Otello Buscherini (19 January 1949 in Forlì - 16 May 1976 in Mugello) was an Italian professional motorcycle road racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing between and , most prominently as a member of the Malanca factory racing team. Buscherini appeared to be poised for a successful racing career when he was killed in an accident at the 1976 Nations Grand Prix.
Motorcycle racing career Buscherini was born in Forlì, Italy, on 19 January 1949 and began racing motorcycles in 1966 with a Minarelli. He earned the nickname, the Lion of Romagna for his spirited and sometimes reckless riding style. At the age of 21, Buscherini scored his first World Championship points with a sixth-place finish at the 1970 50cc West German Grand Prix.
Buscherini experienced his greatest success when he joined the Malanca factory racing team in 1972. He won the 1972 50cc Italian National Championship and scored two third-place results in the 50cc World Championship. Buscherini rode a Malanca to win the first World Championship race of his career with a victory over Chas Mortimer (Yamaha) at the 125cc Czechoslovak Grand Prix. Two weeks later at the 125cc Finnish Grand Prix, he defeated the eventual World Champion Kent Andersson (Yamaha) to claim the second victory of his career and finished the season ranked fifth in the season final points standings.
Buscherini scored five podium results in the 125cc World Championship and improved to fourth place in the season final standings. At the 1975 Czechoslovak Grand Prix, he rode a Bimota-Yamaha to win the 350cc class and finished second to Michel Rougerie (Harley Davidson) in the 250cc class.
Buscherini died at the age of 27 on 16 May 1976 from injuries sustained while competing in the 1976 250cc Nations Grand Prix at Mugello.
Buscherini won three Grand Prix races and scored 17 podium results in 29 races during his World Championship career.
In 2003, the municipality of Forlì named the Otello Buscherini Municipal Sports Club in his honor.
Grand Prix motorcycle racing results
Points system from 1969 onwards: 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 Machine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Points Rank Wins 50cc Honda GER6 FRA- YUG- NED- BEL- DDR- CZE- FIN- ULS- NAT- ESP- 5 18th 0 125cc Villa GER5 FRA- YUG- IOM- NED- BEL- DDR- CZE- FIN- NAT- ESP- 6 25th 0 125cc Derbi AUT- GER- IOM- NED- BEL- DDR- CZE- SWE- FIN- NAT- ESP6 5 20th 0 50cc Malanca GER- NAT4 YUG3 NED- BEL- DDR3 SWE- ESP7 32 5th 0 125cc Malanca FRA6 AUT4 GER- NAT- IOM- YUG- NED- BEL- CZE1 SWE4 FIN1 ESP- 51 5th 2 50cc Malanca FRA3 GER- NAT3 NED- BEL- SWE5 FIN- CZE- YUG- ESP- 26 8th 0 125cc Malanca FRA3 GER- AUT3 NAT- NED2 BEL5 SWE- CZE3 YUG- ESP2 60 4th 0 125cc Malanca FRA- ESP- AUT- GER- NAT- NED6 BEL- SWE- CZE- YUG- 5 17th 0 250cc Yamaha FRA- ESP- GER- NAT- IOM- NED- BEL- SWE2 FIN3 CZE2 YUG5 40 7th 0 350cc Yamaha FRA- ESP- AUT- GER- NAT- IOM- NED- FIN- CZE1 YUG2 27 8th 1 125cc Malanca AUT3 NAT- YUG- NED- BEL- SWE- FIN- GER- ESP- 10 14th 0Sources:
References