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Motorbike Ace Barry Sheene Loses Cancer Battle
FORMER world motorcycle champion Barry Sheene has died after a long battle against cancer.
The 52-year-old won the World Motorcycle Championships twice in the 1970s and became famous for overcoming his numerous crashes on the track.
Sheene, who was awarded the MBE in 1978, had cancer of the throat and stomach.
He was regarded as almost indestructible on the track, and at one stage in his career he had metal plates in both knees, 28 screws in his legs and his left wrist.
Sheene began racing motorbikes at the age of five and claimed the world title in 1976 and 1977.
In 1981 he became the last British racer to win a 500cc GP and he remains the last rider from the home nations to win the world title. He returned to the sport in the 1990s in his 40s.
Sheene faced the news he had cancer with the same bravery he accepted the scrapes of motorbikes, opting for alternative treatment rather than the pain and discomfort of chemotherapy.
One of the most enduring sex symbols of the 1970s, he was also a marketable commodity and advertised Brut after-shave.
He died in hospital on Queensland's Gold Coast in Australia. Sheene leaves a wife, Stephanie, an 18-year-old daughter, Sidonie, and a 14-year-old son, Freddie.
FORMER world motorcycle champion Barry Sheene has died after a long battle against cancer.
The 52-year-old won the World Motorcycle Championships twice in the 1970s and became famous for overcoming his numerous crashes on the track.
Sheene, who was awarded the MBE in 1978, had cancer of the throat and stomach.
He was regarded as almost indestructible on the track, and at one stage in his career he had metal plates in both knees, 28 screws in his legs and his left wrist.
Sheene began racing motorbikes at the age of five and claimed the world title in 1976 and 1977.
In 1981 he became the last British racer to win a 500cc GP and he remains the last rider from the home nations to win the world title. He returned to the sport in the 1990s in his 40s.
Sheene faced the news he had cancer with the same bravery he accepted the scrapes of motorbikes, opting for alternative treatment rather than the pain and discomfort of chemotherapy.
One of the most enduring sex symbols of the 1970s, he was also a marketable commodity and advertised Brut after-shave.
He died in hospital on Queensland's Gold Coast in Australia. Sheene leaves a wife, Stephanie, an 18-year-old daughter, Sidonie, and a 14-year-old son, Freddie.
One of the greats!
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