Marco Lucchinelli
Marco Lucchinelli ( born June 20, 1954 in Valdivara ( SP) ) is a former Italian motorcycle racer.
He denied 1976-1986 a total of 82 races in the motorcycle world championship in 1981 and won the world championship in the 500cc class.
Career
Lucchinelli began his career in 1975 on a Laverda in endurance racing. His achievements there a factory sponsored Yamaha gave him for the Italian championship. For the 1976 season he rose to Suzuki in the 500cc World Championship with three podium finishes and took fourth World Cup overall. His wild driving style earned him the nickname Crazy Horse, and led to many falls, which made him fall back in 1977 with a Yamaha on the eleventh World Cup ranking.
In 1978 Lucchinelli returned to Suzuki. He won on this brand in 1980 during the Grand Prix of Germany at the Nürburgring in his first race and finished behind Kenny Roberts sr. Randy Mamola and the third World Cup overall. In the 1981 season, he won five races for themselves and win the world title in a close fight against Mamola. He also won the 200-mile race at Imola, which in 1986 he won for the second time in the same year.
Two years with Honda and two more on a Cagiva were less successful. End of the 1985 season Lucchinelli ended his active career temporarily.
In the 1988 season Lucchinelli returned for one season and went on Ducati in the newly formed Superbike World Championship, where he won two races and the fifth world rank occupied. Following the season, he took over the post of the Ducati team manager.