Some, you might have witnessed personally or on TV, and some you might have just read about, but a couple would have stuck in your mind because of the sheer intensity of the battle, or perhaps because of the racecraft displayed by the riders.
One of my favourite races was the 1981 British 500 GP at Silverstone which became a classic confrontation between Kenny Roberts and Jack Middelburg. That race had everything. Drama when Crosby crashed and then a 4 rider battle for the lead until only Jack and Kenny were left. I don´t think one person who watched that race imagined Middleburg could pull it off on his private Suzuki, but after taking the lead in the closing stages he held off the American to record a brilliant victory. That race also had a special interest for me because our great South African world champion Kork Ballington was in the mix on his 500 Kawasaki, and certainly looked like a potential winner at one point until mechanical problems put him out..
The second one that springs to mind was the 1989, 500 Japanese GP in Suzuka between Kevin Schwantz and Wayne Rainey. They were, as most know, bitter rivals throughout their racing careers, so any direct confrontation was always more than just about a particular race win. Theirs was always an intense personal struggle, and no race, not even their Hockenheim clash, compared to Suzuka for the sheer intensity of the fight.
And finally, the last race of the 1980, 350 world championship at the Nurburgring between my fellow Southern African (Rhodesians claimed both Kork and Jon as our own
) , Jon Ekerold, and Anton Mang. The circumstances (it decided the world title) and the circuit made it special, as well as the incredible pace of the race, with Ekerold and Mang finishing over a minute ahead of third place man Johnny Cecotto, himself a 2 time world champion.
