Alan Shepherd

Alan Shepherd
Alan Shepherd
Nationality	British
Died	16 July 2007; Kendal, Cumbria
Motorcycle racing career statistics
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Active years	1959 – 1964
First race	1959 350cc Isle of Man TT
Last race	1964 250cc Nations Grand Prix
First win	1962 500cc Finnish Grand Prix
Last win	1964 250cc United States Grand Prix
Team(s)	MZ
Championships	0

Alan Shepherd (28 September 1935 – 16 July 2007) was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. His best seasons were in 1962 and 1963, when he rode a Matchless to finish in second place in the 500cc world championship, both times to Mike Hailwood.[1] Shepherd was a three-time winner of the North West 200 race in Northern Ireland and finished on the podium twice at the Isle of Man TT.[2]

Motorcycle racing career

MZ 250 cc GP as ridden by Shepherd

Shepherd was a rider for the East German MZ factory team. In 1964 when a resident of Grange-over-Sands, Lancashire, England, he was allowed to keep his 125 cc single cylinder and 250 cc twin cylinder machines as part of his earnings due to currency difficulties, which he then offered for sale through Motor Cycle, a UK weekly magazine.[3]

Shepherd retired in 1965 after recovering from a head injury suffered in late 1964 when testing a works Honda in preparation for the 1964 Japanese Grand Prix. He told Motor Cycle's David Dixon in June 1965 that – whilst he felt fully recovered – he no longer had the confidence to be a top-runner, and would not ride Hondas unless he could give the best possible performance.[4]

He died peacefully at Summerhill Nursing Home, Kendal, Cumbria in July 2007, with a funeral service at Cartmel Priory followed by cremation at Lancaster.[5]

Motorcycle Grand Prix results

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6
Points	8	6	4	3	2	1

(key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Class	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Points	Rank	Wins
1959	350cc	AJS	FRA -	IOM NC	GER -	NED -	BEL -	SWE -	ULS -	NAT -					0	-	0
1959	500cc	Matchless	FRA -	IOM 7	GER	NED	BEL	SWE	ULS	NAT					0	-	0
1960	350cc	AJS	FRA -	IOM 7	NED -	BEL -	GER -	ULS -	NAT -						0	-	0
1960	500cc	Matchless	FRA -	IOM NC	NED -	BEL -	GER -	ULS 3	NAT -						4	10th	0
1961	125cc	MZ	ESP -	GER 2	FRA -	IOM NC	NED 3	BEL 5	DDR -	ULS -	NAT -	SWE -	ARG -		12	7th	0
	250cc	MZ	ESP -	GER 5	FRA -	IOM NC	NED -	BEL -	DDR 5	ULS 5	NAT -	SWE -	ARG -		6	10th	0
	350cc	Bianchi		GER -		IOM -	NED -		DDR -	ULS 5	NAT 4	SWE -			5	10th	0
1962	125cc	MZ	ESP -	FRA -	IOM -	NED -	BEL -	GER -	ULS -	DDR -	NAT -	FIN 3	ARG -		4	13th	0
	350cc	MZ			IOM NC	NED -			ULS 4	DDR -	NAT -	FIN 3			7	6th	0
	500cc	Matchless			IOM NC	NED 4	BEL 2		ULS 2	DDR 2	NAT -	FIN 1	ARG -		29	2nd	1
1963	125cc	MZ	ESP -	GER 6	FRA -	IOM -	NED -	BEL -	ULS -	DDR 2	FIN 3	NAT -	ARG -	JPN -	11	8th	0
	250cc	MZ	ESP -	GER 5		IOM NC	NED -	BEL -	ULS -	DDR 2		NAT 4	ARG -	JPN -	11	6th	0
	350cc	MZ		GER -		IOM 35	NED -	BEL -	ULS -	DDR -	FIN -	NAT 2		JPN -	6	6th	0
	500cc	Matchless				IOM NC	NED 3	BEL 3	ULS 4	DDR 3	FIN 2	NAT -	ARG -		21	2nd	0
1964	250cc	MZ	USA 1	ESP -	FRA -	IOM 2	NED -	BEL 3	GER -	DDR -	ULS 4		NAT 5	JPN -	23	3rd	1
1964	350cc	MZ				IOM NC	NED -		GER -	DDR -	ULS -	FIN 4	NAT -	JPN -	3	13th	0

References

Alan Shepherd career statistics at MotoGP.com
Alan Shepherd Isle of Man statistics at IOMTT.com
Motor Cycle 24 September 1964, p.593 Racing Line by David Dixon. "Who wants to buy an MZ? Alan's address is Appledene, Lindale, Grange-over-Sands, Lancashire". Accessed 24 November 2014
Motor Cycle 3 June 1965, p.742 Racing Line by David Dixon. "Alan Shepherd Quits". Accessed 7 April 2014
Obituary archive, originally from Westmorland Gazette Archived 7 April 2014 at Archive.today, July 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2014

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[1] Alan Shepherd career statistics at MotoGP.com

[2] Alan Shepherd Isle of Man statistics at IOMTT.com

[3] Motor Cycle 24 September 1964, p.593 Racing Line by David Dixon. "Who wants to buy an MZ? Alan's address is Appledene, Lindale, Grange-over-Sands, Lancashire". Accessed 24 November 2014

[4] Motor Cycle 3 June 1965, p.742 Racing Line by David Dixon. "Alan Shepherd Quits". Accessed 7 April 2014

[5] Obituary archive, originally from Westmorland Gazette Archived 7 April 2014 at Archive.today, July 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2014