Cyril John Findlay (5 February 1935 – 19 May 2007) was an Australian professional Grand Prix

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

road racer. He is noted for having one of the longest racing careers in Grand Prix history spanning 20 years, as well as one of five riders (along with Ángel Nieto, Loris Capirossi, Valentino Rossi and Aleix Espargaró) to race in Grand Prix motorcycle racing for 20 years or more. He competed at the highest level despite racing as a privateer - that is, not as a contracted member of a factory team - throughout most of his racing career.

Motorcycle racing career

Findlay was born in Mooroopna, Victoria, roughly 120 miles north of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. He began racing aged 15, two years under age, taking the name "Jack" so he could use the identification documents of his father, John 'Jock' Findlay, a Scottish immigrant to Australia.Jack Findlay obituary - The Telegraph
/ref> After leaving school, he worked as a trainee accountant at Commonwealth Bank of Australia until 1957. He moved to England in 1958 to race, got a job at the BSA factory in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, and joined the Grand Prix circuit with a 350cc Norton Manx. He competed in his first Isle of Man TT in 1959. He competed on the Grand Prix circuit from 1958 to

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

. His best championship result was in 1968 when he rode a Matchless to finish second behind Giacomo Agostini in the 500cc class. In

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

he won his first race for

Suzuki is a Japanese multinational mobility manufacturer headquartered in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Shizuoka. It manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a va ...

at the Ulster Grand Prix. As well as marking Suzuki's first 500cc class victory, the victory was notable for being the first 500cc class win for a motorcycle powered by a two stroke engine. His greatest victory came in

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

when he won the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

Senior TT after 15 years of trying.Jack Findlay Isle of Man results at iomtt.com
/ref> Findlay competed in the inaugural Formula 750 European championship in

, winning the Swedish round at the Anderstorp Raceway along with a third place in Finland and a second place in Great Britain to finish the season ranked third in the championship behind Barry Sheene and John Dodds. He rode Suzuki TR500s in

and 1974. In 1974, he was a member of the Suzuki factory racing team and helped develop the Suzuki RG 500, with Barry Sheene and Paul Smart. He once again finished in third place in the 1974 Formula 750 season, this time behind Dodds and Patrick Pons. In

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, he defeated Sheene for the 1975 Formula 750 championship. An accident that fractured his skull curtailed his racing career, and he retired in

. A further high-speed accident in 1987 stopped him riding motorcycles. He married Dominique Monneret, the widow of Georges Monneret, and made his domestic base in France and has a son, Gregory Findlay. He was appointed Grand Prix technical director by the

Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme The International Motorcycling Federation (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme) or (FIM) is the global governing/sanctioning body of motorcycle racing. It represents 123 national motorcycle federations that are divided into six continent ...

in 1992, retaining the post until he retired in 2001. He was assisted by his fluency in French and Italian. The French film director Jérôme Laperrousaz made a documentary movie about road racing called ''Continental Circus'' in 1972. It starred Findlay and Giacomo Agostini and featured a

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

by the psychedelic rock band

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, including a song called "Blues for Findlay". The film poster's headline was ''"Jimi Hendrix avait sa guitare. Jack Findlay avait sa moto."'' ("Jimi Hendrix had his guitar. Jack Findlay had his bike.") A bronze statue of Findlay on a TT-winning Suzuki by Philip Mune was unveiled in July 2006, in a park in his hometown that was renamed the Jack Findlay Reserve.

Motorcycle Grand Prix results

Sources: Points system from 1950 to 1968: Points system from 1969 onwards: ( key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

"Aussie ex-rider Findlay dies"

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, 20 May 2007
Obituary
''

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'', 4 June 2007
Obituary
''

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'', 12 June 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Findlay, Jack 1935 births 2007 deaths People from Mooroopna Sportsmen from Victoria (state) Australian motorcycle racers 125cc World Championship riders 250cc World Championship riders 350cc World Championship riders 500cc World Championship riders Isle of Man TT riders Australian people of Scottish descent Australian expatriate sportspeople in England 20th-century Australian sportsmen