Former two-time English world 500cc motorcycle champion Barry Sheene died on this morning from cancer at his Australian home aged 52.
Sheene, who won the world motorcycle title in 1976-77, died at his Gold Coast home in Queensland after being diagnosed last July with stomach and throat cancer.
English-born Sheene won 19 500cc Grands Prix before moving to Australia in the early 1990s where he had business interests and worked as a motorsport television commentator.
He was at the height of his fame in the 1970s when his battles with American rival Kenny Roberts and a playboy lifestyle kept the British racer on the back pages of the tabloid newspapers.
But his career was cut short by racing injuries and he made his home in Australia to ease the pain caused by arthritis brought about by broken bones suffered in crashes.
Sheene's high-speed crashes during his racing days were legendary. In 1975, a blown rear tyre caused him to crash at 175 mph during practice for the Daytona 200 in Florida, shattering his left leg, smashing a thigh, breaking six ribs, fracturing a wrist, and wrecking his collar-bone.
In 1982 he crashed at Silverstone during practice for the British Grand Prix and he required eight hours of surgery realigning his shattered legs with screws and plates.
AFP