Jacky Vimond (born 18 July 1961) is a French former professional

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competiti ...

racer. He competed in the

Motocross World Championship FIM Motocross World Championship is the premier championship of motocross racing, organized by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), divided into two distinct classes: MXGP and MX2. Race duration is 30 minutes plus two laps per ...

s from 1979 to 1988. Vimond is notable for being the first French competitor to win an

FIM FIM may refer to: Organizations and companies * Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, the International Motorcycling Federation * Flint Institute of Music, in Michigan, United States * Fox Interactive Media, now News Corp. Digital Media * ...

motocross world championship. In 2016, he was named an

Legend for his motorcycling achievements.

Motocross career

Vimond was born in Saint Tribehou,

Manche Manche (, ) is a coastal French département in Normandy, on the English Channel, which is known as ''La Manche'', literally "the sleeve", in French. It had a population of 495,045 in 2019. He made his motocross world championship debut in

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 ...

and competed in the 125cc class for the next four seasons riding a

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 ...

but, was plagued by injuries and a sixth place in the 1982 125cc world championship would be his best result in the smaller class. In 1984, Vimond moved up to the 250cc motocross world championship still riding for Yamaha. He won his first Grand Prix race at the 1984 250cc Swiss Grand Prix and, finished the season ranked second to Heinz Kinigadner in the 250cc world championship. He won three Grand Prix races in 1985, including the last two races of the season to once again secure second place in the 250cc world championship, just 2 points behind Kinigadner. Vimond-aymard

Vimond won seven out of twelve Grand Prix races in the 1986 season to claim the 250cc motocross world championship, becoming France's first-ever motocross world champion. Vimond was badly injured at a victory celebration in honor of his world championship. As he was being lowered by wires to the stage while astride his motorcycle, something went wrong and he fell almost nine meters, breaking his back. After recovering from his injuries, Vimond moved up to the premier 500cc motocross world championship in 1987. Although he won the 1988 Swedish 500cc Grand Prix and finished the 1988 season ranked 5th in the 500cc world championship, he was never able to perform at his previous performance level after his injury at his 1986 championship victory celebration. When Yamaha withdrew their motocross racing program in 1989, Vimond competed in the 500cc motocross world championship on a privateer Honda but, the machine was not competitive and he ended the season ranked 13th in the final standings. He returned to the 250cc motocross world championship in 1990 riding a Suzuki but, persistent injuries forced him to announce his retirement from competition. After his retirement, Vimond became a motocross coach, helping young riders such as Sebastien Tortelli, Stephane Roncada,

David Vuillemin David Vuillemin (born 18 October 1977) is a French former professional motocross and supercross racer. He competed in the Motocross World Championships from 1995 to 1999 and won the 1999 supercross world championship. He competed in the AMA Mo ...

and

Romain Febvre Romain Febvre (born 31 December 1991) is a French professional motocross racer. He has competed in the FIM Motocross World Championships since 2012. Febvre is notable for winning the 2015 MXGP World Championship. He was a member of the winning ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vimond, Jacky 1961 births Living people People from Saint-Lô French motocross riders Sportspeople from Manche