Dave Taylor Lifetime Achievement Award

Winner: Tadao Baba

Tadao Baba will go down in biking history as the father of the modern big-bore sports bike.

The recently-retired Honda engineer was the creative force behind not only the original, mould-breaking Honda FireBlade, but also behind every succeeding model until this year.

He was the visionary who saw the worth of a small, nimble bike with a big four-cylinder engine. Until 1992 you could have either a bike that handled, or a bike with big power. The FireBlade changed all that.

Our award goes to honour those whose life’s work has had the biggest positive effect on motorcycling. The award is named in honour of the late Dave Taylor, who devoted his life to advancing motorcycle safety.

MCN Editor Marc Potter said: ” Baba has played a major role in sports bike evolution, without him we wouldn’t have the GSX-R1000, R1 or ZX-10R. ”

Baba said: ” I’m extremely honoured and happy to receive this award. ”