Stéphane Mertens
Stéphane Mertens ( born May 14, 1959 in Paris, France) is a Belgian motorcycle racers.
Career
Motorcycle Championships
Stéphane Mertens made his debut in 1983 in the 250 cc race of the Grand Prix of Belgium with the 19th place in the Motorcycle World Championship. In the same year he was also Vice-European Champion in this displacement class. In 1984 he played on Yamaha had first full 250cc World Championship season, but ran only three points and closed it as the 27th championship from. In the Belgian 250cc championship he won the title. Mertens started up to and including 1987 in the 250 cc World Championship, his best World Cup placing it reached in 1986 with the 14th overall.
Superbike, Supersport and Endurance World Championship
For the 1988 season Mertens moved to the newly created World Superbike Championship, where he went to the start together with Davide Tardozzi the factory team of the Italian manufacturer Bimota. The Belgian was able to celebrate two victories this year and closed the World Cup starting in fourth, just 8.5 points behind the World Champion Fred Merkel. The following season, Mertens started on Honda RC30 in total Bel- Ray Mediares team. This time he became Vice World Champion with four race wins and Fred Merkel had again beaten only extremely scarce. After the third World Cup ranking 1990 Stéphane Mertens joined the Ducati 1991 season to Belgium, where he started on the Ducati 851. 1991 won the Belgians with two victories still the fourth world ranking, followed by up to 1994 the final rankings seven, seven and 14, each without running victory.
In 1995, Stéphane Mertens in the World Endurance Championship, where he won the title at first attempt. In the 1997 season of the 189 cm Belgians in the Supersport World Series was the German team Rubatto on Suzuki at the start and reached with three podium finishes sixth World Cup ranking. Followed in 2002 by his second world championship crown in the World Endurance Championship.