Mick Doohan announced his retirement from motorcycle racing earlier this week. Doohan
explained that his injuries suffered in a crash during the 1999 season had not fully healed, and
included permanent nerve damage to his left arm. The five-time 500 GP champion won more 500
GP races than any other rider in history with the exception of Giacomo Agostini. Doohan would
have surely won a sixth championship in 1992 had he not suffered a serious leg injury near
the end of the season (while holding a huge points lead).
Some people forget that Doohan raced and frequently beat all-time 500 GP greats Wayne Rainey
and Kevin Schwantz earlier in his career (including 1992). The frequent rap that Doohan
flourished because of a lack of serious competition is superficial and, simply, not true. Doohan is
probably the greatest motorcycle roadracer we have yet seen.
