Giacomo Agostini 1967 he battled Hailwood in one of the most dramatic seasons in Grand Prix history. Each rider had 5 victories before the championship was decided in Agostini's favor at the last race of the season. Agostini dropped a bombshell on the Grand Prix world when he announced he would never again race at the Isle of Man TT, after the death of his close friend, Gilberto Parlotti during the 1972 TT. He considered the 37 mile circuit unsafe for world championship competition. At the time, the TT was the most prestigious race on the motorcycling calendar. Other top riders joined
Flying Finn After Rosberg, many Finnish Formula 1 drivers have also been called the "Flying Finn", including Mika Häkkinen, who won the drivers' championship in 1998 and 1999, Mika Salo, Kimi Räikkönen, who was drivers' champion in 2007, Heikki Kovalainen, and Valtteri Bottas. On two wheels, the most famous Flying Finn was Jarno Saarinen, also known as "The Baron", who won the 250cc road racing World Championship as privateer in 1972, and finished a close second to Giacomo Agostini in the 350cc class. Saarinen died the following year, while leading both the 250cc and 500cc championships and after competing for only three