Roberto Locatelli

Locatelli 2008 in Assen on Gilera

Roberto "Loca" Locatelli (born July 5, 1974 in Bergamo ) is a former Italian motorcycle racer .

In 2000 he became world champion in the 125 cm³ class of the motorcycle world championship .

Career

Roberto Locatelli gained his first experience in the Italian championship, which he won in 1993. The following year, 1994, he made his debut at the Italian Grand Prix in the 125 cc class of the motorcycle world championship as a wildcard driver. He immediately took pole position and was tenth in the race after an accident.

In the 1995 season Locatelli was a factory driver for Aprilia in the 250 cc class. At the first run of the season in Eastern Creek , Australia , he fell on the first lap in a pile-up caused by Luis d'Antin and suffered a broken collarbone . A ninth place at the Brazilian Grand Prix was his best result of the season, and in the overall standings he finished 17th.

In the 1996 season "Loca" did not make the breakthrough either. In the two years in the 250 cc class, he did not manage to get a podium.

From 1997 to 1998 Roberto Locatelli started on a Honda in the 125 cc class. In the first year he finished eighth with 97 points. In the 1998 season he achieved his first podium finish with third place at the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring , and he also achieved three pole positions . In the overall World Cup, he finished ninth.

For the 1999 season Locatelli moved to the Vasco Rossi Racing team of the Italian singer Vasco Rossi and started on Aprilia. He was able to win the Grand Prix of France and Italy and finished fourth in the World Cup with 173 points.

In the 2000 season , "Loca" continued to compete for Vasco Rossi Racing and was able to celebrate the greatest success of his career to date. With five wins, a total of eight podium finishes and nine pole positions, he became world champion in the 125 cc class with 230 points.

After that, difficult times began for Locatelli, he could not find a place in a works team, in 2001 and 2002 he started in the 250 cc class on Honda and Aprilia and finished eighth in the World Cup.

For the 2003 season he went back to the 125 cc class for the newcomer KTM . After a disappointing season with only 18 points from 16 races and 24th place in the overall standings, he left the Austrians again and switched to Lucio Cecchinello's team , where he drove a 125 cc Aprilia and achieved two wins and six podiums in the 2004 season was able to occupy third place in the overall ranking with 193 points. When a maximum age of 28 years for 125 cc pilots was introduced after the season, he, like the German Steve Jenkner , was no longer allowed to start and again switched to the 250 cc class.

The 2005 season was not great, Locatelli achieved 13th place in the World Cup with 61 points.

For the 2006 season, Roberto Locatelli moved to the Hungarian team Toth , where he drove a 2005 Aprilia factory machine. There he experienced a miraculous resurrection and silenced all critics who thought he was too old and had already written off. This year he exceeded all expectations, finished every race in the top 10, achieved two podium places and was fifth overall with 191 points.

In the 2007 season , Roberto Locatelli drove a factory machine from Gilera in the 250 cm³ class , which was identical to the current factory machine from Aprilia. On March 24, 2007, he fell while training for the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez and suffered serious injuries to his head, lungs and left ankle.

After 224 starts in the motorcycle world championship, nine wins , 25 podium positions, 18 pole positions and ten fastest race laps , Roberto Locatelli ended his active driving career after the 2009 season .

In future, he will work as a driving trainer and sports coordinator for the Junior GP FMI team. The junior team is an initiative of the Italian Motorcycle Association, which aims to generate and promote promising talents.

statistics

title

• 2000 - 125 cc world champion on Aprilia
• 9 Grand Prix victories

In the motorcycle world championship

season	class	motorcycle	run	Victories	Podiums	Poles	Points	Result
1994	125 cc	Aprilia	1	-	-	1	6th	29
1995	250 cc	Aprilia	10	-	-	-	31	17th
1996	250 cc	Aprilia	12	-	-	-	41	17th
1997	125 cc	Honda	15th	-	-	-	97	8th.
1998	125 cc	Honda	14th	-	1	3	87	9.
1999	125 cc	Aprilia	16	2	4th	3	173	4th
2000	125 cc	Aprilia	16	5	8th	9	230	World Champion
2001	250 cc	Aprilia	15th	-	2	-	134	8th.
2002	250 cc	Aprilia	16	-	1	-	119	8th.
2003	125 cc	KTM	16	-	-	-	18th	24.
2004	125 cc	Aprilia	16	2	6th	1	192	3.
2005	250 cc	Aprilia	16	-	-	-	61	13.
2006	250 cc	Aprilia	16	-	2	1	191	5.
2007	250 cc	Gilera	13	-	-	-	59	13.
2008	250 cc	Gilera	16	-	-	-	110	9.
2009	250 cc	Gilera	16	-	1	-	85	11.
total			224	9	25th	18th	1634

References

Web links

Commons : Roberto Locatelli  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• official page
• Roberto Locatelli on the official website of the Motorcycle World Championship (English).
• Photos from Locatelli at highsider.com

Individual evidence

1. ^ Locatelli after a fall in an artificial coma. SID article on Focus Online , March 25, 2007, accessed July 15, 2016 . 
2. ^ Lennart Schmid: Locatelli becomes a driving instructor. Motorsport-Total.com, January 29, 2010, accessed July 15, 2016 .