Sheene facing toughest fight

Sheene celebrates a win at his peak

By Tom Fordyce BBC Sport Online

The news that Barry Sheene has been diagnosed with cancer will sadden a whole generation of sports fans.

Sheene was the quintessential 1970s British sporting hero - long hair, sideburns, fond of the good life but successful with it.

At his peak he passed the old test of a true national icon in that people who had no interest in motorbikes still knew who he was.

Sheene is a popular figure in Australia

Sheene's epic battles with his American rival Kenny Roberts, set against the background of a playboy lifestyle, drew a huge new audience to his sport.

It wasn't just the back-to-back World 500cc Grand Prix titles won in 1976 and 1977 that made him a star, but the series of crashes which left him a real-life bionic man.

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

It was pain caused by arthritis brought about by broken bones - and exacerbated by Britain's cold climate - that forced him to move to Australia 15 years ago.

Now 51 years old, Sheene is happily settled on Queensland's Gold Coast with his wife Stephanie and two children Freddie and Sidonie.

He was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus and stomach on 22 July, just eight days after competing in a legends race during the British Grand Prix at Donington Park.

Send your messages to Barry Sheene

Sheene visited a doctor after complaining of a sore throat and trouble with swallowing.

"I will do everything within my power to beat this thing," he said on Thursday.

"Although this is a complete pain in the arse, it happens to a lot of people and a lot of people get over it."

Born in London in 1950, Sheene had his first taste of motorsport at the age of five, when his father Frank built him his first bike.

He made his professional debut at the age of 18, riding a 125cc Bultaco, and by the age of twenty had won his first major honour, the 1970 British 750cc title.

Sheene in action on the track

The European 750cc title followed in 1973, with the first of his two 500cc world championships for Suzuki coming three years later.

Between 1975 and 1982 Sheene, won more international 500cc and 750cc Grand Prix titles than any other rider, and he was awarded the MBE in 1978.

He won two Seagrove Memorial trophies, given for 'the most outstanding performance on land, sea or in the air' in any particular year, and in October last year he was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in a ceremony at Philip Island.

Sheene has always been more than just a supreme bike rider.

He appeared in the opera Tosca at Covent Garden alongside Maria Callas and Tito Gobbi for three seasons at Covent Garden, and has been a successful television presenter both in Britain and Australia.

He continues to commentate on motorsport for the Network Ten station.