Alan Shepherd

For the American astronaut, see Alan Shepard. For the Australian cricketer, see Alan Shepherd (cricketer).

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]

Alan Shepherd
Nationality	British
Born	(1935-09-28)28 September 1935 Keswick, Cumbria
Died	16 July 2007(2007-07-16) (aged 71) 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 Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 35 2 20 N/A 3 141

Motorcycle racing career

 

MZ 250 cc GP as ridden by Shepherd

Shepherd was born in Keswick, Cumbria. His family moved to Cartmel at the outbreak of World War II. His first motorcycle was a Royal Enfield Bullet earned from a job doing a milk round with his father. He later moved to Bradford where he served as an apprentice cabinet maker. Shepherd was a member of the Royal Signals Motorcycle Display Team during his National Service.

In 1956, Shepherd was persuaded to compete in the Isle of Man TT. He rode his own motorcycle to the dock in Liverpool and took the ferry to the Isle where, he finished in an impressive third place in the Clubmans Junior TT at the 1956 Isle of Man TT.^[3] Shepherd won the 1958 Junior Manx Grand Prix riding an AJS.^[4] He scored a double victory at the 1962 North West 200 when he claimed first place results in the 350cc and 500cc classes.^[5]

Shepherd's greatest success came when he joined the East German MZ factory racing team led by their lead Development Engineer Walter Kaaden, known for his groundbreaking work in two stroke engine technology.^[6] Although MZ provided him with a motorcycle, the impoverished factory struggled to provide much support and, he competed while functioning as his own mechanic. Despite competing on a limited budget, Shepherd managed to win the season-opening 250cc United States Grand Prix, held at the Daytona International Speedway then, placed second to Honda's Jim Redman at the Isle of Man Lightweight TT to finish the 1964 250cc world championship season in third place behind the powerful Yamaha and Honda teams represented by Phil Read and Redman.^[1][7]

In 1964 when a resident of Grange-over-Sands, Lancashire, England, he was allowed to keep his MZ 125 cc single cylinder and MZ 250 cc twin cylinder machines as part of his earnings due to currency difficulties with East Germany. He offered these two MZ for sale through Motor Cycle, a UK weekly magazine.^[8]

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.^[9]

He died peacefully at Summerhill Nursing Home, Kendal, Cumbria in July 2007, with a funeral service at Cartmel Priory followed by cremation at Lancaster.^[10]

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
	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
	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
	350cc	MZ				IOM NC	NED -		GER -	DDR -	ULS -	FIN 4	NAT -	JPN -	3	13th	0

^[1][2]

References

1. "Alan Shepherd profile". motogp.com. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
2. "Alan Shepherd Isle of Man TT results". iomtt.com. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
3. "1956 Clubmans Junior TT results". iomtt.com. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
4. "1958 Junior Manx Grand Prix results". iomtt.com. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
5. . northwest200.org. Archived from the original on 8 April 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
6. Halcyon days: MZ a potted history Alan Turner, Motorcycle Sport and Leisure, No. 577 October 2008, pp114-118
7. "1964 250cc United States Grand Prix Classification". motogp.com. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
8. 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
9. Motor Cycle 3 June 1965, p.742 Racing Line by David Dixon. "Alan Shepherd Quits". Accessed 7 April 2014
10. Obituary archive, originally from Westmorland Gazette Archived 7 April 2014 at archive.today, July 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2014