Pierfrancesco 'Frankie' Chili, (born 20 June 1964 in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

, Italy) is a former

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

racer who competed in the

Superbike World Championship Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette-class road racing series based on heavily modified production motorcycles, also known as superbike racing. The championship was founded i ...

and the 250 cc and 500 cc classes in

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 ...

. In September 2020 he confirmed he was suffering from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

. In World Superbike he had a record number of starts, as well as 10 poles and 17 wins. He retired at the end of the season. Chili also won the 125cc European Championship in 1985

500 cc

Chili spent several years on a

Gallina The Gallina or Largo-Gallina culture was an occupation sequence during the pre-Spanish colonization of the Americas, Hispanic period in the American Southwest from approximately 1050 to 1300. The culture was located in north-central New Mexico roug ...

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

, with some works backing. He won the

1989 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix The 1989 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix was the fifth race of the 1989 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 12–14 May 1989 at the Misano circuit. 500 cc race report Before the race, riders were concerned about t ...

when most of the top riders didn't race due to the track being too slippery due to rain, but was generally upper-midfield at best. His best championship finish was 6th in

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

250 cc

He stepped down to 250s, finishing 3rd overall in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

Superbike World Championship

He switched to the

in on a private

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 ...

, taking a win at

Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...

and 3 further podiums, as well as the fastest lap in four races, en route to eighth overall. Curiously, in each of - he won race two at

after crashing in race one. In he took two wins as well as his first two poles, coming sixth in the championship. He was seventh-placed in , taking three wins and three poles but only three more podiums. Results in on a factory

were an improvement - Chili won five races to come fourth place overall, his best ever finish. However, at

Assen Assen () is a municipality and a city in the northeastern Netherlands, and is the capital (politics), capital of the province of Drenthe. It received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1809. Assen is known for TT Circuit Assen, the ...

he battled too hard with

Carl Fogarty Carl George Fogarty, (born 1 July 1965), often known as Foggy, is an English former motorcycle racer and one of the most successful World Superbike racers of all time. He also holds the second highest number of race wins at 59. He is the son ...

(also on a factory-backed bike, although a separate team), falling on the final lap, and was sacked at the end of the year. In he raced for

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 ...

, coming sixth with two more wins. His first win came in race two at the A1-Ring, after crashing while leading the first race. In he repeated the ten podiums and fourth place overall of , although with only a single win as

Colin Edwards Colin Edwards II (born February 27, 1974), nicknamed the "Texas Tornado", is an American former professional motorcycle racer who retired half-way through the 2014 season, but continues in the sport as a factory test rider. He is a two-time Wo ...

dominated. Over the next two years he made the podium just three times, coming seventh and eighth in the series. Although he was only seventh again, represented something of a resurgence for a rider nearing forty years of age; with five third places and one win. The year was even better for the PSG-1

team, fifth overall with another nine podiums. In he moved to the Klaffi Honda team with rookie

Max Neukirchner Max Neukirchner (born 20 April 1983 in Stollberg, East Germany) is a professional motorcycle racer currently competing in the Endurance FIM World Championship aboard a Yamaha YZF-R1. Career Supersport & Superbike World Championship In he compet ...

, coming tenth overall. was ruined by a broken pelvis, which caused him to miss several races. Following his retirement he became team manager of the Guandalini Racing team in World Superbikes for the 2009 seasonSmrz to stay with Guandalini
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Career statistics

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

Races by year

(

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)

Superbike World Championship

Races by year

(

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

References

External links

FrankieChili.com
- Official site
Superbike racing statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chili, Pierfrancesco 1964 births 500cc World Championship riders 250cc World Championship riders Superbike World Championship riders Italian motorcycle racers Living people Sportspeople from Bologna People with Parkinson's disease