Lifetime achievement

This Award is named in permanent memory of the late Dave Taylor, a tireless campaigner for motorcycling and bike safety. Previous winners include legends such as John Surtees, Evel Kneivel and Willie G Davidson.

To win you have to be unique kind of person: a motorcyclist who has touched the lives of millions of motorcyclists over the decades.

And this year’s recipient is no exception. If any of you have ever been stopped for speeding on a bike the policeman probably asked you if you thought you were him.

Almost two decades have passed since this double world champion quit racing, yet he’s as popular as ever, both with the fans…and it has to be said the tabloids.

Because let’s face it, his middle name is controversial, and he has never exactly been shy about it.

But despite all that, he’s still loved by fans. At this year’s Day of Champions at Donington Park I watched with amusement as he became trapped in the paddock, fans 20 deep around him trying to get an autograph, while behind them modern day GP stars walked past wondering why they were being ignored.

He is, quite simply, still the most popular motorcyclist in Britain: Barry Sheene