Stanley Michael Bailey Hailwood, (2 April 1940 – 23 March 1981) was a British professional motorcycle racer and racing driver. He is regarded by many as one of the greatest racers of all time. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle world championships from 1958 to 1967 and in Formula One between 1963 and 1974. Hailwood was known as "Mike The Bike" because of his natural riding ability on motorcycles with a range of engine capacities. A nine-time world champion, Hailwood won 76 Grand Prix races during his motorcycle racing career, including 14 Isle of Man TT victories and four consecutive 500 cc world championships. After his motorcycle racing career concluded, he went on to compete in Formula One and other classes of car racing, becoming one of the few men to compete at Grand Prix level in both motorcycle and car racing. He returned to motorcycle racing at the age of 38, taking victory at the 1978 Isle of Man TT. Hailwood died in 1981 following a road traffic accident in Warwickshire, England. Early life Hailwood was born at Langsmeade House, Great Milton in Oxfordshire, the only son and elder child of Stanley William Bailey Hailwood, a millionaire businessman and managing director of a motorcar sales company as well as successful motorcycle dealer. He had also raced, in the pre-World War II era. Hailwood had a comfortable upbringing; he learned to ride at a young age on a minibike as a small boy in a field near his home. He was educated at Purton Stoke Preparatory School, Kintbury, and Pangbourne Nautical College where he wore a RN cadet uniform, but left early and worked for a short time in the family business before his father sent him to work at Triumph motorcycles. Motorcycle racing career Hailwood saw his first race at age 10 with his father, and first spectated at the Isle of Man TT races in 1956. He first raced on 22 April 1957, at Oulton Park, finishing in 11th place. In 1958 he won ACU Stars at 125 cc, 250 cc, and 350 cc classes, earning him the Pinhard Prize, an accolade awarded yearly to a young motorcyclist under 21, who is adjudged to have made the most meritorious achievement in motorcycle sport during the preceding year. He teamed with Dan Shorey to win the Thruxton 500 endurance race and finished in four classes of TT race