Franco Uncini (born 9 March 1955) is an Italian former professional motorcycle road racer. He competed in the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1976 to 1985. He won the world championship with the Roberto Gallina-Suzuki team. He was inducted into the F.I.M. MotoGP Hall of Fame in 2016. __TOC__
Career 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. 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.
After some disappointing years with a privateer Yamaha team, in 1979, Uncini purchased a Suzuki RG500 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, and for almost two decades the last European rider to win 500cc before Alex Criville won his title in 1999.
In 1983, Uncini 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. He went into a coma, but eventually recovered. He retired from motorcycle competition after the 1985 season.
Today, Uncini acts as Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme Safety Officer in MotoGP.
Career statistics Grand Prix motorcycle racing results
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 Wins1976 250cc Yamaha FRA- NAT- IOM- NED10 BEL- SWE- FIN- CZE- GER- ESP- 6 21st 0 350cc Yamaha FRA- AUT- NAT2 IOM- NED6 FIN- CZE- GER- ESP3 27 9th 01977 250cc Harley Davidson VEN- GER3 NAT1 ESP13 FRA- YUG- NED2 BEL7 SWE- FIN4 CZE1 GBR4 72 2nd 2 350cc Harley Davidson VEN- GER- NAT6 ESP- FRA- YUG- NED5 SWE- FIN- CZE- GBR- 11 20th 01978 250cc Yamaha VEN- ESP3 FRA- NAT3 NED4 BEL2 SWE- FIN- GBR- GER- CZE9 YUG- 42 8th 0 350cc Yamaha VEN- AUT2 FRA- NAT5 NED10 SWE- FIN- GBR- GER- CZE- YUG- 19 12th 0 1979 500cc Suzuki VEN4 AUT6 GER6 NAT- ESP5 YUG3 NED6 BEL- SWE- FIN- GBR7 FRA4 51 5th 0 1980 500cc Suzuki NAT2 ESP7 FRA- NED3 BEL6 FIN3 GBR6 GER7 50 4th 0 1981 500cc Suzuki AUT7 GER10 NAT8 FRA- YUGNC NED- BEL- RSMNC GBR16 FINNC SWE7 12 13th 0 1982 500cc Suzuki ARG4 AUT1 FRAWD ESP3 NAT1 NED1 BEL3 YUG1 GBR1 SWENC RSMNC GERNC 103 1st 5 1983 500cc Suzuki RSA6 FRANC NAT4 GER5 ESP5 AUT5 YUGNC NEDNC BEL- GBR- SWE- RSM- 31 9th 0 1984 500cc Suzuki RSANC NAT5 ESPNC AUT11 GER6 FRA- YUG- NED- BEL- GBR11 SWENC RSM8 14 14th 0 1985 500cc Suzuki RSA11 ESP- GERNC NAT8 AUT13 YUGNC NED13 BEL13 FRA12 GBR18 SWE15 RSM6 8 15th 0
References