Mackenzie and Hizzy’s ’98 battle
Niall Mackenzie recalls the epic battle he had with teammate Steve Hislop in one of the most incredible BSB seasons of all time
The 1998 British Superbike season is remembered as one of the most brutallyfought title challenges ever. Regularly exploading into to fireworks on track, the battle between the two Cadbury’s Boost Yamaha YZF750R teammates turned out to be an epic one…
In one corner was Niall Mackenzie, who had taken two consecutive titles and seen off previous teammates James Whitham and Chris Walker. In the other corner was fellow-Scot Steve Hislop, a mercurial talent who on his day was a match for the world’s very best.
At the season’s opening race it became obvious that the two riders were more than equal in terms of ability and drive and it didn’t take long for the drama to unfold. A strong overtake started the needle, a bit of argy-bargy helped it grow before it escalated as the pair clashed physically on track.
A fuming team manager and an atmosphere in the garage you could cut with a knife (not that any sharp objects were allowed near the riders…) – it had it all. Mackenzie emerged victorious but it was far from a bump-free ride.
What was it like doing battle with Hizzy? Mackenzie reveals all:
“As soon as Hizzy joined the Yamaha Boost team the atmosphere was different. I wanted to be his friend as I’d always got on well with my teammates, socialising with them outside of racing, but I never gelled with him despite knowing him pretty much from when I started racing in the 1980s.
“I had just assumed that he didn’t like me but there was more to it than that, Steve was a complex character and it was only after his death when I read his autobiography that I began to understand him better.
“So in 1998 it was strained from day one in the garage.
“Many people didn’t see Steve as a title challenger but I knew how good he was as he had been on pretty average bikes and still got decent results. That said, I was confident as I knew the Yamaha and had already taken two titles against two very strong teammates, so while I thought he was a threat, I didn’t think he was a serious one. “What I didn’t expect was how driven to win Steve was or how hard he would fight.
“As I was the number one rider I was being paid well but Steve was riding for free, relying on personal sponsorship for his income. I’m sure this fired him up even more, it would certainly have driven me to beat the ‘golden boy’ to prove a point. “After finishing the season’s opening race at Brands in sixth I looked behind on the slowing down lap and saw Steve. I thought ‘yeah, that’s about right’ but after I won the second race he was there again, right behind me. At that moment I realised he would be more competitive than I expected… “The next round was Oulton and that’s when it all started to kickoff. I led the race, only for Steve to scuttle up my inside going into the last corner and steal the win. I was fuming, not with Steve, with myself. When I watched it afterwards on TV the pass was fine, which was a bit embarrassing, but in the moment I exaggerated how iffy it was as I was so mad with myself and even said ‘now we know what the rules are – there are no rules!’ to the press. After that I was so fired up, what happened next at Thruxton was inevitable.
“In the second race the red mist descended and I stuck it up the inside of Steve to win, rubbing a bit of paint off his bike. It was a strong pass but I wanted to stamp my authority and Rob McElnea, the team boss, didn’t mind as we were finishing one-two and putting on a good show for TV and therefore our sponsors. That soon changed… “The one thing you don’t do is compromise a win but I turned a one-two into a three-four in the second race at Snetterton when I made a lunge going into the last corner, running us both wide. It was a red mist situation, but Steve was a hard rider to pass as he wouldn’t lift, he’d lean on you and rather risk running wide or crashing than give up a place. That said, I certainly gave as good as I got. After the race Rob refused to talk to me for a week and when he did he said ‘don’t do that again!’ but we still had some very close races, especially after the press started to stir up the rivalry. “I remember a picture in MCN of Hizzy, who rode with number 11, covering up a one when he was leading the championship. I cut it out and stuck it on my spin-trainer for motivation! But while I rode better when I was fired up, Steve could be fragile.
“At Knockhill I remember seeing him before race one and asking how he was. He went off on one because his girlfriend had walked mud inside his motorhome and he had a poor result as his head was somewhere else. The next race I asked how he was and he just said ‘yep’ and he subsequently ran me to the wire. That was classic Steve and his only weakness, which I did try to exploit once for a laugh when I got the mechanics to swap the sides of our garage as he always liked the lefthand side…
“After Steve hurt himself at Cadwell and missed Silverstone his title challenge effectively ended and he rode shotgun for me at Brands to ensure I took the title, which I only found out about afterwards. That shows what a good guy he was as well as a fantastic rider who was beautiful to watch on a bike. On his day, Steve Hislop was one of the best riders in the world – not to mention a fierce teammate.”