AUSTRALIAN RULES

Mick Doohan

500cc GP wins 54

BEFORE THE ASCENT of Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez, Mick Doohan held the credentials to surpass Giacomo Agostini as Grand Prix’s GOAT. Growing up on the Gold Coast riding dirt track, Doohan made his road racing debut at Surfers Paradise Raceway in 1984 on a Yamaha RZ350. After success on a Superbike, Doohan was drafted in to the Rothmans Honda 500cc GP team in 1989 – only three years earlier he was riding a 250cc production racer. Determination personified, he was the undisputed king of 500cc Grand Prix racing, blitzing five straight titles from 1994 to 1998. Only Giacomo Agostini with eight, Valentino Rossi with seven and Marc Márquez with six have won more premier-class titles. In that five-year period he won 44 of the 71 Grands Prix contested. His 500cc career was spent on a Honda NSR500 and began in the era of Lawson, Rainey, Schwantz and Gardner. He experienced many debilitating injuries taming the two-stroke beast including a crash in 1992 when dominating the championship; his right leg so badly damaged doctors threatened amputation, requiring the use of a thumb operated rear brake to keep racing. He described his first world championship in 1994 as ‘relief’ after coming so close the previous four years. His second in 1995 was to prove to himself that the first wasn’t a fluke, and after that it was “just about winning races.” A fierce competitor, Doohan recalls switching from the ‘Big Bang’ engine to the ‘Screamer’ in 1997 just to obtain a mental edge over his rivals, along with the quote to perennial bridesmaid Alex Criville after their Eastern Creek clash, “I was on the inside… Do you know what racing is?” Injury ended his racing career in 1999 after breaking his right leg and shoulder at Jerez, retiring with an incredible tally of 46 wins, 83 podium finishes, and 50 pole positions.

Doohan described his first title in 1994