Raymond Roche (born 21 February 1957 in

Ollioules Ollioules (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (département), Var Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in southeastern France. It is a western suburb of Toulon. Population ...

) is a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

former professional

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 racer.

Motorcycle racing career

In 1981, he teamed up with Jean Lafond to win the

FIM Endurance World Championship The Endurance World Championship ( FIM EWC) is the premier worldwide endurance championship in motorcycle road racing. The championship season consists of a series of endurance races (with a duration of six, eight, twelve or twenty-four hours) ...

. His best year in Grand Prix racing was 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 Southeas ...

when he finished third in the 500cc world championship behind

Eddie Lawson Eddie Ray Lawson (born March 11, 1958) is an American former professional motorcycle racer. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from to . A four-time FIM 500cc road racing world champion, Lawson is prominent f ...

and

Randy Mamola Randy Mamola (born November 10, 1959) is an American former professional motorcycle racer and television sports presenter. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing between and . A 13-time Premier Class race winner, Mamola was one of the mos ...

. After retiring from Grand Prix racing, he competed in the

Superbike World Championship Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette road racing series based on heavily modified production sports motorcycles. The championship was founded in . The Superbike World Champion ...

as a member of the

Ducati Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A () is an Italian motorcycle manufacturing company headquartered in Bologna, Italy. History Barely a month after the official liberation of Italy in 1944, SIATA announced its intention to sell this engine, called ...

factory racing team, winning that championship in , and finishing as runner-up in and . He is still only one of four native European riders from outside of the United Kingdom to have won the World Superbike Title.

Career statistics

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

Races by year

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

Superbike World Championship

Races by year

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roche, Raymond 1957 births Living people Sportspeople from Var (department) French motorcycle racers 500cc World Championship riders 350cc World Championship riders 250cc World Championship riders Superbike World Championship riders People from Ollioules