Whatever happened to Giancarlo Falappa?

Updated: 04 November 2016

Ducati’s lionheart made WSB a joy to watch in the early 90s, so where did he go?

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Giancarlo Falappa was one of the early stars of the World Superbike Championship, racing alongside the likes of Carl Fogarty, Scott Russell, and Aaron Slight. His wild, all-action riding style made him a huge favourite with fans as he tried to ride a superbike like a motocross bike. The Italian was destined to become one of the greats of WSB until an accident cut short his career, and very nearly his life, in 1994.

Falappa… wasn’t he the one who looked like a nightclub doorman in leathers?

That’s him. He spent his early years racing motocross but quit in 1983 and stopped riding completely for five years before trying his hand at road racing in 1988. He won the Italian 750cc Sport Production Championship that same year and was fast-tracked to World Superbikes in 1989 in what was only the championship’s second year of existence.

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He was a bit wild on a bike, wasn’t he?

You could say that… He looked certain to win Race One at Donington on a Bimota in 1989 before punching a backmarker who got in his way and losing his rhythm! Unknown outside of Italy, Falappa’s super-aggressive style caused the usually polite British rider Roger Burnett to ask, “Who’s that w*nker on the Bimota? He doesn’t know what’s going on!” There was no denying his speed though and Falappa won Race Two on his YB4. His bizarre riding style – sitting upright while pushing the bike down into the corners like a motocrosser – was unorthodox but effective.

I thought he was a Ducati man…

After winning three races and finishing sixth overall on his Bimota, Falappa signed for Ducati in 1990 and spent the remainder of his career with the Italian marque.

How many races did he win in total?

Between 1989 and 1994 he took 16 wins, 30 podium placings, eight pole positions and 11 fastest laps. His highest championship placing was fourth in 1992, behind Doug Polen, Raymond Roche, and Rob Phillis. He had the speed to finish higher but typically crashed too often over the course of a season.

Was he really as tough as everyone said?

No question. Nicknamed ‘The Lion of Jesi’ (after his local town in Ancona) he may have been a fairly gentle and charming man in private but he looked like a gangster and rode like a demon when the visor came down. He very nearly lost his life in 1990 following a high-speed crash at Osterreichring in Austria and stunned everyone by coming back to race again. And when he did come back, it was with a deal more race craft than he had previously shown. With both aggression and tactics, he looked like the perfect weapon and took doubles at the Osterreichring (the track that nearly killed him) in 1992 and Brands Hatch in 1993 – the latter double coming in very wet conditions at the bizarrely-named ‘Irish’ round at Brands. Falappa was also the first rider to celebrate victories by crossing the finish line doing a stand-up wheelie.

He was team-mates with Carl Fogarty wasn’t he?

They became Ducati team-mates for the 1994 season and when Foggy broke his wrist in Germany it fell to Falappa and the new Ducati 916 to take the fight to Scott Russell on the Kawasaki. He was lying second to Russell in the championship when it all went wrong during practice at Albacete.

What happened?

He highsided in a low-speed corner and suffered severe head injuries and lapsed into a coma. Race fans held their breath and there were very few dry eyes in the WSB paddock when, after 30 days, Ducati hung a huge banner up proclaiming that ‘The Lion Has Awoken.’ Falappa was hospitalised for two months and, on awakening from his coma, had to undergo a series of operations for other injuries sustained in the crash. It was only when he appeared in the paddock the following year, pale, shaky and stripped of his natural muscular build, that everyone realised just how close to death he had come. He tried riding again in 1997 but says his ‘brain shut down’ and he could no longer take the stress of riding a motorcycle.

What’s he up to these days?

Falappa will never completely recover from his injuries but he still drives his motorhome (which he lives in, parked in Bologna near the Ducati factory) to most European WSB rounds and the Ducati team still looks after him as one of their own. Falappa also attends many Ducati owners club meetings and events in different countries and always receives a hero’s welcome – rightly so.

Fact file
Giancarlo Falappa
First WSB race 1989
WSB wins 16
Best championship 4th (1992)

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Stuart Barker

By Stuart Barker