Steve Hislop

Having lost his brother and many friends in motorcycle accidents, Hislop made a point of never going to the funerals of fellow racers, saying: "Some people might find that a bit callous. I only ever attend family ones and people find it a bit strange that I won’t go to a friend’s funeral, but it’s just my little way of shutting off."

Hislop died when piloting his Robinson R44 helicopter in July 2003. He was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in March 2010.

The 1992 Senior TT was an absolute classic. It is often described as one of the best races in TT history.

Hislop and Fogarty went on to become two of Britain's most successful motorcycle racers, winning many races and championships [Hislop mainly domestically and Fogarty internationally]. It was the 1992 Senior TT that saw them battle together for the last time.

After their successful 1991 TT on all conquering Honda RVF machines, Hislop and Carl Fogarty had not planned to return in 1992. However, they both lined up on the Glencrutchery Road that year on unfancied machinery: Hislop was on Ron Haslam's Norton with Fogarty on the Loctite Yamaha. The Norton 588 had been developed on a shoe string budget when compared with the Japanese competition. John Player [the main Norton sponsor] had no intention of backing Steve's TT campaign but after scratching around for some support and with minimal testing time, the team headed for the Isle of Man.

Hislop recovered and began his Isle of Man road racing career in 1983 by finishing second in the newcomers' race at the Manx Grand Prix, the year after Garry won it. On short circuits, his first championship success came when he won the 250cc British Championship in 1990. Superbike victory followed with the British Superbike Championship in 1995. Some attributed his success to James Whitham leaving the series mid-season to deal with cancer [Whitham was behind in the championship prior to his illness]. Although he did not take a BSB victory in 1996 or 1997, Hislop was hired by Rob McElnea's dominant Cadbury's Boost Yamaha team for 1998 [to the surprise of commentators and journalists, most notably BBC pundit Barry Nutley]. The nature of the fight for the championship between Hislop & team mate Mackenzie was illustrated by a near-collision on the last lap at Snetterton which cost the team a 1–2 finish. Hislop generally matched his countryman before an injurious crash took him out of title contention. His last championship success came in 2002 when he won the British Superbike Championship riding a Ducati. A notable feature of his season resulted from Hislop lapping Donington Park circuit more quickly on a superbike than the fastest Moto GP machine: Hislop's modified production Ducati was heavier and less powerful than the bespoke Grand Prix bikes.

Hislop was born into a close, Scottish Borders family. He grew up in the village of Chesters near the town of Hawick with his father Sandy, mother Margaret and younger brother Garry [his best friend]. Sandy encouraged his boys to be enthusiastic about competitive motorcycling and take up racing. However, when Garry was killed in a racing accident at Silloth circuit in 1982 aged 19, Steve's enthusiasm waned and he slumped into an alcohol fuelled depression [the death of his father three years earlier from a heart attack may also have contributed].

Robert Steven 'Hizzy' Hislop (11 January 1962 – 30 July 2003) was a Scottish motorcycle racer. Hislop won at the Isle of Man TT eleven times, won the British 250cc Championship (1990) and British Superbike championship (1995 and 2002).