LAZZ ARINI Small bore assassin

Born on March 26, 1945 in Urbino, at the age of 14 Lazzarini started work in Pesaro on Benelli’s assembly floor but he soon found himself promoted by Mimo Benelli himself to the dizzy heights of the race shop, where he worked on the 250cc singles campaigned by Dale, Spaggiari and Grassetti.

He discovered that the relationships between the mechanics and the riders were often fraught. “The riders were convinced that they made the difference when they won, but the defeats were down to the bikes’ inadequacies," recalled Lazzarini.

“And, of course, the mechanics held the opposite view. In about 1964, my colleagues talked me into racing, partly thinking that, as a decent mechanic, I would be able to diagnose the defects and improve the bikes.”

However, the Benelli racers were pukka GP jobs, not suitable for the ‘Junior’ (or national) category, and the factory’s sister company Motobi had already allocated its race bikes, so Lazzarini went to Bologna to buy a tired 125cc Ducati Marianna from Franco Farne. “It was