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Peggy Hyde the
motorcycle racing legend
1944-1926
Australian woman road racer Peggy Hyde demonstrated
extraordinary talent right from the start
February 6, 2026
Legendary and pioneering road racer, 82-year-old Peggy Hyde passed away recently and Classic Two Wheels has revived a 1970 feature which provides a remarkable contemporary picture of her race efforts.
In part it says: "At
the three-mile Phillip Island GP circuit, Peggy
became the first woman in Australia (if not the
world) to win a high-speed race against male
competitors.
"In the six-lap Senior C-grade event, on her 500cc
three-cylinder Mach III Kawasaki (with the
headlamp removed to comply with regulations),
Peggy soundly trounced a field of 90 men, many on
pukka racers with streamlined fairings, to win
with 15 seconds in hand."
Motorcycling
Australia has a circa 2021 video interview with
Peggy. It's 33 minutes in length and worth sitting
down to enjoy with a glass of decent wine.
She made some great
observations, including that she wasn't
trying to prove anything by being a woman
in a sport that was often hostile to her
gender, other than basic justice. "I just
wanted to play in the sandpit with the
other kids," she said, "And there was no
good reason why I shouldn't."
***
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