John Reynolds

John Stephen Reynolds (born 27 June 1963 ) is a British former professional motorcycle racer from Kimberley, Nottinghamshire, England. He won the British Superbike Championship in 1992, 2001 and 2004. Reynolds is an all-time great of BSB with his 37 career wins bettered only by Shane Byrne and Ryuichi Kiyonari. His 117 podiums is second all-time behind Byrne, what makes this mark impressive is Reynolds scored this in 202 starts. Making him one of a select few riders to finish on the podium in over half their career starts.

Reynolds' first domestic success led him into the 500 cc World Championship on a Padgetts Harris-Yamaha, taking eight top-ten finishes over two seasons. He joined Revé Kawasaki in World Superbikes for 1995, qualifying second at Brands Hatch and taking third-place finishes there and Assen, en route to tenth overall. In 1996, he rode a Suzuki to 12th overall. Although he never did a full season of international racing again, he had a strong record as an occasional rider in future years, taking a win at Brands Hatch in 2000 and a pole position in 2003.

In 1997, Reynolds returned to Revé, now running Ducatis in the reformed British Superbike series with Red Bull backing. He was immediately a front-runner, finishing in the championship top-five each year between 1997 and 2000. He took 13 BSB wins in those seasons, and scored points in every BSB race in 2000.

The dominant riders in 2000, together with Reynolds, had been Neil Hodgson and Chris Walker. With these two having moved on, the stage was set for Reynolds and Steve Hislop to duel in 2001, as only John’s team-mate, Sean Emmett, and Michael Rutter also won races. Reynolds’s second championship came when Hislop was injured in a collision between the two men.

For 2002, Reynolds moved to Suzuki's new 1000 cc four-cylinder bike, taking a win and six further podiums en route to sixth overall. He was championship runner-up in 2003, but was the fastest man by the end of the season. A run of 11 consecutive podiums at the start of 2004 made the title his to lose, and despite a less successful second half of the season he secured the title in the final round.

Reynolds broke his leg in testing before the 2005 BSB season. After a poor season, Reynolds had a serious accident at the final round at Brands Hatch during practice on 7 October, breaking four ribs on his right side, puncturing his right lung and breaking his left collarbone, and suffered injuries to his neck and back. Reynolds commented from hospital: "When I hit the barrier it was like a switch in my head flipped. Instantly I knew it was time to stop. I had received a warning with my broken leg earlier in the year. I see this as a final warning and I’ve made the decision to stop racing, more for my wife Shelley’s sanity and for the good of my family than for me."

After recovery, Reynolds took up a background role with Rizla Suzuki.

Career statistics

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Class Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pos Pts 1994 500cc Harris-Yamaha AUS10 MAL12 JPN12 SPA10 AUT10 GER10 NEDRet ITARet FRARet GBR14 CZE12 USARet ARGRet EUR11 14th 43

Superbike World Championship

Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pts R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 1995 Kawasaki GER17 GERRet SMR7 SMR9 GBR7 GBR11 ITA9 ITA10 SPA12 SPA8 AUTRet AUTRet USA16 USARet EUR4 EUR3 JPN9 JPN12 NED6 NED3 INA9 INA9 AUS5 AUS7 10th 155

British Superbike Championship Year Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pos Pts R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 2001 Ducati DON1 DON1 SIL1 SIL2 SNE1 SNE1 OUL2 OUL2 BRH2 BRARet THR4 THR1 OUL2 OUL2 KNO1 KNO1 CAD3 CAD2 BRH2 BRH1 MAL1 MAL5 ROC3 ROC2 DON1 DON1 1st 536 2004 Suzuki SIL3 SIL1 BHI1 BHI3 SNE2 SNE1 OUL2 OUL2 MON2 MON2 THR2 THRRet BHGP1 BHGP7 KNO4 KNO3 MAL1 MAL2 CRO5 CRO3 CADRet CAD8 OUL1 OUL1 DON3 DON6 1st 446 2005 Suzuki BHI9 BHI9 THR14 THRRet MAL MAL OUL OUL MOP MOP CRORet CRO12 KNO7 KNO6 SNE3 SNE4 SIL3 SILRet CAD12 CAD8 OUL3 OUL3 DON5 DONRet BHGP BHGP 9th 139