The British motorcycle racer Phil Read, who has died aged 83, was a successor to Geoff Duke and John Surtees and a friend and rival to Mike Hailwood and Barry Sheene. Winning eight world championships and 52 grand prix victories during a career that lasted from 1961 to 1975, he became the first rider to take world titles in the 125cc, 250cc and 500cc categories, a feat since matched only by Valentino Rossi and Marc Márquez.
Perhaps surprisingly, since he lived a colourful life and raced at a time when the sport was highly dangerous, he was never as well known to the general public as some of those other figures. Many within the sport, however, were in no doubt of the talent of a man nicknamed “the Prince of Speed”.
