Michael Rudroff

Last updated
Michael Rudroff
NationalityGerman
Born (1960-12-28) 28 December 1960 (age 58)
Motorcycle racing career statistics
500cc World Championship
Active years 1987–1989, 1991–1993, 1996
Manufacturers Honda, Harris Yamaha, Suzuki
StartsWinsPodiums Poles F. laps Points
53010067
Superbike World Championship
Active years 1990, 1995, 1997
Manufacturers Bimota, Ducati, Suzuki
1997 championship positionNC (0 pts)
StartsWinsPodiums Poles F. laps Points
1000007

Michael Rudroff (born 28 December 1960) is a German former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer.

Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe, who share a common German ancestry, culture and history. German is the shared mother tongue of a substantial majority of ethnic Germans.

Grand Prix motorcycle racing premier championship of motorcycle road racing

Grand Prix motorcycle racing refers to the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by FIM. Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start of the twentieth century and large national events were often given the title Grand Prix, The foundation of a recognised international governing body for motorcycle sport, the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme in 1949 provided the opportunity to coordinate rules and regulations in order that selected events could count towards official World Championships as FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix. It is the oldest established motorsport world championship.

Road racing

Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surfaces. 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 public roads however, public safety concerns eventually led to most races being held on purpose built racing circuits.

Contents

Rudolf competed in his first Grand Prix in 1987, and made one podium; coming third in the 1989 Nations Grand Prix. His career ranged from 1987 until 1996, where he started in 53 races, though he never started from pole position. [1]

Podium construction

A podium is a platform used to raise something to a short distance above its surroundings. It derives from the Greek πόδι (foot). In architecture a building can rest on a large podium. Podia can also be used to raise people, for instance the conductor of an orchestra stands on a podium as do many public speakers.

Pole position first position on a motor-racing starting grid

In motorsport the pole position is the position at the inside of the front row at the start of a racing event. This position is typically given to the vehicle and driver with the best qualifying time in the trials before the race. This number-one qualifying driver is referred to as the pole sitter.

Career

Rudroff, riding a Honda bike, appeared in two Grand Prix in 1987, the West Germany Grand Prix and the Austrian Grand Prix where he qualified in positions 38 and 26 but did not compete in the final race. He raced in the West German, Dutch TT and Yugoslavian Grand Prix in 1988, completing 28 laps in the first and coming in at 15th having started at 24th, completing 20 laps and coming in at 19th having started in 31st, and failing to qualify for the race in Yugoslavia. [1]

Honda Manufacturer of automobiles, aircraft, motorcycles, and power equipment.

Honda Motor Company, Ltd. is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment.

The German motorcycle Grand Prix, first held in 1925, is since 1952 part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Championship.

Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix motorcycle held in Austria

The Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix is a motorcycling event that was part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing season from 1971 to 1997, and then again from 2016 onwards.

1989 saw regular appearances for Rudroff, racing in the Australian Grand Prix where he came 15th from a starting position of 21, followed by the United States Grand Prix where he came 15th one more having started again at 21. Following the Spanish Grand Prix, where he came 20th having begun at 23, he raced in the Nations Grand Prix. He began at 24, and finished 3rd in 59 minutes, 53.630 seconds over 33 laps. This was the only podium in his career. He raced in West Germany, Austria, Yugoslavia, Netherlands and the Czechoslovakian Grand Prix later that year. He ended the season with 18 championship points. [1]

1989 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix

The 1989 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix was the second round of the 1989 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 7–9 April 1989 at Phillip Island and was the first ever World Championship Motorcycle Grand Prix to take place in Australia.

United States Grand Prix Formula 1 Grand Prix

The United States Grand Prix is a motor race that has been held in the U.S. on and off since 1908, when it was known as the American Grand Prize. The race later became part of the Formula One World Championship. As of 2018, the race has been held 48 times, and it has taken place at 10 different locations in total. Since 2012, it has been held every year at the Circuit of the Americas in Elroy, Texas, 12 miles (19 km) south of Austin.

Spanish Grand Prix Formula 1 Grand Prix

The Spanish Grand Prix is a Formula One race currently held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Barcelona. The race is one of the oldest in the world still contested, celebrating its centenary in 2013. The race had modest beginnings as a production car race. Interrupted by the First World War, the race waited a decade for its second running before becoming a staple of the European calendar. It was promoted to the European Championship in 1935 before the Spanish Civil War brought an end to racing. The race was successfully revived in 1967 and has been a regular part of the Formula One World Championship since 1968 at a variety of venues.

Rudolf competed in three rounds of the 1990 Superbike World Championship aboard a Bimota. [2] He returned to Grand Prix competition in 1991, where he competed in 10 races, and one other race in which he was not classified. This included a season-best 11th in the Australian Grand Prix, and he enjoyed a career-best 26 championship points. [1] He made 13 more starts in 1992, now on a Harris Yamaha, but only returned three points despite coming 8th at the British Grand Prix. In 1993 he made 14 appearances again on the Yamaha, returning 17 points despite falling out of the Australian Grand Prix and of the Japanese Grand Prix in the first lap. He was not seen again on the race track until 1996, where he raced once in the German Grand Prix on a Suzuki bike and fell at the first lap. [1]

The 1990 Superbike World Championship was the third FIM Superbike World Championship season. The season started on 18 March at Jerez and finished on 18 November at Manfeild Autocourse after 13 rounds.

Bimota

Bimota is a small Italian manufacturer of custom and production motorcycles. It was founded in 1973 in Rimini, Italy by Valerio Bianchi, Giuseppe Morri, and Massimo Tamburini. The company name is a portmanteau derived from the first two letters of each of the three founders' surnames, Bianchi Morri Tamburini.

British Grand Prix auto race held in the United Kingdom

The British Grand Prix is a race in the calendar of the FIA Formula One World Championship. It is currently held at the Silverstone Circuit near the village of Silverstone in Northamptonshire in England. The 2018 event was the 69th time that the race had been run as a World Championship event since the inaugural season in 1950, and the 52nd time that a World Championship round had been held at Silverstone.

Career statistics

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

Races by year

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

YearClassBike123456789101112131415Pos.Pts
1987 500cc Honda JPN SPA GER
Ret		 NAT AUT
Ret		 YUG NED FRA GBR SWE CZE RSM POR BRA ARG NC0
1988 500cc Honda JPN USA SPA EXP NAT GER
15		 AUT NED
19		 BEL YUG
Ret		 FRA GBR SWE CZE BRA 37th1
1989 500cc Honda JPN AUS
15		 USA
15		 SPA
20		 NAT
3		 GER
21		 AUT
19		 YUG
15		 NED
17		 BEL FRA GBR SWE CZE
20		 BRA 20th18
1991 500cc Honda JPN AUS USA SPA
15		 ITA
15		 GER
12		 AUT
11		 EUR
14		 NED
14		 FRA
14		 GBR
13		 RSM
14		 CZE
12		 VDM
Ret		 MAL 18th26
1992 500cc Harris-Yamaha JPN
15		 AUS
18		 MAL
14		 SPA
16		 ITA
16		 EUR
18		 GER
14		 NED
11		 HUN
16		 FRA
14		 GBR
8		 BRA
15		 RSA
19		21st3
1993 500cc Harris-Yamaha AUS
Ret		 MAL
17		 JPN
Ret		 SPA
Ret		 AUT
17		 GER
13		 NED
12		 EUR
17		 RSM
Ret		 GBR
10		 CZE
13		 ITA
15		 USA
18		 FIM
Ret		21st17
1996 500cc Suzuki MAL INA JPN SPA ITA FRA NED GER
Ret		 GBR AUT CZE IMO CAT BRA AUS NC0

Superbike World Championship

Races by year

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

YearMake12345678910111213Pos.Pts
R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2
1990 Bimota SPA SPA GBR GBR HUN HUN GER
15		 GER
Ret		 CAN CAN USA USA AUT AUT JPN JPN FRA
Ret		 FRA
24		 ITA
13		 ITA
26		 MAL MAL AUS AUS NZL NZL 66th4
1995 Ducati GER GER SMR SMR GBR GBR ITA ITA SPA SPA AUT
19		 AUT
13		 USA USA EUR EUR JPN JPN NED NED INA INA AUS AUS 51st3
1997 Suzuki AUS AUS SMR SMR GBR GBR GER
DNS		 GER
DNS		 ITA ITA USA USA EUR EUR AUT AUT NED
17		 NED
18		 SPA SPA JPN JPN INA INA NC0

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Rider Profile: Michael Rudroff". MotoGP.com. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
  2. ↑ "Michael Rudolf WSBK Rider Profile". wsb-archives.co.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
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