Posted 06 June 2008 - 12:47
[QUOTE]Originally posted by GD66
[QUOTE]
On the subject of Jim Redman few know that, in GPs where they both finshed, Jim finished ahead of Mike more times than vice versa. (I will wait for the storm of responses!)
In fact, it's bigger than that. Jim Redman once told me that he has never been beaten by Agostini in a race they both finished. Naturally, I flew into a spin, having remembered that Ago's first 350 GP (which he won) was in the wet at Nurburgring...when I checked, Jim had crashed through a hedge. This was when he won the 350 title, for four years in a row..... on the 500s, when Honda debuted their fearsome 500 four, Jim won the first two GPs of the year at Hockenheim and Assen, then crashed in the wet in practice for the third round, buggered his wrist, and in spite of an attempted comeback at the Ulster GP, was ruled out of racing thereafter, at GP level anyway. So, he's often underrated, but in my opinion, not just one of the all-time greats, but the first real professional works racer. Good on ya, Jim.
;) [/QUOTE]
I certainly agree with your comments regarding Ago which is why i sent the following e-mail to James Robinson at The Classic Motorcycle (it has been published in the July edition).
Good Day James,
In the text under the above heading on page 10 of the April issue of your fine magazine, the Classic Motorcycle, Ago is referred to as "the World's Greatest Motorcycle Grand Prix Racer". While I have great admiration for Ago I feel that the claim of the "greatest" should only be applied to he who was truly the Greatest, Mike Hailwood. Giving due respect to his fifteen World championships a more appropriate title for Ago would be "the Most Successful".
Why should Mike with nine championships be held to be the greatest? Analysis of 500 cc Grand Prix in which they opposed each other produces some interesting facts. The first one of these is that, in 1965 when they were equally mounted team mates at MV, in races where they both finished, Mike won six to zero from Ago.In the 1966 season when Hailwood was mounted on the terrible handling Honda, again in races in which they both finished, Hailwood beat Ago 3 to 1. In the 1967 season, yet again in races in which they both finished, the score was Hailwood 3, Ago 2. In the 6 years following 1967, the year that Mike set the lap record in the Island, Ago did not come close to Mike's record lap, a lap time that was not improved upon until nine years after the record was set.
If we consider the period to and including 1972, a period during which he won ten of his fifteen World Championships, Ago had essentially no competition from either another factory or a team-mate which rather detracts from their value. It is of course no fault of Ago's that he had such an easy time for so long.
When MV took on Phil Read as their second rider in 1973 Read took the 500 cc World Championship with 84 points to Ago's 57.
To sum up "Ago the most successful", "Mike Hailwood the GREATEST".
In conclusion I must again say how much I enjoy your fine magazine.
Best regards,
BTW I sent a copy of this to Jim as well whose response was that he totally agreed with the sentiment.