Otello Buscherini

Buscherini was born in Forlì, Italy, on 19 January 1949 and began racing motorcycles in 1966 with a Minarelli.^[2] He earned the nickname, the Lion of Romagna for his spirited and sometimes reckless riding style.^[2] At the age of 21, Buscherini scored his first World Championship points with a 6th place finish at the 1970 50cc West German Grand Prix.^[1]

He experienced his greatest success when he joined the Malanca factory racing team in 1972.^[2] In 1972 he won the 50cc Italian National Championship and scored two third-place results in the 50cc World Championship.^[1][2] Buscherini rode a Malanca to win the first World Championship race of his career with a victory over Chas Mortimer (Yamaha) at the 1973 125cc Czechoslovakian Grand Prix.^[1] Two weeks later at the 125cc Finnish Grand Prix, he defeated the eventual World Champion Kent Andersson (Yamaha) to claim the second victory of his career and finished the season ranked fifth in the season final points standings.^[1]

He scored five podium results in the 1974 125cc World Championship and improved to fourth place in the season final standings.^[1] At the 1975 Czechoslovakian Grand Prix, he rode a Bimota-Yamaha to win the 350cc class and finished second to Michel Rougerie (Harley Davidson) in the 250cc class.^[1][2]

Buscherini died at the age of 27 on 16 May 1976 from injuries sustained while competing in the 1976 250cc Nations Grand Prix at Mugello.^[2]

Buscherini won three Grand Prix races and scored 17 podium results in 29 races during his World Championship career.^[1]

In 2003, the municipality of Forlì named the Otello Buscherini Municipal Sports Club in his honor.^[2]

Points system from 1969 onwards:

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

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