Jim Redman

Jim Redman

Nation:	Southern Rhodesia
Motorcycle world championship
statistics
Starts Victories Poles SR 135 45 - 35
World title:	6th
World Cup points:	548
Podiums:	98
According to class (es): 125 cc class First start: Dutch TT 1960 Last start: 1965 Japanese Grand Prix Constructors 1960-1965  Honda World Cup balance Vice World Champion ( 1962 , 1964 ) Starts Victories Poles SR 44 4th - 5 World Cup points: 143 Podiums: 24 250 cc class First start: 1960 Ulster Grand Prix Last start: 1966 Belgian Grand Prix Constructors 1960-1966  Honda World Cup balance World Champion ( 1962 - 1963 ) Starts Victories Poles SR 54 18th - 12 World Cup points: 234 Podiums: 46 350 cm³ class First start: 1959 German Grand Prix Last start: 1966 French Grand Prix Constructors 1959  Norton  • 1962–1966  Honda World Cup balance World Champion ( 1962 - 1965 ) Starts Victories Poles SR 30th 21st - 17th World Cup points: 148 Podiums: 26th 500 cc class First start: Dutch TT 1959 Last start: 1966 Belgian Grand Prix Constructors 1959–1960  Norton  • 1966  Honda World Cup balance World Cup fifth ( 1966 ) Starts Victories Poles SR 7th 2 - 1 World Cup points: 23 Podiums: 2

Jim Redman (l.) Together Luigi Taveri (center) and Kunimitsu Takahashi (r.) At the Dutch TT in Assen 1963 .

James Albert "Jim" Redman , MBE , (born November 8, 1931 in Hampstead , England ) is a former Rhodesian motorcycle racer and six-time world champion in the motorcycle world championship .

Life

Redman (left) together with Ramón Torras in Modena in 1963 .

In his youth, Redman emigrated to the British colony of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe ) to drive there for the first time in the South African championship.

Redman's international career began in the 1959 Grand Prix season , but with no success. He had resolved to withdraw from the Grand Prix scene should 1960 also be unsuccessful.

The fact that at the beginning of the 1960 season the then young Honda factory riders had to drop out due to injuries gave Redman training rides at Honda. Right away he was able to undercut the best times of the regular drivers. And so Redman started in 1960 in the classes up to 250 and up to 350  cc for Honda. He competed in the 500 cc class on a Norton . He finished the world championship in seventh place (with only four starts) in the 250 cm³, fourth in the 350 cm³ and ninth in the 500 cm³ class.

In the 1961 season , "Gentleman Jim", as he was called in the scene, was limited to two classes, the 125cc class, where he was fourth overall, and the 250cc class, which he finished third overall.

In 1962 , Redman started again in three world championship classes, namely in the 125 cm³, 250 cm³ and 350 cm³ class and won the world championship in the classes up to 250 and 350 cm³; in the 125 cc class, he just missed the title and finished the season as runner-up. It is still being discussed today whether the success of the Honda / Redman combination would have been possible if the Italian brand MV Agusta , which had dominated motorcycle racing in previous years, had not left the so-called "small classes" at the beginning of the 1961 season. (up to 350 cm³) would have withdrawn; ultimately, however, this question is speculative.

The year 1963 was similar successful. Redman, who had advanced to become the team captain of the Honda works team, was again world champion in the classes up to 250 and 350 cm³ and third in the 125cc class. In the 1964 season it was not enough for the double world championship, but in addition to the title in the 350 cc class, Redman won the runner-up in the classes up to 125 and 250 cc. In 1965 , Jim Redman started in only two classes and achieved his sixth world championship title in the 350 cc and third in the 250 cc class.

He finished his last complete world championship season in 1966 in the 250 cc class as third overall and in the 500 cc class as fifth overall. Jim Redman gave up motorcycle racing after breaking his arm in an accident at the Belgian Grand Prix in 1967 .

In addition to his racing wins and titles in the motorcycle world championship, Redman rounded off his track record with victories in the races in the 250 cc and 350 cc classes of the Tourist Trophy on the Isle of Man in 1963, 1964 and 1965.

Redman remained loyal to the Japanese brand Honda throughout his racing career, with the exception of the starts in 1959 and 1960 in the 350 cc and 500 cc class on Norton.

And even today (as of 2014) Jim Redman, whose trademark was his straightforward and clean, thus unspectacular driving style, and who never took unnecessary risks during his active time, can occasionally be seen at veteran races.

statistics

successes

• 350 cc world champion on Honda : 1962 , 1963 , 1964 , 1965
• 250 cc world champion on Honda : 1962 , 1963
• South African 350cc champion: 1957, 1960
• South African 250cc champion: 1962
• 45 Grand Prix victories
• Induction into the MotoGP Hall of Fame

Isle of Man TT victories

year	class	machine	Average speed
1963	Lightweight (250 cm³)	Honda	94.85  mph (152.65  km / h )
	Junior (350 cm³)	Honda	94.91 mph (152.74 km / h)
1964	Lightweight (250 cm³)	Honda	97.45 mph (156.83 km / h)
	Junior (350 cm³)	Honda	98.51 mph (158.54 km / h)
1965	Lightweight (250 cm³)	Honda	97.19 mph (156.41 km / h)
	Junior (350 cm³)	Honda	100.72 mph (162.09 km / h)

In the motorcycle world championship

season	class	motorcycle	run	Victories	Podiums	Points	Result
1959	350 cc	Norton	1	-	-	2	15th
	500 cc	Norton	1	-	-	2	14th
1960	125 cc	Honda	3	-	-	6th	7th
	250 cc	Honda	4th	-	2	10	4th
	500 cc	Norton	3	-	-	5	9.
1961	125 cc	Honda	11	-	6th	28	4th
	250 cc	Honda	11	2	8th	36	3.
1962	125 cc	Honda	10	1	7th	38	2.
	250 cc	Honda	9	6th	9	48	World Champion
	350 cc	Honda	5	4th	5	32	World Champion
1963	125 cc	Honda	10	1	5	35	3.
	250 cc	Honda	9	4th	9	44	World Champion
	350 cc	Honda	7th	5	7th	32	World Champion
1964	125 cc	Honda	9	2	6th	36	2.
	250 cc	Honda	10	3	9	42	2.
	350 cc	Honda	8th	8th	8th	40	World Champion
1965	125 cc	Honda	1	-	-	-	-
	250 cc	Honda	6th	3	5	34	3.
	350 cc	Honda	7th	4th	5	38	World Champion
1966	250 cc	Honda	5	-	4th	20th	3.
	350 cc	Honda	1	-	1	4th	15th
	500 cc	Honda	3	2	2	16	5.
total			135	45	98	548	6 world titles

References

Web links

Commons : Jim Redman  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Jim Redman on the official website of the Motorcycle World Championship (English).
• Jim Redman on the Isle of Man TT official website.
• Jim Redman at eggersdorfer.info

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} SOUTH AFRICAN CHAMPIONS. (PDF) cdn.entelectonline.co.za, accessed on December 15, 2013 (English).