Franco Uncini

Uncini was born at Recanati, province of Macerata. He made his debut as professional motorcycle road racer in the 750cc class with Laverda, moving later to Ducati, with whom he earned various titles as Italian champion.^[1] His first year in the Grand Prix World Championship was with Yamaha in 1976, in both the 250cc and the 350cc classes. The following year he continued to race in both classes, this time with the Harley-Davidson team, winning two Grands Prix in 250cc (Grand Prix of Nations and Czechoslovakia) and finishing second in championship behind Mario Lega. However, his quarrelsome relationship with teammate Walter Villa forced him to move back to Yamaha.^[1]

After some disappointing years with a privateer Yamaha team, in 1979 he bought a Suzuki and launched a private team of his own in the 500cc class. He was the top-ranking privateer both in 1979 and 1980, with 5th- and 4th-place finishes. Accidents hindered his 1981 season, but after Marco Lucchinelli left Suzuki to join Honda, Suzuki offered Uncini an official factory-sponsored race bike run by Roberto Gallina's team. Finally, with a competitive vehicle, Uncini won the World Championship in 1982, scoring five victories (GPs of Austria, Netherlands, Yugoslavia, Great Britain and GP of Nations). He was the last Italian rider to win the 500cc crown until Valentino Rossi won in 2001.

In 1983, he was severely injured at TT-Assen (The Netherlands), when he fell off his bike and was struck in the head by competitor Wayne Gardner's bike.^[1]^[2] He went into a coma, but eventually recovered. He retired from motorcycle competition after the 1985 season.^[1]

Today, Uncini acts as Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme Safety Officer in MotoGP.^[1]

Grand Prix motorcycle racing results ^[3]

Points system from 1969 to 1988:

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Points	15	12	10	8	6	5	4	3	2	1

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Class	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Points	Rank	Wins
1976	250cc	Yamaha	FRA -		NAT -	IOM -	NED 10	BEL -	SWE -	FIN -	CZE -	GER -	ESP -			6	21st	0
1976	350cc	Yamaha	FRA -	AUT -	NAT 2	IOM -	NED 6			FIN -	CZE -	GER -	ESP 3			27	9th	0
1977	250cc	Harley Davidson	VEN -	GER 3	NAT 1	ESP 13	FRA -	YUG -	NED 2	BEL 7	SWE -	FIN 4	CZE 1	GBR 4		72	2nd	2
1977	350cc	Harley Davidson	VEN -	GER -	NAT 6	ESP -	FRA -	YUG -	NED 5		SWE -	FIN -	CZE -	GBR -		11	20th	0
1978	250cc	Yamaha	VEN -	ESP 3		FRA -	NAT 3	NED 4	BEL 2	SWE -	FIN -	GBR -	GER -	CZE 9	YUG -	42	8th	0
1978	350cc	Yamaha	VEN -		AUT 2	FRA -	NAT 5	NED 10		SWE -	FIN -	GBR -	GER -	CZE -	YUG -	19	12th	0
1979	500cc	Suzuki	VEN 4	AUT 6	GER 6	NAT -	ESP 5	YUG 3	NED 6	BEL -	SWE -	FIN -	GBR 7	FRA 4		51	5th	0
1980	500cc	Suzuki	NAT 2	ESP 7	FRA -	NED 3	BEL 6	FIN 3	GBR 6	GER 7						50	4th	0
1981	500cc	Suzuki	AUT 7	GER 10	NAT 8	FRA -	YUG NC	NED -	BEL -	RSM NC	GBR 16	FIN NC	SWE 7			12	13th	0
1982	500cc	Suzuki	ARG 4	AUT 1	FRA -	ESP 3	NAT 1	NED 1	BEL 3	YUG 1	GBR 1	SWE -	RSM -	GER -		103	1st	5
1983	500cc	Suzuki	RSA 6	FRA NC	NAT 4	GER 5	ESP 5	AUT 5	YUG NC	NED NC	BEL -	GBR -	SWE -	RSM -		31	9th	0
1984	500cc	Suzuki	RSA NC	NAT 5	ESP NC	AUT 11	GER 6	FRA -	YUG -	NED -	BEL -	GBR 11	SWE NC	RSM 8		14	14th	0
1985	500cc	Suzuki	RSA 11	ESP -	GER NC	NAT 8	AUT 13	YUG NC	NED 13	BEL 13	FRA 12	GBR 18	SWE 15	RSM 6		8	15th	0

References

1 2 3 4 5 DeWitt, Norm (September–October 2012). "Franco Uncini – World Champion – Team Manager – Top Official". Classic Racer (157): 22–28. ISSN 1470-4463.
↑ Cathcart, Alan (1986). Wayne Gardner. Cycle World (Books.Google.com). Retrieved 30 January 2016.
↑ "Rider Statistics - Franco Uncini". MotoGP.com. Retrieved 2008-08-16.

Preceded by Marco Lucchinelli	500cc Motorcycle World Champion 1982	Succeeded by Freddie Spencer

500cc/MotoGP Motorcycle World Champions

1949 – L. Graham

1950 – U. Masetti
1951 – G. Duke
1952 – U. Masetti
1953 – G. Duke
1954 – G. Duke
1955 – G. Duke
1956 – J. Surtees
1957 – L. Liberati
1958 – J. Surtees
1959 – J. Surtees

1960 – J. Surtees
1961 – G. Hocking
1962 – M. Hailwood
1963 – M. Hailwood
1964 – M. Hailwood
1965 – M. Hailwood
1966 – G. Agostini
1967 – G. Agostini
1968 – G. Agostini
1969 – G. Agostini

1970 – G. Agostini
1971 – G. Agostini
1972 – G. Agostini
1973 – P. Read
1974 – P. Read
1975 – G. Agostini
1976 – B. Sheene
1977 – B. Sheene
1978 – K. Roberts
1979 – K. Roberts

1980 – K. Roberts
1981 – M. Lucchinelli
1982 – F. Uncini
1983 – F. Spencer
1984 – E. Lawson
1985 – F. Spencer
1986 – E. Lawson
1987 – W. Gardner
1988 – E. Lawson
1989 – E. Lawson

1990 – W. Rainey
1991 – W. Rainey
1992 – W. Rainey
1993 – K. Schwantz
1994 – M. Doohan
1995 – M. Doohan
1996 – M. Doohan
1997 – M. Doohan
1998 – M. Doohan
1999 – À. Crivillé

2000 – K. Roberts, Jr.
2001 – V. Rossi
2002 – V. Rossi
2003 – V. Rossi
2004 – V. Rossi
2005 – V. Rossi
2006 – N. Hayden
2007 – C. Stoner
2008 – V. Rossi
2009 – V. Rossi

2010 – J. Lorenzo
2011 – C. Stoner
2012 – J. Lorenzo
2013 – M. Márquez
2014 – M. Márquez
2015 – J. Lorenzo

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Franco Uncini

Career

Grand Prix motorcycle racing results [3]

References

Grand Prix motorcycle racing results ^[3]