Franco Uncini

Franco Uncini is an Italian former professional motorcycle road racer, born on 9 March 1955 in Recanati, who competed in the FIM Grand Prix world championships from 1976 to 1985 and won the 1982 world championship in the 500cc class with the Roberto Gallina Suzuki team. He began in the 750cc class with Laverda and Ducati, took two 250cc Grand Prix wins in 1977 for Harley-Davidson, and in 1979 bought a Suzuki RG500 and ran his own private 500cc team, finishing fifth in 1979 and fourth in 1980. His 1982 title came with five victories and he was the last Italian to win the 500cc crown until Valentino Rossi in 2001. In 1983 he was severely injured at Assen, was in a coma, and recovered. He retired after 1985, was inducted into the FIM MotoGP Hall of Fame in 2016 and later became the FIM Safety Officer in MotoGP.