Jean-Michel Bayle

Jean-Michel Bayle (born 1 April 1969) is a French former professional motorcycle racer. He was one of the most successful riders of his era, achieving success at the highest levels in both motocross and road racing.[1]

Jean-Michel Bayle
Jean-Michel Bayle at the 1993 U.S. Grand Prix
Nationality	French
Born	1 April 1969 (age 51) Manosque, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France
Motocross career
Years active	1986 - 1992
Teams	Honda
Championships	1988 125cc World Champion 1989 250cc World Champion 1991 AMA 250cc Supercross Champion 1991 AMA 250cc National Champion 1991 AMA 500cc National Champion

Jean-Michel Bayle
Nationality	French
Motorcycle racing career statistics Grand Prix motorcycle racing Active years 1992 - 1999, 2002 First race 1992 250cc French Grand Prix Last race 2002 MotoGP Italian Grand Prix Team(s) Aprilia, Yamaha, Modenas Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 82 0 0 3 0 336

Biography

Born in Manosque, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Bayle won the FIM 125cc motocross world championship in 1988, and the 250cc motocross world championship a year later. He competed in the United States in 1991, becoming the first rider to win all three major AMA motocross championships in the same year (Supercross, 250cc and 500cc). Having won many of the major motocross championships, Bayle became one of the few riders to switch motorcycling disciplines, going from dirt track motocross events to pavement based road race events.

He competed in the 250cc road racing world championship for the Aprilia factory racing team during the 1994 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, and in 1996 moved up to the 500cc class for the Kenny Roberts-Yamaha team.[2] He scored points twice in 1999.[3] He managed one pole position in the 250cc class and 2 poles in the 500cc division but, never managed to finish on the podium.[2] In 2002, he teamed with Sébastien Gimbert and Nicolas Dussauge to win the Bol d'or and the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance races.[1] Bayle suffered serious injuries during the 2002 season and retired from road racing competition.

He still competes in motocross events and campaigned in the French observed trials national championship. Bayle was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2000.[1]

Career statistics

Races by year

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

Year	Class	Bike	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Pos.	Pts
1992	250cc	Honda	JPN	AUS	MAL	SPA	ITA	EUR	GER	NED	HUN	FRA 24	GBR	BRA	RSA				NC	0
1993	250cc	Aprilia	AUS 19	MAL 16	JPN 21	SPA 14	AUT 17	GER 14	NED 16	EUR 18	RSM 18	GBR 8	CZE Ret	ITA 19	USA Ret	FIM 12			22nd	16
1994	250cc	Aprilia	AUS 10	MAL 7	JPN 11	SPA 8	AUT 11	GER 11	NED 6	ITA 8	FRA 5	GBR 5	CZE 6	USA Ret	ARG 7	EUR 8			8th	105
1995	250cc	Aprilia	AUS Ret	MAL 6	JPN Ret	SPA 9	GER 6	ITA Ret	NED Ret	FRA 11	GBR Ret	CZE 11	BRA Ret	ARG DNS	EUR Ret				15th	37
1996	500cc	Yamaha	MAL 6	INA 8	JPN 8	SPA 7	ITA 5	FRA Ret	NED 8	GER 10	GBR Ret	AUT 9	CZE 6	IMO 4	CAT Ret	BRA 7	AUS 5		9th	110
1997	500cc	Modenas	MAL Ret	JPN 14	SPA 13	ITA 8	AUT 14	FRA Ret	NED Ret	IMO 8	GER Ret	BRA 8	GBR DNS	CZE Ret	CAT Ret	INA Ret	AUS 16		18th	31
1998	500cc	Yamaha	JPN	MAL	SPA	ITA	FRA	MAD	NED	GBR	GER	CZE 8	IMO 5	CAT Ret	AUS	ARG 7			16th	28
1999	500cc	Modenas	MAL 12	JPN Ret	SPA	FRA Ret	ITA Ret	CAT Ret	NED	GBR	GER	CZE	IMO	VAL	AUS	RSA	BRA	ARG	28th	4
2002	MotoGP	Yamaha	JPN	RSA	SPA	FRA 14	ITA 13	CAT	NED	GBR	GER	CZE	POR	BRA	PAC	MAL	AUS	VAL	24th	5

References

1. "Jean-Michel Bayle at the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame". motorcyclemuseum.org. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
2. Jean-Michel Bayle at MotoGP.com
3. "1999' 500 Grand Prix Race Results".