International Road Race Legend from Yesteryear: Lucio Cecchinello

The international road racing legend of yesteryear, where has he gone, what is he up to now, and how does he view today's road racing sport? In this section, we ask these former heroes a series of (the same) questions. This week: Lucio Cecchinello

Lucio Cecchinello Racing Aprilia

Who is Lucio Cecchinello?

Name : Lucio Cecchinello
Nickname : Lucio
Date of Birth : 21-10-1969
Nationality : Italian
Current Residence: Monaco
Start of road racing career : 1988
Race Classes Active in : Italian Championship, European and World Championship 125cc
Championship Titles: European Championship 1995
End of road racing career : 2003 (02-11-2003 was the last race)
Current profession : Team Manager, LCR Honda MotoGP

How did you first get involved in road racing?

I attended as a mechanic of a friend of mine (who was a rider) on a National race event in Misano, in September 1986.

Which rider did you have the best battles with on the track?

Max Biaggi in the Italian Championship in 1990, Valentino Rossi in the European Championship 1995, Marco Melandri in the World Championship 1999 and Manuel Poggiali in 2002.

Best motorcycle you've ridden and why?

Honda NS500cc two strokes from 1985, because I felt the power without any electronic control, I felt the extremely easy handling because of the very limited weight.

Favorite Circuit you have raced?

Suzuka, because of the very high-speed corners with some bank angle that enhance the grip and therefore give G force feeling.

What is the strangest or most hilarious experience you've had in racing?

Being obliged to pee in my leather suit!! It happened during the Malesia GP in 1998, what happened was, I drank a lot of water before the race (to prevent dehydration) but at certain point I just couldn’t hold it anymore hahaha!!

Do you have a special memory of racing in the Netherlands?

CMSNL is based in the Netherlands
The Victory of the 1995 race of the European Championship. As well I remember a crash in a race in 2000, I hit my head quite hard and I lost consciousness for couple of minutes, when I woke up I complete forgot that it was the race day, I was fully convinced that it was still the practice day.

What is the best thing you've gained from racing?

Discipline, the power of dreams, the fact that, if you take some risk and manage it well, it can be very rewarding!

What did you do after your active road racing career ended?

Team manager full time. I love this job.

Lucio in the paddock

Are you still involved in the sport in any way?

Yes. MotoGP, full time!

Which current or past motorcycle would you like to ride?

Honda NSR500cc 4 cylinder and Cagiva 500cc, both two strokes. But of course I would also love to ride one of our current Honda MotoGP bikes, the problem is that Honda is not really keen to use our current racing bikes, they want us to use it for MotoGP race purposes only (also running cost per km would be very, very high!).

For which current rider do you have a lot of respect and why?

Marc Marquez because I have had the possibility to see his riding skills on data recording- and I can assure you, he is very special in how he handles the bike!

Who do you see as the greatest upcoming road racing talent and why?

I guess there are few talented riders in Moto3, including the guy from the Netherlands, Colin Veijer, and a few Moto2 riders, that can definitely have good success in MotoGP!

Who will be the 2024 MotoGP & WorldSBK world champions?

I guess, Francesco Bagnaia in MotoGP, Toprak Razgatlioglu in the FIM World Superbike Championship.

With your experience, how do you view the current developments within international road racing?

I feel that racing has to become more and more sustainable. In term of technology rules and in term of running the events as well. There is a lot to do still, and I think it can add values to our Championship.