Ralf Waldmann (14 July 1966 – 10 March 2018) was a German

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 ...

road racer 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 ...

. __TOC__

Motorcycle racing career

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone on b ...

, Waldmann finished second to

Max Biaggi Massimiliano "Max" Biaggi (; born 26 June 1971) is an Italian former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer who achieved six World Championships. With four 250 cc road race titles and two in World Superbikes, he is one of only two ri ...

in the 250cc world championship.Ralf Waldmann career statistics at MotoGP.com
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In the

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

season, he gave Biaggi a strong challenge, winning four races and finishing only two points behind the Italian.

Kenny Roberts Kenneth Leroy Roberts (born December 31, 1951, in Modesto, California) is an American former professional motorcycle racer and racing team owner. In 1978, he became the first American to win a Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championship ...

offered him a job for the

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

season on a 500cc

Modenas ''Syarikat Motosikal dan Enjin Nasional Sdn. Bhd'' (National Motorcycle and Engine Company), or known as Modenas for short is a Malaysian national motorcycle company producing various small motorcycle models below 400cc targeted for local market ...

but the competition was too strong and he finished in 14th place. He returned to the 250 class the following year riding for the

Aprilia Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded immediately after World War II in Noale, Italy, by Alberto Beggio. The company started as a manufacturer of bicycles and moved on to manufacture scooters and small-capacity motorcycles. ...

team and retired from motorcycle competition after the

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains independence from Indonesia and ...

season. Waldmann came out of semi-retirement in

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and signed with the new Harris

WCM WCM may stand for: * Warner Chappell Music, an American music publishing company and a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group * Wave characteristic method, a model used in fluid dynamics * WCM, a radio station operated by the University of Texas at A ...

MotoGP Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start of ...

team, but quit before the year began after failing to adapt to the new

four-stroke A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either direct ...

Grand Prix bikes. His final win at the

British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World C ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

is of particular note. On a drying track, he came from nearly a whole lap down to win at the final corner at the notoriously slippery

Donington Park Donington Park is a motorsport circuit located near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England. The circuit business is now owned by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation, and the surrounding Donington Park Estate, still owned ...

circuit. In 2009, he joined

Martin Wimmer Martin Wimmer (born October 11, 1957 in Munich) is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from Germany. He had his best year in 1985 when he won the German Grand Prix, and had two second places, finishing the 250cc season in fourth place behin ...

in buying out the motorbike manufacturing company MZ, from the

Hong Leong Group Hong Leong Financial Group Berhad () is a conglomerate based in Malaysia. Founded as a trading company in 1963 by Quek Leng Chan and Kwek Hong Png, the company controls 14 listed companies involved in the financial services, manufacturing, distrib ...

. He also had a brief return to Grand Prix motorcycle racing, substituting for the injured rider Vladimir Leonov at the

Death

Waldmann died on 10 March 2018 in

Ennepetal Ennepetal (; wep, Iämpedal) is a town in the district of Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was created in 1949 out of the former municipalities Milspe and Voerde. It was named after the river Ennepe, which flows through ...

, Germany of a suspected

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which m ...

at the age of 51.Ralf Waldmann died at age 51

Career statistics

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

By class

Races by year

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (ma ...

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

Superbike World Championship

Races by year

(

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waldmann, Ralf 1966 births 2018 deaths Sportspeople from Hagen German motorcycle racers 125cc World Championship riders 250cc World Championship riders 500cc World Championship riders Superbike World Championship riders 80cc World Championship riders