A superb and rare image of the Suzuki 500 works Grand Prix racer of 1981 and road racing ace and 1981 world champion Marco Lucchinelli.

On this gorgeous image we see the famous Italian racing ace Marco Lucchinelli. In 1981 he won the 500cc World Championship ( currently called the MOTOGP class ).

Marco Lucchinelli began his road racing career in 1975 on a Laverda in Endurance racing. His riding impressed the Yamaha factory enough to earn him a sponsored bike in the Italian National Championship as well as a ride in the 1975 Nations Grand Prix in the 350 class.

In 1976, the year the photo was made, he rode a Suzuki in the 500cc World Championship earning fourth place in the championship with 2 second place finishes along with a third and a fourth place. He earned the nickname “ Crazy Horse “ for his wild riding style that attracted many fans. This fearless riding style also meant that he crashed quite often. In the 1977 season, he would drop to 11th place in the 500 World Championship on a Yamaha.

Lucchinelli returned to Suzuki for the 1978 season and in 1980, he won his first 500cc Grand Prix at the West German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring. He would finish the season in third place behind Kenny Roberts and Randy Mamola.

He had his best year in 1981 when he took 5 victories aboard the Roberto Gallina backed Suzuki, battling Randy Mamola to the final race of the season before winning the 500cc World Championship. For 1982, Lucchinelli accepted a job offer from Honda to race their new three-cylinder NS500 alongside Freddie Spencer and Takazumi Katayama. He would have a lackluster season in which ironically, Franco Uncini would win the championship for the Roberto Gallina-Suzuki team for which Lucchinelli had won the title the previous year.

After another lackluster season with Honda in 1983, he joined the Cagiva team for the 1984 and 1985 seasons before he retired from Grand Prix racing. He tried his hand at car racing, competing in the Italian round of the 1986 Formula 3000 season in a Lola-Ford. In 1988 he joined the Ducati Superbike team where he won two races during the year before taking on the role of Ducati's team manager.

The Japanese Suzuki company started manufacturing motorcycles in 1952, the first models being motorized bicycles. During the 1950s, 1960s and the better part of the 1970s, the company manufactured motorcycles with two-stroke engines only, the biggest two-stroke model being the water-cooled triple-cylinder GT750. A large factor in Suzuki's success in two- stroke competition was the East German Grand Prix racer Ernst Degner, who defected to the West in 1961, bringing with him expertise in two- stroke engines from the East German manufacturer MZ. Suzuki hired Degner, and he won the 50cc World Championship for them in 1962.

However, it wasn't until 1976 when Suzuki introduced its first motorcycle with a four-stroke engine, the GS400 and GS750. Since then, Suzuki has established a reputation as a manufacturer of well- engineered sport motorcycles. Suzuki's racing machines have become legendary.  From the 1960s small capacity 50cc and 125cc two strokes to the magnificent RG500 Square Four two stroke, a machine that played a vital role in the 1970s world championship roadracing scene. In the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000's Suzuki wrote history with riders like Kevin Schwantz and, more recent, Kenny Roberts Jr.

We have more photos listed on Ebay of Suzuki, the RG 500 Gamma Square Four and other brands with various riders.

This is your rare chance to own this non period photo that reflects a very interesting and historic piece of motorcycle and Suzuki ‘s glorious history. Therefore it is printed in a nice large format of ca. 8" x 11" (ca. 20 x 27 cm).