Ron Haslam

Ron "Rocket" Haslam is a British solo motorcycle road racer who has been racing for over 30-years, winning three World titles, four British championships and ridden in almost 110 GPs.

One of 10 brothers and sisters from the mining town of Langley Mill, Nottinghamshire, Haslam started racing (illegally) in 1972 at the age of 15 on a 750cc Norton (motorcycle) Commando owned jointly by elder brothers Phil and Terry. On a wet and slippery track at Cadwell Park he finished seventh and eighth in his two races. He raced just a couple of meetings that year and only a handful in 1973. Following the tragic death of Phil in a racing accident at Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough in July 1974, the teenager pulled out of the sport for the rest of that season. Sadly, that was not the only tragedy to strike the close-knit Haslam family. In 1984 another brother, Terry, was killed racing a sidecar outfit at Assen, Holland. Despite those cruel blows, Haslam has kept on riding in his chosen sport, with his most recent outing being on a Ducati 998 at the Race of the Year at Mallory Park in October 2004. Haslam spends much of his time helping his son, Leon Haslam, in his expanding racing career and passing on some of his vast knowledge and experience to riders and racers alike at the Ron Haslam Race School at Donington Park.

Career Record

Haslam was runner-up in the 750 British championship in 1975, ‘76 and ‘77 and second in the British Formula One series in 1978. Between 1979 and ‘84 he won four British titles, the 1979 British TT Formula One, the 1981 MCN British Streetbike - when he won seven out of eight rounds - the 1982 British TT Formula One and the 1984 ITV World of Sport Superbike series. He has also won three World titles - the TT Formula One crown in 1979 and ‘81 and the TT Formula Three championship in 1980. Haslam won the gruelling Macau GP six times – a record. He was also runner-up in the 1982 TT Formula One World series.

Early Career

In his early days, Haslam raced on the British short circuits, at first under the sponsorship of Halifax car dealer Mal Carter and then with Honda Britain. The wild enthusiasm of youth was quickly smoothed out to turn him into one of the best riders in the country. In the 1976 season he had 16 wins. Ron raced on many different bikes and at many different circuits. In 1978 he rode 125, 250, 500, 1000cc, Superbike and F1 machinery and after adding a 350 to his stable the following year he became the first rider to win five different races in a day at Oulton Park and repeated the feat at Carnaby later the same season.

Haslam has raced in many Endurance events, with his best result being a second in the 1979 Suzuka 8-hour race in Japan. A problem early in the race left the bike with just three gears. The pit crew fitted the highest gearing possible and Haslam and team-mate Alex George were told just to let the engine rev. Despite the cruel and inhuman treatment, the motor held together to allow the pair to finish the race in runner-up spot.

Motorcycle Grand Prix

Haslam could have been racing full time in the 500 GPs in 1980, but turned down an offer from Suzuki to stay with Honda Britain. He actually made his Grand Prix debut in the 500 race at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in 1977 on a 500 Suzuki provided by Mal Carter. Sadly, Ron crashed out in the race at Stowe and the bike was destroyed after catching fire. In 1982 Haslam was back for three more GPs on the experimental four-stroke Honda NR500. He finishing 12th at the Dutch TT at Assen in June, 11th the following weekend at the Belgian GP at Spa-Francorchamps and then 15th at the British round at Silverstone in August. Haslam was robbed of a world championship point in that Belgian race (points were awarded to the top 10 in those days) by South African Kork Ballington, who went straight on at the chicane on the last lap, but escaped a penalty. At the end of the season Haslam took the new two-stroke Honda NS500 to Malaysia and won the non-world championship Kuala Lumpur GP. In 1983 he was back for a full season on a factory Honda as team-mate with American Freddie Spencer. He raced in the 500 class from then until the end of the 1990 season. Though he never won a race, he was a consistent points-scorer.

In eight-years in the top flight, Ron had 61 top ten finishes, including nine on the podium. His best result in 1985, his third and final year with Honda, when he was second in the Dutch TT at Assen. Haslam was beaten to the line by Randy Mamola, but was nearly 23 seconds in front of third placed finisher Wayne Gardner, who set the fastest lap of the race. He was third in eight other races, including the British GP at Silverstone in 1984 to Randy Mamola and Eddie Lawson. In his final season on the Italian Cagiva alongside Randy Mamola and Alex Barros.

In 1987 when he ended the season fourth behind champion Wayne Gardner, runner-up Randy Mamola and third placed Eddie Lawson. Haslam was fastest in practice just once, at the Swedish GP at Anderstorp in 1984. From pole-position he led the field by the length of the straight, due to his by now well know electric starts, until the water pump failed causing the four-cylinder to seize and throw him off. Those impressive results put Haslam as Britain’s second best GP competitor behind Barry Sheene. He would undoubtedly have done even better, but for the fact that his skills as a development rider meant that he was forced to sacrifice results in order to try out new things, first on the experimental Elf machines built by Serge Rosset and then the Suzuki, when he raced as Kevin Schwantz’s team-mate in 1989. Injuries that season prevented him from finishing higher than eighth.

Macau

It is not just in Britain and the rest of Europe that Ron Haslam is a hero. For hundreds of thousands of fans in Asia he is 'Mr Macau', thanks to his sensational rides in the Far East event over the years. Haslam raced six times at the fearsome Guia circuit and won a record-breaking six times. His first victory at the race in 1983 marked the first time a four-stroke had ever won there.

Isle of Man TT Races

Haslam made his mark at the Isle of Man TT in 1981, when he was named winner of the Formula 1 TT, only to be robbed of the victory the following day, when the organisers gave the win to Graeme Crosby in very controversial circumstances. Haslam was back the following year to claim an undisputed victory.

Transatlantic Match Motorcycle Races

Haslam was a frequent member of the British team in the then-annual Transatlantic Match Races between Britain and the USA. Haslam was at his best in the 1983 team clash, ending the three day meeting as overall top points-scorer. In the opening round at Oulton Park on the Good Friday, Haslam was beaten to the finish line by Randy Mamola in the first of two, 11 lap races, after a tremendous battle. Haslam, on the Honda NS500, equaled the lap record as he strove to beat the American. In race two Mamola again came out on top, with both riders this time sharing the fastest lap, which was one tenth of a second off the record. At that point, thanks largely to Haslam, Britain led 79 points to 69. At Snetterton two days later Haslam notched-up convincing victories in the rain, chased home each time by Kenny Roberts. Now Britain’s lead had grown to 28 points, 161 to 133. Then in the dry at Brands Hatch the following day Haslam again won both team races to lead Britain to an emphatic 245 to 198 victory. Haslam had scored 70 points of his team’s total, 15 more than Roger Marshall and 30 better than the next best, Barry Sheene. The Langley Mill racer was the highest British points-scorer again in 1984. His efforts, on a standard road-going VFR750 Honda in the series in 1986, on which he took two thirds at Donington Park, led to a major sales-boom for the machine in the days immediately after.

Later Racing Career

In 1991, after one-year with Cagiva, Haslam was back full time in the UK, spearheading the return of Norton (motorcycles) to the race tracks. He finished second in the British Superbike championship. He stayed with Norton the following season, but was sidelined for most of the year with a badly broken left leg. British GP fans got a taste of the old Haslam magic when he took a self-tuned production Yamaha into 12th place in the 250 support race at the British Grand Prix at Donington Park in 1994. In 1995 Ron contested the first Triumph Speed Triple series, winning the Oulton Park round of the championship. When Ron’s son Leon Haslam switched from motocross to the hard stuff in 1997 he concentrated his efforts on helping the youngster’s career – actively! He competed in the British 125 championship to give real practical assistance to Leon out on the track. When the odd opportunity came up to notch-up a good result for himself, though, he took it, taking fifth place at Donington Park in 1998 against a field of younger riders. Haslam rode the 125 again the following year, but pressure from the organisers made him stop after just a couple of rounds and restrict his coaching to the pits. In 2000 Ron raced a Honda Fireblade in the British Superstock series, marking his 28th year of competitive racing. His best result that year was a sixth at Donington Park.The same year he and Leon made history by becoming the first British father and son, as well as the oldest and youngest riders, to race in the same GP when he competed on the Sabre Racing bike in the 500 class and Leon raced the factory Italjet in the 125 event at Le Mans, France.

Racing Skills

Haslam has many racing skills that have made him stand out from the rest – including the rare and useful ability to solve problems on racing machines. He acquired the nickname of ' "Rocket Ron" ' due to his ability of always making great starts, a knack that enabled him to lead many, many races and avoid having to battle through the pack. Another was his skill in the wet - there have been very few riders anywhere to equal his performances in the rain. Ron’s remarkable fitness and courage has allowed him to race with injuries that would have sidelined many and also enabled him to recover from the effects of crashes sooner than most. Haslam’s abilities were recognised by many observers, including Robert Fearnall, the former promoter at Donington Park, who swiftly harnessed those skills to launch Team Great Britain in 1992. The programme ran for five-years and Ron’s instruction helped launch the careers of two top British riders, James Haydon and Karl Harris.

Present

The Haslam farmhouse home at Smalley, Derbyshire, where he lives with wife Ann and his children, Leon, Emma and Zoe, is full of trophies, medals and awards, but not all are for simply winning races. Haslam’s popularity with British race fans was shown when he was voted MCN Man of the Year in 1981, for instance. He is a world speed record holder, too, after his efforts on the 500 Elf on a private, banked circuit in France in 1986, when he claimed the Flying kilometre, the Standing Start mile and Standing Start 10 kilometre records.Though following son Leon’s race career with both passion and pride, Ron also spends a great deal of his time helping other riders - mainly road riders - who attend his race school based at Donington Park. Never one to let being a ‘racing superstar’ affect him, Ron is always willing to stop, chat and give advice to anyone and he genuinely is just like the guy next door