Franco Uncini

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Franco Uncini.

Franco Uncini (born March 9, 1955) is an Italian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racing World Champion.

[edit] 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 relantionship with teammate Walter Villa forced him to move back to Yamaha.

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. 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 Assen 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 Rider's Safety Representative in MotoGP.

[edit] Motorcycle Grand Prix results

Year	Class	Classification	Machine	Victories
1976	250cc	21st	Yamaha	0
1976	350cc	9th	Yamaha	0
1977	250cc	2nd	Harley Davidson	2
1977	350cc	20th	Yamaha	0
1978	250cc	8th	Yamaha	0
1978	350cc	12th	Yamaha	0
1979	500cc	5th	Suzuki	0
1980	500cc	4th	Suzuki	0
1981	500cc	13th	Suzuki	0
1982	500cc	1st	Suzuki	5
1983	500cc	9th	Suzuki	0
1984	500cc	14th	Suzuki	0
1985	500cc	15th	Suzuki	0