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Franco Uncini
Franco Uncini
Nationality	Italian
Born	(1955-03-09) March 9, 1955 (age 69) Recanati, Province of Macerata
Motorcycle racing career statistics Grand Prix motorcycle racing Active years 1976 - 1985 First race 1976 350cc Nations Grand Prix Last race 1985 500cc San Marino Grand Prix First win 1977 250cc Nations Grand Prix Last win 1982 500cc British Grand Prix Team(s) Suzuki Championships 500cc - 1982 Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 79 7 21 3 3 446

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 1982 world championship with the Roberto Gallina-Suzuki team. He was inducted into the F.I.M. MotoGP Hall of Fame in 2016.

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 he 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, 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. 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:

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

References

1. "MotoGP Legends". motogp.com. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
2. "Uncini becomes a MotoGP Legend". motogp.com. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
3. ^ DeWitt, Norm (September–October 2012). "Franco Uncini – World Champion – Team Manager – Top Official". Classic Racer (157): 22–28. ISSN 1470-4463.
4. Cathcart, Alan (1986). "Wayne Gardner". Cycle World. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
5. "Rider Statistics - Franco Uncini". MotoGP.com. Archived from the original on 2017-02-25. Retrieved 2008-08-16.

v t e Suzuki Motorcycles Grandprix
Grand Prix motorcycle Suzuki GSX-RR
500cc/MotoGP World Champions Barry Sheene (1976, 1977) Marco Lucchinelli (1981) Franco Uncini (1982) Kevin Schwantz (1993) Kenny Roberts Jr. (2000) Joan Mir (2020)
Factory team race winners Kenny Roberts Jr. Chris Vermeulen Maverick Viñales Álex Rins Joan Mir

• 1955 births
• Living people
• People from Recanati
• People from Civitanova Marche
• Italian motorcycle racers
• 250cc World Championship riders
• 350cc World Championship riders
• 500cc World Championship riders
• Sportspeople from the Province of Macerata
• 500cc World Riders' Champions