HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Marco Lucchinelli (born 26 June 1954) is an Italian former professional
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 ...
motorcycle
road racer 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 ...
. He was 1981 FIM Road Racing World Champion with Suzuki. He is a MotoGP Legend.


Career

Lucchinelli was born in
Bolano Bolano ( lij, Bolan) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of La Spezia in the Italian region Liguria, located about southeast of Genoa and about northeast of La Spezia. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 7,490 and an ...
. He began his road racing career in 1975 on a Laverda in endurance racing. His riding impressed the Yamaha factory enough to earn him a sponsored bike in the Italian National Championship as well as a ride in the
1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
Nations Grand Prix in the 350 class. In
1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
he rode a
Suzuki is a Japan, Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan. Suzuki manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, All-terrain vehicle, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs ...
in the 500cc World Championship earning fourth place in the championship with two second-place finishes along with a third and a fourth place. He earned the nickname ''Crazy Horse'' for his wild riding style that attracted many fans. This fearless riding style also meant that he crashed quite often. In the
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 ...
season, he would drop to 11th place in the 500 World Championship on a Yamaha. Lucchinelli returned to Suzuki for the
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...
season and in
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...
, he won his first 500cc Grand Prix at the German Grand Prix at the
Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Formula One, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around t ...
. He would finish the season in third place behind Kenny Roberts and Randy Mamola. Lucchinelli had his best year in
1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
. He began the year with a victory over Kenny Roberts in the prestigious
Imola 200 The Imola 200 (also known as the 200 Miglia) is a motorcycle race held annually at Imola. The race originally ran as a modern motorcycle race from 1972 to 1985. In 2010, the Imola 200 Miglia Revival began as a classic bike race. Background In r ...
non-championship race in Italy. He then took 5 Grand Prix victories aboard the Roberto Gallina backed Suzuki, battling Randy Mamola to the final race of the season before winning the 500cc World Championship. For
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 ...
, Lucchinelli accepted a job offer from Honda to race their new three-cylinder NS500 alongside Freddie Spencer and Takazumi Katayama. He would have a lackluster season in which Franco Uncini would win the championship for the Roberto Gallina-Suzuki team for which Lucchinelli had won the title the previous year. After another lackluster season with Honda in
1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
, he joined the
Cagiva Cagiva is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer. It was founded in 1950 by Giovanni Castiglioni in Varese, originally producing small metal components. Giovanni's sons, Claudio and Gianfranco Castiglioni, went into the motorcycle industry in 1978 ...
team for the
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
and
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
seasons before he retired from Grand Prix racing. He tried his hand at auto racing, competing in the Italian round of the
1986 Formula 3000 season The 1986 International Formula 3000 Championship was contested over an eleven-round series. A total of 28 different teams, 71 different drivers, 7 different chassis and 2 different engines competed. Drivers and teams Calendar Note: Race 1 st ...
in a Lola- Ford. Lucchinelli raced a Ducati 851 to a popular win at the 1987 Daytona Battle of the Twins race. In he joined the
Ducati Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. () is the motorcycle-manufacturing division of Italian company Ducati, headquartered in Bologna, Italy. The company is directly owned by Italian automotive manufacturer Lamborghini, whose German parent company is Au ...
in the Superbike World Championship where he won two races during the year before taking on the role of Ducati's team manager. On 6 December 1991 he was arrested for drug possession. He spent some time in jail, during which he successfully fought against drug addiction. After retiring, Lucchinelli became a television commentator for the Eurosport network's motorcycle race coverage. He retired with 6 Grand Prix victories. However, he briefly returned from retirement in 1998, entering the
1000 km Monza The 6 Hours of Monza (formerly the 1000 Kilometres of Monza and known after 1966 as "Trofeo Filippo Caracciolo") is an endurance race, mainly for sports cars, which is held at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Italy. Overview Despi ...
, and the opening race of the International Sports Racing Series (ISRS), driving for
Centenari Centenari Racing SRL, usually referred to as Centenari, was an Italian auto racing, racing team and chassis constructor company based in Italy, predominantly building sports prototypes. The team were active in international events between 1997 and ...
; he didn't start the 1000 km Monza, and finished sixth overall (second in the CN class) in the opening round of the ISRS.


Career statistics


Grand Prix motorcycle racing


Races by year

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


Superbike World Championship


Races by year

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


References


External links


Lucchinelli article on the Ducati web page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucchinelli, Marco Sportspeople from the Province of La Spezia 1954 births Living people Italian motorcycle racers 350cc World Championship riders 500cc World Championship riders Superbike World Championship riders International Formula 3000 drivers