Today in motorcycle history, April 27, 1953

 
  

  Grand Prix racer and AMA Hall of Famer Pat Hennen is born in Phoenix, Arizona.

  Pat Hennen was the first American to win a 500cc World Grand Prix road race. His victory at the 1976 Finland Grand Prix paved the way for a flood of riders from the US who would come to seriously compete in the sport. He proved that an American could win at the highest echelon of motorcycle racing in an era when few thought it could be done.  

 Hennen was battling with Kenny Roberts for the World Championship when his rapidly rising career was prematurely ended by a crash at the Isle of Man TT in 1978.

  He had just recorded the first sub-twenty minute lap in TT history when he struck a curb at 150 m.p.h. The subsequent crash caused severe head injuries from which Hennen was able to recover over time, but the lasting effects of the crash forced his retirement from racing.

  Pat Hennen was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2007.

 

  Today in motorcycle history proudly supports the National Association for Bikers with a Disability (NABD). www.nabd.org.uk