Top 5 Yamaha MotoGP riders of all time

#3 Phil Read

Phil read(Image courtesy:https://www.motorsport.com/motogp/photos/phil-read-mv-augusta-11511832/11511832)

Phil Read is a former English Grand Prix Motorcycle road racer who made his debut in 1961 at the Isle of Man TT.

He has to his credit, the world championship victories in the 125cc, 250cc, and 500cc classes. At an early age, he was a very keen road rider and worked as an apprentice fitter at Brown and Green which is a Luton manufacturer of industrial machinery. The first road machine which he ever used was a Velocette KSS which he started at the age of 16 in 1955.

Phil Read won the Junior Manx Grand Prix on a Manx Norton at record speed. He is a two-time winner of the Thruxton 500 endurance race in 1962 and 1963 which he rode with Syd Lawton's Norton Dominator 650SS Machines.

Phil joined Yamaha in 1960 and in 1964, he gave them their first world title when he won the 250cc class. It was heartening to see that he retained the trophy next year as well. Next year, due to some problems with the bike, Read went on to lose the title to Mike Hailwood.

Phil became the representative for the Grand Prix rider's association in 1967. In 1968,he faced many controversies as he disobeyed the orders from Yamaha of focusing on winning the 125cc championships and instead fought Billy Ivy for the 250cc title. It was a costly decision as he was dropped from the team. It was a sad end to an amazing few years for him with Yamaha for whom he had won 39 races.