AUGUST 23, 2002

F1 commentator Sheene has cancer

Barry Sheene has been commentating on motor racing for some years in Australia after emigrating from Britain when his competition career on two wheels and on four wheels ended in the late 1980s. Sheene, was the World 500cc motorcycle Champion in 1976 and 1977, riding for Suzuki and was a British national hero after coming back from serious leg injuries. Later he tried his hand as a racing driver in the British Touring Car Championship.

Sheene was diagnosed as having throat and stomach cancer in July but is still upbeat about his chances. Barry, a close friend of former F1 racer and current BMW Motorsport Director Gerhard Berger and a popular figure in the F1 paddock, has been living in Australia because of problems he was having with arthritis from old injuries when he was living in cooler, damper Britain.