Dennis Hobbs

Dennis Hobbs - Photo by Geof Symons

Since Dennis Hobbs won his first race on his road racing debut at Croft circuit in 1999 it was evident that the former fourteen times schoolboy Moto Cross champion was a force to be reckoned with. And winning the Honda Hornet cup series the following year was just the start of his many achievements.

At Croft circuit in 2001 he won the magnificent Ken Redfern trophy, a feat he emulated the following three seasons, becoming the only rider in history to win four times in succession and he also broke his own existing outright lap record for two wheels at the circuit (1m 25.08s and 99.00mph).

Hobbs from nearby Guisborough showed his full potential in 2003 when he came within a whisker of winning the British Superbike Privateers Cup, where he had nine class wins and four second place finishes to his credit. The following season he was dicing for the same championship and things were looking good until that dreadful day at Croft circuit when he took a high speed spill during a test day for the first BSB meeting at the scenic North Yorkshire venue. Initial X-rays did not show the extent of his injuries and days later the brave and determined 22 year-old finished twice on the podium in front of his home crowd. A couple of weeks later, suffering from decreased upper body strength, he dropped the Hobbs racing Suzuki 1000 at Cadwell Park and an emergency MRI scan revealed that two of his neck vertebrae were dislocated and within two millimetres of causing permanent paralysis.

During a long operation, one of Den’s vertebrae was removed and a made to measure titanium one implanted – two days later he was on his feet and home within a week!

We thought it might end his career but he was out riding the following season and soon back to his winning ways, finishing fifth overall in the British SuperSport championship in 2006 and third overall in the same championship in 2007.

Sadly a couple of freak accidents saw him sidelined for much of 2008 and 2009 but he is back in 2010 competing in the British Superstock 1000 series and recently made his car racing debut driving a mini-cooper at Knockhill circuit, close to where he now lives with his wife Gemma and baby daughter Daisy.