Getting going

For Carlos Lavado the idea of racing and being a racer came from one man who went before him: “It happened of course in Venezuela in 1976, I was inspired by Cecotto. “For my first race I used the 2-stroke twin Yamaha street bike that I used to commute from my home to the university. It had drum brakes at the front, nothing really advanced.” In that year Lavado won a national championship called ‘Fuerza Libre’, that mixed bikes from 350 to 1000cc. In the following season he was second in the same category, and then came his debut in the Venezuelan 350cc round of the 1978 World Championship. In his career he won a total of 19 races, gathered 42 podiums, was on pole position 22 times. And also collected a number of fractures: “I remember a big crash in Imola at the Acque Minerali corners, I broke a leg in eight places during the practice session. “In 1982 I had an incident in Mugello and risked loosing a leg because not enough blood was reaching one of my feet. Circuits were safer than in the ‘70s, but there often were barriers and guard-rails close to the track.”