Pat hens
Pat Hennen (born April 27, 1953 in Phoenix , Arizona , USA ) is a former American motorcycle racer .
Hennen started his career in dirt track racing in North Carolina . His success earned him a place on the Suzuki factory team that competed in the motorcycle world championship . Hennen was the first American, the Grand Prix race one in the class to 500 cm won: He won in 1976 at the Grand Prix of Finland , ending this year in third place overall.
The following year, 1977 , Hennen won the British Grand Prix and was again third in the overall standings. He also won the New Zealand Marlboro Series (1974/75, 1975/76, 1976/77) on various Suzuki models in three consecutive years.
In 1978 Hennen took a third victory in a Grand Prix race in Jarama ( Spain ). However, his promising career ended that same year. When he took part in the Tourist Trophy on the Isle of Man , he was the first to complete a lap in less than twenty minutes; but then he fell and suffered severe head injuries. After years of convalescence, Hennen was able to gradually recover from it, but was no longer able to continue his career. In 2007 he was inducted into the American Motorcyclist Association 's Motorcycle Hall of Fame .
Web links
- Biography in the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame (English)
- Report on the 2007 AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame In: Faster and Faster. Motorcycle news and features from around the world. May 20, 2007 (English) fasterandfaster.net ( Memento from September 3, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- Transcript of an interview from 1977 , accessed on August 4, 2017
- Pat Hennen on the official website of the motorcycle world championship (English).
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hens, Pat |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American motorcycle racer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 27, 1953 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Phoenix (Arizona) |