Umberto Masetti

Umberto Masetti, born on 4 May 1926 in Borgo delle Rose in the province of Parma and died on 28 May 2006, was an Italian professional motorcycle road racer who competed in the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1949 to 1958. He debuted in 1949 on a Moto Morini in the 125cc class, and that year also raced a Benelli in the 250cc class and a Gilera in the 500cc class. Riding for the Gilera factory team he won the Belgian and Dutch Grands Prix in 1950 and defeated Geoff Duke for the 500cc world championship, the first Italian to win that title, and he took the championship again in 1952. An accident at Imola kept him out of much of the 1953 season, when he raced a 250cc NSU, and from 1955 he rode for the MV Agusta factory until he retired from motorcycle competition after an unsuccessful 1958 season in the 500cc class. He afterwards lived in Maranello.