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Ron Haslam

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Ron Haslam
Haslam in 1985 at the Bol d'Or races in the South of France
NationalityEnglish
Born (1956-06-22) 22 June 1956 (age 68)
Langley Mill, Derbyshire
Motorcycle racing career statistics
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Active years19771993
First race1983 500cc South African Grand Prix
Last race1993 500cc British Grand Prix
Team(s)Honda, Suzuki, Cagiva, Norton
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
107 0 9 1 0 115

Ronald Haslam (born 22 June 1956)[1] is an English former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer who had been racing for over thirty years, winning two World titles, four British championships and having ridden in almost 110 GPs. Haslam spends much of his time helping his son Leon Haslam in his racing career and previously trained riders and racers alike at his former Race School based at Donington racetrack, Leicestershire.

During his career, Haslam gained the nickname Rocket Ron,[2] with his son named similarly as Pocket Rocket.[3][4]

Haslam on a 1990s rotary-engined Norton

Starting out

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One of ten siblings from Langley Mill, near the Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire boundary, Haslam started racing in 1972 on a 750cc Norton Commando. At Cadwell Park he finished seventh and eighth in wet and slippery conditions. He raced at handful of meetings in 1972 and 1973. Following the death of his elder brother Phil in a racing accident at Oliver's Mount, Scarborough, in July 1974,[5] he pulled out of the sport for the rest of that season. In 1984 another brother, Terry, was killed racing a sidecar outfit at Assen, the Netherlands. Despite those misfortunes, Haslam kept on racing, with his final competitive outing on a Ducati 998 at the Race of the Year at Mallory Park in October 2004.

Early career

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Initially Haslam raced on British short circuits, at first under the sponsorship of Halifax car dealer Mal Carter and then with Honda Britain. In the 1976 season he had 16 wins. In 1978 he rode 125, 250, 500, 1000cc, Superbike and F1 machinery and after adding a 350 to his stable the following year he became the first rider to win five different races in a day at Oulton Park and repeated the feat at Carnaby later the same season. Haslam has raced in many Endurance events, with his best result being a second in the 1979 Suzuka 8 Hours race in Japan.

Career record

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Haslam was runner-up in the 750 British championship in 1975, '76 and '77 and second in the British Formula One series in 1978. Between 1979 and '84 he won four British titles, the 1979 British TT Formula One, the 1981 MCN British Streetbike – when he won seven out of eight rounds – the 1982 British TT Formula One and the 1984 ITV World of Sport Superbike series. He has also won two World titles – the TT Formula One crown in 1979 and the TT Formula Three championship in 1980. Haslam won the gruelling Macau GP six times – a record. He was also runner-up in the 1982 TT Formula One World series. He is a world speed record holder, after his efforts on the 500 Elf on a private, banked circuit in France in 1986, when he claimed the Flying Kilometre, the Standing Start Mile and Standing Start 10 Kilometre records

Motorcycle Grands Prix

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Haslam made his Grand Prix debut at the 1977 500cc British Grand Prix at Silverstone on a 500 Suzuki, crashing out of the race. In 1982 Haslam raced in three more GPs on the experimental four-stroke Honda NR500. He finished in 12th at the Dutch TT at Assen in June, 11th the following weekend at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps and then 15th at Silverstone in August. At the end of the season Haslam took the new two-stroke Honda NS500 to Malaysia and won the non-world championship Kuala Lumpur Grand Prix.

Haslam riding his Suzuki at the 1989 British Grand Prix

In 1983 he was back for a full season on a factory Honda as teammate with American Freddie Spencer. He raced in the 500 class from then until the end of the 1990 season, spending three years developing the experimental Elf Honda race bike with its single-sided swinging arm front and rear suspension.

In eight years in the premier class, Haslam had 61 top ten finishes, including nine on the podium. His best result in 1985, his third and final year with Honda, was when he was second in the Dutch TT at Assen. Haslam was beaten to the line by Randy Mamola, but was nearly 23 seconds in front of third-placed finisher Wayne Gardner, who set the fastest lap of the race. He was third in eight other races, including the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in 1984 to Randy Mamola and Eddie Lawson. In his final season on the Italian Cagiva alongside Randy Mamola and Alex Barros. In 1987 when he ended the season fourth behind champion Wayne Gardner, runner-up Randy Mamola and third placed Eddie Lawson. Haslam was fastest in practice just once, at the Swedish Grand Prix at Anderstorp in 1984. These results put Haslam as Britain's second best Grand Prix competitor behind Barry Sheene.

Macau

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Haslam raced in the Macau Grand Prix six times at the Guia circuit and won a record-breaking six times. His first victory at the race in 1981 marked the first time a four-stroke had ever won there. His record of 6 wins was equalled by Michael Rutter at the 2005 meeting, and it's just broken at the 2011 one.

Isle of Man TT Races

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Haslam debuted at the 1978 TT races with a best place of fourth in the Formula Two race,[6] later making his mark in 1981, when he was named winner of the Formula 1 race, only for the organisers to give the win the following day to Graeme Crosby. Haslam was back the following year to claim an undisputed victory.

Transatlantic match Motorcycle Races

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Haslam was a member of the British team in the then-annual Transatlantic Match Races between Britain and the United States. Haslam was at his best in the 1983, ending the three-day meeting as overall top points-scorer. In the opening round at Oulton Park on the Good Friday, Haslam was beaten to the finish line by Randy Mamola in the first of two, 11 lap races. Haslam, on the Honda NS500, equalled the lap record as he strove to beat the American. In race two Mamola again came out on top, with both riders this time sharing the fastest lap, which was one tenth of a second off the record. At that point, Britain led 79 points to 69. At Snetterton two days later Haslam notched-up victories in the rain, chased home each time by Kenny Roberts. Britain's lead had grown to 28 points, 161 to 133. In the dry at Brands Hatch the following day Haslam again won both team races to lead Britain to a 245 to 198 victory. Haslam had scored 70 points of his team's total, 15 more than Roger Marshall and 30 better than the next best, Barry Sheene. The Langley Mill racer was the highest British points-scorer again in 1984, on a standard road-going Honda VFR750 in the series in 1986, on which he took two third places at Donington Park.

Later racing career

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After racing during 1990 in motorcycle Grands Prix with Cagiva, Haslam was back full-time in the UK in 1991 with Norton. He finished second in the British Superbike Championship, and stayed with Norton the following season. In 1993 he managed to score two points in the 500cc British Grand Prix in which took part as a wild card, with a 14th-place finish, surviving an incident-packed race. In the same race, Haslam's pupil, James Haydon, made his debut on the international scene by finishing in the points at 11th place. British Grand Prix fans witnessed an impressive performance when he took a self-tuned production Yamaha into 12th place in the 250 support race at the British Grand Prix at Donington Park in 1994. In 1995 Haslam contested the first Triumph Speed Triple series, winning the Oulton Park round of the championship. When Haslam's son Leon Haslam switched from motocross to road racing in 1997, the elder Haslam concentrated his efforts on helping the youngster's career. He competed in the British 125 championship to give real practical assistance to Leon out on the track, and also took fifth place at Donington Park in 1998. Haslam rode the 125 again the following year, but pressure from the organisers made him stop after just a couple of rounds and restrict his coaching to the pits. In 2000, Haslam raced a Honda Fireblade in the British Superstock series, marking his 28th year of competitive racing, with a best result of 6th at Donington Park. The same year he and Leon made history by becoming the first British father and son, as well as the oldest and youngest riders, to race in the same Grand Prix when he competed on the Sabre Racing bike in the 500 class and Leon raced the factory Italjet in the 125 event at Le Mans, France.

Present

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Haslam was voted MCN Man of the Year in 1981. After retiring from competition, Haslam turned to running a racing school at Donington Park where he helped launch the careers of two top British riders, James Haydon and the late Karl Harris. Haslam is a qualified private pilot, and he flies a Renegade Spirit biplane (with flat-twin BMW engine).

In July 2020 Haslam announced his race training school of 24 years based at Donington Park would close later in the year due to difficulties encountered with Corona Virus restrictions.[7] Their website confirmed the closure, dated 26 October 2020.[8]

Haslam was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Derby in July 2023, in recognition of his racing career and on-track instruction to over 86,000 race pupils.[2][9]

Career statistics

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Motorcycle Grand Prix results [10]

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Points system from 1969 to 1987:

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Points 15 12 10 8 6 5 4 3 2 1

Points system from 1988 to 1992:

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Points 20 17 15 13 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Points system from 1993 onwards:

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Points 25 20 16 13 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Class Team Machine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Points Rank
1977 500cc Mal Carter RG500 VEN
-
AUT
-
GER
-
NAT
-
FRA
-
NED
-
BEL
-
SWE
-
FIN
-
CZE
-
GBR
NC
0 NC
1978 500cc Mal Carter YZR500 VEN SPA AUT FRA NAT NED BEL SWE FIN GBR
Ret
GER NC
1979 500cc Mal Carter RG500 VEN AUT GER NAT SPA YUG NED BEL SWE FIN GBR
Ret
FRA NC
1980 500cc Mal Carter YZR500 NAT SPA FRA NED BEL FIN GBR
DNS
GER NC
1982 500cc Honda-Britain NR500 ARG
-
AUT
-
FRA
-
ESP
-
NAT
-
NED
12
BEL
11
YUG
-
GBR
15
SWE
-
RSM
-
GER
-
0 -
1983 500cc HRC-Honda NS500 RSA
3
FRA
3
NAT
NC
GER
NC
ESP
NC
AUT
NC
YUG
NC
NED
DNS
BEL
8
GBR
7
SWE
9
RSM
9
31 8th
1984 500cc HRC-Honda NS500 RSA
NC
NAT
6
ESP
4
AUT
4
GER
4
FRA
4
YUG
5
NED
4
BEL
5
GBR
3
SWE
NC
RSM
3
34 6th
1985 500cc Rothmans-Honda NSR500 RSA
4
ESP
8
GER
3
NAT
6
AUT
16
YUG
4
NED
2
BEL
6
FRA
5
GBR
14
SWE
3
RSM
5
73 5th
1986 500cc Elf-Honda Elf3 ESP
10
NAT
NC
GER
8
AUT
NC
YUG
NC
NED
7
BEL
NC
FRA
7
GBR
9
SWE
9
RSM
9
18 9th
1987 500cc Elf-Honda NSR500 JPN
5
ESP
3
GER
3
NAT
5
AUT
4
YUG
4
NED
5
FRA
5
GBR
7
SWE
6
72 4th
Elf4 CZE
14
RSM
NC
POR
9
BRA
11
ARG
10
1988 500cc Elf-Honda Elf5 JPN
12
USA
7
ESP
10
EXP
NC
NAT
16
GER
NC
AUT
8
NED
13
BEL
7
YUG
9
FRA
10
GBR
14
SWE
11
CZE
7
BRA
NC
68 11th
1989 500cc Pepsi-Suzuki RGV500 JPN
12
AUS
7
USA
NC
ESP
7
NAT
DNS
GER
NC
AUT
7
YUG
8
NED
7
BEL
DNS
FRA
DNS
GBR
7
SWE
6
CZE
8
BRA
5
86 8th
1990 500cc Cagiva GP500 JPN
NC
USA
NC
ESP
DNS
NAT
DNS
GER
DNS
AUT
12
YUG
NC
NED
9
BEL
8
FRA
10
GBR
10
SWE
10
CZE
12
HUN
11
AUS
-
46 15th
1991 500cc Norton NRV588 JPN
-
AUS
-
USA
-
ESP
-
ITA
-
GER
-
AUT
-
EUR
-
NED
-
FRA
-
GBR
12
RSM
-
CZE
-
VDM
-
MAL
-
4 25th
1993 500cc ROC-Yamaha ROC AUS
-
MAL
-
JPN
-
ESP
-
AUT
-
GER
-
NED
-
EUR
-
RSM
-
GBR
14
CZE
-
ITA
-
USA
-
FIM
-
2 37th
2000 500cc - NSR500 RSA MAL JPN SPA FRA
DNS
ITA CAT NED GBR GER CZE POR VAL BRA PAC AUS 0 NC

References

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  1. ^ "Ron Haslam Results | Motorsport Stats".
  2. ^ a b Honorary degrees for 'Rocket' Ron Haslam, Rolls-Royce boss Warren East and Peep Show star Isy Suttie Derbyshire Live 17 July 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2023
  3. ^ 'Pocket Rocket' Haslam targets title lift off at home round bikesportnews.com, 17 May 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2023
  4. ^ 'Pocket Rocket' Leon Haslam stands in for injured Sykes and van der Mark at Imola worldsbk.com, 11 July 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2023
  5. ^ Two killed at Scarborough. Motorcycle News, 10 July 1974, p.1 (cover). Retrieved 5 January 2022
  6. ^ Ron Haslam competitor profile, IoM TT.com, official site, Retrieved 15 September 2015
  7. ^ Slater, Nigel (15 July 2020). "Sadness as Ron Haslam racing school announces closure". Derby Telegraph. Derby.
  8. ^ Ron Haslam Race School closure haslamraceschool.com, archived from the original on 16 June 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2023
  9. ^ Rocket Ron Haslam awarded Honorary Degree Motorcycle News, 19 July 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2023
  10. ^ Ron Haslam career statistics at MotoGP.com
[edit]
Sporting positions
Preceded by TT Formula One World Champion
1979
Succeeded by
Preceded by TT Formula Three World Champion
1980
Succeeded by
Preceded by Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix Winner
1981–1983
Succeeded by
Preceded by Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix Winner
1985–1987
Succeeded by