John Williams (born 27 May 1946 – 12 August 1978) was an English motorcycle short-circuit road racer who also entered selected Grands Prix on the near-continent. He mostly raced as a 'privateer' having a personal sponsor, Gerald Brown. Williams died in Northern Ireland, following an accident when racing at an event held on closed public roads near Dundrod.

Williams began racing in 1966, and won the Stars of Tomorrow meeting at Brands Hatch in 1968 on a 250 cc Ducati. He turned professional in 1973, and won the 250, 350 and 500 cc classes at that year's Ulster Grand Prix, the first rider to win three Ulster GP races in a single day. In 1974 he repeated this trio of class victories at the North West 200. He also raced for Honda in endurance events such as the Bol d'Or.

His best season was in 1975 when he finished in fifth place in the 500 cc world championship on a Yamaha motorcycle. Williams won his only world championship race when he defeated Barry Sheene at the 1976 Belgian Grand Prix. He also looked set for victory in that years Senior TT, setting a new outright lap record for the course at 112.27 mph (181 km/h). Sadly, having led the race throughout, he ran out of petrol within sight of the chequered flag, pushing his bike across the line to finish seventh. Williams was named as Sports Personality of the Year for 1976 by the Liverpool Echo.

Williams turned down the offer of a place on the factory backed Texaco Heron Suzuki team in 1977, preferring to race as a privateer, although well-publicised differences between himself and Barry Sheene may have been a contributing factor.

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