Alain Chevallier (6 November 1947 – 3 October 2016) was a French

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruisin ...

designer and builder. During the 1970s and 1980s, Chevallier designed and built

road racing Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on p ...

motorcycles using

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

engines and campaigned them in the Grand Prix world championships. His brother Olivier Chevallier rode the bikes until he was killed while competing at the Grand Prix of Le Castellet in 1980. Despite his brother's death, Chevallier continued to build and race motorcycles. In

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C., Un ...

Didier de Radiguès Didier de Radiguès (born 27 March 1958) is a Belgian former professional motorcycle racer, auto racing driver and current artist. He also serves as a television sports color commentator for Belgium television, a Moto GP riders manager and ...

rode a Chevallier-designed bike to victory in the 350cc Yugoslavian Grand Prix and finished the season in second place in the F.I.M. 350cc world championship. His Chevallier teammate Eric Saul won the

Austrian Grand Prix The Austrian Grand Prix (german: Großer Preis von Österreich) is a Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile sanctioned motor racing event that was held in , –, –, and then returned to the Formula One calendar in . History The A ...

and finished the championship in fourth place. In

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

, three of Chevallier's motorcycles ridden by de Radiguès, Thierry Espié, and Jean-François Baldé, finished in the top ten of the F.I.M. 250cc world championship. Baldé would also win the 250cc

South African Grand Prix The South African Grand Prix was first run as a Grand Prix motor racing handicap race in 1934 at the Prince George Circuit at East London, Cape Province. It drew top drivers from Europe including Bernd Rosemeyer, Richard "Dick" Seaman, Ric ...

. Chevallier would move up to the premier 500cc class in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast As ...

, building a race bike using

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...

's NS500 engine. De Radiguès rode the bike to a ninth place in the world championship. In 2000, Chevallier helped design motorcycles for a new French company named

Voxan Voxan Motors is a motorcycle manufacturer founded in Issoire, France in 1995. The brand was particularly known for its 996 cc, 72° V-twin engine. Founded by Jacques Gardette, the project was to build the first French motorcycle company in t ...

, with his modular composite frame design based on shaped steel tubes inserted into alloy castings doubling as fuel and oil containers respectively. Chevallier died of cancer on 3 October 2016, aged 68.

References

People from Vendôme French motorcycle designers French motorcycle racers 2016 deaths 1947 births Sportspeople from Loir-et-Cher {{France-motorcycle-racing-bio-stub