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Alberto "Johnny" Cecotto (born January 25, 1956 in Caracas, Venezuela) is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver.[1] The son of Italian immigrants, he is one of the few people to have competed in both motorcycle and Formula One Grand Prix.
Cecotto had won the Venezuelan road racing national championship in 1973 and 1974 before he rose to international prominence at the 1975 Daytona 200 motorcycle race with one of the more inspired rides in the history of the event.[2][3] Competing as an unknown rookie aboard an unmodified Yamaha TZ750 sponsored by Yamaha's Venezuelan importer, he qualified in pole position but, a last minute mechanical glitch forced race officials to relegate him to the last row on the starting grid. Cecotto showed impressive riding ability by passing almost the entire field while working his way up to third place by the end of the race.[2][3][4]
Following Daytona, Cecotto arrived in Europe to compete in the Grand Prix series where, he continued his meteoric rise at the season opening round in France by winning the 250cc and 350cc races in his first ever Grand Prix.[1] He went on to become the youngest World Champion ever at nineteen years of age when he defeated the defending champion, Giacomo Agostini for the 1975 350cc World Championship.[1][5]
In 1976, Cecotto returned to Daytona, now with full support from the Yamaha factory racing team. This time, he was victorious, coming out on top after a race-long battle with American Champion Kenny Roberts.[6][7][8] In the 1976 Grand Prix season, he lost his 350cc crown in a tight battle with Harley-Davidson mounted Walter Villa.[1] At the beginning of the 1977 season, he was badly injured in a deadly four rider accident at the Austrian Grand Prix that claimed the life of Swiss rider Hans Stadelmann.[9] Cecotto never seemed to come to grips with the 500cc Yamaha, having had a series of crashes which hindered his progress.[5] Cecotto finished third in the 1978 500cc title chase and added the Formula 750 World Championship to his titles.[1][10] He suffered a badly broken kneecap at the 1979 Austrian Grand Prix at the Salzburgring and missed half the season. Cecotto soldiered on through the 1980 Grand Prix season but his numerous injuries curtailed his motorcycle racing career. After the 1980 season, he decided to quit motorcycling to pursue an auto racing career. He retired with twelve 500cc pole positions in 27 starts, giving him one of the highest pole position per start ratios in motorcycle Grand Prix history.
Cecotto made his four wheeled debut with Minardi in the 1980 Formula Two Championship. In the 1982 Formula Two season, driving for the March-BMW team, he won three races and finished the season tied for first place with his team-mate Corrado Fabi but, was relegated to runner up by the tie breaker system.[11] Nevertheless, his performance garnered enough attention that he was offered a seat in Formula One.
In Formula One, Cecotto participated in 23 races, debuting on March 13, 1983 for the Theodore Racing team.[12] He had a promising start as he scored a sixth place in only his second race, however, the team suffered from lack of funding and he was forced to sit out the final two rounds.[12] For the 1984 season, he joined the Toleman racing team with Ayrton Senna as his team mate.[13] While qualifying for the British Grand Prix, he crashed heavily, breaking both of his legs which effectively ended his Formula One career.
After recovering from his injuries, Cecotto returned to competition in the flourishing Touring Car category, driving a Volvo 240T to victory at the 1986 Guia Race held during the Macau Grand Prix.[14] Cecotto competed in the 1987 World Touring Car Championship driving a CiBiEmme BMW M3 alongside Gianfranco Brancatelli. They won the French round at Dijon-Prenois and the Australian round at the 1987 James Hardie 1000 at Mount Panorama.[15][16] In 1989 he captured the Italian Touring Car Championship.[17][18]
From 1988 to 1992, Cecotto competed in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM, German Touring Car Championship).[19] Driving a Schnitzer Motorsport BMW M3, he finished as runner up in the 1990 season.[20] In 1994 and 1998 he won the German Super Tourenwagen Cup Championship for BMW.[21][22][23] In 1995 he raced in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) for BMW.[24] In 2001 and 2002, he switched to the Irmscher Opel Omega and won the German V8Star Series Championship two years running.[23][25][26]
Cecotto currently devotes most of his time to supporting the racing career of his son, Johnny Cecotto, Jr.
Source:[1]
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1975 | 250cc | Yamaha | FRA 1 |
ESP NC |
GER NC |
NAT 2 |
IOM - |
NED NC |
BEL 1 |
SWE NC |
FIN 2 |
CZE NC |
YUG - |
54 | 4th | 2 | ||
350cc | Yamaha | FRA 1 |
ESP 2 |
AUT NC |
GER 1 |
NAT 1 |
IOM - |
NED 5 |
FIN 1 |
CZE NC |
YUG - |
78 | 1st | 4 | ||||
1976 | 350cc | Yamaha | FRA 2 |
AUT 1 |
NAT 1 |
YUG NC |
IOM - |
NED 8 |
FIN NC |
CZE NC |
GER 2 |
ESP 4 |
65 | 2nd | 2 | |||
500cc | Yamaha | FRA 2 |
AUT NC |
NAT NC |
IOM - |
NED DNS |
BEL - |
SWE - |
FIN - |
CZE - |
GER - |
12 | 19th | 0 | ||||
1977 | 350cc | Yamaha | VEN 1 |
AUT C |
GER INJ |
NAT INJ |
ESP INJ |
FRA INJ |
YUG INJ |
NED INJ |
SWE NC |
FIN NC |
CZE 1 |
GBR NC |
30 | 9th | 2 | |
500cc | Yamaha | VEN 4 |
AUT INJ |
GER INJ |
NAT INJ |
FRA INJ |
NED INJ |
BEL INJ |
SWE 2 |
FIN 1 |
CZE 1 |
GBR NC |
50 | 4th | 2 | |||
1978 | 500cc | Yamaha | VEN NC |
ESP 4 |
AUT 2 |
FRA NC |
NAT NC |
NED 1 |
BEL NC |
SWE 6 |
FIN 3 |
GBR 7 |
GER 2 |
66 | 3rd | 1 | ||
1979 | 500cc | Yamaha | VEN NC |
AUT NC |
GER INJ |
NAT INJ |
ESP INJ |
YUG INJ |
NED INJ |
BEL DNS |
SWE NC |
FIN 7 |
GBR NC |
FRA 5 |
10 | 20th | 0 | |
1980 | 350cc | Yamaha | NAT 1 |
FRA 2 |
NED 20 |
GBR NC |
CZE NC |
GER 3 |
37 | 4th | 1 | |||||||
500cc | Yamaha | NAT 4 |
ESP 6 |
FRA 9 |
NED 6 |
BEL NC |
FIN - |
GBR 5 |
GER 6 |
31 | 7th | 0 |
Source:[11]
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Pos | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1980 | Mike Earle with March Racing | March 802 | BMW | THR |
HOC |
NÜR |
VAL |
PAU |
SIL Ret |
ZOL 9 |
MUG |
- | 0 | |||||
Minardi | Minardi GM75 | ZAN 15 |
PER |
MIS |
HOC |
|||||||||||||
1981 | Minardi | Minardi | BMW | SIL 14 |
HOC Ret |
THR 4 |
NÜR DNS |
VAL Ret |
MUG |
14th | 6 | |||||||
Horag Hotz Racing | March | PAU 7 |
PER Ret |
SPA Ret |
DON 6 |
MIS 6 |
MAN 6 |
|||||||||||
1982 | March | March | BMW | SIL Ret |
HOC 4 |
THR 1 |
NÜR 3 |
MUG 2 |
VAL Ret |
PAU 1 |
SPA 2 |
HOC 6 |
DON 2 |
MAN 1 |
PER 3 |
MIS 15 |
2nd | 56 |
Source:[12][13]
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | WDC | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1983 | Theodore Racing Team | Theodore N183 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | BRA 14 |
USW 6 |
FRA 11 |
SMR Ret |
MON DNPQ |
BEL 10 |
DET Ret |
CAN Ret |
GBR DNQ |
GER 11 |
AUT DNQ |
NED DNQ |
ITA 12 |
EUR |
RSA |
19th | 1 | |
1984 | Toleman Group Motorsport | Toleman TG183B | Hart 415T 1.5 L4T | BRA Ret |
RSA Ret |
BEL Ret |
SMR NC |
NC | 0 | ||||||||||||
Toleman TG184 | FRA Ret |
MON Ret |
CAN 9 |
DET Ret |
DAL Ret |
GBR DNQ |
GER |
AUT |
NED |
ITA |
EUR |
POR |
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | Position | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1995 | BMW Motorsport Team | BMW 318i | DON 1 5 |
DON 2 8 |
BHI 1 11 |
BHI 2 5 |
THR 1 Ret |
THR 2 11 |
SILI 1 11 |
SILI 2 12 |
OULI 1 9 |
OULI 2 Ret |
BHGP 1 10 |
BHGP 2 9 |
DON 1 Ret |
DON 2 Ret |
SILGP DNS |
KNO 1 4 |
KNO 2 Ret |
BHI 1 5 |
BHI 2 Ret |
SNE 1 10 |
SNE 2 Ret |
OULF 1 Ret |
OULF 2 6 |
SIL 1 Ret |
SIL 2 Ret |
12th | 49 |
Source:[19]
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos | Pts | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | |||||
1988 | AMG-Mercedes | Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 | ZOL 8 |
ZOL DNF |
HOC 13 |
HOC DNF |
NÜR 13 |
NÜR 12 |
BRN 33 |
BRN - |
BER 1 |
BER 1 |
DIE 15 |
DIE DNF |
NÜR 11 |
NÜR 9 |
NOR 3 |
NOR 4 |
WUN 7 |
WUN 6 |
SLZ C |
SLZ C |
HUN 1 |
HUN 1 |
HOC 3 |
HOC DNF |
6th | 204 |
1989 | Schnitzer Motorsport | BMW M3 | ZOL - |
ZOL - |
HOC 3 |
HOC 1 |
NÜR - |
NÜR - |
MAI 2 |
MAI 8 |
BER 5 |
BER 22 |
NÜR 2 |
NÜR 2 |
NOR 7 |
NOR 6 |
HOC 1 |
HOC 4 |
DIE DNF |
DIE - |
NÜR - |
NÜR - |
HOC 3 |
HOC 4 |
7th | 206 | ||
1990 | Schnitzer Motorsport | BMW M3 | ZOL 5 |
ZOL DNF |
HOC 4 |
HOC 1 |
NÜR DNF |
NÜR 4 |
BER 12 |
BER 5 |
MAI 1 |
MAI 1 |
WUN 3 |
WUN 4 |
NÜR DNF |
NÜR 3 |
NOR 5 |
NOR 14 |
DIE 2 |
DIE 3 |
NÜR 9 |
NÜR DNF |
HOC 11 |
HOC 4 |
2nd | 177 | ||
1991 | Schnitzer Motorsport | BMW M3 | ZOL 1 |
ZOL 1 |
HOC 9 |
HOC DSQ |
NÜR 2 |
NÜR DNF |
BER 6 |
BER 5 |
WUN 6 |
WUN 1 |
NOR 14 |
NOR 6 |
DIE 12 |
DIE 2 |
NÜR 10 |
NÜR 4 |
SIN 5 |
SIN DNF |
HOC 4 |
HOC 13 |
BRN 5 |
BRN 5 |
DON 3 |
DON 3 |
4th | 147 |
1992 | Schnitzer Motorsport | BMW M3 | ZOL 12 |
ZOL DNF |
NÜR 6 |
NÜR DNF |
WUN 5 |
WUN DNF |
BER 2 |
BER 6 |
HOC 9 |
HOC 8 |
NÜR 2 |
NÜR 2 |
NOR 7 |
NOR 7 |
BRN 1 |
BRN 1 |
DIE 5 |
DIE 5 |
SIN 4 |
SIN 12 |
NÜR 3 |
NÜR 4 |
HOC 7 |
HOC 2 |
4th | 185 |
2002 | OPC Euroteam | Opel Astra V8 Coupé 2001 | HOC - |
ZOL - |
DON - |
SAC - |
NOR - |
EUR - |
NÜR - |
A1R - |
ZAN - |
HOC 10 |
- | - |
Sporting positions | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Giacomo Agostini |
350cc Motorcycle World Champion 1975 |
Succeeded by Walter Villa |
Preceded by Gianfranco Brancatelli |
Guia Race winner 1986 |
Succeeded by Roberto Ravaglia |
Preceded by Gianfranco Brancatelli |
Italian Touring Car Champion 1989 |
Succeeded by Roberto Ravaglia |
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