Former MotoGP team boss Paul Bird has died following a short illness, the Englishman passing away at only 56 years old.
The Cumbrian chicken farmer has been a hugely significant force in British racing for the past 25 years, with many of the country’s top stars racing for him at some point in the past quarter decade in MotoGP, World and British Superbikes, and at the Isle of Man TT.
A former world championship motocross racer in his youth, Paul started sponsoring local racers in the 1990s, with his first success coming with future TT legend John McGuinness when the pair lifted the 1999 250cc British title together, setting up a partnership that would continue on and off for the next 20 years.
Bird’s team tasted success at the North West 200, Macau Grand Prix, and Daytona 200, and in road racing with the most successful TT racer ever – Joey Dunlop, who won his last-ever Superbike TT for Bird in 2000.
Since Bird expanded into British Superbikes that same year, the list of racers who have competed and won with Paul Bird Motorsport is a veritable who’s who of British motorcycle talent.
Names like James Toseland, Sean Emmett, Michael Laverty, Jeremy McWilliams and Michael Rutter have all raced for Bird, with eight BSB titles coming for the team thanks to Shane Byrne, Scott Redding, Josh Brookes, and the legendary Steve Hislop.
His most recent BSB success came only last weekend, where his current racers Tommy Bridewell and Glenn Irwin dominated the Cadwell Park round of the championship to ensure that they currently sit first and second in the standings.
Bird also competed in World Superbikes, fielding Kawasaki’s official factory effort when the firm first re-entered the series in modern times, taking wins in the class with Tom Sykes.
A semi-regular grand prix wildcard team in the two-stroke era of the sport, Bird took on MotoGP proper in 2012 with a CRT-spec Aprilia project. PBM lined up initially with James Ellison and then expanded to a two-bike effort with Laverty, Broc Parkes, Damian Cudlin and Yonny Hernandez in 2013 and 2014.
PBM’s early results did much of the early groundwork for an Aprilia project that eventually became a full factory programme and even a title contender last year. News of his death came shortly after Aprilia duo Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales ended the first day of practice for the Catalan Grand Prix first and second.
Beyond his success, there’s no questioning that Paul was, for the most part, something of a polarising character.
Loud and often outspoken both in victory and defeat, he was no stranger to controversy, either, with his own successful national rallying career ended by multiple bans for recreational drug use in 2015 and 2019.
However, on a personal level, there was none of the bluster that many expected from him from his TV appearances. Despite being a somewhat dominating presence at times, he was a gregarious and generous character to his friends – something evidenced in both the number of his ex-riders he counted among his close friends and the outpouring of grief in multiple race paddocks upon the news of his death.
He leaves behind a legacy the likes of which few in the sport can boast, and his death is a significant blow for motorcycle racing. The Race joins the wider racing fraternity at this tragic time in wishing our deepest condolences to Paul’s family, friends and team.
