Michael
“Mick”
Doohan
was
born
in
Brisbane,
Australia
on
June
4,
1965.
 Doohan
 was
 interested
 in
 motorcycles
 at
 an
 early
 age,
 and
 he
 performed
 well
 in
 local
 races
 throughout
Australia.
 He
won
a
number
of
races
in
the
Australian
Superbike
category,
at
the
time
open
to
motorcycles
 up
 to
 750
 cc.
 In
 1989,
 when
 he
 was
 24,
 Doohan
 made
 the
 leap
 into
 Grand
 Prix
 motorcycle
 championship
racing.
 The
Japanese
company
Honda
recognized
his
talent
and
signed
him.
Doohan
entered
the
500
cc
 class,
then
the
top
MotoGP
category.
 In
 1989,
 Doohan
 finished
 among
 the
 top
 three
 for
 the
 first
 time
 at
 the
 German
 Grand
 Prix
 in
 Hockenheim.
He
wound
up
his
first
professional
season
9th
in
the
overall
standings.



The
 next
 season,
 Doohan
 showed
 more
 maturity
 and
 self‐confidence.
 He
 won
 the
 Hungarian
 Grand
 Prix
 and
 finished
 third
 in
 the
 world
 standings
 behind
 American
 superstars
 Wayne
 Rainey,
 who
won
the
title,
and
Kevin
Schwantz,
who
finished
second.
 In
 1991,
 Doohan
 won
 three
 races
 and
 finished
 the
 season
 just
 one
 point
 behind
 title‐winner
 Rainey.
 In
 1992,
 things
 seemed
 to
 be
 lining
 up
 for
 Doohan
 to
 win
 the
 world
 title
 as
 his
 Honda
 took
 the
 first
four
Grand
Prix
races.
 But
 on
 June
 27th,
 in
 a
 practice
 run
 for
 the
 Dutch
 Grand
 Prix,
 Doohan
 was
 seriously
 injured
 and
 risked
losing
his
right
leg
or
even
his
life.
He
was
forced
to
quit
the
season
and
take
a
break
from
 the
sport.
 Doohan
 underwent
 intense
 physical
 rehabilitation
 for
 six
 months,
 demonstrating
 great
 determination
and
psychological
resilience.
 To
everyone’s
surprise,
he
returned
to
racing
for
the
last
two
Grand
Prix
races
of
the
1993
season.
 
In
1994,
Doohan
won
his
first
500
cc
world
title,
finishing
143
points
clear
of
his
nearest
rival.
 He
won
the
500
cc
title
for
the
next
four
years,
dominating
his
competition
and
taking
Honda
to
 five
straight
world
championships.



The
 accident
 and
 his
 return
 to
 racing
 cemented
 Doohan’s
 status
 as
 a
 motorcycle
 legend.
 Permanent
 damage
 to
 his
 leg
 didn’t
 stop
 Doohan
 from
 dominating
 Grand
 Prix
 races
 start‐to‐ finish.
 At
the
start
of
the
1999
season,
he
looked
once
again
like
the
man
to
beat.
 But
a
new
injury
to
his
already‐weakened
right
leg
forced
Doohan
into
early
retirement.
 Michael
 Doohan
 quit
 racing
 after
 137
 Grand
 Prix
 races,
 racking
 up
 54
 victories
 and
 95
 top‐three
 finishes.