[3] After his racing career, he became involved in philanthropy, helping to found the Riders for Health charity organization and more recently Two Wheels for Life.

[4][5] In 1977, Mamola graduated from high school and began competing professionally in the AMA 250cc road racing championship, finishing as runner up to David Emde in the final standings.

[4] The Transatlantic Trophy match races pitted the best British riders against the top American road racers on 750cc motorcycles in a six-race series in England.

[4][6][8][9] When Zago's 500cc rider, Mike Baldwin became injured at mid-season, Mamola moved up to the premier class and took over the team's Suzuki RG 500.

[4] Mamola and the Suzuki team struggled early in the season as defending champion Kenny Roberts won the first three races of the year.

[10] He won again at the British Grand Prix to close the gap on Roberts to 13 points as they entered the final race of the season held at the daunting, 14.2 miles (22.9 km) long Nürburgring racetrack, considered too dangerous for the Formula One championship.

[9] The RG 500 had begun to show its age as, Suzuki's pursuit of a lightweight and compact machine had led to a myriad of handling problems associated with the flexing of the thin aluminum frame tubing.

[4][16] The first-year NSR500 was maligned for its poor handling characteristics, which became apparent only after the fuel load decreased during races, upsetting the chassis weight distribution.

[4] Riding a YZR-500, he won the Belgian Grand Prix and scored six podium results to finish the season in third place behind Eddie Lawson and Wayne Gardner.

[1] At the French Grand Prix, Mamola was lying in second place on the final lap when he performed a stoppie just prior to crossing the finish line.

Despite not losing a position, Mamola's act incensed Roberts, who viewed it as irresponsible at a time when motorcycle racing was entering an era of increased professionalism with high dollar sponsorship.

[17] Mamola began the 1987 season with a victory at the Japanese Grand Prix but then Gardner went on a streak, winning four of the next five races to take command of the championship.

[1] Roberts decided to shake up his team for the 1988 season by replacing Mamola and Baldwin with younger riders, Wayne Rainey and Kevin Magee.

[4][19] His fund-raising activities also include providing passengers an opportunity to experience a fast lap of a race track aboard a special two-seater Ducati MotoGP bike.