Author(s): Steve Parrish

Transport

When Valentino Rossi dedicated his 2005 World Championship win to Barry Sheene, it was a fitting memorial to the man who perhaps more than any other made motorcycling the hugely successful sport it is today. Sadly, he died of cancer in 2003, only aged 52. Barry Sheene won the British motorcycling 125cc championship at the age of twenty and twice became World Champion in the 500cc class, despite two life-threatening crashes, both of which he overcame with great courage and determination. BARRY is an intimate and revealing account told by three people who knew him better than most. Steve Parrish, fellow bike racer and now BBC commentator, admits that Barry completely changed his life, and reveals just what he got up to with his 'partner in crime'...Nick Harris, one of Barry's greatest fans, wrote and broadcast on all his major successes, and ended up by working alongside Barry as a television commentator. Barry's widow, Stephanie, has collaborated fully and written a foreword. She reveals Barry's great insecurity, their family life and his long and brave fight against cancer.