Motorcycle Racing
He left Rhodesia to compete in Europe in 1958 and made an immediate impact, finishing 3rd behind the works MV Agustas at the Nürburgring. He was sponsored by Manchester tuner/dealer Reg Dearden, who provided him with new 350cc & 500cc Manx Norton racers. He spent the winter of 58/59 with the Costain family at their home "Lindors" in Castletown on the South of the Isle of Man, learning the Isle of Man TT course with George Costain, an established rider for the Dearden team, who had won the Senior Manx Grand Prix on a 500 Dearden-tuned Manx in 1954. In the 1959 Junior TT, he finished a credible 12th from 22nd on the grid, an impressive achievement for a first-timer to the circuit. In 1959, he was offered a ride by the East German MZ factory and finished second in the 250cc championship. During practice for the 1959 Junior TT, his and the machines of fellow team mates Terry Shepherd and John Hartle 350 Manx's were fitted with the top-secret works 350cc Desmodromic engine, but they ran standard engines for the actual race. MV Agusta offered Hocking full factory support for the 1960 season and he repaid their confidence by finishing 2nd in the 125cc, 250cc and 350cc classes.
Following the retirement from motorcycle racing by defending champion, John Surtees in 1961, Hocking became MV Agusta's top rider and went on to claim dual World Championships in the 350cc and 500cc classes, in a dominating manner against little factory mounted opposition.
Read more about this topic: Gary Hocking
Famous quotes containing the words motorcycle and/or racing:
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