Kork Ballington

Kork Ballington
Kork Ballington
Nationality	South African
Motorcycle racing career statistics
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Active years	1976 - 1982
First race	1976 350cc Nations Grand Prix
Last race	1982 500cc San Marino Grand Prix
First win	1976 350cc Spanish Grand Prix
Last win	1980 250cc West German Grand Prix
Team(s)	Kawasaki
Championships	250cc - 1978, 1979 350cc - 1978, 1979

Hugh Neville "Kork" Ballington (born April 10, 1951) is a South African four-time Grand Prix motorcycle road racing world champion.[1]

Motorcycle racing career

Born in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia, Ballington used his domestic production racing experience as a springboard to gain entry into the British racing scene.[2] He raced an over-the-counter Yamaha twin for several years before taking a well-earned place on the Kawasaki factory racing team riding Kawasaki KR250 and KR350s alongside Mick Grant and Barry Ditchburn.[2] In the 250 and 350 classes, Ballington swept away the competition on his Kawasakis in 1978 and 1979, capturing consecutive double world championships.[1]

In 1980, he campaigned Kawasaki's new KR500 but developing a new bike proved to be difficult in the premier class. After three years in the 500cc class, he couldn't repeat the success he enjoyed in the smaller classes and retired from competition. Ballington now lives with his family in Brisbane, Australia.

In 2018, MotoGP announced he would be inducted into the MotoGP Legends Hall of Fame.[3]

Motorcycle Grand Prix results [1]

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Points	15	12	10	8	6	5	4	3	2	1

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Class	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Points	Rank	Wins
1976	250cc	Yamaha	FRA -	NAT Ret	YUG -	IOM -	NED -	BEL -	SWE -	FIN -	CZE -	GER 2	ESP 8			15	13th	0
1976	350cc	Yamaha	FRA -	NAT 6	YUG -	IOM -	NED -	BEL -	SWE -	FIN -	CZE -	GER 12	ESP 1			20	12th	1
1977	250cc	Yamaha	VEN 5		GER 6	NAT -	ESP 11	FRA -	YUG -	NED -	BEL 6	SWE -	FIN 3	CZE 4	GBR 1	49	6th	1
1977	350cc	Yamaha	VEN -	AUT -	GER -	NAT -	ESP -	FRA -		NED 1		SWE 2	FIN 13	CZE 7	GBR 1	46	5th	2
1978	250cc	Kawasaki	VEN 5	ESP 4		FRA 3	NAT 1	NED 2	BEL 5	SWE 2	FIN 1	GBR -	GER 1	CZE 1	YUG 3	124	1st	4
1978	350cc	Kawasaki	VEN 4		AUT 1	FRA 2	NAT 1	NED 1		SWE 2	FIN 1	GBR 1	GER 2	CZE 1	YUG -	134	1st	6
1979	250cc	Kawasaki	VEN 2		GER 1	NAT 1	ESP 1	YUG 4	NED 3	BEL DNS	SWE 5	FIN 1	GBR 1	CZE 1	FRA 1	141	1st	7
1979	350cc	Kawasaki	VEN 4	AUT 1	GER 4	NAT -	ESP 1	YUG 1	NED -			FIN 9	GBR 1	CZE 1	FRA 5	99	1st	5
1980	250cc	Kawasaki	NAT -	ESP 1	FRA 1	YUG -	NED -	BEL -	FIN 1	GBR 1	CZE 2	GER 1				87	2nd	5
1980	500cc	Kawasaki	NAT NC	ESP 13	FRA 8		NED -	BEL -	FIN 5	GBR 7		GER 6				13	12th	0
1981	500cc	Kawasaki	AUT 6	GER NC	NAT -	FRA 7	YUG -	NED 3	BEL -	RSM 5	GBR NC	FIN 3	SWE 4			43	8th	0
1982	500cc	Kawasaki	ARG 8	AUT NC	FRA -	ESP 9	NAT 6	NED 7	BEL 8	YUG 10	GBR 7	SWE 6	RSM 7	GER -		31	9th	0

Preceded by Mario Lega	250cc Motorcycle World Champion 1978-1979	Succeeded by Anton Mang

References

"Rider Statistics - Kork Ballington". MotoGP.com. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
Noyes, Dennis; Scott, Michael (1999), Motocourse: 50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix, Hazleton Publishing Ltd, ISBN 1-874557-83-7
Kiko, Giles (20 February 2018). "Four-time champion Ballington to become MotoGP Legend". Motorsport Radio. Retrieved 20 February 2018.

[1]

Ballington, Kork. "Kork Ballington". Roy Hesketh Circuit Heritage. Nigel Owen.

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[MotoGP.com_May_30-1] "Rider Statistics - Kork Ballington". MotoGP.com. Retrieved 30 May 2009.

[Motocourse:_50_Years_Of_Moto_Grand_Prix-2] Noyes, Dennis; Scott, Michael (1999), Motocourse: 50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix, Hazleton Publishing Ltd, ISBN 1-874557-83-7

[3] Kiko, Giles (20 February 2018). "Four-time champion Ballington to become MotoGP Legend". Motorsport Radio. Retrieved 20 February 2018.

[4] Ballington, Kork. "Kork Ballington". Roy Hesketh Circuit Heritage. Nigel Owen.