With four days left until the flag drops on the Aussie round of the MotoGP, we look back at the four most successful Aussies who were unable to convert wins into world championships.
Gregg Hansford, 10 wins
In just two years of Grand Prix racing, Gregg Hansford became the most successful Australian rider not to win a GP title. In his very first year overseas, Hansford finished second and third in the 1978 250cc and 350cc classes respectively with his first win coming in just the second round of the 250cc season. He would return in 1979 to finish both the 250cc and 350cc seasons in the same position, second and third respectively, as the previous year. In 1980 he raced the 350cc class where his best finish came in the German Grand Prix (fifth) and he finished the season 15th overall. By 1983 Hansford had entered the Australian Touring Car Championship and he remained racing cars until he was fatally injured in a crash at Phillip Island in 1995.
Garry McCoy, five wins
Sydney-born Garry McCoy claimed 15 podiums and five wins across three classes of Grand Prix racing between his 1992 debut in the 125cc and his final wildcard race in 2006 (as a test rider for the ill-fated 800cc Ilmor X3 project) in MotoGP. While he podiumed twice in 1994, his first win came the following season when he won the 1995 Malaysian Grand Prix. Known as the King of Slide, his most successful season came in 2000 when he finished fifth on the WCM Yamaha YZR500 following three wins, six podiums, one pole position and one fastest lap. He remained with WCM Yamaha for the 2001 season and managed three podiums (1 x 2nd & 2 x 3rd) but the arrival of the 990cc four strokes the following year didn’t suited his sideways style and by 2004 entered the World Superbike Championship.
Ken Kavanagh, five wins
Ken Kavanagh wrote himself into the history books when he crossed the line first in the 1952 350cc Ulster Grand Prix by becoming the very first Australian rider to win a Grand Prix. It was his second year in Grand Prix racing and he was due for a win with seven podiums already to his name (3 x 1951 350cc, 1 x 1951 500cc and 1 x 1952 350cc and 2 x 1952 500cc). His best season came in 1954 when he finished third in the 500cc world championship on board a Moto Guzzi. He left Grand Prix racing at the end of 1956, tried his hand at Formula One racing in 1958 with zero success, before returning to two-wheeled Grand prix in 1959 to finish eighth in 125cc class and 11th in 500cc. He retired the following year.
John Dodds, four wins
Australian John Dodds was successful in his very first season of Grand Prix racing winning the opening round of the 1970 125cc Grand Prix Championship at the Nürburgring on board Aermacchi machinery. The following season he stepped up to the 250cc class and despite not finishing on the top of the box once his consistency saw him finish fourth overall. It was a similar result in 1972 when he finished sixth in the 250cc world title, but it was 1973 when the Aussie had his most successful season. With a win a piece in both the 250cc and 350cc classes, Dodds finished third and fourth overall respectively. The 1974 season was his last in Grand Prix racing where he finished his title campaigns in fourth (350cc) and seventh (250cc) places.