Iván Palazzese (2 January 1962 – 28 May 1989) was an Italian born

Venezuelan Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

professional motorcycle racer. He competed in the

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

road racing Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...

world championships from 1977 to 1989. In

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

, he became the youngest person at the time to stand on a Grand Prix podium, when he finished third behind Angel Nieto and

Anton Mang Anton "Toni" Mang (; born 29 September 1949 in Inning (Starnberg) at the Ammersee) is a former five-time world champion in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from Germany. Early life When he was 11 he had his first experience with motorcycles on th ...

at the 125cc

Venezuelan Grand Prix Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

at the age of 15. __TOC__

Motorcycle racing career

Palazzese was born in

Alba Adriatica Alba Adriatica is a town and ''comune'' with 12,386 residents (2014) in the province of Teramo in the Abruzzo region of central eastern Italy. It is known as one of the "seven sisters" of the northern Abruzzo coast, i.e. the seven coastal towns ...

in the Abruzzo region of central eastern Italy. His family emigrated to Venezuela when he was a child and he became a Venezuelan citizen. Palazzese began his racing career as a teenager, riding a Morbidelli 125 at the San Carlos Circuit. He returned to Europe to compete in the Grand Prix world championships as a member of the Venemotos Yamaha racing team alongside his teammates, Johnny Cecotto and

Carlos Lavado Carlos Alberto Lavado Jones (born May 25, 1956) is a Venezuelan former professional Grand Prix motorcycle racer. He competed in the FIM motorcycle Grand Prix world championships from 1978 to 1992. Lavado is notable for winning two 250cc road raci ...

. Palazzese had his best year in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

when he won two 125cc Grands Prix and finished the season in third place, behind Angel Nieto and Eugenio Lazzarini. At the

1983 Dutch TT The 1983 Dutch TT was the eighth round of the 1983 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 24–25 June 1983 at the TT Circuit Assen located in Assen, Netherlands. Classification 500 cc References {{MotoGP_race_r ...

, Lavado and Palazzese finished in first and second place marking the first time that Venezuelan riders had claimed the top two places in a world championship Grand Prix race. Palazzese was killed in a racing accident at the

1989 German Grand Prix The 1989 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Hockenheimring on 30 July 1989. The race was won by Ayrton Senna, ahead of Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell. Background Prior to the race meeting there had been a major shakeup o ...

at the

Hockenheimring The Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg () is a motor racing circuit situated in the Rhine valley near the town of Hockenheim in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located on the Bertha Benz Memorial Route. Amongst other motor racing events, it has hos ...

. He was closely following

Andreas Preining Andreas ( el, Ἀνδρέας) is a name usually given to males in Austria, Greece, Cyprus, Denmark, Armenia, Estonia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Finland, Flanders, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Romania, the Netherlands, and Indonesia. The name ...

when the latter's motorcycle engine seized and abruptly slowed, causing Palazzese to collide with Preining and subsequently crash. While Palazzese was picking himself up off the ground, he was struck by riders

Bruno Bonhuil Bruno may refer to: People and fictional characters *Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname * Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880) * Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne, ...

and Fabio Barchitta who both crashed. It was fellow rider Virginio Ferrari who stopped his bike and first came to Palazzese's aid, but Palazzese was already dead having sustained massive chest injuries. He was 27 years old. There is a monument erected in his honor in the Italian city of

, where Palazzese was born
Photo of the monument
.

Motorcycle Grand Prix results

Points system from 1968 to 1987 Points system from 1988 to 1992 (

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palazzese, Ivan 1962 births 1989 deaths Venezuelan motorcycle racers Venezuelan people of Italian descent 125cc World Championship riders 250cc World Championship riders Italian emigrants to Venezuela Motorcycle racers who died while racing Sportspeople from the Province of Teramo Sport deaths in Germany Filmed deaths in motorsport