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View Full Version : "What a good do!" James Whitham



pritch
6th May 2010, 22:09
When I got back into motorcycling after a break of some years I read pretty much all the magazines available. Primarily to update my knowledge, but also to see which magazine I most liked to read.

BIKE eventually won the subscription, but along the way I read several issues of “Two Wheels Only” and encountered the work of Jamie Whitham, a then recently retired racer. Whitham's style indicated he was an amusing guy, so when I recently saw mention of his biography “What a Good Do!” I thought it would make a good read.

On the cover of the book he is a slightly more formal James Whitham but, while awaiting the arrival of the book, I had checked him on Google and as of 2009 he is even more formally Michael James Whitham with an honourary doctorate from his local university.

Assisted by Mac MacDiarmid, Whitham tells his story with the anticipated light touch. The book isn't one long laugh however, cancer is no joke. Whitham is a Hodgkin's survivor and although the disease and the consequent chemotherapy interrupted his racing career, he recovered to race Grand Prix motorcycles.

While the book covers his childhood it is, as expected, primarily about his racing career. Whitham won three British Championships before moving on to racing in World Supersport, Superbikes and GPs. Whitham's appraisal of his own abilities is frank and realistic. Too seldom did he have truly competitive machinery, but he doesn't complain, pointing out instead that he had heard others saying that if they had better machinery they could get better results. When they did get better machinery though the better results didn't always eventuate.

There isn't any question, Whitham was a real racer, he was very fast but probably crashed too often to reach the pinnacles of the sport. This is a guy who was giving Carl Fogarty as good as he got when Fogarty was at the height of his powers. A YouTube search for Jamie Whitham yields links to some race action, a selection of crashes, some T.W.O. clips, and some creative(?) material. Check out “Jamie Whitham R1 test ride”.

His appraisal of his opposition is interesting; he considered that the winners were doing the same things he was doing, but were more consistent. There were just two riders though that were using techniques beyond his comprehension: Giancarlo Falappa whose career was cut short by head injuries, and Valentino Rossi who Whitham rates a magician.

Whitham also played drums with the Po' Boys, a rock band that came to be associated with motorcycling events in Britain. The Po' Boys appear on the 2003 Isle of Man TT DVD, the same one which covers Shaun's two wins there.

These days Whitham flies his own aeroplane, manages an airfield, works as a TV commentator for Eurosport and the BBC, as well as road testing and writing for T.W.O. He is working quite hard at avoiding the need to get a “proper job”.

The book was an enlightening and entertaining read. Sorry, I can't lend you my copy. A colleague has a nineteen year old daughter who has recently been diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease and is about to commence chemotherapy. The girl's mum wants to borrow the book for her.

James Whitham “What a Good Do!” Haynes Publishing

Kiwi Graham
7th May 2010, 06:20
Yep the guy is a good sort alright.
Had the pleasure of his company a few times and always left with my sides aching.

The sort of guy that just shrugs his shoulders at crap thrown at him and gets on with it. He did go through a really tough time but his character was still there and the racing community was still in touch with him.
I remember early on in his condition 'on the grid' him having a we 'follow through' incident!
Secret weapon he says with a wink.....no one passed him in that race.

I wish we could get his commentary over here.

A top top bloke.

rachprice
4th May 2012, 23:30
Sounds good...now that i ahve finished my big exams I would be keen to read

On an aside, I think honorary doctorates are fucking bullshit

Batcerb
9th May 2012, 21:19
T.W.O used to be a fantastic magazine, his monthly contributions were a highlight of mine, still got them sitting in the garage.

Quick link to that testride vid :)

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nANRAeyu_sU