History shows that Ron Haslam ‘only’ won one TT and competed there between 1978 and 1982, but he could have raced there more and won more… Bertie Simmonds reports.
His first outing in 1978 saw a best placing of fourth in the Formula 2 race and he scored podiums in 1979 in the Formula 1 TT (third), the 1980 Classic TT (third), the Formula 3 TT (third again), and in 1981 he was garlanded as winner of the Formula 1 race, only for the organisers to give the win to Kiwi Graeme Crosby. History shows he finished in second place. He came back in 1982 to take a fine Formula 1 victory in 1982 – but why stop?
Ron was on his way in Grand Prix racing and was at the top of his game on the roads, but his contract was with HRC (Honda Racing Corporation) and not Honda Britain. Ron says: “I still wanted to race at the TT and HRC were happy to build me a bike. I contacted the organisers and said that all I wanted was my flights and expenses paid. Whoever I got on the phone asked me where I finished the previous year and I told him I didn’t finish my last race as I retired in the Classic. The expenses at that time were based on where you finished the previous year, so he said they wouldn’t pay my expenses.”
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The fallout and rigmarole continued, with the organisers suddenly realising that one of their headline acts was not contractually obliged to attend. Ron recalls: “Some promotional material for that year’s TT featured me on coins, stamps, advertising, etc. Then, two weeks before the TT the organisers called me and offered to pay costs, but it was too late to build a bike. They phoned back, offering me £30,000 and expenses to race! I told them: ‘I don’t care if you offer me £100,000 – I don’t have a bike!’”
And with that, Ron’s Grand Prix career took off and his TT career ended! You’ll find the stories behind Ron and Honda’s 1981 TT protest and more on why he never raced on the Island in Island Racer 2026… cmm
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