Johnny Cecotto
A Venezuelan prodigy who blazed through the 1970s Grand Prix circuits, then conquered Formula One and touring cars.
Johnny Alberto Cecotto Persello (born 25 January 1956), better known as Johnny Cecotto, is a Venezuelan former professional Grand Prix motorcycle racer and auto racer. He rose to prominence as a teenage prodigy in 1975 when he became the youngest motorcycle road racing world champion at the age of 19.
Quick Facts
- Nationality
- Venezuelan
- Class
- MotoGP (Premier Class)
- Father
- Johnny Cecotto Sr. (1981 250 cc (0.2 L) World Champion)
- Riding style
- Aggressive
- instinctive
- high-risk
- Significance
- One of the few South American riders in the premier class
Lore & Background
Cecotto was born in Caracas, Venezuela to Italian immigrant parents. His father was a motorcycle shop owner and former motorcycle racer who had won the Venezuelan national championship on a 500cc Norton. Cecotto followed his father's career path and began motorcycle racing at a young age. He won the 1973 Venezuelan road racing national championship at age 17 on a Yamaha TZ350. After the death of Jarno Saarinen at the 1973 Nations Grand Prix, Cecotto adopted a new helmet color scheme with two pointed red stripes based on Saarinen's helmet colors, which he kept for the remainder of his career. He successfully defended his Venezuelan title in 1974 and also won the 1974 South American motorcycle road racing championship. At the 1975 Daytona 200, he qualified on the front row but was initially removed from the grid due to a fluid leak that turned out to be harmless water; he re-entered in last place and charged to third place. The American Motorcyclist Association later named his performance the top in the first 50 years of the race. One month later, he won the Imola 200 F750 race. At the 1975 French Grand Prix, he scored a double victory in the 250cc and 350cc races, and went on to win the 350cc World Championship at age 19, becoming the youngest ever world champion until Loris Capirossi in 1990. In 1976, he won the Daytona 200 despite shredded tires, then moved to the 500cc class but struggled, falling 13 times and finishing 20th. He lost his 350cc title to Walter Villa. In 1977, he was badly injured in a deadly four-rider accident at the Austrian Grand Prix that killed Hans Stadelmann; he recovered and won the Finnish and Czechoslovak Grands Prix, finishing fourth in the championship. In 1978, he won the Imola 200 for a second time and scored four podium finishes including a narrow victory over Kenny Roberts at the Dutch TT, but finished third in the 500cc championship. He also won three races in the 1978 Formula 750 world championship.
Reader's Guide
Cecotto is a Venezuelan former Grand Prix motorcycle racer who competed in the 350cc, 250cc, and 500cc classes in the 1970s. He later turned to auto racing, becoming a Formula One driver and a successful Touring Car racer. He is the last of a select group of competitors who competed at the highest level in both motorcycle and auto racing, alongside John Surtees and Mike Hailwood.
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