Jean-Louis Tournadre

Jean-Louis Tournadre (born November 17, 1958 in Clermont-Ferrand ) is a former French motorcycle racer .

In the 1982 season he won the world championship title in the 250 cm³ class of the motorcycle world championship on a Yamaha TZ 250 , making him the first French world champion in the history of the FIM road world championship.

Career

Jean-Louis Tournadre made his debut in 1980 at the British Grand Prix in the 350 cc class on a Bimota in the motorcycle world championship, but this year he only contested a total of three Grand Prix.

From the 1981 season onwards , the Frenchman competed permanently in the 250cc class on a Yamaha. At the last race of the season, the Czechoslovak Grand Prix in Brno , he celebrated his first podium finish with third place. With 37 points, Tournadre achieved seventh place in the overall classification.

The 1982 season was by far the best of Tournadre's career. At his home race in Nogaro he achieved the only Grand Prix victory of his career in the absence of Toni Mang and Carlos Lavado , who boycotted the race because of what they considered to be a dangerous route . In the overall ranking of the quarter liter class, he prevailed with one point ahead of his toughest opponent Toni Mang, who had won five races this season. The main reason for Jean-Louis Tournadre's success was his consistency. He finished eight out of twelve races on the podium, always reached the points and never retired. His worst place ever was a seventh place at the Finnish Grand Prix .

In 1983 Tournadre continued for Yamaha in the 250 cc class. On March 19, 1983, at the Grand Prix of South Africa , he was so seriously injured in a fall that he could not compete in races for a few months.

In the 1986 season , the Frenchman tried again on Yamaha to gain a foothold in the world championship. However, he couldn't get a single point, so he decided to hang up his helmet and retire from motorcycle racing.

In total, Jean-Louis Tournadre contested 37 Grand Prix races in his career and celebrated one victory and nine podium finishes.

statistics

title

• 1982 - 250 cc world champion on a Yamaha
• 1 Grand Prix victory

In the motorcycle world championship

season	class	motorcycle	run	Victories	Second	Third	Poles	Nice Race laps	Points	position
1980	250 cc	Yamaha	1	-	-	-	-	-	1	32.
	350 cc	Rieju	2	-	-	-	-	-	5	20th
1981	250 cc	Yamaha	5	-	-	1	-	-	34	7th
1982	250 cc	Yamaha	12	1	4th	3	-	2	118	World Champion
1983	250 cc	Yamaha	9	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1986	250 cc	Yamaha	8th	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
total			37	1	4th	4th	-	2	158

Web links

• Jean-Louis Tournadre on the official website of the Motorcycle World Championship (English).

Individual evidence

1. ^ Dennis Noyes, Michael Scott: 50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix. The Official History of the Fim Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix . 1st edition. Hazelton Publishing Ltd., Richmond 1999, ISBN 1-874557-83-7 .