Within the firmament of asphalt, oil and gasoline, we can infer that Venezuela –based on motor sports– has a future after the arrival of two titans who stormed the tracks of the world motorcycle championship between the competitive years 1970 and 1980.
First came Johnny Cecotto, who made history on August 24, 1975, by becoming world champion in the 350cc category. What was impressive about his feat was not just winning, but how he achieved it.
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At just 19 years and 211 days old, Cecotto dethroned the legendary Italian rider Giacomo Agostini and became, at that time, the youngest world champion in the history of motorcycle racing.
The insurgent wash
Eight years after the fever unleashed by Cecotto, another pilot was reborn who, likewise, was born in the untamed Caracas and provoked the fury of the city's people: Carlos Lavado.
The man from Caracas, whose maternal surname is Jones, was born on May 25, 1956, so his birthday reached 70 years.
When we talk about Carlos Lavado Jones, we're not just talking about a rider; we're evoking the wildest, most competitive, and most romantic era of world motorcycling. This is because in 1983, riding the Venemotos Yamaha TZ250, Lavado had to rely not only on raw speed but also on strategic maturity to defeat Frenchman Christian Sarron.
The chroniclers of the time explain that “it was a year of very high pressure, where consistency was the key to success and he also made a statement by winning consecutively on the difficult Rijeka circuit (Yugoslavia) and on the legendary “Cathedral” of Assen (Netherlands), where together with Ivan Palazzese they would arrive 1-2, something almost impossible to think about for non-European or non-American drivers.
With four total victories in the season (France, Yugoslavia, the Netherlands and Monza in Italy), Lavado managed to manage the points in the final races to mathematically secure his first world title, unleashing a great celebration throughout Venezuela.
Intractable
The other crown in the 250cc class achieved by Lavado was three years later, in 1986, where he established a true demonstration of maximum power and absolute superiority on the track.
The international press dubbed him the "Hurricane of the Caribbean" that year because of the way he dominated the circuits with the new Yamaha YZR250.
Lavado's daring and dedication were such that during the Spanish Grand Prix he suffered a crash that almost forced him to retire from the race. There was another accident on the track and the race was stopped with a red flag. This gave the Venemotos mechanics an opportunity, and they worked miracles to repair the bike against the clock.
Lavado started second and, with an aching body, made a spectacular comeback to win the race. That day defined the tone of his championship.
From then on, he completely dominated world-class rivals, including Spaniard Sito Pons and German Anton Mang. Furthermore, the Venezuelan secured his second consecutive championship before the final race of the year, demonstrating that when he was inspired and in perfect harmony with his bike, no one on the planet could outpace him.
Lavado, in 1983, won with the heart and consistency of a strategist and in 1986 he triumphed brutally with the overwhelming force of a driver in the prime of his abilities.
