Sheene rides to rescue

Sheene made a rare return to the saddle on Sunday

Tiger Tim may have been tamed, the Lions mauled and the cricketers caned - but at least Britain can still count on Barry Sheene.

The 50-year-old motorcycle legend made a rare return to the track at Donington Park on Sunday to delight his fans and bring some relief in a miserable weekend for British sport.

Many of the bumper 40,000-plus crowd stayed on after seeing Italy's Valentino Rossi win the main event, the 500cc race.

They were not disappointed as Sheene triumphed in the Jester International Classic race on a Molnar FWD Manx.

"I had a ball out there," said Sheene, the last Briton to win the coveted 500cc title when he completed back-to-back championship successes in 1977.

"It was great fun racing out there again and I could not believe the size of the crowd that stayed behind to watch the race.

"I was one of the people who pushed to get the British Grand Prix at Donington, but I never raced in it so it was good to be here this weekend.

It was great fun racing out there again - I had a ball and enjoyed every minute

  Barry Sheene

"I have been a bit sick all weekend with a sinus problem, but half-an-hour before the race I started to feel really good."

Sheene was famous for the battering his body took during his career.

At one stage he had metal plates in both knees, 28 screws in his legs and a bolt in his left wrist.

"I am not interested in racing these modern bikes, but I love getting on the older ones," he said.

"I enjoyed every minute of that.

"The bike kept on missing gears, though that was probably down to me, and it did it again a couple of laps before the end but I managed to hang on to win."

Sheene - who now lives in Australia - won the 10-lap race by just under 0.5 seconds from Dutch rider Adrie De Ridder with another Briton, Glen English, third.