Legenday racer, Paul Smart left us us in 2021 following a road traffic collision while riding his motorcycle. He was 78.
Paul is best known for winning the Imola 200 in 1972 riding Ducati’s new 750 racer. Ducati paid his airfare and £500 wages. Race winnings made him an additional £6,000.
A 750SS road bike and production race version followed, turning into the 1975 900SS which continued until the early 1980s
Smart started racing in the latter half of the 1960s, initially buying a Bultaco which proved expensive and unreliable, and later riding a variety of machinery in different classes on UK short-circuits.
At the Isle of Man TT Races Smart scored second place in 1967 on a 745cc Dunstall Dominator, and another second on a Norton Commando in 1969, both in the Production 750cc class.
In the Transatlantic Trophy Anglo-American Match Races in 1971, Smart rode a Triumph triple and was joint top scorer with Ray Pickrell in the winning UK team. In 1973 and 1974 he captained the UK winning team riding a works Suzuki 750 two-stroke triple.
12 - Paul Smart
In 1972, Smart began competing for the Hansen Kawasaki team in the AMA road racing events in the United States riding the newly introduced Kawasaki H2R. He won what was stated to be the richest prize in motorcycling history – over £12,000 – in the 1972 Champion Spark Plug Classic held at the Ontario Motor Speedway on a Seeley-framed Kawasaki H2R.
Smart joined the Suzuki factory racing team in 1973 and won the British round of the Formula 750 season at Silverstone riding a Suzuki TR750. He repeated his Silverstone victory the following year.
Paul finally hung up his leathers and retired from competition to concentrate on his motorcycle business, which he expanded into three separate shops at one stage. He sold the shops and the family caravan park business in Kent, later qualifying as an offshore sailing skipper, formalising his long-time hobby.
In 2006, Ducati produced a 1000cc limited-edition bike in recognition of the 1972 Imola win, designating it Paul Smart 1000LE.
