Randy Mamola (born November 10, 1959) is an American former professional

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. Oth ...

and television sports presenter. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing between and . A 13-time Premier Class race winner, Mamola was one of the most charismatic Grand Prix road racers of his generation, becoming a favourite because of his interaction with race fans both on and off the track as well as his aggressive and spirited riding style. Over the span of his thirteen-year 500cc world championship road racing career, Mamola finished runner-up in the championship four times in , , and . Mamola's 13 wins and 54 podiums in the Premier Class makes him one of the most accomplished riders to not win the 500cc World Championship. He was inducted into the AMA

Motorcycle Hall of Fame The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum is an offshoot of the American Motorcyclist Association, recognizing individuals who have contributed to motorcycle sport, motorcycle construction, or motorcycling in general. It also displays motorcycle ...

in 2000. In 2018, Mamola was inducted into the MotoGP Legends Hall of Fame by FIM. After his racing career, he became involved in philanthropy, helping to found the

Riders for Health Riders for Health is a non-governmental organization (NGO) that specialises in supplying, managing and maintaining vehicles for health-focused organisations in African countries. Motorcycles are well-suited for delivering health care in Africa, ...

charity organization and more recently Two Wheels for Life. Mamola currently works as a television sports commentator.

Motorcycle racing career

Born in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

, Mamola grew up interested in a career as a musician, playing in a band at the age of 10. However, when he turned 12 his interests turned to motorcycle racing, idolizing fellow Northern Californian motorcycle racer,

Kenny Roberts Kenneth Leroy Roberts (born December 31, 1951, in Modesto, California) is an American former professional motorcycle racer and racing team owner. In 1978, he became the first American to win a Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championship ...

. He began competing in dirt track racing in Northern California and earned sponsorship from

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

when he was 14. Mamola then focused on road racing with coaching from former racer, Ron Grant. He gained his first international exposure in 1977 when Grant took him to compete in the New Zealand Marlboro Series where, Mamola made a positive impression. In 1977, Mamola graduated from high school and began competing professionally in the AMA 250cc road racing championship, finishing as runner up to David Emde in the final standings. In his second year, he won the 1978 AMA 250cc road racing title and began drawing similarities to Kenny Roberts, earning the nickname, "Baby Kenny". His performance earned him a place on the American team for the 1979

Transatlantic Trophy The Transatlantic Trophy (initially called Anglo-American Match Races) was an annual series of motorcycle races between the United Kingdom and America held from 1971 to 1988 and again in 1991. They were mostly held over the Easter weekend at Br ...

match races. The Transatlantic Trophy match races pitted the best British riders against the top American road racers on 750cc motorcycles in a six-race series in England. As a 250cc rider, Mamola wasn't expected to be a challenger on larger 750cc motorcycles however, he surprised observers by finishing the series as the second highest points scorer behind fellow American Mike Baldwin and ahead of former world champion and top British scorer,

Barry Sheene Barry Steven Frank Sheene (11 September 1950 – 10 March 2003) was a British professional motorcycle racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing and was a two-time world champion, winning consecutive 500cc titles in 1976 and 1977 ...

. Mamola entered the

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

250cc Grand Prix road racing world championships competing on a Yamaha powered

Bimota Bimota is an Italian manufacturer of custom and production motorcycles. It was founded in 1973 in Rimini by Valerio Bianchi, Giuseppe Morri, and Massimo Tamburini. The company name is a portmanteau derived from the first two letters of each of ...

race bike but, after having a difference of opinion with his Italian sponsors, he switched to a Yamaha TZ-250 sponsored by Serge Zago. When Zago's 500cc rider, Mike Baldwin became injured, Mamola took over the team's

Suzuki RG 500 Suzuki RG 500 was a Japanese road racing motorcycle manufactured by Suzuki which competed in the 500cc class of Grand Prix motorcycle racing from 1974 to 1980. The motorcycle won seven manufacturers' titles in succession and became the motorcycle ...

at mid-season. Despite competing in only half of the 500cc races, he scored a second place at the

Finnish 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 ...

then, led the

French Grand Prix The French Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de France), formerly known as the Grand Prix de l'ACF (Automobile Club de France), is an auto race held as part of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One World Championsh ...

for five laps before being passed by Barry Sheene and finishing in second place just ahead of his boyhood idol, Kenny Roberts. He ended his rookie season ranked fourth in the 250cc class and eighth in the 500cc class. His exceptional rookie season earned him a full sponsorship from the Suzuki factory racing team for the 1980 season, filling the position vacated by Barry Sheene who departed to race a

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

Yamaha. Mamola won his first 500cc Grand Prix race at the 1980 Belgian Grand Prix. He won again at the

British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Ch ...

and ended his second season in an impressive second place in the final standings behind Kenny Roberts. 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 started the season strongly with two victories and two second-place finishes to take the lead in the championship but then,

Marco Lucchinelli Marco Lucchinelli (born 26 June 1954) is an Italian former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was 1981 FIM Road Racing World Champion with Suzuki. He is a MotoGP Legend. Career Lucchinelli was born in Bolano. He began his ro ...

took command with four victories in the next five races to claim the world championship. Mamola finished in second place once again however, he was only 21-years-old and many observers felt that it was only a matter of time before he would win a world championship. A miserable start to the 1982 season saw Mamola struggling to score points however, he recovered to score two second places and a victory in the last three races to finish sixth in the final championship standings. The

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 TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

season was dominated by Honda's

Freddie Spencer Frederick Burdette Spencer (born December 20, 1961), sometimes known by the nickname Fast Freddie, is an American former world champion motorcycle racer. Spencer is regarded as one of the greatest motorcycle racers of the early 1980s. Motorcycle ...

and Yamaha's Kenny Roberts. While Spencer had the new

Honda NS500 The Honda NS500 is a 500cc Grand Prix racing motorcycle of the early 1980s, powered by a two-stroke V3 engine. Created as a replacement for the innovative but unsuccessful four-stroke NR500, the bike went against Honda's preference for four-strok ...

and Roberts had a new YZR500 with a

V4 engine A V4 engine is a four-cylinder piston engine where the cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The V4 engine is less common compared to straight-four engines. However, V4 engines have been used in automobiles ...

, Mamola soldiered on with the once dominant

. The RG 500 had begun to show its age as, Suzuki's pursuit of a lightweight and compact machine had led to a myriad of handling problems associated with the flexing of the thin aluminum frame tubing. Spencer and Roberts each won 6 of the season's 12 races as Mamola rode to a respectable third place in the championship standings. When Spencer suffered an injury during the pre-season 1984 Trans-Atlantic Match Races, Honda contracted Mamola to join their racing team. He rode the Honda NS 500 to a second-place finish behind

Eddie Lawson Eddie Lawson (born March 11, 1958) is an American former four-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champion. His record of not crashing and consistently finishing in the points earned him the nickname "Steady Eddie". Despite a late surge that saw him win three of the last five races of the season, Mamola finished second in the championship behind Lawson. It marked the third time in his career that he was runner up in the 500cc world championship. Mamola had a disappointing season in

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 ...

when Spencer and Lawson dominated however, he did manage to win one race at the Dutch TT. 1985 was also the year in which Mamola performed one of the most miraculous saves in motorcycle Grand Prix history at the

San Marino Grand Prix The San Marino Grand Prix () was a Formula One championship race which was run at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in the town of Imola, near the Apennine mountains in Italy, between 1981 and 2006. It was named after nearby S ...

. After his rear tire lost and then suddenly regained traction, Mamola was thrown forward over the handlebars. In an impressive display of strength and perseverance, Mamola firmly gripped the handlebars while both legs hung off the right side of the motorcycle. He held the motorcycle upright while it careened off the track before he was able to swing his left leg back onto the machine and regained control. Randy Mamola 1989

Mamola joined the newly formed Kenny Roberts-Yamaha team in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

. Riding a YZR-500, he won the

Belgian Grand Prix The Belgian Grand Prix (French: ''Grand Prix de Belgique''; Dutch: ''Grote Prijs van België''; German: ''Großer Preis von Belgien'') is a motor racing event which forms part of the Formula One World Championship. The first national race of ...

and scored six podium results to finish the season in third place behind Eddie Lawson and

Wayne Gardner Wayne Michael Gardner (born 11 October 1959) is an Australian former professional Grand Prix motorcycle and touring car racer. His most notable achievement was winning the 1987 500 cc Motorcycle World Championship, becoming the first Aus ...

. At the

, Mamola was lying in second place on the final lap when he performed a

stoppie The stoppie is a motorcycle and bicycle trick in which the back wheel is lifted by abruptly applying the front brake, then, by carefully reducing the brake pressure, the bike is ridden for a short distance on the front wheel. It is also called an ...

just prior to crossing the finish line. Despite not losing a position, Mamola's act incensed Roberts, who viewed it as irresponsible at a time when motorcycle racing was entering an era of increased professionalism with high dollar sponsorship. Mamola began the

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

season with a victory at the

Japanese Grand Prix The Japanese Grand Prix ( ja, 日本グランプリ, Nihon-guranpuri) is a motor racing event in the calendar of the Formula One World Championship. Historically, Japan has been one of the last races of the season, and as such the Japanese Gran ...

but then Gardner went on a streak, winning four of the next five races to take command of the championship. Despite scoring two more victories at the French and

San Marino San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...

Grands Prix, as well as nine podium results, he ended the season in second place behind Gardner. Roberts decided to shake up his team for the

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

season by replacing Mamola and Baldwin with younger riders,

Wayne Rainey Wayne Wesley Rainey (born October 23, 1960) is an American former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, he won the 500cc World Championship three times and the Daytona 200 once. He was characterized by his s ...

and Kevin Magee. Mamola then joined Cagiva to help them develop their Cagiva C589 race bike. He stayed with the Italian team for three years, but lack of funds hampered the team's success. After sitting out the

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

season, he returned in 1992 for one last year on a privately supported Yamaha. He scored his final podium finish with a third place at the 1992 500cc Hungarian Grand Prix and finished the season ranked 10th in the world championship. Mamola won a total of 13 Grands Prix and finished second in the championship four times: in 1980,

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 Southeas ...

and

. During his Grand Prix career he rode for

, Suzuki,

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 producti ...

and Cagiva.

Life after racing and charity work

After retiring from competition, Mamola remained involved in motorcycle racing by helping Yamaha develop their race bikes by working as a test rider. He later became a television commentator for motorcycle Grand Prix races as well as working as a columnist for several motorcycle magazines. Mamola began his charity work while he was still racing in 1986 when, he became involved with the global charity program

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...

. This experience led him to become a co-founder of

, an organization that provides motorcycles, ambulances and other four-wheel vehicles used to deliver health care to remote locations in seven countries across Africa. The organization also provides training in vehicle maintenance to help insure the delivery of medical assistance. Mamola is the figurehead for the charity at motorsports events across the globe, helping raise money by soliciting donations from MotoGP racers of items such as helmets, gloves and other items to be auctioned off. His fund-raising activities also include providing passengers an opportunity to experience a fast lap of a race track aboard a special two-seater Ducati MotoGP bike.

Grand Prix career statistics

Points system from 1969 to 1987: Points system from 1988 to 1992: ( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

Riders for Health

Randy Mamola at the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mamola, Randy 1959 births Living people Sportspeople from San Jose, California American sportspeople of Italian descent American motorcycle racers AMA Grand National Championship riders 500cc World Championship riders 250cc World Championship riders Motorsport announcers