Renzo Pasolini

Infobox Former Grand Prix motorcycle rider


Caption = Renzo Pasolini in 1970
Name = Renzo Pasolini
Nationality = flagicon|Italy Italian
Years = 1964 - 1973
Teams = Aermacchi, Benelli
Races = 46
Championships = 0
Wins = 6
Podiums = 35
Points =
Poles = N/A
Fastest laps = N/A
First race = 1964 350cc Nations Grand Prix
First win = 1969 250cc Dutch TT
Last win = 1972 250cc Spanish Grand Prix
Last race = 1973 250cc Nations Grand Prix

Renzo Pasolini (July 18, 1938 - May 20, 1973), nicknamed "Paso", was a popular Italian Grand Prix motorcycle road racer in the 1960s. His uncalculated style of racing made him a crowd favourite. Pasolini's rivalry with Giacomo Agostini divided motorcycling enthusiasts, and while Pasolini's style of racing brought mixed results which hindered him in his attempts to win a world title, it nonetheless earned him a place in the affections of many fans.

Career

Pasolini was born at Rimini, the son of a motorcyclist.

He began his motocross career in 1958, although he had shown a great interest in boxing. With his smoking habit and appetite for food and drink, he did not fit the mould of an athlete. His approach to corners was a risky combination of balance and speed which always made it appear as though he was about to fall off his bike.

After performing well in motocross, Pasolini began to concentrate on road racing, but he did continue his involvement in other sports as a means of keeping fit. In 1962 he began racing with the Aermacchi 175cc, with two first-place finishes ahead of Giacomo Agostini marking the start of their long rivalry. Pasolini then took a two-year break from racing to complete his military service; stationed in Sardinia, he met his future wife, Anna. They would have two children, Sabrina and Renzo Stefano.

Pasolini resumed his racing career in 1964, racing Aermacchi 250 and 350cc bikes at senior level. Though these motorcycles were not the most advanced at the time, Pasolini did achieve some excellent results. In the 1965 Italian championship Pasolini, racing a Benelli, finished second to Tarquinio Provini in the 250cc class and third in the 350cc class behind Giacomo Agostini and Giuseppe Mandorlini. 1966 was a year of varying results at domestic and world championship levels. Most notable was the final race of the Italian championship. Pasolini finished in first place on the then new four-cylinder Benelli 500.

With a more competitive bike, Pasolini was now able to compete with the best, and this marked the start of a string of epic confrontations with Mike Hailwood, then riding a Honda, and the renewal of his rivalry with Agostini, an MV Agusta rider. 1968 saw Pasolini finish second to Agostini in the 350cc world championship, in addition to winning the Italian 250 and 350cc championship titles. The media-fuelled rivalry between Pasolini and Agostini was at its fiercest in 1969, but it never escalated to so much as a war of words, whereas on the race track, the intense competition between the two led to the suggestion of a pair of head-to-head races, one with each rider on a Benelli and the other with each rider on an MV Agusta. The FMI (Federazione Motociclistica Italiana, the governing body of Italian motorcycling) and the manufacturers quickly put a stop to such plans. 1969 was also the year in which Pasolini lost out to Benelli team-mate Kel Carruthers in the 250cc world championship.

New regulations in the 250cc classification for 1970, which limited the category to two-cylinder bikes, led the Benelli team to concentrate on the 350cc class, but it was not one of Pasolini's best years. He split from Benelli and returned to Aermacchi, now merged with Harley-Davidson. For Pasolini, much of 1971 was given over to testing out the Aermacchi/Harley-Davidson 250cc bike, which took much longer in development than had been anticipated. The result of the perseverance of Pasolini and team was a competitive motorcycle, albeit one of many at Pasolini's level of competition, and there were also a number of up-and-coming racers to contend with, including Jarno Saarinen, to whom Pasolini lost the 250cc world championship in 1972 by a single point.

Tragedy at Monza

Pasolini was killed in tragic and controversial circumstances at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on May 20, 1973. He retired four laps from the end of the 350cc race. On the first lap of the 250cc race, Pasolini fell from his motorcycle, and Jarno Saarinen was unable to avoid crashing into him. A pile-up involving twelve riders ensued, and Pasolini and Saarinen lost their lives.

Over the years, the condition of the track on that day has been the subject of considerable debate. The crash has often been attributed to a spill left on the track during the 350cc race when Walter Villa's Benelli began leaking on the penultimate lap, a problem which was exacerbated when his pit team encouraged him to finish the race in order to collect championship points. Race officials neglected to clean up the spillage prior to the 250cc race, and one rider, John Dodds, made his concerns known to authorities, only to meet with threats. However, Pasolini's fall and the damage to his bike were both consistent with the bike having seized.

The Ducati Paso

In 1986, Ducati, then under the ownership of Cagiva, introduced the Ducati Paso, which took its name from Pasolini's nickname. The bike was designed by Massimo Tamburini, co-founder of Bimota.

=Motorcycle Grand Prix results cite news | url=http://www.motogp.com/en/riders/profiles/Renzo+Pasolini | title=Rider Statistics - Renzo Pasolini | publisher=MotoGP.com | accessdate=2008-08-29 ] =

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References

* [http://www.iomtt.com/TTDatabase/Riders.aspx?ride_id=2325 Profile of Renzo Pasolini on the official Isle of Man TT website]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20060821050727/http://www.tz350.net/roger_gowenlock_stories3.htm The True Cause of the Tragic Accident at the Start of the 1973 250cc Italian GP at Monza]

External links

* [http://www.renzopasolini.com Renzo Pasolini Official Website] it icon