Manuel Poggiali

Manuel Poggiali, born on 14 February 1983, is a Sammarinese Grand Prix motorcycle road racing world champion. He began racing minibikes in 1994, made his first Grand Prix starts in 1998 and won the Italian 125cc Championship that year. He won the 125cc world title in 2001 on a Gilera, then moved up to the 250cc class and won that title at his first attempt in 2003, following Freddie Spencer and Tetsuya Harada. In all he scored 12 race wins, 11 pole positions and 35 podium finishes. After a poor 2004 and a sabbatical he returned for 2008, retired midseason, and came back in 2013 in the Italian Superbike Championship on a Ducati. He has also played football for Pennarossa in San Marino.