Didier de Radiguès (born on 27 March 1958) is a Belgian former professional

motorcycle racer The motorcycle sport of racing (also called moto racing and motorbike racing) includes motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Other categories include hill climbs, drag racing and ...

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

driver and current

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. He also serves as a television sports

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for Belgium television, a Moto GP riders manager and as the owner of a motorcycle riding school. He competed in the FIM motorcycle Grand Prix world championships from 1980 to 1991.

Motorsport career

Born in

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

, De Radiguès, made his motorcycle Grand Prix 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 song ...

, racing in the 500cc class. His best year was 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 Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

when he won two races and finished second to

Anton Mang Anton "Toni" Mang (; born 29 September 1949 in Inning am Ammersee) is a former five-time world champion in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from Germany. Early life When he was 11, Mang had his first experience with motorcycles on the DKW RT 125, b ...

in the 350cc world championship. He rode in 500cc for the Yamaha factory racing team in 1988 as a team-mate to Eddie Lawson and ended his career with the

Suzuki is a Japanese multinational mobility manufacturer headquartered in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Shizuoka. It manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a va ...

team in

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

as Kevin Schwantz' team-mate. He won four Grands Prix during his career as well as the 1991

Macau Grand Prix The Macau Grand Prix (; ) is an annual motorsport road racing event for automobiles and motorcycles held on the Guia Circuit in Macau. The event includes the Formula Regional and Motorcycle Grand Prix title races, with other races for Touri ...

, a non-championship event. De Radiguès is the Belgium's most successful motorcycle road racer with four Grand Prix victories. In 1992 at the request of the riders, de Radiguès organized the International Motorcycle Riders Association which was then managed by Franco Uncini at IRTA. After his motorcycle racing career, de Radiguès took up

sports car A sports car is a type of automobile that is designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as Automobile handling, handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving, and Auto racing, racing capability. Sports cars originated in ...

endurance racing, winning the 1997 Belgian Procar Championship as well as the Spa 24 Hours race and the championship in the

American Le Mans Series The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le M ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

. In 1998 de Radiguès entered the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...

with fellow ex-motorcycle rider Wayne Gardner. In 2003, de Radiguès began a motorcycle riding school in France.

Television career

De Radiguès is also a Motorsport TV consultant, first on Club RTL and then on RTBF (since 2013), the two largest French-speaking Belgian TV channels. He gives commentary on Moto3, Moto2 and Moto GP races.

Artistic career

Didier de Radiguès started his artistic career in New York and Singapore, Brussels, Hong Kong and Paris. His first series called « From My Gazebo » is inspired by his many trips to the Bahamas. From his

gazebo A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal or Gun turret, turret-shaped, often built in a park, garden, or spacious public area. Some are used on occasions as bandstands. In British English, the word is also used for a tent-like can ...

, planted in the heart of the Atlantic Ocean on a small island of the Exumas, Didier de Radiguès captures the landscape around him. His latest series is called ''People Portrait''.

Motorcycle Grand Prix results

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) Source:

24 Hours of Le Mans results

References

External links

Didier de Radiguès motorcycle school
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Didier de Radiguès Artist Photographer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Radigues, Didier De 1958 births Living people Sportspeople from Leuven Belgian motorcycle racers Belgian racing drivers 250cc World Championship riders 350cc World Championship riders 500cc World Championship riders 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers FIA GT Championship drivers American Le Mans Series drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers Motorsport announcers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers Multimatic Motorsports drivers