RAINMAN
When Christian Sarron moved up to the 500cc class, he did so as the 1984 250cc World Champion, the fastest of a very competitive field of riders, with seven of them winning races. But it was Sarron who clinched the title, beating the likes of Manfred Herweh, Carlos Lavado, Sito Pons andToni Mang, after having been runner-up in the previous year.
When he turned 30 in March of 1985, Sarron was one of the oldest riders in the 500cc class, but no stranger to big and brutal bikes. Aged 22 he finished runner-up to Steve Baker in the 1977 F750 World Championship and during 1979 and 1981 he raced in 14 500cc grands prix, with a best finish of fifth at the 1979 Finnish Grand Prix and 11th overall in that year’s championship. “The only reason I raced 250s and 350s was that I didn’t have the budget to race a 500,” explains 61-year-old Christian. “That was until 1985. I loved having huge amounts of horsepower.”
Sarron’s style was reminiscent of riders of the Sixties. The Frenchman hardly moved on the bike, defying gravity with unbelievable lean angles and he was a master of the brakes. His
