years before the 120 mph barrier was broken, Mick Grant on the factory Kawasaki lapping at a staggering 122.62 mph on his way to victory in the main Superbike race ahead of team-mate Barry Ditchburn.
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix Winner 1977 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix Winner 1984 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
