Manuel Poggiali (; born 14 February 1983) is a

Sammarinese Sammarinese () are citizens and people of the Republic of San Marino. Language San Marino recognizes Italian as the official language. The indigenous Sammarinese language is a variety of Romagnol spoken by approximately 83 percent of the populati ...

Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to: * Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition ** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship *** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

road racing Road racing is a North American term to describe motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held on a race track, closed circuit—generally, a purpose-built racing facility—or on a street circuit that uses temporarily c ...

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

. He was the

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

125cc World Champion, and the

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

250cc World Champion. He scored 12 race wins, 11 pole positions, and 35 podium finishes.

Career

Poggiali began racing Minibikes in 1994, and made his first Grand Prix starts in 1998, also winning the Italian 125cc Championship that year. He went into the 125cc World Championship full-time in 1999, and showed promise over the next two years, scoring a first podium at

Assen Assen () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands, and is the capital (politics), capital of the province of Drenthe. It received City rights in ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

. In 2001 he improved to win the title on a

Gilera Gilera is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded in Arcore in 1909 by Giuseppe Gilera (1887–1971). In 1969, the company was purchased by Piaggio. History Giuseppe Gilera founded his self-named motorcycle company in 1909 (aged 22) near M ...

. He remained in the class in 2002, scoring 7 podiums in the first 8 races but failing to defend his title, losing out to

Arnaud Vincent Arnaud Vincent (born 30 November 1974) is a French former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was the 2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror ...

. For 2003 he moved up to 250s, and followed

Freddie Spencer Frederick Burdette Spencer (born December 20, 1961), is an American former professional motorcycle road racer. He competed in the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships between 1980 and 1993, most prominently as a member of the Ho ...

and

Tetsuya Harada is a Japanese former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was the 1993 FIM 250cc World Champion. Early years Born in Chiba, Japan, Harada won the Japanese 125cc Junior championship in 1988, and was runner-up to Tadayuki Okada in the All ...

in winning the title at his first attempt, including victories in the season's first two races. He had a disappointing

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

however, finishing only 9th overall with just three podium results. For

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

he returned to 125s, again looking like a shadow of his former self, failing to take a single podium. In

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

he raced in the 250cc class for the KTM team, but they did not renew his contract for 2007. Although he received some offers from 125cc, 250cc, and

Superbike A sports motorcycle, sports bike, or sport bike is a motorcycle designed and optimized for speed, acceleration, braking, and cornering on asphalt concrete race tracks and roads. They are mainly designed for performance at the expense of comfor ...

teams, he decided to refuse the offers and take a sabbatical, hoping to get better offers in 2008. He made his return to racing after announcing that he would ride for Campetella Racing alongside Fabrizio Lai. He decided to retire midseason after losing enthusiasm. He is also a

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

, he played some matches over the last years for Pennarossa, a football club of

San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...

. For 2013 he returned to motorcycle racing and rode in the Italian Superbike Championship for Scuderia Corse Team Grandi aboard a

Ducati 1199 The Ducati 1199 Panigale is a Ducati sport bike introduced at the 2011 Milan Motorcycle Show. The motorcycle is named after the small manufacturing town of Borgo Panigale. Ducati had announced a larger displacement 1299 Panigale for the 2015 m ...

Panigale. He finished the season in 14th overall with a second-place finish in the penultimate race of the year at

Mugello The Mugello () is a historic region and valley in northern Tuscany, Italy, corresponding to the course of the River Sieve. It is located to the north of the city of Florence and includes the northernmost portion of the Metropolitan City of Fl ...

being his best finish. For 2014 he signed to ride for the Barni Racing Team aboard a

Ducati 1199 Panigale The Ducati 1199 Panigale is a Ducati sport bike introduced at the 2011 Milan Motorcycle Show. The motorcycle is named after the small manufacturing town of Borgo Panigale. Ducati had announced a larger displacement 1299 Panigale for the 2015 m ...

in the CIV Superbike Championship and finished 11th overall.

Career statistics

Source:Manuel Poggiali career statistics at
. Motogp.com. Retrieved on 2016-06-21.

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

Races by year

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

* Official website
poggiali.com
Official fan club

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poggiali, Manuel Sammarinese motorcycle racers 250cc World Championship riders 125cc World Championship riders 1983 births Living people 250cc World Riders' Champions 125cc World Riders' Champions