Five world titles, 54 GP wins and one very well-deserved medal. Mick Doohan joins MotoGP’s Hall of Fame at Phillip Island.
As if five consecutive 500cc world championships, 54 Grand Prix victories and 95 podiums weren’t enough, Mick Doohan has added another shiny bit of silverware to the collection, with the Aussie legend officially inducted into the MotoGP Hall of Fame.
The five-time world champ received his medal from MotoGP Group deputy CEO Carlos Ezpeleta at Phillip Island on Saturday 24 October, during the circuit’s farewell Australian GP weekend. And while nobody was ever going to question Doohan’s place among the sport’s all-time greats, the man himself was typically modest about the whole thing.
“This sport’s been incredible to me over the years, but it’s also been challenging,” Doohan said. “There could have been, would have been, ifs, buts and maybes, but that’s what racing is all about. You’ve got to manage the ups and downs and get through it.”
And Mick certainly knows a thing or two about those. His career was almost cut short by a horrific crash at Assen in 1992, which very nearly cost him his right leg. But he fought his way back, eventually stringing together five straight premier-class crowns from 1994 to 1998, all aboard Honda machinery.
His 1997 campaign was particularly ridiculous, winning 12 of the 15 Grands Prix. And, of course, there was that unforgettable 1998 Australian GP at Phillip Island, where he wrapped up his fifth world title in front of the home crowd.
“I was fortunate enough to come through in the ’90s,” he said. “There were challenging times, but I had a great team around me.”
Never one to take himself too seriously, Doohan also managed a little humour as he accepted the honour.
“I’ve always wanted a medal,” he joked, before adding that he felt “humbled, privileged and thankful” to be inducted.
And with Phillip Island hosting its final Australian GP before the event moves to Adelaide in 2027, the timing couldn’t have been better.
Not bad for a bloke who started out racing dirtbikes with his family, just for fun.
