Phil Read

Early years

Born in the large Bedfordshire town of Luton on 1 January 1939, Read was a keen road-rider and worked as an apprentice fitter at Brown and Green, a Luton manufacturer of industrial machinery. His first road machine was a Velocette KSS which he started on at the UK legal-minimum riding age of sixteen in 1955, followed by a BSA Gold Star DBD32. He started amateur short-circuit racing in 1958 on a Duke BSA Gold Star. In 1960 he won the Junior Manx Grand Prix on a Manx Norton at record speed He placed second in the 350cc and 500cc races at the 1961 North West 200 in Northern Ireland on Manx Nortons.

Read was a two-time winner of the Thruxton 500 endurance race in 1962 and 1963 riding Syd Lawton's Norton Dominator 650SS machines.

In 1963, the up and coming Read was temporarily drafted-in to fill Derek Minter's absence in the Scuderia Duke Gilera Grand Prix team, as Minter had been seriously injured in May at Brands Hatch after a last-lap accident when dicing for the lead with Dunstall rider Dave Downer, after which Downer died.

The 1963 Isle of Man Senior TT was won by Mike Hailwood on an MV Agusta, while the Duke team came second (John Hartle) and third (Read). In the following Dutch TT at Assen, the finishing order was: first (Hartle), second (Read), with Mike Hailwood's MV retiring in the 500cc class. Read came second to Hailwood in the Belgium GP 500cc race. Minter recovered and returned in time to reclaim his team place for the next event, the Ulster GP at Dundrod in August. The Scuderia Duke Gilera Grand Prix team disbanded at the end of 1963. He would repeat as champion the following year.

The season proved to be controversial for Read. The Yamaha factory had wanted Read to concentrate on winning the 125cc title and teammate Bill Ivy to take the 250cc crown. After winning the 125cc championship, Read decided to disobey team orders and fight Ivy for the 250cc title. Initially the engine was installed into standard Rickman Street Metisse frame intended for a Triumph Bonneville engine.

After sitting out most of the and grand prix seasons when the major Japanese factories all withdrew from Grands Prix racing, he concentrated on the major British and European international meetings. Giacomo Agostini (1) and Read (5) racing during the 1971 350cc Dutch TT.

Read returned full-time to the Grands Prix circuit in on a special privateer production Yamaha developed under the direction of the Dutchman, Ferry Brouwer with twin disc brakes, improved horsepower and aerodynamics together with help from Eric Cheney (frame), Helmut Fath (dry clutch) and Rod Quaife (six speed transmission) but no factory support. On this bike he was able win the first three Grands Prix of the season and go on to claim his fifth world championship.

Read also had 'guest' rides as part of the JPS team Norton for 1972, finishing fourth in the Daytona 200 mile race. Other riders were Norton factory employee Peter Williams and Tony Rutter as third rider. Rutter was soon replaced by John Cooper

Four stroke years In , Read accepted an offer to ride for the MV Agusta factory racing team in the 350cc class to help the defending World Champion Giacomo Agostini fend off the increasing threat presented by Japanese motorcycle manufacturers. By the early 1970s, advancements in two-stroke engine technology were made obvious as Yamaha and their top rider Saarinen began to challenge Agostini and the dominant MV Agusta team for the first time in years. Saarinen won three races in the 1972 350cc World Championship, including a victory at the West German Grand Prix where he gave Agostini his first defeat in a head-to-head race since the 1967 Canadian Grand Prix. Read also won the prestigious Mallory Park Race of the Year in 1973.

Agostini was frustrated with MV Agusta's lack of development and the growing threat of Japanese two-stroke technology, so he made the decision to join the Yamaha factory team for the season leaving Read as the top MV Agusta rider with Franco Bonera as his teammate. Read successfully defended his title with four Grand Prix victories as Agostini suffered from injuries and mechanical problems with Yamaha. His victory would mark the last world championship for the legendary Italian marque as well as the last time that a four-stroke machine would win a title until the advent of the MotoGP class in . Again on the Honda for 1978 F1, he recorded a DNF but was placed 4th in the Classic. These races led to Honda producing a limited-production of 150 'Phil Read Replica' Formula 1 race-styled roadsters based on the CB750F2 with styling accessories by Seeley in Honda Britain colours of blue and red.

Read competed in the 1978 TT against Mike Hailwood, who made a famous comeback riding a Ducati 900SS provided by Manchester dealer Sports Motorcycles. After another four-year hiatus, Read's last race was at the Isle of Man TT in 1982 at the age of 43.

A lesser-known aspect of Read's career was his involvement in endurance racing. He rode a Honda in the 24-hour Bol d'Or endurance race at Le Mans; and he won the Thruxton 500 endurance race in 1962 and 1963.

Controversy Read was well known within the racing paddock for his forthright and sometimes outspoken views, not least when it came to the dangers of the Snaefell Mountain Course.

In particular this reflected Read's decision following the death of Gilberto Parlotti at the 1972 Isle of Man TT. The death of Parlotti prompted Parlotti's close friend, and Read's MV Augusta teammate, Giacomo Agostini, to publicly state that he would never again compete at the TT. This decision had far reaching consequences for the TT and would lead to a walk-out of the top Grand Prix stars many of whom resorted to severe criticism of the organisation and safety at the event, with Read in the vanguard of the critics.

In certain aspects the comments were justified and resulted in the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme taking the decision that the Isle of Man TT would be withdrawn from the World Championship calendar after the 1976 races. However, the decision did cause a high degree of dissatisfaction with many pure road racing fans and resulted in some, not least those on the Isle of Man, forming a dislike of Read.

However, in his defence Read always maintained that his sentiment reflected riders being contractually required to race at the Isle of Man as part of a World Championship campaign, as opposed to having the freedom of conscience governing their decision.

Business interests In 1967, Read was domiciled in the tax haven of Guernsey, where he had a business selling boats. and gave his name to a range of motorcycle clothing, including marketing a 'Phil Read Replica' full-face helmet with the familiar design and colour scheme of black with three white flashes and chequer strip.

Read also opened a Honda dealership at Hersham, Surrey in 1979.

Personal life and death Read lived in Canterbury, Kent, spending the summers visiting race tracks around Europe and demonstrating some of the motorcycles from his racing career.

Read died from heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at his flat in Canterbury, on 6 October 2022, aged 83.

Grand Prix motorcycle racing results Source:

Points system from 1950 to 1968: Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 Points 8 6 4 3 2 1

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 1961 125cc EMC ESP- GER- FRA- IOMNC NED4 BEL- DDR- ULS- NAT- SWE- ARG- 3 12th 0 350cc Norton GER- IOM1 NED4 DDR- ULS4 NAT- SWE- 13 5th 1 500cc Norton GER- FRA- IOMNC NED4 BEL- DDR- ULS- NAT- SWE- ARG- 3 15th 0 1962 350cc Norton IOM7 NED6 ULS- DDR- NAT- FIN- 1 15th 0 500cc Norton IOMNC NED3 BEL- ULS3 DDR- NAT4 FIN- ARG- 11 3rd 0 1963 250cc Yamaha ESP- GER- IOM- NED- BEL- ULS- DDR- NAT- ARG- JPN3 4 10th 0 350cc Gilera GER3 IOMNC NED- ULS- DDR- NAT- FIN- JPN- 4 11th 0 500cc Gilera IOM3 NED2 BEL2 ULS- DDR- NAT- FIN- ARG- JPN- 16 4th 0 1964 125cc Yamaha USA- ESP- FRA- IOM- NED2 GER- DDR- ULS- FIN- NAT- JPN- 6 8th 0 250cc Yamaha USA- ESP3 FRA1 IOMNC NED2 BEL- GER1 DDR1 ULS1 NAT1 JPN- 46 1st 5 350cc AJS IOM2 NED- GER- DDR- ULS- FIN- NAT- JPN- 6 6th 0500cc Matchless USA2 IOMNC NED6 BEL2 GER3 DDR-253rd1 Norton ULS1 FIN- NAT- JPN- 1965 125cc Yamaha USA- GER- ESP- FRA- IOM1 NED- DDR- TCH- ULS- FIN- NAT- JPN- 8 10th 1 250cc Yamaha USA1 GER1 ESP1 FRA1 IOMNC NED1 BEL2 DDR2 TCH1 ULS1 FIN- NAT- JPN- 56 1st 7 350cc Yamaha GER- IOM2 NED- DDR- TCH- ULS- FIN- NAT- JPN- 6 9th 0 1966 125cc Yamaha ESP4 GER3 NED3 DDR4 TCH- FIN1 ULS3 IOM2 NAT4 JPN5 29 4th 1 250cc Yamaha ESP3 GER- FRA- NED2 BEL2 DDR2 TCH2 FIN- ULS- IOMNC NAT- JPN2 34 2nd 0 350cc Yamaha GER- FRA- NED- DDR- TCH- FIN- ULS- IOM- NAT- JPN1 8 8th 11967 125cc Yamaha ESP2 GER- FRA2 IOM1 NED1 BEL- DDR2 TCH- FIN- ULS2 NAT- CAN- JPN- 40 2nd 2 250cc Yamaha ESP1 GER2 FRA2 IOM2 NED- BEL- DDR1 TCH1 FIN- ULS- NAT1 CAN2 JPN- 50 2nd 41968 125cc Yamaha GER1 ESP- IOM1 NED1 DDR1 TCH1 FIN1 ULS2 NAT2 40 1st 6 250cc Yamaha GER- ESP1 IOMNC NED2 BEL1 DDR2 TCH1 FIN1 ULS- NAT1 46 1st 51969 250cc Yamaha ESP- GER- FRA- IOMNC NED- BEL- DDR- TCH- FIN- ULS- NAT1 YUG- 15 13th 1 350cc Yamaha ESP- GER- IOMNC NED- DDR- TCH- FIN- ULS- NAT1 YUG- 15 13th 11970 250cc Yamaha GER- FRA- YUG- IOM- NED2 BEL- DDR- TCH- FIN- ULS- NAT3 ESP- 22 12th 0 350cc Yamaha GER- YUG- IOM- NED3 DDR- TCH- FIN- ULS- NAT- ESP- 10 17th 01971 250cc Yamaha AUT- GER1 IOM1 NED1 BEL- DDR3 TCH- SWE- FIN10 ULS- NAT6 ESP2 73 1st 3 350cc Yamaha AUT- GER- IOMNC NED2 DDR- TCH- SWE- FIN- ULS- NAT- ESP- 12 16th 0 500cc Ducati AUT- GER- IOM- NED- BEL- DDR- SWE- FIN- ULS- NAT4 ESP- 8 18th 01972 250cc Yamaha GER- FRA1 AUT- NAT- IOM1 YUG- NED4 BEL3 DDR- TCH3 SWE- FIN- ESP- 58 4th 2 350cc MV Agusta GER- FRA- AUT- NAT4 IOMNC YUG3 NED5 DDR1 TCH- SWE2 FIN- ESP- 51 5th 11973 350cc MV Agusta FRA2 AUT- GER- NAT- IOM- YUG- NED2 TCH3 SWE3 FIN2 ESP- 56 3rd 0 500cc MV Agusta FRA2 AUT- GER1 IOM- YUG- NED1 BEL2 TCH2 SWE1 FIN2 ESP1 84 1st 4 1974 500cc MV Agusta FRA1 GER- AUT- NAT3 IOM- NED3 BEL1 SWE2 FIN1 TCH1 82 1st 4 1975 500cc MV Agusta FRA3 AUT3 GER2 NAT2 IOM- NED3 BEL1 SWE2 FINRet TCH1 76 2nd 2 1976 500cc Suzuki FRARet AUT3 NAT2 IOM- NED- BEL- SWE- FIN- TCH- GER- 22 10th 0