John Glen Williams (27 May 1946 – 12 August 1978) was an English motorcycle short-circuit road racer who also entered selected Grands Prix on the near-continent. He mostly raced as a "privateer" having a personal sponsor, Gerald Brown.Motor Cyclist Illustrated, October 1974, p.17 Reverbs by John C Gee. Accessed and added 2015-01-20 Williams died in Northern Ireland, following an accident when racing at an event held on closed public roads near Dundrod.Tom Herron - an appreciation Dundrod '78 Retrieved 2015-01-20

Career Williams began racing in 1966, and won the Stars of Tomorrow meeting at Brands Hatch in 1968 on a 250 cc Ducati. He turned professional in 1973, and won the 250, 350 and 500 cc classes at that year's Ulster Grand Prix, the first rider to win three Ulster GP races in a single day. In 1974 he won the 350cc, 500cc and 750cc classes at the North West 200, marking the first time a competitor had won three classes at the event. He also raced for Honda in endurance events such as the Bol d'Or.

Williams' best season was in when he finished in fifth place in the 500 cc world championship on a Yamaha motorcycle. His performance earned him a contract to race for the British Heron-Suzuki team in the 500cc World Championship alongside teammates Barry Sheene and John Newbold. The Suzuki factory allocated three Suzuki RG 500 motorcycles for the British team in 1976, ostensibly one motorcycle for each of their riders however, Sheene appropriated all three motorcycles for himself, which created animosity between Sheene and his teammates as they had to compete with the team's 1975 RG 500s.

Williams led the 1976 Senior TT by over one minute after setting a new outright lap record for the course at when his Suzuki broke down one mile from the finish line, allowing Tom Herron (Yamaha) to take the victory. Williams pushed his motorcycle across the finish line in seventh place.John Williams career profile at the Isle of Man TT web page He won the only World Championship race of his career when he defeated Sheene at the 1976 Belgian Grand Prix.

Williams turned down the offer of a place on the Heron-Suzuki team in , preferring to race as a privateer, although well-publicised differences between himself and Barry Sheene may have been a contributing factor. Williams was named as Sports Personality of the Year for 1976 by the Liverpool Echo.

Williams was a five-time winner of the North West 200 race in Northern Ireland and a four-time winner at the Isle of Man TT.

Williams won the 500 cc race in the 1978 Ulster Grand Prix but died from injuries sustained after crashing at Wheeler's Corner in the inaugural TT Formula One event later that same day.John Williams career profile on Motorsport Memorial He was a resident of Heswall, a town on the Wirral, Merseyside, England.Heswall's king of speed Heswall Magazine, July 2012. Retrieved 2015-01-18

John Williams Trophy The John Williams Trophy is an annual award at the Isle of Man TT Races. It is presented to the rider who completes the fastest lap in the Superbike TT race.IoM TT.com official site Awards Retrieved 2015-06-20

Motorcycle Grand Prix results Points system from 1969 onwards: Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Points 15 12 10 8 6 5 4 3 2 1

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Class Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Points Rank Wins 1968 500cc Matchless GER- ESP- IOM11 NED- BEL- DDR- CZE- FIN- ULS- NAT- 0 – 01969 350cc AJS ESP- GER- IOM15 NED- DDR- CZE- FIN- ULS- NAT- YUG- 0 – 0 500cc Metisse ESP- GER- FRA- IOM- NED- BEL- DDR- CZE- FIN- ULS8 NAT- YUG- 3 46th 0 1970 500cc Matchless GER- FRA- YUG- IOM5 NED- BEL- DDR- FIN- ULS9 NAT- ESP- 8 23rd 01971 350cc AJS AUT- GER- IOM4 NED- DDR- CZE- SWE- FIN- ULS4 NAT- ESP- 16 13th 0 500cc AJS AUT- GER- IOMNC NED- BEL- DDR- SWE- FIN- ULS- NAT- ESP- 0 – 01972 250cc Yamaha GER- FRA- AUT- NAT- IOM3 YUG- NED- BEL- DDR- CZE- SWE- FIN- ESP- 10 18th 0 350cc Honda GER- FRA- AUT- NAT- IOMNC YUG- NED- DDR- CZE- SWE- FIN- ESP- 0 – 0 500cc Matchless GER- FRA- AUT- NAT- IOMNC YUG- NED- BEL- DDR- CZE- SWE- FIN- ESP- 0 – 01973 250cc Yamaha FRA- AUT- GER- IOM2 YUG- NED- BEL- CZE- SWE- FIN- ESP- 12 17th 0 350cc Yamaha FRA- AUT- GER- NAT- IOM3 YUG- NED- CZE- SWE- FIN- ESP- 10 20th 0 500cc Matchless FRA- AUT- GER- IOMNC YUG- NED- BEL- CZE- SWE- FIN- ESP- 0 – 01974 250cc Yamaha GER- NAT- IOM- NED- BEL9 SWE- FIN- CZE- YUG- ESP- 2 38th 0 350cc Yamaha FRA- GER- AUT9 NAT- IOM- NED8 SWE- FIN9 YUG- ESP- 7 29th 0 500cc Yamaha FRA7 GER- AUT8 NAT- IOM- NED10 BEL7 SWE10 FIN6 CZE- 18 11th 01975 250cc Yamaha FRA- ESP- GER- NAT- IOM3 NED- BEL9 SWE- FIN8 CZE- YUG- 15 14th 0 350cc Yamaha FRA- ESP10 AUT- GER- NAT- IOMNC NED- FIN- CZE- YUG- 1 47th 0 500cc Yamaha FRA- AUT- GER- NAT- IOM2 NED7 BEL5 SWE3 FIN- CZE- 32 5th 0 1976 500cc Suzuki FRARet AUTRet NAT- IOM7 NED6 BEL1 SWE- FIN- CZE- GER- 24 9th 11977 350cc Yamaha VEN- GER- NAT- ESP- FRA- YUG- NED- SWE- FIN- CZE- GBR3 10 22nd 0 500cc Suzuki VEN- AUT- GER- NAT16 FRA- NED- BEL10 SWE8 FIN- CZE- GBR- 4 26th 0 1978 500cc Suzuki VEN- ESP- AUT- FRA- NAT- NED- BEL- SWE- FIN- GBR12 GER- 0 – 0

References