The Yamaha factory wins its first-ever 500cc Grand Prix race when Chas Mortimer rides to victory in the Spanish Grand Prix held at Montjuïc Circuit in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The Spanish Grand Prix marks the end of the 1972 GP season which began on April 30 with the West German Grand Prix.
Mick Grant, seven-time winner of the Isle of Man TT, finishes the 1972 GP season ranked 17th.
Mick began his racing career as a privateer, entering his first Manx Grand Prix in 1969 on a 500cc Velocette, and his first TT in the following year, again using the Velocette and placing 18th in the Junior Class on a Lee-sponsored Yamaha.
Showing great poise and the ability to twist the throttle at the right time Grant quickly became a works Norton rider alongside Peter Williams and Phil Read. In 1972, he teamed with Dave Croxford to win the Thruxton 500 endurance race on a 745cc Norton Commando, and finished second to Williams in the 1973 F750 TT.
In 1975, it was Mick Grant who finally broke Mike Hailwood's Isle of Man TT lap record, which had stood since 1967, raising the average-speed of one lap to 109.82 mph on a Kawasaki two-stroke triple entered by the Boyer of Bromley team headed by the legendary motor-man, Stan Shenton.
Today in motorcycle history proudly supports the National Association for Bikers with a Disability (NABD). www.nabd.org.uk
