Virginio Ferrari

{{short description|Italian motorcycle racer}} {{for|the Italian sculptor|Virginio Ferrari (artist)}} {{BLP sources|date=November 2025}} {{Infobox motorcycle rider |image = TT Assen. 500cc klasse. Huldiging van winnaar Virginio Ferrari (li, Bestanddeelnr 930-3292 (cropped).jpg |caption = Ferrari in 1979 |name = Virginio Ferrari |nationality = Italian |GP Active years = [[1976 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1976]] - [[1989 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1989]] |GP Teams = [[Suzuki]], [[Cagiva]] |GP Race Starts = 54 |GP Championships = |GP Race Wins = 2 |GP Podiums = 10 |GP Total Points = |GP Poles = 1 |GP Fastest laps = 3 |GP First race = [[1976 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix|1976 500cc Nations Grand Prix]] |GP First win = [[1978 German motorcycle Grand Prix|1978 500cc West German Grand Prix]] |GP Last win = [[1979 Dutch TT|1979 500cc Dutch TT]] |GP Last race = [[1989 Czechoslovak motorcycle Grand Prix|1989 250cc Czechoslovak Grand Prix]] }}

'''Virginio Ferrari''' (born 19 October 1952) is an [[Italians|Italian]] former professional [[Grand Prix motorcycle racing|Grand Prix]] motorcycle [[road racing|road racer]]. His best season was in the [[1979 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1979]] 500cc world championship, when he finished second to [[Kenny Roberts]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.motogp.com/en/riders/profiles/Virginio+Ferrari |title=Virginio Ferrari career statistics at MotoGP.com |access-date=2008-09-03 |archive-date=2018-11-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110080234/http://www.motogp.com/en/riders/Virginio+Ferrari |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Motorcycle racing career== Ferrari teamed up with [[Benjamin Grau]] to win the 1975 1000 km du [[Mugello Circuit|Mugello]] [[Endurance racing (motorsport)|endurance race]] riding a [[Ducati]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://racingmemo.free.fr/M%20ENDURANCE/Endurance%201975.htm |title=1975 World Endurance Racing final standings |publisher=racingmemo.free.fr |access-date=6 February 2022 }}</ref> He began the 1979 season with a string of podium results, finishing second to [[Barry Sheene]] at the [[1979 Venezuelan motorcycle Grand Prix|Venezuelan Grand Prix]] and, second to Kenny Roberts in the [[1979 Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix|Austrian Grand Prix]]. He continued to post good results with a third place in Germany and another second place behind Roberts in Italy. Ferrari dropped from the podium with a fourth place in Spain before bouncing back with another second place to Roberts in Yugoslavia. His victory at the [[Dutch TT]] in [[TT Circuit Assen|Assen]] together with an eighth-place finish by Roberts, vaulted Ferrari into the championship lead as the series headed towards Belgium.

Ferrari became embroiled in a controversy at the Belgian Grand Prix held at the [[Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps|Spa]] circuit when he, along with Roberts and other top riders refused to race due to unsafe track conditions.<ref name="Roberts Suspended For Boycott">{{cite news |title=Roberts Suspended For Boycott |agency=Modesto Bee |work=Modesto Bee |page=1 |date=2 July 1979 |access-date=15 December 2010 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Y_8iAAAAIBAJ&sjid=AcwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1305,1794539&dq=kenny+roberts&hl=en |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130103015402/http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Y_8iAAAAIBAJ&sjid=AcwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1305,1794539&dq=kenny+roberts&hl=en |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 3, 2013 }}</ref> The circuit had been paved just days before the race creating a track that many of the racers felt was unsafe due to diesel seeping to the surface.<ref name="Roberts Suspended For Boycott"/> Ferrari along with Roberts, instigated a riders' revolt and refused to race. The [[Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme|F.I.M.]] responded by suspending Roberts and Ferrari.<ref name="Roberts Suspended For Boycott"/> The F.I.M. later reduced this to a probation.

After the Belgian round, Ferrari suffered a series of disastrous results with a fifteenth place in Finland followed by an improved fourth place in Britain before a crash at the season-ending [[French motorcycle Grand Prix|French Grand Prix]] handed the world championship to Roberts.

In [[1986 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1986]], Ferrari rode a [[Honda NSR250]] in a team run by [[Takazumi Katayama]] in the World Championship without much success, with just four top 10 results, his best, a 6th place in [[Silverstone Circuit|Silverstone]]. He finished 14th in the Championship. Ferrari won the 1987 [[Formula TT|TT Formula 1]] title aboard a [[Bimota]] YB4 EI.<ref>[http://corse.bimotausa.com/palmares.html bimota corse – bimota racing]</ref><ref>[http://www.lifeinitaly.com/motorcycle/bimota.asp Italy Italian Motorcycles: Bimota]</ref> His last Grand Prix season was in [[1989 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1989]], again in the 250 class, with the Italian made Gazzaniga, failing to score any points and finishing 28th in the Salzburgring and 27th in his last Grand Prix in [[Masaryk Circuit|Brno]].

Ferrari was the first person on the scene on Kevin Wrettom's and [[Iván Palazzese]]'s fatal accidents, in [[1984 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1984]] and [[1989 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1989]] respectively. He attempted to resuscitate them both, but Wrettom died several days later at the hospital, while Palazzese had unsurvivable chest injuries.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Motorsport Memorial - |url=http://www.motorsportmemorial.org/focus.php?db=ms&n=1467 |access-date=2023-12-20 |website=www.motorsportmemorial.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Motorsport Memorial - |url=http://www.motorsportmemorial.org/focus.php?db=ms&n=1470 |access-date=2023-12-20 |website=www.motorsportmemorial.org}}</ref>

After his Grand Prix career, Ferrari switched to the [[Superbike World Championship]] in {{SBK|1988}}, riding for the [[Ducati]] factory racing team. He took over as the team manager until 1998, when [[Davide Tardozzi]] took the job. Ferrari briefly managed the [[Kawasaki Heavy Industries|Kawasaki]] PSG-1 team in the World Superbike Championship in 2007.

==Motorcycle Grand Prix results== Points system from 1969 to 1987: {| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" |- | '''Position''' | width=20| 1 | width=20| 2 | width=20| 3 | width=20| 4 | width=20| 5 | width=20| 6 | width=20| 7 | width=20| 8 | width=20| 9 | width=20| 10 |- | '''Points''' | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |} Points system from 1988 to 1992: {| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" |- | '''Position''' | width=20| 1 | width=20| 2 | width=20| 3 | width=20| 4 | width=20| 5 | width=20| 6 | width=20| 7 | width=20| 8 | width=20| 9 | width=20| 10 | width=20| 11 | width=20| 12 | width=20| 13 | width=20| 14 | width=20| 15 |- | '''Points''' | 20 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |}

([[Template:Motorsport driver results legend|key]]) (Races in '''bold''' indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:95%" ! Year ! Class ! Team ! 1 ! 2 ! 3 ! 4 ! 5 ! 6 ! 7 ! 8 ! 9 ! 10 ! 11 ! 12 ! 13 ! 14 ! 15 ! Points ! Rank ! Wins |- ! [[1976 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1976]] ! 500cc ! [[Suzuki]] | [[1976 French motorcycle Grand Prix|FRA]] - | [[1976 Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix|AUT]] - |style="background:#FFDF9F;"| [[1976 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix|NAT]] 3 | [[1976 Isle of Man TT|IOM]] - | [[1976 Dutch TT|NED]] - | [[1976 Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix|BEL]] - | [[1976 Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix|SWE]] - | [[1976 Finnish motorcycle Grand Prix|FIN]] - | [[1976 Czechoslovak motorcycle Grand Prix|TCH]] - |style="background:#EFCFFF;"| '''[[1976 German motorcycle Grand Prix|GER]]''' NC | | | | | | 10 ! 21st | 0 |- ! [[1977 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1977]] ! 500cc ! [[Suzuki]] |style="background:#DFFFDF;"| [[1977 Venezuelan motorcycle Grand Prix|VEN]] 6 | [[1977 Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix|AUT]] - | [[1977 German motorcycle Grand Prix|GER]] - |style="background:#DFDFDF;"| [[1977 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix|NAT]] 2 |style="background:#DFFFDF;"| [[1977 French motorcycle Grand Prix|FRA]] 8 |style="background:#DFFFDF;"| [[1977 Dutch TT|NED]] 10 | [[1977 Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix|BEL]] - | [[1977 Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix|SWE]] - | [[1977 Finnish motorcycle Grand Prix|FIN]] - | [[1977 Czechoslovak motorcycle Grand Prix|TCH]] - | [[1977 British motorcycle Grand Prix|GBR]] - | | | | | 21 ! 12th | 0 |- ! [[1978 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1978]] ! 500cc ! [[Roberto Gallina|Gallina]]-[[Suzuki]] | [[1978 Venezuelan motorcycle Grand Prix|VEN]] - | [[1978 Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix|ESP]] - | [[1978 Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix|AUT]] - | [[1978 French motorcycle Grand Prix|FRA]] - | [[1978 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix|NAT]] - | [[1978 Dutch TT|NED]] - | [[1978 Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix|BEL]] - |style="background:#DFFFDF;"| [[1978 Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix|SWE]] 5 | [[1978 Finnish motorcycle Grand Prix|FIN]] - |style="background:#DFFFDF;"| [[1978 British motorcycle Grand Prix|GBR]] 10 |style="background:#FFFFBF;"| ''[[1978 German motorcycle Grand Prix|GER]]'' 1 | | | | | 22 ! 11th | 1 |- ! [[1979 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1979]] ! 500cc ! [[Roberto Gallina|Gallina]]-[[Suzuki]] |style="background:#DFDFDF;"| [[1979 Venezuelan motorcycle Grand Prix|VEN]] 2 |style="background:#DFDFDF;"| [[1979 Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix|AUT]] 2 |style="background:#FFDF9F;"| [[1979 German motorcycle Grand Prix|GER]] 3 |style="background:#DFDFDF;"| [[1979 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix|NAT]] 2 |style="background:#DFFFDF;"| [[1979 Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix|ESP]] 4 |style="background:#DFDFDF;"| [[1979 Yugoslavian motorcycle Grand Prix|YUG]] 2 |style="background:#FFFFBF;"| ''[[1979 Dutch TT|NED]]'' 1 |style="background:#ffffff;"| [[1979 Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix|BEL]] DNS | [[1979 Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix|SWE]] - |style="background:#CFCFFF;"| [[1979 Finnish motorcycle Grand Prix|FIN]] 15 |style="background:#DFFFDF;"| [[1979 British motorcycle Grand Prix|GBR]] 4 |style="background:#EFCFFF;"| ''[[1979 French motorcycle Grand Prix|FRA]]'' NC | | | | 89 |style="background:#DFDFDF;"| '''2nd''' | 1 |- ! [[1980 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1980]] ! 500cc ! [[Cagiva]] | [[1980 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix|NAT]] - | [[1980 Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix|ESP]] - | [[1980 French motorcycle Grand Prix|FRA]] - | [[1980 Dutch TT|NED]] - | [[1980 Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix|BEL]] - | [[1980 Finnish motorcycle Grand Prix|FIN]] - | [[1980 British motorcycle Grand Prix|GBR]] - | [[1980 German motorcycle Grand Prix|GER]] - | | | | | | | | 0 ! - | 0 |- ! [[1981 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1981]] ! 500cc ! [[Cagiva]] | [[1981 Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix|AUT]] - | [[1981 German motorcycle Grand Prix|GER]] - | [[1981 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix|NAT]] - | [[1981 French motorcycle Grand Prix|FRA]] - | [[1981 Yugoslavian motorcycle Grand Prix|YUG]] - | [[1981 Dutch TT|NED]] - | [[1981 Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix|BEL]] - | [[1981 San Marino motorcycle Grand Prix|RSM]] - | [[1981 British motorcycle Grand Prix|GBR]] - | [[1981 Finnish motorcycle Grand Prix|FIN]] - | [[1981 Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix|SWE]] - | | | | | 0 ! - | 0 |- ! [[1982 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1982]] ! 500cc ! [[HB (cigarette)|HB]]-[[Suzuki]] | [[1982 Argentine motorcycle Grand Prix|ARG]] - | [[1982 Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix|AUT]] - | [[1982 French motorcycle Grand Prix|FRA]] - | [[1982 Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix|ESP]] - | [[1982 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix|NAT]] - | [[1982 Dutch TT|NED]] - | [[1982 Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix|BEL]] - | [[1982 Yugoslavian motorcycle Grand Prix|YUG]] - |style="background:#DFFFDF;"| [[1982 British motorcycle Grand Prix|GBR]] 6 | [[1982 Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix|SWE]] - |style="background:#DFFFDF;"| [[1982 San Marino motorcycle Grand Prix|RSM]] 4 |style="background:#DFDFDF;"| [[1982 German motorcycle Grand Prix|GER]] 2 | | | | 25 ! 11th | 0 |- ! [[1983 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1983]] ! 500cc ! [[Cagiva]] |style="background:#CFCFFF;"| [[1983 South African motorcycle Grand Prix|RSA]] 15 |style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1983 French motorcycle Grand Prix|FRA]] NC |style="background:#CFCFFF;"| [[1983 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix|NAT]] 11 |style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1983 German motorcycle Grand Prix|GER]] NC | [[1983 Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix|ESP]] - |style="background:#CFCFFF;"| [[1983 Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix|AUT]] 23 | [[1983 Yugoslavian motorcycle Grand Prix|YUG]] - | [[1983 Dutch TT|NED]] - | [[1983 Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix|BEL]] - |style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1983 British motorcycle Grand Prix|GBR]] NC | [[1983 Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix|SWE]] - |style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1983 San Marino motorcycle Grand Prix|RSM]] NC | | | | 0 ! - | 0 |- ! [[1984 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1984]] ! 500cc ! Marlboro-[[Yamaha Motor Company|Yamaha]] |style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1984 South African motorcycle Grand Prix|RSA]] NC |style="background:#DFFFDF;"| [[1984 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix|NAT]] 8 | [[1984 Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix|ESP]] - |style="background:#CFCFFF;"| [[1984 Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix|AUT]] 14 |style="background:#DFFFDF;"| [[1984 German motorcycle Grand Prix|GER]] 7 |style="background:#CFCFFF;"| [[1984 French motorcycle Grand Prix|FRA]] 22 |style="background:#DFFFDF;"| [[1984 Yugoslavian motorcycle Grand Prix|YUG]] 9 |style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1984 Dutch TT|NED]] NC |style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1984 Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix|BEL]] NC |style="background:#DFFFDF;"| [[1984 British motorcycle Grand Prix|GBR]] 4 |style="background:#DFFFDF;"| [[1984 Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix|SWE]] 6 |style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1984 San Marino motorcycle Grand Prix|RSM]] NC | | | | 22 ! 10th | 0 |- ! [[1985 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1985]] ! 500cc ! [[Cagiva]] | [[1985 South African motorcycle Grand Prix|RSA]] - | [[1985 Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix|ESP]] - | [[1985 German motorcycle Grand Prix|GER]] - | [[1985 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix|NAT]] - | [[1985 Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix|AUT]] - | [[1985 Yugoslavian motorcycle Grand Prix|YUG]] - | [[1985 Dutch TT|NED]] - | [[1985 Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix|BEL]] - | [[1985 French motorcycle Grand Prix|FRA]] - | [[1985 British motorcycle Grand Prix|GBR]] - | [[1985 Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix|SWE]] - |style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1985 San Marino motorcycle Grand Prix|RSM]] NC | | | | 0 ! - | 0 |- ! [[1986 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1986]] ! 250cc ! Total-[[Honda]] | [[1986 Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix|ESP]] - | [[1986 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix|NAT]] - |style="background:#CFCFFF;"| [[1986 German motorcycle Grand Prix|GER]] 24 |style="background:#CFCFFF;"| [[1986 Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix|AUT]] 12 |style="background:#DFFFDF;"| [[1986 Yugoslavian motorcycle Grand Prix|YUG]] 7 |style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1986 Dutch TT|NED]] NC |style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1986 Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix|BEL]] NC |style="background:#DFFFDF;"| [[1986 French motorcycle Grand Prix|FRA]] 9 |style="background:#DFFFDF;"| [[1986 British motorcycle Grand Prix|GBR]] 6 |style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1986 Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix|SWE]] NC |style="background:#DFFFDF;"| [[1986 San Marino motorcycle Grand Prix|RSM]] 8 | | | | | 14 ! 14th | 0 |- ! [[1987 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1987]] ! 250cc ! Total-[[Honda]] |style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1987 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix|JPN]] NC | [[1987 Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix|ESP]] - | [[1987 German motorcycle Grand Prix|GER]] - | [[1987 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix|NAT]] - | [[1987 Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix|AUT]] - | [[1987 Yugoslavian motorcycle Grand Prix|YUG]] - | [[1987 Dutch TT|NED]] - | [[1987 French motorcycle Grand Prix|FRA]] - | [[1987 British motorcycle Grand Prix|GBR]] - | [[1987 Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix|SWE]] - | [[1987 Czechoslovak motorcycle Grand Prix|TCH]] - | [[1987 San Marino motorcycle Grand Prix|RSM]] - | [[1987 Portuguese motorcycle Grand Prix|POR]] - | [[1987 Brazilian motorcycle Grand Prix|BRA]] - | [[1987 Argentine motorcycle Grand Prix|ARG]] - | 0 ! - | 0 |- ! [[1989 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1989]] ! 250cc ! [[Gazzaniga (motorcycle)|Gazzaniga]] | [[1989 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix|JPN]] - | [[1989 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix|AUS]] - | [[1989 United States motorcycle Grand Prix|USA]] - | [[1989 Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix|ESP]] - | [[1989 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix|NAT]] - |style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1989 German motorcycle Grand Prix|GER]] NC |style="background:#CFCFFF;"| [[1989 Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix|AUT]] 28 | [[1989 Yugoslavian motorcycle Grand Prix|YUG]] - | [[1989 Dutch TT|NED]] - | [[1989 Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix|BEL]] - | [[1989 French motorcycle Grand Prix|FRA]] - | [[1989 British motorcycle Grand Prix|GBR]] - | [[1989 Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix|SWE]] - |style="background:#CFCFFF;"| [[1989 Czechoslovak motorcycle Grand Prix|TCH]] 27 | [[1989 Brazilian motorcycle Grand Prix|BRA]] - | 0 ! - | 0 |- |}

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== [http://www.vfracing.com/ Official Website]

{{s-start}} {{s-sports}} {{succession box | | before = [[Joey Dunlop]] | after = [[Carl Fogarty]] | title = [[Formula TT|TT Formula One World Champion]] | years = 1987 |}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrari, Virginio}} [[Category:1952 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Italian motorcycle racers]] [[Category:500cc World Championship riders]] [[Category:250cc World Championship riders]] [[Category:Superbike World Championship riders]]