Franco Uncini
Don’t believe everything you think you know about Franco Uncini. Back in the day (and more recently) there was much more going on behind the scenes than the world at large understood.
One generation knows Franco as the man hit by Wayne Gardner during a race and cheating death by millimetres. Another knows him as the former world champion. If you know him for either, you’ll like this. If he’s new to you, you’ll like this.
“The most important person in my box was the one I looked at every time I returned to the pits. A glance and he understood everything. If I was satisfied or not. If I had a good feeling or not. If the last changes were an improvement or not.”
While he says these words, sitting in his studio in the quiet town of Recanati, central Italy, the 1982 500cc world champion Franco Uncini is thinking about Mario Ciamberlini – the man that supported him during his debut rides – and continued to be there when things got serious enough to earn good money and battle for the biggest of motorcycle racing prizes.
In 1979 the two were part of a private team with a family-style organisation: “My brother was the manager, my mom the cook, a couple of friends helped us as mechanics plus another guy from Rome.”
The results were encouraging: “I finished fifth in the final standings of the top class, best
privateer of the season,” Uncini explained.
Three years later, the set-up around the thickas-thieves friendship of Uncini and Ciamberlini had seriously changed. Now it was a big team made up of an experienced staff roster and there was a prime Suzuki factory race bike.
Ramping up the kit meant ramping up the expectation on the improving Uncini. Getting into the top five just wasn't enough any more. The Italian had now become – and was expected to remain – a title contender; battling on track was against the likes of Honda’s Freddie Spencer, Yamaha’s Kenny Roberts and Graeme Crosby.
Intense times. And indeed, when the helmet was off, Franco was often photographed or filmed with a serious, set scowl – determination firmly in his eyes and definitely not many smiles.
A racing fizzog? To a degree, but in reality the reason behind the outward image is quite surprising...
CR: Let’s start with your racing: Can you explain what contributed most to getting you to ride at your best?
FU: It was a combination of things. You must be relaxed, feel confident, trust the bike and have a great relationship within the team.
“ALL THE FEEDBACK THE MECHANICS HAD CAME FROM ME. NO ELECTRONICS EITHER: THAT WAS IN OUR RIGHT WRIST.”
CR: You are often referred to as a rider that was very meticulous in the bike setting. Do you agree with that?
FU: Sure, I was always looking for improvements. I’ll make an example: Braking late is not a plus if you are not able to enter the corner in the right way and with the proper speed. In order to do that, you need a bike that allows it. My goal was winning, and that required maximum effort both on working on my own riding style and setting the bike.
CR: How was the job done?
FU: The key was to say the right things to my mechanics, to clearly describe what I felt while I was riding. I had to tell them how the bike was behaving and why. Compared to today we had no telemetry and less setting possibilities. All the feedback the mechanics could have, came from me. No electronics either: that was in our right wrist.
CR: What were your goals when you started racing?
FU: I wanted to race in the 500 class, but started with 250 and 350 because it was cheaper to buy the bikes. In 1976, when I was 21, I was contacted by the Italian Diemme team, that had won several Italian championships and had supported Johnny Cecotto during the previous season, when he won the 350 crown. Riding for them was good.
CR: You did immediately well in the 350 class, bagging some podiums.
FU: Yes, in fact that got the attention of the factory Aermacchi Harley-davidson team. They had just won the Italian and world championship in the 250 and 350 classes.
CR: You signed with them and became Walter Villa’s team-mate.your relationship wasn’t exactly great.
FU: It’s true. Our first race together was the 1977 Daytona 100-mile. He was in big trouble, in the race he was behind. I felt great and battled at the front with Gregg Hansford, Kenny Roberts and Steve Baker. Lots of overtakes, great fun indeed. But at one point I had a problem with the brakes and crashed. Shortly after that race I had the proof that Villa didn’t like me. He hardly spoke to me about what was related to the bikes. No way we could discuss how a tyre worked or similar things. There was no relationship at all between us.
CR: In the 250 class you both battled for the world title.
FU: With two races remaining there were three contenders: myself, Villa and Mario Lega on the Morbidelli. The second to last race was held in Brno. On the starting grid our team boss asked me if I could help Villa by letting him finish in front of me, since he had more points in the standings. I said: “No way”.we started the last lap together, leading the race. I managed to finish first and he was second. Lega needed a third place to win the title. He finished on the rostrum and that was it.
CR: Short recap of what happened before the start of the 1982 season: the current world champion, the Italian Marco Lucchinelli, left Suzuki and signed on with Honda. So there was a good seat available and it was offered to you. A factory bike, finally. Why so late?
FU: I asked myself the same question many times. In 1980, as a privateer, I finished fourth in the standings, showing very good speed. But Suzuki had no factory bike for me, they were all taken. And among the Japanese manufacturers there was a sort of deal, they would not pick a rider linked to another brand. Since I rode a private Suzuki, I was seen as a Suzuki man.
CR: What made the difference in 1982? FU: Everything. Myself, the bike, the team. All in the right place.
CR: The following season was not that good and you had that horrible incident in Assen.you crashed, remained on the main line and was hit by another rider while you tried to get out of the track. Your helmet came off, you remained on the ground, no movements. In a coma. But you later recovered and quickly returned to racing.
FU: We lost the title even before the season started. The new bike was no good. The fact was that until the year before Suzuki had an excellent test rider, one who would finish top six if he raced with us in the 500 championship, I believe. The new tester was not as good as he was, and had less experience. I realised we were in trouble at my first test. I tried to convince Suzuki to go back to the previous bike, but there was no chance that was going to happen. The chassis was really bad.
CR: What happens in the mind of a rider when he has to face this kind of situation?
FU: You lose part of your boost. You’re convinced you’re giving everything you have, maybe. But it’s not true.
Left: Niki Lauda and Franco Uncini share a photo moment for the press. Below: Ballington and Uncini endure the cold victory lap at the Kent circuit in front a big crowd.
CR: Speaking about the Assen incident: you said you were not going to watch the video of the crash.
FU: Those images were shown all around the world, I got so many calls and letters from people asking how I was. It was weird for me, because I had no memory of the incident, so when I went back to racing I was not influenced by it. I made a deal with one of my daughters: we will watch the video together, you decide when. The moment came three or four years later. It made no impression on me. People had told me what had happened so many times that I already knew about everything that was shown.
CR: Does it bother you to be often linked to such an incident?
FU: It happened, yes. Sometimes I reacted to being asked about it by saying: “Can we please talk also about my successes?”
“THE NEW BIKE WAS NO GOOD. THE FACT WAS THAT UNTIL THE YEAR BEFORE, SUZUKI HAD AN EXCELLENT TEST RIDER, ONE WHO WOULD FINISH TOP SIX IF HE RACED WITH US IN THE 500 CHAMPIONSHIP, I BELIEVE.”
CR: Was it fun?
FU: You bet, being the world champion gave me lots of possibilities and great experiences.
CR: During the 1980s, among your opponents were some original characters: Lucchinelli used to race with a suit and tie under his leathers; Walter Migliorati wore on his head, under the helmet, the used underwear of a lady.what do you remember about this part of the racing world?
FU: It was a great environment. The riders shared a lot, we were very tight friends. Like a big family really. Today it’s different, every rider stays on his own, mainly. And they have more to deal with, compared to us. They train a lot, also during race weekends. I’m currently the FIM Grand Prix Safety Officer, so I see them at every race and I know what I’m talking about. They also have more stuff do to because of sponsors and things like that.
CR: You talked about your current role. Is it in any way linked to your past?
FU: Well, now I’m in charge of safety and I check the tracks of the Motogp calendar. I have to say that I was already dealing with a lot of aspects that involved safety when I was a rider: I was the guy who spoke with the organisers about the condition of the tracks; who asked for more bales of straw in a certain point of the circuit which was considered dangerous, for example. I was the spokesperson, kind of. Now it’s easier, the organisers are fully aware of the importance of safety. Back then it was different.
CR: Last question: you looked very serious in the photos from your career. Why?
FU: I wanted to be the opposite of Lucchinelli, who won the title before me and was my compatriot. He was very noisy, a crazy guy, exuberant. So I decided to show myself as serious, very serious. It wasn’t natural, rather a decision I had made. In retrospect, I’m not fully satisfied with that choice. I wasn’t like Lucchinelli, not that wild, but I had fun too, a lot. So I kind of faked I was a super serious guy. That wasn’t really me.