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Bob
MacLean's lifetime love affair with two wheels began as a young man in search of
motorsport thrills on a limited budget. It
is a familiar story with speed enthusiasts everywhere and one that ultimately
has led to MacLean becoming a key player in the 21st century era of
commercialised motorcycle grand prix racing. "When I
was young motorcycle racing was a way of going fast for not a lot of money
compared to car racing," MacLean
said. As
MacLean's interest in bike racing became more serious he spent much of the
1960's as an enthusiastic competitor in both 250 and 500cc racing aboard various
machines including a Manx Norton and Ducati 250. As
a young man MacLean's off-track career started with a
successful stint as a television sales executive with the NBC Network in
New York before he moved into the venture capital business. A wide range of
projects has included real estate developments and medical technology
investments. MacLean's
unique combination of racing and business acumen formed
the basis for his move into team ownership. In the 1980's this was based
on a privateer 250 squad with American rider Richard Schlachter which was
followed by the formation of World Championship Motorsports (WCM) in the early
1990's. "In 1992
when Bernie Ecclestone got involved in motorcycle grand prix racing I could see
there was an opportunity for a team to be run as a business and this was helped
by the availability of customer factory-based bikes like the ROC Yamaha,"
MacLean said. With
Peter Clifford joining MacLean in a Team Management role the WCM operation, with
major sponsor Red Bull this team evolved into a primary force in Motorcycle
World Championship. A
close connection with the Yamaha factory and GP victories by Simon Crafar, Regis
Laconi and Garry McCoy were all part of the platform to enable
WCM to take up one of only five private team places available under the
new commercial arrangements from 2002 onwards. "The
franchise team arrangements take motorcycle grand prix racing into a new era by
giving the teams some equity in the world championship, something of value and
it's a logical step forward for WCM,"
said MacLean after signing a five year contract with grand prix commercial
rights holder Dorna Sports. Not
surprisingly Bob is a keen collector of historic race bikes and his private
garage houses some fine machinery including a Manx Norton, Matchless G50,
Kawasaki KR500 and the Mondial 250 raced by Mike Hailwood. Of
special interest is the 1993 ROC Yamaha with which WCM scored their first 500 GP
podium at Donington Park. Bob's
current personal two wheel transport is a Yamaha TTR 250 which he enjoys riding
when he is at home in the USA.
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