Legendary driver: Hugh Anderson

Quadruple world champion at 50 and 125

Lightning international career, longevity record on home soil

Hugh Robertson AndersonMore commonly known as Hugh Anderson, he is a motorcycle speed racer who made motorsport history in New Zealand.

Born in 1936 in Huntley, in the north of the country, Hugh Anderson first played rugby for the local club before turning to motorcycling. He was particularly rubbing shoulders with Ginger Molloy who followed the same path as him (on two wheels). Around his twenties, he achieved his first competition successes on New Zealand tracks on the BSA 500.

Like many other pilots, he took the direction of Europe in order to storm the Grand Prix and competed in his first races on the Old Continent in 1960. Then he showed himself riding an AJS 350 and a Norton 500, and managed to grab third place at the Ulster Grand Prix. He also competed in 250 races the following season on a Suzuki, and could not collect any points beyond what he did in Northern Ireland.

A rider for Suzuki, the Anderson was launched in 1962 in the smaller 50 cc and 125 cc classes. At the wheel of small Japanese sports cars, he quickly distinguished himself by signing a podium finish in Germany and then a victory in Argentina. seventh in the 1950s championship, and then focused solely on those two classes of motorcycles.

The choice paid off for the New Zealander who put in a string of performances in both categories. With two wins and five podiums, he secured the 50 World Champion title. Results were even better in the 125 with six wins and a podium in 10 races, with the World Champion title and especially the double 50/125.

Anderson hadn’t finished with world titles since he repeated his performance the following year, still with Suzuki, in 125, but he had to finish 3rd in the 125. In 1965, it was the other way around, taking world titles in the 125 and 3rd place. at 50.

In 1966 Luigi Taveri and Honda complicated things in racing the 125, while his teammate Hans-Georg Anscheidt and Ralf Bryans in the 50s held him back. Finishing fourth and fifth in the championship, Hugh Anderson decided to leave the world of circuit racing. Barely in six partially contested seasons, he achieved no less than 4 world titles and 25 Grand Prix victories for a total of 48 podiums. Among his successes, he has two victories in the Tourist Cup.

However, he doesn’t draw a line under the bike, far from it. From 1962, Suzuki asked him to take part in the development of off-road motorcycles and had him deliver 250 Twins to New Zealand for use over the winter break. He resumed this role privately from 1967, after he retired from Grand Prix racing and also began racing motocross and in various off-road categories. In doing so he would win no fewer than 19 New Zealand national titles until 1973 and the end of his racing career at the age of 37.

He continued to be a two-wheeler, staging the first-ever classic two years later, and then establishing the New Zealand Speedway Classic record in 1979. In the mid-1980s he returned to Europe when classic racing was beginning to gain popularity. Then he continues to ride old tires for many years, and he’s still riding his tires that are over 70 years old. It is finally a car crash during practice and a triple fracture to the ribs that will bring him to a final stop.

Hugh Anderson has also been crowned with many honorary titles. In 1994, Queen Elizabeth II appointed him a Member of the Order of the British Empire, and he was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame the following year. In 2022, it is officially named MotoGP Legend.

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