Marc Fontan (born 20 October 1956) is a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

former professional motorcycle racer. He competed in the Grand Prix

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 publ ...

world championships from 1978 to 1983. Fontan was born in Canet-en-Roussillon in the

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Pyrénées-Orientales Pyrénées-Orientales (; ca, Pirineus Orientals ; oc, Pirenèus Orientals ; ), also known as Northern Catalonia, is a department of the region of Occitania, Southern France, adjacent to the northern Spanish frontier and the Mediterranean Sea. ...

. He began to race motorcycles in 1977 and, competed in his first world championship race riding a Yamaha TZ250 at the 1978 250cc British Grand Prix. He also placed 7th at the 1978 Bol d'Or 24 hour endurance race. Fontan joined the French Japauto Honda team and won the 1980

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...

with teammate Herve Moineau. They went on to win the 1980 FIM Endurance World Championship. In 1981 he began competing in the premier 500cc Grand Prix world championship as a member of the French Yamaha importer's Sonauto team. He was crowned French champion in October 1981, and the following weekend took part in the final round of the British championship at Brands Hatch, however he came off his bike at Druids while in sixth position. His best year was 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 Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

when he finished in sixth place in the 500cc world championship. Today Fontan is known for being the principal architect of th
Moto-Tour
a seven-day competitive rally that crosses huge swaths of France.

Motorcycle Grand Prix results

(

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

References

1956 births Living people Sportspeople from Perpignan French motorcycle racers 250cc World Championship riders 500cc World Championship riders 20th-century French people {{France-motorcycle-racing-bio-stub