Pat Evans

Patrick Michael "Pat" Evans (El Cajon, California, April 28, 1955 – Bologna, April 6, 1977) was an American motorcycle racer. Following a serious accident on April 3, 1977, at the Imola 200, he remained in a coma and died three days later in Bologna hospital at the age of 21.

Career Evans finished 59th on a Yamaha TZ700 in the 1974 Daytona 200.

1976 Season In 1976 Evans made his debut in the world championship. but on the day of the race he was accused by Eric Offenstadt and Bernard Fau of racing with a 350 cc machine. The two French riders tried to chase him off the grid.

Fatal accident On April 3, 1977, at the Imola 200, Evans was in third position when, due to an engine seizure at the Tamburello curve, he was thrown from his bike and, rolling for about fifty meters, hit the straw bales that served as protection at the edge of the circuit. According to the journalist Giancarlo Cevenini, if Evans had worn a fiberglass helmet he would have been saved, as the impact was excessively violent. Evans, however, due to the sponsor, had to race with an ABS helmet. Evans was unconscious and was taken to Bologna Hospital, where he died on April 6.

Another American rider who took part in the Imola 200 and a contemporary of Evans, Randy Cleek, was killed in a road accident returning from the race.