Renzo Pasolini

Renzo Pasolini (18 July 1938 – 20 May 1973), nicknamed "Paso", was an Italian professional motorcycle road racer. He competed in the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1964 to 1972.

Renzo Pasolini
Renzo Pasolini in 1970
Nationality	Italian
Born	(1938-07-18)18 July 1938 Rimini, Italy
Died	20 May 1973(1973-05-20) (aged 34) Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Italy
Motorcycle racing career statistics Grand Prix motorcycle racing Active years 1964–1973 First race 1964 350cc Nations Grand Prix Last race 1973 250cc Nations Grand Prix First win 1969 250cc Dutch TT Last win 1972 250cc Spanish Grand Prix Team(s) Aermacchi, Benelli Championships 0 Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 46 6 35 N/A N/A

Although he never won a world championship, Pasolini was a popular competitor due to his fearless and passionate riding style.^[1] He was notable for racing with an open-face helmet and black horn-rimmed glasses at a time when most competitors had adopted full-face helmets.^[1] Pasolini won five Grand Prix races during his career and narrowly lost the 1972 250cc world championship to Jarno Saarinen by a single point. He died along with Saarinen in an accident at the start of the 1973 Nations Grand Prix at Autodromo Nazionale di Monza.

In 1985, Ducati presented at EICMA the Ducati Paso 750, named after Pasolini.

Career

Renzo Pasolini was born in Rimini, in the heart of Romagna, the area of Italy with the strongest motorcycle sports tradition. His father was a motorcyclist and introduced him to both motocross and road racing at a very young age. He began his motocross career in 1958,^[2] after having shown great interest in boxing and football as well. A smoker and incorrigible party-goer, he was an uncommon athlete, as was his approach to corners while racing—a dangerous combination of balance and speed which always made him seem about to fall off his bike.

Pasolini was well into his twenties when he made the decision to switch from motocross to road racing.^[1] In 1962, he debuted with the Aermacchi 175cc, when his two first-place finishes ahead of Giacomo Agostini spurred their long rivalry. Pasolini took a two-year break from racing to complete his military service and, while stationed in Sardinia, he met his future wife, Anna, with whom he had two children, Sabrina and Renzo Stefano.

Pasolini riding a Benelli to victory at the 1969 250cc Dutch TT.

Pasolini resumed his racing career in 1964, racing Aermacchi 250cc and 350cc bikes at the senior level. 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 both domestically and internationally; most notable was the final race of the Italian championship, which Pasolini won on the then-new four-cylinder Benelli 500.

With a more competitive bike, Pasolini was able to rival the best, and this marked the start of a string of epic confrontations with Mike Hailwood, then riding a Honda, and the revival of his rivalry with Agostini, an MV Agusta rider. The 1968 season saw him second to Agostini in the 350cc championship, after having earned the 250cc and 350cc Italian titles.

Pasolini (2) pursues Giacomo Agostini (1) during the 1970 350cc Dutch TT.

1969 brought mixed results, causing Pasolini to lose out to Benelli teammate Kel Carruthers in the 250cc world championship. New regulations in the 250cc classification for the 1970 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season limited the category to two-cylinder bikes, which prompted the Benelli team to concentrate on the 350cc class.

After a bad season, Pasolini left Benelli and joined Aermacchi, fresh out of a merger with Harley-Davidson.^[3] Much of the 1971 season was lost to testing the Aermacchi/Harley-Davidson 250cc bike, which took much longer in development than had been anticipated. The resulting bike was not superior to most, and a number of up-and-coming racers increased competition; among them was Jarno Saarinen, to whom Pasolini lost the 250cc world championship in 1972 by a single point.

Death

Pasolini lost his life at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza on 20 May 1973.^[4][5][6][7] He was not able to finish the 350cc race because of mechanical problems, retiring from the race with four laps remaining, and fell during the first lap of the 250cc race. Jarno Saarinen, immediately behind him, was unable to avoid him and fell as well, causing a chain reaction ultimately involving twelve riders and resulting in Pasolini's and Saarinen's deaths.^[8]

Much debate has surrounded the probable causes of the accident, with the most common explanation suggesting that a spill left on the track during the 350cc race (when Walter Villa's Benelli leaked on the penultimate lap, but the urge to collect championship points led the rider to continue racing despite the leak) likely caused the bike to slide. While it has been ascertained that race officials did neglect to order clean up of the track prior to the 250cc race—one rider, John Dodds, made his concerns known to authorities, only to be met with threats—Pasolini's fall and the damage sustained by his vehicle are consistent with an engine problem, likely a seizure of the pistons.^[9]

Pasolini was buried in the Monumental Cemetery of Rimini. His motorbike helmet and some testimonies of his victories are sited at his tomb.^[10]

The Ducati Paso

In 1986, Ducati Motor Holding, then under the ownership of Cagiva, introduced the Ducati Paso, named after Pasolini and designed by Massimo Tamburini, co-founder of Bimota.

Motorcycle Grand Prix results[11]

Points system from 1964 to 1968:

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6
Points	8	6	4	3	2	1

Points from 1969 onwards:

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Points	15	12	10	8	6	5	4	3	2	1

(Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

(key)

Year	Class	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Points	Rank	Wins
1964	350cc	Aermacchi	IOM -	NED -	GER -	DDR -	ULS -	FIN -	NAT 4	JPN -						3	13th	0
1965	250cc	Aermacchi	USA -	GER -	ESP -	FRA -	IOM NC	NED -	BEL -	DDR -	CZE -	ULS -	FIN -	NAT -	JPN -	0	–	0
	350cc	Aermacchi		GER 4			IOM NC	NED 4		DDR -	CZE 5	ULS -	FIN -	NAT 6	JPN -	9	8th	0
1966	250cc	Aermacchi	ESP 3	GER -	FRA -	NED -	BEL -	DDR -	CZE -	FIN -	ULS -	IOM -	NAT -	JPN -		4	14th	0
	350cc	Aermacchi		GER DNS	FRA 5	NED 3	BEL 4		CZE 5	FIN -	ULS -	IOM -	NAT 2	JPN -		17	3rd	0
1967	350cc	Aermacchi	GER 3	IOM NC	NED 3	DDR -	CZE -	ULS -	NAT -	JPN -						8	8th	0
	500cc	Benelli	GER -	IOM NC	NED -	BEL -	DDR -	CZE -	FIN -	ULS -	NAT -	CAN -				0	–	0
1968	250cc	Benelli	GER -	ESP -	IOM 2	NED 3	BEL -	DDR -	CZE -	FIN -	ULS -	NAT -				10	6th	0
	350cc	Benelli	GER 2		IOM 2	NED -		DDR -	CZE -		ULS -	NAT 2				18	2nd	0
	500cc	Benelli	GER -	ESP -	IOM -	NED -	BEL -	DDR -	CZE -	FIN -	ULS -	NAT 2				6	12th	0
1969	250cc	Benelli	ESP DNF	GER -	FRA -	IOM -	NED 1	BEL -	DDR 1	CZE 1	FIN -	ULS -	NAT -	YUG -		45	4th	3
1970	350cc	Benelli	GER -	YUG -	IOM NC	NED 2	DDR 2	CZE 2	FIN -	ULS -	NAT 3	ESP -				46	3rd	0
1971	250cc	Aermacchi	AUT -	GER -	IOM -	NED -	BEL -	DDR -	CZE -	SWE -	FIN -	ULS -	NAT -	ESP 5		6	28th	0
1972	250cc	Aermacchi	GER -	FRA 2	AUT -	NAT 1	IOM -	YUG 1	NED 2	BEL -	DDR 2	CZE 2	SWE 3	FIN -	ESP 1	93	2nd	3
	350cc	Aermacchi	GER 5	FRA 3	AUT 3	NAT 2	IOM -	YUG -	NED 3		DDR 2	CZE 2	SWE 4	FIN 3	ESP 2	78	3rd	0
1973	250cc	Aermacchi	FRA 3	AUT -	GER -	IOM -	NAT DNF	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10	19th	0

References

1. Weeink, Frank; Burgers, Jan (2013), Continental Circus: The Races and the Places, the People and the Faces : Pictures and Stories from the Early Seventies, Mastix Press, ISBN 978-90-818639-5-7
2. "Renzo Pasolini biography at". Renzopasolini.com. 18 July 1938.
3. "Renzo Pasolini career profile at". Iomtt.com. 18 July 1938.
4. Some sources refer to the Italian Grand Prix at Monza where Pasolini was killed as Grand Prix of Nations (cf Circuit des Nations which is in Switzerland, not Monza, Associated Press, 1973), or as the "Nations Grand Prix at Monza" (Fallon 2010)
5. Walker, Mick (2000), Mick Walker's European Racing Motorcycles, Redline Books, p. 78, ISBN 9780953131136
6. "Two Motorcycle Racers Die", Lewiston Morning Tribune, Associated Press, 21 May 1973, retrieved 11 October 2012, MONZA, Italy (AP) — Two motorcyclists were killed and several others injured Sunday in a mass spill at the Monza Autodrome during the 250cc class race of the Grand Prix of Nations [sic]
7. Falloon, Ian (2010), The Book of Ducati 750SS: 'Round Case' 1974, Veloce Publishing, ISBN 9781845842024
8. "Renzo Pasolini". Motorsport Memorial.
9. "The True Cause of the Tragic Accident at the Start of the 1973 250cc Italian GP at Monza". 21 August 2006. Archived from the original on 21 August 2006.
10. "Cimitero Monumentale e Civico di Rimini: dove la Commemorazione dei defunti svela un museo a cielo aperto" [Monumental and Civic Cemetery of Rimini: where the Commemoration of the dead reveals an open-air museum]. Alta Rimini (in Italian). 1 November 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
11. "Rider Statistics – Renzo Pasolini". MotoGP.com. Archived from the original on 25 May 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2008.

External links

• Renzo Pasolini official website (in Italian)