Another story of motorcycle racers and planes is that of 1936 World Speedway Champion, Lionel Van Praag, who had a passion for flying right up to his older years. Flew Mustangs for the Americans, was shot down in the Sumba Straights during WW2 by a Zero whilst in a DC2 (I could be wrong with these names) and was awarded the George Medal for bravery after saving his pilot and crew. After he retired from racing he crashed his crop duster on telegraph wires and survived okay. Bike lovers and plane lovers seem to go hand in hand quite often.