PAT HENNEN
A KIWI FAVOURITE
Pat Hennen , the first American to win a World 500 Championship grand prix in road racing and who later sustained a career-ending brain injury at the 1978 Isle of Man TT , has died . He passed away at a care facility at Mountain View , California on April 6 at age 70 . Hennen had been diagnosed with cancer in August 2022 but continued to live in his native San Mateo , until the last three days of his life . Hennen was inducted in the American Motorcyclist Association Hall of Fame in 2007 .
CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDER On track Hennen was to have a brilliant grand prix career until an Isle of Man TT crash . At the time he was just six points behind eventual title World 500 Championship winner Kenny Roberts , 57 to 51 , with defending champ Barry Sheene third on 48 points . Roberts has recognised the fact that it could have just as easily been Hennen who won the 1978 title , but for that TT crash . “ All I heard when I went to the GPs in 1978 was that I had to beat Barry Sheene ,” Roberts says . “ I was surprised when it turned out that Pat was the rider to beat that year . He was a very steady rider . You felt good racing hard against him . He didn ’ t do anything spectacular or crazy . He was just solid , and fast .” Although Hennen had raced the TT in 1977 , he was not keen on doing it again and it was not in his Suzuki GB contract . But Suzuki GB general manager Maurice Knight coerced him into doing the Isle of Man , which turned out to be a tragic decision . A crash at the event meant he ’ d never race again .
KIWI RIDER 27