© Mortons Archive Barry Sheene, 1983 Silverstone Grand Prix.
For the next World Championship round at Monza, Barry was drafted into the HB-sponsored factory team alongside regulars Franco Uncini and Randy Mamola, but had to use the Mamola-engined hybrid rather than an aluminium-framed full works machine; the latter was considerably lighter than Barry’s Mark 8 but in fact was only slightly more powerful. He finished 9th. Barry hoped to use the 1982 works bike at the next World Championship round at Hockenheim, only to have it withdrawn following an intervention from Suzuki in Japan. Following a DNF in Germany, Barry refused to race the un-competitive customer bike at the next round in Spain, a protest that succeeded in getting him permission to race the 1982 factory bike at the Salzburgring. In the event, he preferred his regular RGB but could only finish 13th on the ultra-fast Austrian track.
Another 13th place in Yugoslavia was followed by a crash and a DNF in Holland, while Barry was absent from the Belgian round with flu. The next round of the World Championship was at Silverstone, where Barry hoped to have use of the absent Franco Uncini’s works bikes, the Italian rider having been seriously injured at Assen. He made no effort to hide his disappointment when Suzuki chose to give them to the Dutch rider Boet van Dulmen instead. The Silverstone meeting was a disaster, claiming the lives of Norman Brown and Peter Huber; in the stopped-andrestarted two-leg race Barry finished 9th, a fraction of a second behind van Dulmen, and was mobbed by adoring fans at the finish. His season concluded disappointingly with two consecutive DNFs at Sweden and Monza, which left him in 14th place in the World Championship, his worst result since 1980. Barry stayed with Suzuki machinery for 1984, using an ex-Mamola XR45 engine, albeit in a Harris Performance Products chassis, and ended his Grand Prix career at the end of the season in 6th place in the World Championship. Heron-Suzuki retained this RGB500 for 1984, assigning it to their contracted rider, Mick Grant. Highlights of Mick’s year aboard ‘10127’ included 2nd place in the North West 200, 3rd in the Isle of Man Classic TT, and 1st in the Macau Grand Prix.
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