Johnny Cecotto

Johnny Cecotto

Motorcycle Grand Prix Career
Nationality	Venezuelan
Active years	1975 - 1980
Team(s)	Yamaha
Grands Prix	48
Championships	1975 - 350cc, 1978 - Formula 750.
Wins	14
Podium finishes	26
Pole positions	22
Fastest laps	7
First Grand Prix	1975 250cc French Grand Prix
First win	1975 250cc French Grand Prix
Last win	1980 350cc Nations Grand Prix
Last Grand Prix	1980 500cc West German Grand Prix

Alberto "Johnny" Cecotto (born January 25, 1956 in Caracas, Venezuela) is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver. The son of Italian immigrants, he was one of the few people to have competed in both, motorcycle and Formula One Grand Prix.

Motorcycle Racing History

Cecotto had won the Venezuelan National Championship in 1973 and 1974 when he rose to international prominence at the 1975 Daytona 200 motorcycle race by rendering one of the most storied performances in the history of the event. Competing as a virtual unknown aboard an unmodified Yamaha TZ 700 sponsored by Yamaha's Venezuelan importer, and starting from last place on the grid, Cecotto showed impressive riding ability by passing almost the entire field while working his way up to third place, relegating the 15 time World Champion Giacomo Agostini to fourth place in the process.

Following Daytona, Cecotto arrived in Europe to compete in the Grand Prix series, where he continued his meteoric rise by winning the 250cc and 350cc races in his first ever Grand Prix at the season opening round in France. He went on to become the youngest World Champion ever at nineteen years of age when he again defeated the defending champion, Giacomo Agostini for the 1975 350cc World Championship. Cecotto returned home to Venezuela to a hero's welcome as thousands of adoring fans lined the route from the airport to Caracas.

In 1976, Cecotto returned to Daytona, now with full support from the Yamaha factory racing team. This time, he was victorious, coming out on top after a race-long battle with American Champion Kenny Roberts. In the 1976 Grand Prix season, he lost his 350cc crown in a tight battle with Harley-Davidson mounted Walter Villa. At the beginning of the 1977 season, he was badly injured in a deadly four rider accident at the Austrian Grand Prix that claimed the life of Swiss rider Hans Stadelmann. Cecotto never seemed to come to grips with the 500cc Yamaha, having had a series of crashes which hindered his progress. Cecotto finished third in the 1978 500cc title chase and added the Formula 750 World Championship to his titles. He suffered a badly broken kneecap at the 1979 Austrian Grand Prix at the Salzburgring and missed half the season. Cecotto soldiered on through the 1980 Grand Prix season but his numerous injuries curtailed his motorcycle racing career. After the 1980 season, he decided to quit motorcycling to pursue an auto racing career. He retired with twelve 500cc pole positions in 27 starts, giving him one of the highest pole position per start ratios in motorcycle Grand Prix history.[1]

Automobile Racing History

Cecotto made his four wheeled debut with Minardi in the 1980 Formula Two Championship. In the 1982 Formula Two season, driving for the March-BMW team, he won three races and finished the season tied for first place with his team-mate Corrado Fabi but, was relegated to runner up by the tie breaker system. Nevertheless, his performance garnered enough attention that he was offered a seat in Formula One.

In Formula One, Cecotto participated in 23 races, debuting on March 13, 1983 for the Theodore Racing team. He had a promising start as he scored a sixth place in only his second race, however, the team suffered from lack of funding and he was forced to sit out the final two rounds. For the 1984 season, he joined the Toleman racing team with Ayrton Senna as his team mate. While qualifying for the British Grand Prix, he crashed heavily, breaking both of his legs which effectively ended his Formula One career.

After recovering from his injuries, Cecotto returned to competition in the flourishing Touring Car category, winning the 1989 Italian Touring Car Championship. From 1988 to 1992 Cecotto competed in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM, German Touring Car Championship). Driving a Schnitzer Motorsport BMW M3, he finished as runner up in the 1990 season. In 1994 and 1998 he won the German STW Supertouring Championship for BMW. In 1995 he raced in the BTCC for BMW. In 2001 and 2002, he switched to the Irmscher Opel Omega and won the German V8 Star Championship two years running.

Cecotto currently devotes most of his time to supporting the racing career of his son, Johnny Cecotto Jr.

Motorcycle Grand Prix Results

Year	Class	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Points	Rank	Wins
1975	250cc	Yamaha	FRA 15	ESP DNF		W.GER DNF	NAT 12	IOM DNS	NED DNF	BEL 15	SWE DNF	FIN 12	CZE DNF	YUG DNF	54	4th	2
1975	350cc	Yamaha	FRA 15	ESP 12	AUT DNF	W.GER 15	NAT 15	IOM DNS	NED 6			FIN 15	CZE DNF	YUG DNF	78	1st	4
1976	350cc	Yamaha	YUG DNF	FRA 12	AUT 15	NAT 15	IOM DNS	NED 3	FIN DNF	CZE DNF	W.GER 12	ESP 8			65	2nd	2
1977	350cc	Yamaha	VEN 15		W.GER DNS	NAT DNS	ESP DNS	FRA DNS	YUG DNS	NED DNS	SWE DNS	FIN DNS	CZE 15	GBR DNF	30	9th	2
1977	500cc	Yamaha	VEN 8	AUT DNF	W.GER DNF	NAT DNF		FRA DNF	NED DNF	BEL DNF	SWE 12	FIN 15	CZE 15	GBR DNF	50	4th	2
1978	500cc	Yamaha	VEN DNS	ESP 8	AUT 12	FRA DNF	NAT DNF	NED 15	BEL DNF	SWE 5	FIN 10	GBR 4	W.GER 12		66	3rd	1
1979	500cc	Yamaha	VEN DNS	AUT DNF	W.GER DNS	NAT DNS	ESP DNS	YUG DNS	NED DNS	BEL DNS	SWE DNS	FIN 4	GBR DNS	FRA 6	10	20th	0
1980	350cc	Yamaha	NAT 15		FRA 12	NED DNF			GBR DNF	CZE DNF	W.GER 10				37	4th	1
1980	500cc	Yamaha	NAT 8	ESP 5	FRA 0	NED 5	BEL DNF	FIN DNF	GBR 7		W.GER 5				31	7th	0

Complete Formula One Results

(Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Team	WDC	Points
1983	Theodore	BRA 14	USAW 6	FRA 11	SMR Ret	MON DNPQ	BEL 10	USAE Ret	CAN Ret	GBR DNQ	GER 11	AUT DNQ	DUT DNQ	ITA 12	EUR	RSA		Theodore	19th	1
1984	Toleman	BRA Ret	RSA Ret	BEL Ret	SMR NC	FRA Ret	MON Ret	CAN 9	USAE Ret	USA Ret	GBR DNQ	GER	AUT	DUT	ITA	EUR	POR	Toleman	-	0

References

• Official Johnny Cecotto website
• MotoGP