Carlos Alberto Lavado Jones (born May 25, 1956) is a Venezuelan former professional Grand Prix motorcycle racer. He competed in the FIM motorcycle Grand Prix world championships from 1978 to 1992. Lavado is notable for winning two 250cc road racing world championships in 1983 and 1986. He joins Johnny Cecotto as the only two Venezuelans to win Grand Prix World Championships.
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Motorcycle racing career Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Lavado made his international racing debut in the 1978 Venezuelan Grand Prix, finishing second in the 250cc class. The following season, he won the 350cc class at the 1979 Venezuelan Grand Prix.
In 1980, Lavado began competing full-time on the Grand Prix circuit. He went on to win the 250cc World Championship in 1983 and repeated the feat in 1986, both times on a Yamaha TZ 250. At the 1983 Dutch TT, Lavado and Iván Palazzese finished in first and second place marking the first time that Venezuelan riders had claimed the top two places in a world championship Grand Prix race.
In fifteen seasons of Grand Prix competition (1978–1992), Lavado participated in 137 races, 125 of them in the 250cc division. He had 36 podium finishes and 17 victories in the 250cc class and 6 podium finishes with 2 victories in the 350cc division. After he retired from competition, he continued his involvement in Grand Prix racing serving as advisor to Venezuelan motorcycle racers Robertino Pietri and Gabriel Ramos.
Motorcycle Grand Prix Results 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 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Points Rank Wins 1978 250cc Yamaha VEN2 ESP- FRA- NAT- NED- BEL- SWE- FIN- GBR- GER- CZE- YUG- 12 17th 0 1979 350cc Yamaha VEN1 AUT- GER- NAT- ESP- YUG- NED- FIN- GBR- CZE- FRA- 15 14th 11980 250cc Yamaha NAT- ESP9 FRA7 YUG4 NED1 BEL- FIN- GBR- CZE- GER- 29 6th 1 350cc Yamaha NAT- FRA- NED5 GBR- CZE9 GER- 8 13th 01981 250cc Yamaha ARG- GER2 NAT- FRA3 ESP3 NED2 BEL2 RSM- GBR- FIN- SWE- CZE- 56 4th 0 350cc Yamaha ARG3 AUT5 GER- NAT8 YUG3 NED2 GBR- CZE- 41 5th 01982 250cc Yamaha FRA- ESP1 NAT- NED- BEL- YUG- GBR8 SWE- FIN5 CZE1 RSM- GER- 39 5th 2 350cc Yamaha ARG1 AUT- FRA- NAT2 NED- GBR4 FIN- CZE10 GER- 36 5th 1 1983 250cc Yamaha RSA7 FRARet NAT1 GER1 ESP7 AUT7 YUG1 NED1 BEL3 GBR4 SWE3 100 1st 4 1984 250cc Yamaha RSA9 NAT15 ESP3 AUT5 GER5 FRA2 YUGRet NED1 BELRet GBR3 SWE7 RSM2 77 3rd 1 1985 250cc Yamaha RSA4 ESP1 GERRet NAT2 AUT9 YUG2 NEDRet BEL2 FRA5 GBRRet SWE2 RSM1 94 3rd 2 1986 250cc Yamaha ESP1 NAT2 GER1 AUT1 YUGRet NED1 BELRet FRA1 GBR2 SWE1 RSMRet 114 1st 6 1987 250cc Yamaha JPN- ESP10 GER6 NAT6 AUT8 YUG1 NED10 FRARet GBRRet SWE4 CZE- RSM- PORRet BRA5 ARG9 46 10th 1 1988 250cc Yamaha JPN13 USARet ESPRet EXPRet NAT7 GERRet AUTRet NEDRet BEL5 YUG- FRA- GBR8 SWERet CZE9 BRA2 55 11th 0 1989 250cc Aprilia JPN- AUS- USA- ESP- NAT- GER- AUT- YUG- NED10 BEL15 FRA18 GBR8 SWERet CZE9 BRA7 31 17th 0 1990 250cc Aprilia JPNRet USA15 ESPRet NAT11 GER12 AUTRet YUG9 NED9 BEL4 FRARet GBR- SWE- CZE- HUN- AUS- 37 15th 0 1991 250cc Yamaha JPN25 AUS10 USA12 ESP11 ITA14 GER15 AUTDNS EUR NED9 FRA16 GBR17 RSM7 CZEDNQ VDM MAL 34 14th 0 1992 250cc Gilera JPNRet AUS14 MALRet ESPRet ITA12 EURRet GER13 NED9 HUN9 FRA20 GBR13 BRA14 RSA15 29 19th 0
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