Hailwood had a comfortable upbringing;[4] he learned to ride at a young age on a minibike as a small boy in a field near his home.

[8] He lost the chance at winning a fourth race when his 350 AJS failed with a broken gudgeon pin whilst leading.

As this was production-based racing open to all entrants, 'official' works teams were ineligible; instead, machines were prepared and entered through well-established factory dealers.

[4][9] At the 'Motor Cycle' 500 race at Brands Hatch in 1966, Hailwood demonstrated a Honda CB450 Black Bomber fitted with a sports fairing.

[14] It was unable to compete in the 500cc category, the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) deeming that it was not classified as a production machine as it had two overhead camshafts.

[9] He won what many historians consider to be the most dramatic Isle of Man race of all time, the 1967 Senior TT against his great rival, Giacomo Agostini.

[4][17] After suffering breakdowns in 1967, Hailwood had intended to re-sign for Honda provided the 1968 machinery was to his satisfaction, and had relocated to South Africa where he started a building business with former motorcycle Grand Prix rider Frank Perris, completing their first house in October 1967, also selling one to ex-racer Jim Redman.

Hailwood stated to Motorcycle Mechanics that even without suitable machinery from Honda he would not go elsewhere, preferring to retire prematurely and he would in any case finish at the end of the 1968 season.

For 1968, Honda pulled out of Grand Prix racing, but paid Hailwood £50,000 (equivalent to over £870,000 at 2020 value) not to ride for another team, in expectation of keeping him as its rider upon return to competition.

[4][19]Hailwood continued to ride Hondas during 1968 and 1969 in selected race meetings without World Championship status including European events in the Temporada Romagnola (Adriatic Season of street-circuits), sometimes wearing an unfamiliar plain-silver helmet, including on a 500 cc engined machine which used frames privately commissioned by Hailwood.

[27][28] Hailwood's son David completed a demonstration lap of the Isle of Man TT course on 3 June 2002, riding his father's Daytona 1971 BSA Rocket 3 carrying large letters 'H' instead of a race number.

He crashed at low speed when waving to the spectators at Governor's Bridge, a tight hairpin bend close to the end of the 37-mile course.

Hailwood was recognised for his bravery when in the 1973 South African Grand Prix he went to pull Clay Regazzoni from his burning car after the two collided on the third lap of the race.

He left Formula One after being injured badly at the 1974 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring and retired to New Zealand,[35] where he was involved with a marine engineering business together with former McLaren manager Phil Kerr.

[38][39] Also in April, Hailwood rode at the Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, for the first time on a 750 Yamaha that he was later to ride in the Classic TT race.

[41][42][43] On 3 June 1978, after an 11-year hiatus from mainstream motorcycling, Hailwood made a comeback at the Isle of Man TT in the Formula I race, a World Championship class based on large-capacity road machines first introduced for 1977.

As they returned along the A435 Alcester Road through Portway, Warwickshire,[52] near their home in Tanworth-in-Arden, a lorry made an illegal turn through the barriers onto the central reservation, and their car collided with it.

[citation needed] The story was repeated by Elizabeth McCarthy in a 1981 memoir, while recounting her relationship with Hailwood, whom she had met at the Canadian Grand Prix in 1967.

[55] The starting point was the former Norton factory in Aston, Birmingham, then on to Portway, where the accident occurred, followed by a service at the church in Tanworth-in-Arden.

Operated by the Mike Hailwood Foundation, an Isle of Man-based charity, it is staffed by volunteers and also promotes the races together with supporting new competitors.

[64][65][66] Coming from a prosperous background, during his early career Hailwood had enjoyed a privileged lifestyle and even before his move from MV to Honda in 1966 was the world's highest-paid rider.

After relocating to South Africa in 1967, he confirmed to Motorcycle Mechanics in 1968 that he would only be spending the same length of time there as in the previous eight years when he spent two winter months staying at the farm of racer Paddy Driver near Johannesburg.