Libero Liberati (20 September 1926 – 5 March 1962) was an Italian

motorcycle racer Motorcycle racing (also called moto racing and motorbike racing) is the motorcycle sport of racing motorcycles. Major varieties include motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Ot ...

and the

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

500cc Grand Prix

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

.Libero Liberati career statistics at MotoGP.com
/ref> Liberati was born in

Terni Terni ( , ; lat, Interamna (Nahars)) is a city in the southern portion of the region of Umbria in central Italy. It is near the border with Lazio. The city is the capital of the province of Terni, located in the plain of the Nera river. It is ...

. He became famous in his country, winning the Italian championship in 1948. Two years later

Moto Guzzi Moto Guzzi is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer and the oldest European manufacturer in continuous motorcycle production. Established in 1921 in Mandello del Lario, Italy, the company is noted for its historic role in Italy's motorcycling ma ...

called him to race in the 500cc World Championship, where he took part in a single race. The same happened the following year with

Gilera Gilera is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded in Arcore in 1909 by Giuseppe Gilera (1887–1971). In 1969, the company was purchased by Piaggio. History In 1935, Gilera acquired rights to the Rondine four-cylinder engine. It was, at ...

. Liberati scored his first points in the World Championship in 1953, and his first race victory came in 1956 in the 350cc class. In

, Liberati won the 500cc World Championship, scoring a total of four victories. He also won a race in the 350cc class. However, at the end of the season, a dispute with the Gilera factory left him without a ride. Two years later

Moto Morini Moto Morini is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded by Alfonso Morini in Bologna, in 1937. Earlier, Morini had also manufactured motorcycles together with Mario Mazzetti under the name MM. Moto Morini came under Cagiva control in 1987, t ...

gave him the opportunity to race again, this time in the 250cc class. On 5 March 1962, Liberati died from an accident, after he slipped on the wet road, violently hitting his head, during a training session on the .

Motorcycle Grand Prix results

(

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 ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

Italian motorcycle racers 500cc World Championship riders 350cc World Championship riders 250cc World Championship riders People from Terni Road incident deaths in Italy 1926 births 1962 deaths Sportspeople from the Province of Terni {{Italy-motorcycle-racing-bio-stub 500cc World Riders' Champions