Niall Mackenzie

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mackenzie at the 1989 Yamaha Grand Prix of Japan
Mackenzie (foreground) and Eddie Lawson at the 1989 British Grand Prix

Niall Macfarlane Mackenzie (born July 19, 1961 in Stirling , Scotland ) is a retired British motorcycle racer .

Mackenzie won the British Superbike Championship three times in his career and competed in the motorcycle and superbike world championships for many years . His son Taylor is also a motorcycle racer.

Career

Beginnings

Niall Mackenzie contested his first motorcycle race in April 1981 on the Knockhill track in his Scottish homeland and won it straight away. In the following year he won the national 500cc production championship in Scotland on a Yamaha . In 1983 Mackenzie won the Yamaha Pro Am World Cup , and in 1984 he was the British 350 cc road champion on an Armstrong equipped with a Rotax engine. The following year he successfully defended his title in the 350s, again starting on Armstrong-Rotax, and was also the 250 cc champion of Great Britain. In 1986, the Scot won his fourth British championship title in the 250cc class.

Motorcycle world championship

In 1984 Niall Mackenzie made his debut in the motorcycle world championship at his home Grand Prix at Silverstone . He competed in the 250 cc class, but did not get past 28th place. In 1985 , in addition to the British championship, he played his first full World Championship season for the Armstrong-Silverstone team. At the Swedish Grand Prix in Anderstorp , the Scot secured the only World Championship point of the season.

In the 1986 season Mackenzie started only in the second half of the season of the 250 World Championship and came up with four world championship points. At the British Grand Prix of the same year he made his debut for Suzuki Heron Skoal Bandit on a Suzuki in the 500 cc class of the World Championships and came in seventh. After seventh place in the following race in Sweden and eighth place at the last race of the season, the San Marino Grand Prix in Misano , the Scot finished tenth overall with eleven World Championship points together with the Italian Pierfrancesco Chili .

In 1987 Niall Mackenzie started for HRC-HB on a Honda in the 500cc class. At the Austrian Grand Prix at the Salzburgring , he achieved his first podium in the motorcycle world championship with third place behind Wayne Gardner and Randy Mamola . In the overall standings, the Scot finished fifth with 61 points. The following season , Mackenzie was sixth in the World Championship on the same team.

For the 1989 season, Niall Mackenzie moved to the Agostini-Marlboro team of 15-time world champion Giacomo Agostini and started on a Yamaha. At the Grand Prix of Spain , which was held in Jerez this year , he achieved the only podium of the year with third place. The Scot finished the overall standings in seventh place.

The 1990 season began Niall Mackenzie on a Yamaha of the Mortimer Racing team in the 250 cc class of the World Cup. After the Australian Kevin Magee was seriously injured at the second round of the season, the US Grand Prix in Laguna Seca , the Scot was called up as his substitute in the Lucky Strike Suzuki team, where he competed for the rest of the season. Mackenzie scored points in every race, achieved third places in Germany and Yugoslavia and reached fourth place in the final standings with 140 points, only 48 points behind his teammate Kevin Schwantz , who was vice world champion. In 1991 , the Scot only contested four Grand Prix races in the 500cc class and scored 35 points, which put him in 17th place in the world championship.

In the 1992 season Niall Mackenzie was again a fixed starter in the 500 cc World Championship and drove a Yamaha YZF at Yamaha Motor France -Banco . The climax of an otherwise disappointing season was third place at the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez, this time the Brit finished eleventh in the overall standings. In the prestigious 8-hour race on his favorite track in Suzuka , Mackenzie and Kevin Magee finished second this year on a Yamaha YZF750R .

In 1993 and 1994 Mackenzie also competed in the 500cc World Championship and finished ninth and tenth on the ROC-Yamaha championship. The 1995 season was the last of Mackenzie's motorcycle world championship career, this time he competed in the 250cc class on an Aprilia of the Docshop Racing team and was 18th in the drivers' standings.

Superbike World Championship

Niall Mackenzie made his World Superbike debut in 1990 on a Yamaha at the British run in Donington Park , where he finished fourth in race two. Until 1999 , the Scot started annually in the races held in Great Britain and contested a total of 31 world championship races, in which, however, he did not achieve a podium finish.

British Superbike Championship

In the British Superbike Championship , which was held for the first time in 1996, Niall Mackenzie won the title in 1996, 1997 and 1998 on a Yamaha YZF750 belonging to the Cadbury's Boost Yamaha team , making it the record winner of this championship to this day. At the end of the 2000 season, which he finished fifth on a Ducati 996 of the GSE Racing INS Ducati team at the side of the eventual world champion Neil Hodgson , the Scot ended his active career. In 2001 he returned for a farewell race at Knockhill.

Activities after active career

Since the end of his career, Niall Mackenzie has organized regular driver training courses on the Knockhill and Donington Park tracks , where he also acts as a driving instructor . He also works for Two Wheels Only magazine , for which he writes test reports on motorcycles and is a consultant for Yamaha and a TV expert.

successes

Private

Niall Mackenzie is married, has two sons who also started out in motorsport and now lives in Ashby-de-la-Zouch , Leicestershire in England . After the end of his racing career, he worked for the TV broadcaster Sky .

swell

Web links

Commons : Niall Mackenzie  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
  • Niall Mackenzie on the official website of the Motorcycle World Championship (English).
  • Niall Mackenzie on the official website of the Superbike and Supersport World Championship
personal data
SURNAME Mackenzie, Niall
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mackenzie, Niall Macfarlane
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British motorcycle racer
DATE OF BIRTH July 19, 1961
PLACE OF BIRTH Stirling