Niall Mackenzie
Niall Macfarlane Mackenzie ( born July 19, 1961 in Stirling, Scotland) is a former British motorcycle racer.
Mackenzie won three times in his career, the British Superbike Championship and launched many years in the motorcycle and Superbike World Championship. His son Taylor is also motorcycle racer.
Career
Niall Mackenzie played his first motorcycle race in April 1981 on the track of Knockhill in his native Scotland and won this right away. Already in the following year he won the national Yamaha 500cc production championship in Scotland. 1983 Mackenzie won the Yamaha Pro-Am World Cup, 1984, he was on a Armstrong, which was equipped with a Rotax engine, British 350 cc road master. The following year he defended, turn on Armstrong Rotax starting his title at the 350ern successful and was also also 250 cc champion of Great Britain. 1986 won the Scot in the 250cc class his fourth British title.
World Motorcycle Championship
In 1984 debuted Niall Mackenzie at his home Grand Prix at Silverstone in the Motorcycle World Championship. He competed in the 250 cc class, but did not get beyond rank 28. In 1985, he played alongside the British Championship, for the Armstrong - Silverstone - team his first full World Cup season. At the Grand Prix of Sweden in Anderstorp the Scotsman secured the single championship point of the season.
In the 1986 season Mackenzie started only in the second half of the season the 250cc World Championship and came to four world championship points. At the British Grand Prix the same year he made his debut for Suzuki Heron Skoal Bandit on a Suzuki in the 500cc class of the World Cup and drove it a seventh place. After seventh in the following race in Sweden and the eighth place last season run, the Grand Prix of San Marino at Misano, took the Scot with eleven championship points together with the Italian Pierfrancesco Chili tenth World Cup overall.
1987 Niall Mackenzie went for HRC -HB on a Honda in the 500cc class at the start. At the Grand Prix of Austria at the Salzburg Ring he succeeded in finishing third behind Wayne Gardner and Randy Mamola his first podium finish in the Motorcycle World Championship. In the overall standings, the Scot finished with 61 points for fifth place. The following season, Mackenzie was sixth World Cup on the same team.
For the 1989 season, Niall Mackenzie moved to the Agostini Marlboro Team of the 15- times world champion Giacomo Agostini and started to Yamaha. At the Spanish Grand Prix, which was held this year in Jerez, won finished third to only podium of the year. The Appreciation joined the Scot from as seventh.
The 1990 season began Niall Mackenzie on a Yamaha Team Mortimer Racing in the 250 cc class of the World Cup. After the Australians Kevin Magee was severely injured in the second race of the season, the U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca, the Scot was appointed as his replacement in the Lucky Strike Suzuki team, where he played the rest of the season. Mackenzie scored in every race, won third places in Germany and Yugoslavia and reached the final standings with 140 points fourth place, only 48 points behind his teammate Kevin Schwantz, the Vice World Champion. 1991 denied the Scot only four Grand Prix races in the 500cc class and won it 35 points, which led him to 17th in the championship standings.
In 1992 Niall Mackenzie was again secures its place in the 500cc World Championship and drove at Yamaha Motor France - Banco Yamaha YZF. The highlight of an otherwise disappointing season running was the third place in the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez, in the overall standings ranked Briton time to eleventh place. At the prestigious eight - hour race at his favorite track in Suzuka Mackenzie reached this year with Kevin Magee on Yamaha YZF 750R second place.
Also in 1993 and 1994 Mackenzie went to the 500 World Cup at the start and finished on ROC Yamaha World Cup ranks nine and ten. The 1995 season was the last in Mackenzie's Motorcycle World Championship career, this time he entered the 250cc class on an Aprilia team DocShop Racing and finished 18th in the driver standings.
Superbike World Championship
His debut in the World Superbike Championship was Niall Mackenzie in 1990 on Yamaha at the British race at Donington Park, where he was able to occupy the fourth place in the second race. By 1999, the Scot launched annually at the staged in UK race and denied a total of 31 World Championship races, but where he succeeded no podium.
British Superbike Championship
In the British Superbike Championship, which was first held in 1996, Niall Mackenzie won in 1996, 1997 and 1998 on a Yamaha YZF 750 of the team Cadbury's Boost Yamaha the title and is so to this day record winner of this championship. At the end of the 2000 season, which he completed on a Ducati 996 GSE Racing Team Ducati at the INS of the later world champion Neil Hodgson side in fifth, the Scot ended his active career. In 2001 he returned for a farewell race at Knockhill back again.
Activities after active career
Since end of his career Niall Mackenzie holds regular driver training on the routes of Knockhill and Donington Park, where he acts as a driving instructor. He also works for the magazine Two Wheels Only, for which he wrote reviews about motorcycles and is active as a consultant for Yamaha as well as a TV pundit.
Achievements
- British 250 cc Champion: 1985 and 1986 on Armstrong
- British 350 cc Champion: 1984 and 1985 on Armstrong
- British Superbike Champion: 1996, 1997, 1998 Yamaha
Private
Niall Mackenzie is married, has two sons and lives in Ashby -de- la- Zouch, Leicestershire, England.