I make no apology for publishing yet another story about the great Mike Hailwood, especially one which highlights his two summers spent in South Africa at the beginning of his career. Most road racing fans are unaware that the he began his international racing career not on the British, Italian or Japanese bikes he later became famous for riding, or the East German MZ he also raced successfully, but on two West German NSU Sportmax 250cc customer GP racers purchased by his father in 1958.
Not only was Mike Hailwood one of the most successful riders in road racing history, he was also one of the most versatile. For Mike not only raced a huge variety of machines throughout his 23-year career, but he often competed on three or four different makes, capacities and/or types in a single day – from a 125 two-stroke single to a 500 four-stroke in-line four. And in true Hailwood style, he won races on most of them.
This story is from the September 2020 edition of Bike SA.
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This story is from the September 2020 edition of Bike SA.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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