- Walter Villa
Infobox Former Grand Prix motorcycle rider
Caption = Walter Villa in 1976 at the Nürburgring
Name = Walter Villa
Nationality = flagicon|Italy Italian
Years = 1967 - 1980
Teams =Harley-Davidson
Races = 72
Championships = 250cc-1974, 1975, 1976 350cc- 1976
Wins = 24
Podiums = 36
Points =
Poles = 21
Fastest laps = 20
First race = 1967 125cc West German Grand Prix
First win = 1974 250cc Nations Grand Prix
Last win = 1979 250cc Venezuelan Grand Prix
Last race = 1980 350cc British Grand PrixWalter Villa (born
August 13 ,1943 inCastelnuovo Rangone -June 18 ,2002 ) was a four-time Grand Prixmotorcycle road racing World Champion. He was known for his quiet, unassuming nature off the bike who became a ruthless competitor once the races began.Villa was born in
Castelnuovo Rangone in theEmilia-Romagna region ofItaly , betweenMaranello andModena , the heart of Italian motor sport country. Villa began racing at 13, on a 175ccMoto Morini . In his first race, he finished third, beatingGiacomo Agostini , who went on to become Italy's greatest-ever bike racer.In the early 1970s,
Harley-Davidson bought the ailingAermacchi factory nearMilan , with the aim of selling a range of bikes from 125cc machines to the traditional big V-twins. First, they marketed Aermacchi's horizontal single cylinderfour-stroke s, and then began to develop their owntwo-stroke s. They hired Villa for their racing effort in theGrand Prix motorcycle racing circuit. The Italians developed winning machines that took Villa to victory in the 1974, 1975 and 1976 250cc world championship, and the 350cc in 1976.In addition to the world championships, he won eight Italian championships. When he finally quit racing, Villa became a key player in the grand prix nostalgia circuit, riding in high speed demonstrations and becoming his country's top trainer.
References
* [http://www.motogp.com/en/riders/profiles/Walter+Villa Walter Villa career statistics at MotoGP.com]
*"50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix" (1st edition). Hazelton Publishing Ltd, 1999. ISBN 1-874557-83-7
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