Giancarlo Falappa
Giancarlo Falappa (* June 30, 1964 in Jesi (AN), Italy ) is an Italian former motorcycle racer.
For years he was the Ducati factory rider in the Superbike World Championship and was considered a daredevil driver. During his brief playing career Falappa was known as Il leone di Jesi ( The Lion of Jesi ) and famous for its wild wheelies. After a serious fall, he escaped twice nearly died.
- 4.1 External links
- 4.2 Notes and references
Career
Giancarlo Falappa began against the wishes of his family, his career in 1979 motocross. He finished triumphantly His first race; to 1980 was followed by many more victories in amateur races. 1981 Falappa became the official pilot of the manufacturer Moto Villa, winning the Campionato Italiano Cadetti Junior. From 1982 to 1984 he competed in the 250 - cc Motocross World Championship. 1985 and 1986 took Giancarlo Falappa for financial reasons not participate in any race.
In the summer of 1987 Falappa piloted at a public workout on the track at Misano for the first time a street motorcycle on a race track. He drove the Kawasaki GPZ 600 from a friend and was after an hour only eight tenths of a second over the current lap record of the Italian 600cc Championship. The following week he bought a Suzuki GSX- R 1100, with whom he shortly afterwards at Vallelunga won his first official race.
After Giancarlo Falappa had won in 1988 with his Suzuki all four heats to the Italian Sport Production Championship, Bimota offered him a motorcycle for the three final races of the championship. In addition, he was asked for the case of the league title a place as a test driver and pilot in the World Superbike Championship team of the manufacturer of Rimini for 1989 in view. Falappa won the first two finals, the last race at Mugello, he crashed on the formation lap and broke his shift lever from the bike. However, he turned the fastest lap but crashed mid-race. As his biggest rival, the race also could not finish Falappa won the championship and rose to the Superbike World Championship, although he had until then not even disputed ten road races.
Superbike World Championship
Already at the first race of the 1989 season in the English Donington Falappa drove to the pole position and won the second run. After another run victory in the Canadian Mosport Giancarlo Falappa also won the second race at Le Castellet. At the end of the season, he finished sixth World Cup ranking.
Because of its good services Giancarlo Falappa was committed for the 1990 season from rival Ducati. He drove in the factory team Squadra Corse Ducati Lucchinelli a Ducati 851, his teammate was Raymond Roche from France, who was able to secure the title. After a slow start to the season with only one win at Donington accident Falappa on his birthday during qualifying for the seventh event on Austria ring difficult. At the entrance of a curve, which was passed through at about 270 km / hour, he had to dodge a slower rider and crashed it into the guard rail, the only one meter was off the track. The Italians moved to 27 broken bones as well as the crack of a femoral artery and fell due to loss of blood into a coma from which he awoke after twelve days. He then spent several months in a hospital in Bologna and was not again this season at the start.
For season 1991 Giancarlo Falappa returned, against the advice of his doctors and although he could not lift his left arm and not bend his left leg after 13 fractures in the Superbike World Championship back. He started again along with Raymond Roche for the factory Ducati team Ducati Meccanica, this time on the new 888, and was a regular in the points. In the second round at Mugello was Falappa, still in bad physical condition, even with almost a minute ahead of the runner-up Doug Polen lead before he had to abandon the race due to a defect in the fuel pump. He graduated from the World Cup in eleventh place overall.
Also In 1992 Giancarlo Falappa for the Ducati factory team, which was called in this season Team Police Ducati, and drove together with Raymond Roche and Doug Polen, the new 888, the position of team manager held this year Franco Uncini. Another innovation was the Dunlop tires after you had gone into the Vorsaisons on Michelin at the start. Falappa drove four race victories, including two in the ring Austria, and finished fourth overall. Teammate Poland secured the world title, Roche became vice - world champion.
In 1993, the Briton Carl Fogarty Falappas was new team-mate in the factory team team Raymond Roche Ducati, Roche acted as team manager, also there was a return to Michelin tires. Giancarlo Falappa won six of the first ten races. Including both at Brands Hatch, where he let the competition each with projections of more than a minute behind. In the second half of the season but there was disagreement on the setting of the bike and Falappa slid off in the meantime first have to arrive at the fifth World Cup ranking.
For the 1994 season Giancarlo Falappa received an offer from Honda, where he was to start at the factory Castrol Honda team. The Italians refused, however, and chose to continue for Ducati to go to the start. There, according to the discrepancies in the preseason, the team structures have been changed. Falappa Fogarty and contested the season in the team now work under the leadership of Virginio Ferrari and started for the first time on the 916 R, which should be legendary in the following years. At the first event at Donington Falappa was fifth after technical problems in both races. Also in the next race at Hockenheim, there were problems, this time on the electronic gearshift. The following two races at Misano, where he finished second and first, should be the last in Giancarlo Falappas career. A short time later, he crashed during testing in Albacete, Spain, in which Ducati a new fork and an improved electronic switching system tested, due to a sudden failure of the new circuit. Falappa was thrown about four feet into the air and fell on the head. He was then 33 days, of which he floated most of them between life and death, in a coma.
After a long rehabilitation period Giancarlo Falappa did indeed necessarily to race again, but had to admit in 1997 after a test drive in Rijeka that his physical condition made the continuation of his career impossible.
Today he works as a representative for Ducati, is a frequent guest on World Superbike racing and visited Ducati dealers and Fan clubs.
Results
Trivia
- With his victory at Le Castellet in 1989 Falappa finished the race without the left side of his arm to the end, which was canceled after a contact of a fierce battle with teammate Mike Baldwin. He controlled in the last three rounds of the machine with the left hand in the front fork. Prior to import after the race in the parc fermé, he stopped his box and told his mechanic to change the handlebars to avoid being disqualified.
- In the test drive of a Bimota YB6 1000 on the A14 motorway at Ravenna in 1989 Falappa discovered the car of former Ducati team manager Marco Lucchinelli and overtook this greeting with a wheelie at about 170 km / h on the right. At the next motorway service area, the two met again. Lucchinelli was so impressed that he offered Falappa immediately a place in the Ducati factory team and invited him to headquarters to Borgo Panigale, where the contract was concluded later.
- As Giancarlo Falappa was in Albacete in a coma after a serious accident in 1994, they played for days at a video of his last victories in the hospital room that should help him wake up. When that did not work and you already started to abandon the hope of him then- TV commentator for the Superbike races Giovanni Di Pillo visited. This spoke to him as if he would comment on a dramatic race, and repeatedly shouted " Giancarlo awake! You have to wake up, Scott Russell brings on hits it will overtake you! Pedal to the Metal ". The following day Falappa awoke from a coma after 33 days.