Víctor Palomo (26 May 1948 – 11 February 1985) was a Spanish world champion water skier, Grand Prix 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 ...

and Olympic bobsleigh pilot.

Sporting career

Born in Barcelona, Spain, Palomo began water skiing in 1959 and in 1964, he won the Spanish water skiing national championship for juveniles. He was also crowned the European Junior Championship, a title he won two more times. In 1968, Palomo represented Spain as a member of the Spanish bobsleigh team in the

1968 Winter Olympics The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (french: Les Xes Jeux olympiques d'hiver), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated. Frenchm ...

held in Grenoble, France. Palomo won the 1969 water skiing slalom world championship at the age of 21. The following year, he broke both knees during a training incident. After recovering from his injuries, he went to Belgium where he bought a ČZ motorcycle and began to race in motocross competitions. In 1971, Palomo gave up water skiing to concentrate on motorcycle racing. He raced off-road on an Ossa enduro motorcycle until an injury made him decide to switch to

road racing 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 ...

. In 1972, he met the Gus Kuhn team who agreed to sponsor him on a Norton motorcycle at events in the UK and Europe. Barry Sheene was also instrumental in helping Palomo prepare his privateer Yamaha for Grand Prix racing. Palomo scored his first podium in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

at the 350cc German Grand Prix where he finished in second place behind Teuvo Länsivuori. At the Nations Grand Prix 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 ...

that year, he was involved in the tragic accident that took the lives of Jarno Saarinen and

Renzo Pasolini Renzo Pasolini (18 July 1938 – 20 May 1973), nicknamed "Paso", was an Italian professional motorcycle road racer. He competed in the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1964 to 1972. Although he never won a world champio ...

. Palomo was injured in June after crashing at the Yugoslavian Grand Prix which led to him missing the rest of the 1973 season and part of

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

. He then won the 1974 350cc Spanish Grand Prix held on his home track at the Montjuich Circuit. In

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. ...

he competed in the 250cc, 350cc and Formula 750 championships. His most successful year was 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 ...

, when he finished in sixth place in the 350cc world championship, and won the 1976 Formula 750 world championship riding a Yamaha. The confused results of the Venezuelan Formula 750 round caused the championship's final standings to be shrouded in controversy. Kawasaki's Gary Nixon appeared to have won the second leg of the Venezuelan race however, the race organizers credited Yamaha's Steve Baker with the victory. Palomo was crowned champion, winning three races on aggregate time despite not winning a single heat. If Nixon had been awarded the victory in the Venezuelan round, he would have won the world championship by one point. Nixon protested the Venezuelan results to the

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 * ...

, who threw out the results of the event, thus denying his appeal. Palomo's

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 got off to a promising start however, he suffered serious spinal cord injuries at a non-championship event at the Paul Ricard Circuit. He tried to return to competition too quickly and suffered yet another crash which again forced him to take time off to recuperate. He spent the 1978 season competing in the Spanish 750cc national championship before returning to the world championships 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 song ...

as well as partnering 250 World Champion Mario Lega in the FIM Endurance World Championship on a

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 ...

. At the 24 Hours of Montjuich race, Palomo suffered another serious accident. The accident shattered his leg and the operations led to further complications which kept him away from racing until

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 ...

. In

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 ...

he entered several World Championship events in the 250cc and 500cc classes but, suffered yet another accident.

Death

Palomo had numerous complicated operations along with treatments to promote bone recovery. The powerful painkillers, combined with his diabetic condition, caused serious side effects with heart and liver failure, which led to his death in 1985 at the age of 36 in Girona, Spain.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palomo, Victor 1948 births 1985 deaths Spanish water skiers Spanish motorcycle racers Motorcycle racers from Catalonia 250cc World Championship riders 350cc World Championship riders 500cc World Championship riders Spanish male bobsledders Bobsledders at the 1968 Winter Olympics Deaths from diabetes Sportspeople from Barcelona Olympic bobsledders for Spain