Gallery: 15 motorcycling world champions!

Although we’re always keen to put on a first class display of famous bikes and riders at the Festival of Speed, this year quite frankly was the best-ever line up for lovers of two-wheeled racing. To celebrate this we thought it apt to gather together every rider present ever to have won a world championship for a prestigious photograph. And what a photo it is …

Before we get on to exactly who’s in the picture, as a measure of the astonishing line up of riders who attended FoS, here are the names of just a limited selection of people who were present but who hadn’t at the time won a world championship: Sammy Miller, John McGuinness, Ryan Farquhar, Bruce Anstey, James Hillier, Leon Haslam, Ryuchi Kiyonari, Jenny Tinmouth, Jonathan Rea and Tommy Hill. Not bad, eh? Before long we’re sure that a few of those names will have a world title to boast of, but for now the line up of motorcycling world champions is as follows, from left to right:

Chaz Davies – One World Supersport title

Steve Webster and Paul Woodhead – Ten sidecar titles for Webster, three for Woodhead

Dave Thorpe – Three Motorcross world titles

Freddie Spencer – Three Grand Prix world titles

Phil Read – Seven Grand Prix world titles

John Surtees – Seven Grand Prix world titles

Valentino Rossi – Nine Grand Prix world titles

Giacomo Agostini – Fifteen Grand Prix world titles

Kenny Roberts – Three world titles

Dougie Lampkin – Twelve world titles

Jim Redman – Four Grand Prix world titles

Casey Stoner – Two world titles

Troy Corser – Two World Superbike titles

Sylvain Guintoli – Current World Superbike champion

As a list of names alone that’s pretty awe-inspiring, to then gaze at the main photo and take in all of those riders, their machines and their legendary exploits and see them all in one place is something else again. There was another world champion at FoS with a further three titles to his name, but unfortunately Speedway superstar Greg Hancock couldn’t be at FoS on Sunday when the photo was taken. That makes in excess of eighty world titles between the gentlemen in the picture. It’s an astonishing feat to have gathered so many legendary pilots together and to witness it was an immeasurable privilege. 

How on earth are we going to top this next year?!