Randy Mamola

Randy Mamola (born November 10, 1959) is an American former professional motorcycle racer and television sports presenter.

He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing between and.

A 13-time Premier Class race winner, Mamola was one of the most charismatic Grand Prix road racers of his generation, becoming a favourite because of his interaction with race fans both on and off the track as well as his aggressive and spirited riding style.

Over the span of his thirteen-year 500cc world championship road racing career, Mamola finished runner-up in the championship four times in, , and.

Mamola's 13 wins and 54 podiums in the Premier Class makes him one of the most accomplished riders to not win the 500cc World Championship.

He gained his first international exposure in 1977 when Grant took him to compete in the New Zealand Marlboro Series where, Mamola made a positive impression.

In 1977, Mamola graduated from high school and began competing professionally in the AMA 250cc road racing championship, finishing as runner up to David Emde in the final standings.

In his second year, he won the 1978 AMA 250cc road racing title and began drawing similarities to Kenny Roberts, earning the nickname, "Baby Kenny".

His performance earned him a place on the American team for the 1979 Transatlantic Trophy match races.

The Transatlantic Trophy match races pitted the best British riders against the top American road racers on 750cc motorcycles in a six-race series in England.

As a 250cc rider, Mamola wasn't expected to be a challenger on larger 750cc motorcycles however, he surprised observers by finishing the series as the second highest points scorer behind fellow American Mike Baldwin and ahead of former world champion and top British scorer, Barry Sheene.

Mamola entered the 1979 250cc Grand Prix road racing world championships competing on a Yamaha powered Bimota race bike but, after having a difference of opinion with his Italian sponsors, he switched to a Yamaha TZ-250 sponsored by Serge Zago.

When Zago's 500cc rider, Mike Baldwin became injured, Mamola took over the team's Suzuki RG 500 at mid-season.

Despite competing in only half of the 500cc races, he scored a second place at the Finnish Grand Prix then, led the French Grand Prix for five laps before being passed by Barry Sheene and finishing in second place just ahead of his boyhood idol, Kenny Roberts.

He ended his rookie season ranked fourth in the 250cc class and eighth in the 500cc class.

His exceptional rookie season earned him a full sponsorship from the Suzuki factory racing team for the 1980 season, filling the position vacated by Barry Sheene who departed to race a privateer Yamaha.

Mamola won his first 500cc Grand Prix race at the 1980 Belgian Grand Prix, making him the youngest Grand Prix premier class winner in history at the age of 20 years, 239 days, surpassing the previous record set in by Mike Hailwood (21 years, 75 days).

Mamola ended the 1980 season with a victory at the prestigious Mallory Park Race of the Year.

In 1981 he started the season strongly with two victories and two second-place finishes to take the lead in the championship but then, Marco Lucchinelli took command with four victories in the next five races to claim the world championship.

Mamola finished in second place once again however, he was only 21-years-old and many observers felt that it was only a matter of time before he would win a world championship.

His record would be broken in 1982 by Freddie Spencer (20 years, 196 days).

He won again at the British Grand Prix and finished his second season in an impressive second place in the final standings behind Kenny Roberts.

A miserable start to the 1982 season saw Mamola struggling to score points however, he recovered to score two second places and a victory in the last three races to finish sixth in the final championship standings.

The 1983 season was dominated by Honda's Freddie Spencer and Yamaha's Kenny Roberts.

While Spencer had the new Honda NS500 and Roberts had a new YZR500 with a V4 engine, Mamola soldiered on with the once dominant Suzuki RG 500.

The RG 500 had begun to show its age as, Suzuki's pursuit of a lightweight and compact machine had led to a myriad of handling problems associated with the flexing of the thin aluminum frame tubing.

Spencer and Roberts each won 6 of the season's 12 races as Mamola rode to a respectable third place in the championship standings.

Mamola lost his job when Suzuki withdrew from Grand Prix racing after the 1983 season however, when Spencer suffered an injury during the pre-season 1984 Trans-Atlantic Match Races, Honda contracted him to join their racing team.

He rode the Honda NS 500 to a second-place finish behind Eddie Lawson at the 1984 Spanish Grand Prix in his Honda debut.

Mamola went on to win three of the last five races of the season, including a win at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone aboard the new, V4 Honda NSR500 which featured an upside down chassis with its fuel tank beneath the engine and its exhaust pipes routed over the top of the engine.

The first-year NSR500 was maligned for its poor handling characteristics, which became apparent only after the fuel load decreased during races, upsetting the chassis weight distribution.

Despite the late season surge, Mamola finished second in the championship behind Lawson.

He was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2000.

In 2018, Mamola was inducted into the MotoGP Legends Hall of Fame by FIM.

After his racing career, he became involved in philanthropy, helping to found the Riders for Health charity organization and more recently Two Wheels for Life.

Mamola currently works as a television sports commentator.

Born in San Jose, California, Mamola grew up interested in a career as a musician, playing in a band at the age of 10.

However, when he turned 12 his interests turned to motorcycle racing, idolizing fellow Northern Californian motorcycle racer, Kenny Roberts.

He began competing in dirt track racing in Northern California and earned sponsorship from Yamaha when he was 14.

Mamola then focused on road racing with coaching from former racer, Ron Grant.