Christian Sarron (born 27 March 1955 in Clermont-Ferrand, France) is a French former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer.

Christian Sarron
Christian Sarron (1978).
NationalityFrench
Motorcycle racing career statistics
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Active years1976 - 1990
First race1976 350cc German Grand Prix
Last race1990 500cc Australian Grand Prix
First win1977 250cc German Grand Prix
Last win1985 500cc German Grand Prix
Team(s)Yamaha
Championships250cc - 1984
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
148 7 37 11 10 933.5

Motorcycle racing career

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He began his career on a Kawasaki when he met French Grand Prix racer Patrick Pons. Pons helped him get his start in the international racing circuit. His first victory came in the rain in the 1977 German Grand Prix. He was injured in a 750cc race which would begin a trend of numerous injuries for the next few years. In 1982, he again won in the rain at the Finnish Grand Prix, cementing his reputation as an exceptional wet weather rider. He finished the 1982 season 8th in the 350 class and 10th in the 250 class.

He would finish second to Carlos Lavado in the 1983 250 class with another Grand Prix victory in the Swedish Grand Prix. In 1984, he won three times on a Yamaha and captured the 250 World Championship.[1]

The following year saw him move up to the premiere 500cc division with the Gauloises-Yamaha team where he won again in the rain at the 1985 German Grand Prix. He finished the season in an impressive third place to Freddie Spencer and Eddie Lawson. In 1989, he again finished third in the 500cc championship behind Lawson and Wayne Rainey.

Sarron's 500cc career occurred at a time when the bikes suited the sliding style of the Americans who had been brought up on dirt oval tracks, yet Sarron still managed to post respectable results. In 1994, he teamed up with his brother Dominique Sarron to win the prestigious Bol d'or endurance race. In 1995 he retired from competition to take on the role of team director for Yamaha's Superbike team.

Grand Prix career statistics

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Points system from 1969 to 1987:

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Points 15 12 10 8 6 5 4 3 2 1

Points system from 1988 to 1992:

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Points 20 17 15 13 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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

Year Class Team Machine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Points Rank Wins
1976 350cc Sonauto-Yamaha TZ350 FRA
AUT
NAT
IOM
NED
FIN
CZE
10
GER
7
ESP
5 26th 0
1977 250cc Sonauto-Yamaha TZ250 VEN
GER
1
NAT
ESP
4
FRA
YUG
NED
BEL
SWE
14
FIN
CZE
GBR
23 14th 1
350cc Sonauto-Yamaha TZ350 VEN
GER
8
NAT
ESP
2
FRA
YUG
NED
SWE
10
FIN
2
CZE
3
GBR
38 7th 0
1978 350cc Sonauto-Yamaha TZ350 VEN
6
AUT
FRA
NAT
NED
5
SWE
FIN
GBR
7
GER
CZE
YUG
15 15th 0
1979 500cc Sonauto-Yamaha TZ500 VEN
7
AUT
GER
8
NAT
Ret
ESP
YUG
7
NED
9
BEL
Ret
SWE
9
FIN
5
GBR
6
FRA
26 11th 0
1981 500cc Sonauto-Yamaha TZ500 AUT
Ret
GER
NAT
9
FRA
Ret
YUG
NED
BEL
RSM
12
GBR
18
FIN
SWE
2 23rd 0
1982 250cc Sonauto-Yamaha TZ250 FRA
ESP
9
NAT
8
NED
BEL
YUG
5
GBR
SWE
FIN
1
CZE
RSM
GER
26 10th 1
350cc Sonauto-Yamaha TZ350 ARG
AUT
FRA
NAT
NED
5
GBR
5
FIN
2
CZE
7
GER
28 8th 0
1983 250cc Sonauto-Yamaha TZ250 RSA
Ret
FRA
Ret
NAT
Ret
GER
7
ESP
2
AUT
4
YUG
2
NED
Ret
BEL
2
GBR
3
SWE
1
73 2nd 1
1984 250cc Sonauto-Yamaha TZ250 RSA
2
NAT
Ret
ESP
2
AUT
1
GER
1
FRA
5
YUG
2
NED
Ret
BEL
3
GBR
1
SWE
2
RSM
Ret
109 1st 3
1985 500cc Sonauto-Yamaha YZR500 RSA
6
ESP
3
GER
1
NAT
5
AUT
3
YUG
5
NED
Ret
BEL
3
FRA
Ret
GBR
3
SWE
4
RSM
Ret
80 3rd 1
1986 500cc Sonauto-Yamaha YZR500 ESP
5
NAT
4
GER
Ret
AUT
4
YUG
6
NED
5
BEL
3
FRA
3
GBR
Ret
SWE
RSM
6
58 6th 0
1987 500cc Sonauto-Yamaha YZR500 JPN
Ret
ESP
Ret
GER
Ret
NAT
3
AUT
6
YUG
NED
Ret
FRA
3
GBR
4
SWE
Ret
CZE
7
RSM
8
POR
5
BRA
5
ARG
Ret
52 7th 0
1988 500cc Sonauto-Yamaha YZR500 JPN
8
USA
6
ESP
4
EXP
4
NAT
Ret
GER
3
AUT
Ret
NED
3
BEL
Ret
YUG
2
FRA
2
GBR
3
SWE
3
CZE
Ret
BRA
5
149 4th 0
1989 500cc Sonauto-Yamaha YZR500 JPN
7
AUS
3
USA
6
ESP
4
NAT
DNS
GER
5
AUT
4
YUG
5
NED
3
BEL
4
FRA
4
GBR
5
SWE
2
CZE
4
BRA
8
165.5 3rd 0
1990 500cc Sonauto-Yamaha YZR500 JPN
Ret
USA
4
ESP
7
NAT
GER
4
AUT
7
YUG
NED
7
BEL
4
FRA
Ret
GBR
8
SWE
CZE
6
HUN
Ret
AUS
Ret
84 9th 0

References

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