Pat Hennen

Quick Facts

Full Name	Pat Hennen
Occupation	Motorcycle Racer
Date Of Birth	Apr 27, 1953(1953-04-27)
Age	71
Country	United States
Birth City	Phoenix
Horoscope	Aries

Pat Hennen Biography

Pat Hennen is one of the most popular and richest Motorcycle Racer who was born on April 27, 1953 in Phoenix, United States. Pat Hennen (born April 27 1953, in Phoenix, Arizona) is an American former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He is renowned as the very first American to take home a 500cc World Championship race, the 1976 500cc Finnish Grand Prix. In the race as a non-factory driver He finished at third place overall GP World Championship standings that season, finishing just 2 points ahead of the runner-up Tepi Lansivuori as well as the fellow Suzuki factory driver Barry Sheene.

Hennen made the move to his first European Grand Prix circuit after Daytona in

1976. He was participating as a privateer on the 500cc World Championships series on a production Suzuki RG 500. He also raced in the newly-formed Formula 750 series on the exact TR750 from the factory he raced at Daytona in 1976. In the 500cc World Championships were the highest quality of professional road racing during the time of. After a slow start to his season as he learned to race on GP track, Hennen finished runner-up in the Dutch GP at Assen, ahead of Sheene as well as ahead of multiple-time World Champion Giacomo Agostini. From that point, Hennen consistently finished in the top three spots and even was the winner of his first GP which was the Finnish GP in the direction of famous Finnish rider Lansivuori who was later Hennen’s instructor. Lansivuori was the reason for Hennen’s decision to adopt the style of riding that was made popularized by Lansivuori and his fellow famous Finnish cyclist Jarno Saarinen. In this style, they kept their feet low and hung off the sides of the bike in a dramatic manner in corners, with their knee moving lightly over the asphalt.

Hennen’s bid for the 1977 World Championship was spoiled by a 170 mph crash at the Italian GP, at Imola, two laps after he took the lead in the race. The leg injury he sustained also cost him points at the next two GPs, but he regained his form by season’s end, winning the 1977 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, the first ever GP held on the British mainland. Beatle George Harrison and his wife hosted the victory dinner for Hennen and the rest of the Suzuki factory team after his Silverstone win. Harrison and Ringo Starr were close friends of Sheene and regularly attended GP events as VIP guests of the Suzuki GP team. Hennen followed that win up by winning the Race of Year at Mallory Park.

At midseason, Roberts led Hennen by 3 points, with Sheene some distance back. With the most challenging GP circuits ahead of them, Hennen had become the odds-on favorite of many GP racing cognoscente to win the World Championship. But Hennen’s title chase came to an end when he suffered a career-ending crash at the 1978 Isle of Man TT, regarded as the world’s most dangerous circuit. He had just recorded the first ever sub-twenty-minute lap in TT history when he clipped a curb at 160 m.p.h. There was a suggestion at the time that he had struck a bird although this is now considered an unfounded rumor. The horrific crash caused injuries that ultimately led to his retirement from racing.[3] Roberts was later quoted as saying, “I had everyone covered in ’78 but Pat Hennen.”

In 1976, after registering his first victory at the European continent in an international race held in the Osterreichring circuit in Austria, Hennen was introduced to the director of BMW car manufacturer’s nascent pilot development programme. After a stunning test race in the Osterreichring in the Formula Ford, Hennen was awarded an agreement for three years as a development driver. When His Grand Prix motorcycle schedule would allow this, Hennen started competing in car races to gain experience to race, first in closed wheel, and later open-wheel race vehicles. He was second overall in the Saturday race in the 1997 Formula Ford Festival, at Brands Hatch, England, racing against Chico Serra and Nigel Mansel who became the front-running F1 drivers.

Pat Hennen Net Worth

Pat Hennen is one of the richest Motorcycle Racer from United States. According to our analysis, Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, Pat Hennen 's net worth $5 Million. (Last Update: December 11, 2023)

Hennen began his racing career on dirt tracks at AMA District 36 dirt track racing events in Northern California. The year 1973 was the first time he joined by John Gennai and later Rick Hocking riding Steve Doi’s bikes. Both then went on to AMA Pro National Championship Series dirt track racing. His success on dirt tracks gained him the trust of Suzuki road racer from the factory Ron Grant, who mentored Hennen and played an important role in helping him develop an impressive professional road racing career. Hennen changed from dirt track racing for professional use to full-time road racing in 1973, and occasionally participated in a few AMA dirt track events believing that his experience on dirt tracks provided him with a distinct edge in racing on the road.

Hennen won the 1974 season. Hennen took home all of the races in the American Motor Club’s Junior Road Race National Championship Series which earned the racer a spot in the U.S. Suzuki’s factory road race team for the season of 1975 together with his teammate and multiple-time AMA National Champion Gary Nixon. In the final stretch of the season in 1975 and there was a U.S. national gas crisis profoundly affected all types of motorsports across the U.S., prompting U.S. Suzuki to close its factory road racing team for the next season.

Riding as a privateer in 1976, Hennen rode an ex-factory Suzuki TR750 to third overall in the Daytona 200, the first time a Suzuki had finished in the top 3 at Daytona. Riding a production Yamaha TZ250 in the 250cc race at Daytona, he finished a very close runner-up to Yamaha factory rider Roberts after a race- long duel.

Height, Weight & Body Measurements

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Who is Pat Hennen Dating?

According to our records, Pat Hennen is possibily single & has not been previously engaged. As of December 1, 2023, Pat Hennen’s is not dating anyone.

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Facts & Trivia

Pat Ranked on the list of most popular Motorcycle Racer. Also ranked in the elit list of famous people born in United States. Pat Hennen celebrates birthday on April 27 of every year.