John Williams

John Glen Williams (27 May 1946 – 12 August 1978) was an English motorcycle short-circuit road racer who also entered selected Grands Prix on the near-continent. He mostly raced as a "privateer" having a personal sponsor, Gerald Brown. Williams died in Northern Ireland, following an accident when racing at an event held on closed public roads near Dundrod.

Career Williams began racing in 1966, and won the Stars of Tomorrow meeting at Brands Hatch in 1968 on a 250 cc Ducati. He turned professional in 1973, and won the 250, 350 and 500 cc classes at that year's Ulster Grand Prix, the first rider to win three Ulster GP races in a single day. In 1974 he won the 350cc, 500cc and 750cc classes at the North West 200, marking the first time a competitor had won three classes at the event. He also raced for Honda in endurance events such as the Bol d'Or.

Williams' best season was in 1975 when he finished in fifth place in the 500 cc world championship on a Yamaha motorcycle. Williams won his only world championship race when he defeated Barry Sheene at the 1976 Belgian Grand Prix. He also looked set for victory in that year's Senior TT, setting a new outright lap record for the course at . Williams was named as Sports Personality of the Year for 1976 by the Liverpool Echo. He was a resident of Heswall, a town on the Wirral, Merseyside, England.

John Williams Trophy The John Williams Trophy is an annual award at the Isle of Man TT Races. It is presented to the rider who completes the fastest lap in the Superbike TT race.

Motorcycle Grand Prix results 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 in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Class Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Points Rank Wins 1968 500cc Matchless GER- ESP- IOM11 NED- BEL- DDR- CZE- FIN- ULS- NAT- 0 – 01969 350cc AJS ESP- GER- IOM15 NED- DDR- CZE- FIN- ULS- NAT- YUG- 0 – 0 500cc Metisse ESP- GER- FRA- IOM- NED- BEL- DDR- CZE- FIN- ULS8 NAT- YUG- 3 46th 0 1970 500cc Matchless GER- FRA- YUG- IOM5 NED- BEL- DDR- FIN- ULS9 NAT- ESP- 8 23rd 01971 350cc AJS AUT- GER- IOM4 NED- DDR- CZE- SWE- FIN- ULS4 NAT- ESP- 16 13th 0 500cc AJS AUT- GER- IOMNC NED- BEL- DDR- SWE- FIN- ULS- NAT- ESP- 0 – 01972 250cc Yamaha GER- FRA- AUT- NAT- IOM3 YUG- NED- BEL- DDR- CZE- SWE- FIN- ESP- 10 18th 0 350cc Honda GER- FRA- AUT- NAT- IOMNC YUG- NED- DDR- CZE- SWE- FIN- ESP- 0 – 0 500cc Matchless GER- FRA- AUT- NAT- IOMNC YUG- NED- BEL- DDR- CZE- SWE- FIN- ESP- 0 – 01973 250cc Yamaha FRA- AUT- GER- IOM2 YUG- NED- BEL- CZE- SWE- FIN- ESP- 12 17th 0 350cc Yamaha FRA- AUT- GER- NAT- IOM3 YUG- NED- CZE- SWE- FIN- ESP- 10 20th 0 500cc Matchless FRA- AUT- GER- IOMNC YUG- NED- BEL- CZE- SWE- FIN- ESP- 0 – 01974 250cc Yamaha GER- NAT- IOM- NED- BEL9 SWE- FIN- CZE- YUG- ESP- 2 38th 0 350cc Yamaha FRA- GER- AUT9 NAT- IOM- NED8 SWE- FIN9 YUG- ESP- 7 29th 0 500cc Yamaha FRA7 GER- AUT8 NAT- IOM- NED10 BEL7 SWE10 FIN6 CZE- 18 11th 01975 250cc Yamaha FRA- ESP- GER- NAT- IOM3 NED- BEL9 SWE- FIN8 CZE- YUG- 15 14th 0 350cc Yamaha FRA- ESP10 AUT- GER- NAT- IOMNC NED- FIN- CZE- YUG- 1 47th 0 500cc Yamaha FRA- AUT- GER- NAT- IOM2 NED7 BEL5 SWE3 FIN- CZE- 32 5th 0 1976 500cc Suzuki FRARet AUTRet NAT- IOM7 NED6 BEL1 SWE- FIN- CZE- GER- 24 9th 11977 350cc Yamaha VEN- GER- NAT- ESP- FRA- YUG- NED- SWE- FIN- CZE- GBR3 10 22nd 0 500cc Suzuki VEN- AUT- GER- NAT16 FRA- NED- BEL10 SWE8 FIN- CZE- GBR- 4 26th 0 1978 500cc Suzuki VEN- ESP- AUT- FRA- NAT- NED- BEL- SWE- FIN- GBR12 GER- 0 – 0