In honor of the fine races by Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa and Julian Simon
at La Mans last weekend, and the current championship leads by Lorenzo,
Bautista and Simon in each class, I thought I'd put together a little
history and timeline on the Spanish ascent in GP:
1951: Spain has its first GP, run at Montjuich, which would host the round
through 1955.
1961: The Spanish GP returns, again at Montjuich
1968: Canellas wins at Montjuich, becoming the first Spanish 125cc race
winner.
1969: Jarama replaces Montjuich as the host of the Spanish GP, the two to
alternate until 1978.
1969: S. Herrero wins the 250 GP at Jarama, becoming the first Spanish
winner in that class. He wins twice more that year.
1969: Angel Nieto wins his first 50cc championship, and along the way
becomes the first Spanish race winner in 50cc.
1970: Nieto wins again in 50 and also finishes 2nd in 125, winning a total
of nine GPs.
1971: Nieto wins the 125 championship for Derbi, and also wins his 3rd 50
championship.
1977: Nieto wins his 6th and final 50cc championship.
1978: Ricardo Tormo wins the 50cc championship.
1979: Tormo wins the 125 GP at Imatra, becoming the 3rd Spanish winner in
this class.
1984: Sito Pons wins his first 250 GP at Jarama, and becomes Spain's 2nd 250
winner.
1984: Nieto wins his last GP, in 125 at Silverstone, and goes on to win his
last championship, his 7th in 125.
1986: Jorge "Aspar" Martinez wins the 80cc championship, his first of three
straight, all for Derbi.
1986: Nieto retires at age 39, and as the all-time leader in wins and
championships in 50/80 and 125.
1987: Jerez replaces Jarama as the host of the Spanish GP; Jarama stays on
the calendar as the host of the Portuguese GP when Estoril proves not to be
ready.
1988: Spain again hosts two GPs as Jerez replaces Estoril after officially
the Portuguese circuit fails inspection, but unofficially the event was sold
to Jerez, in turn sponsored by the city of Seville and Campsa. The round
became known as Not the Portuguese GP.
1988: Juan Garriga becomes the 3rd Spanish 250 race winner by winning at
Jerez on his Ducados Yamaha, a week after Pons wins at Jarama.
1988: Pons becomes Spain's first 250 champion, beating out Garriga at the
final round.
1988: Martinez becomes Spain's 2nd 125 champion, winning 9 races on the
Derbi in the process.
1989: Manuel Herreros wins the final 80cc championship, for Derbi.
1989: Alex Criville becomes Spain's 3rd 125 champion, for Cobas, is then
hired by Agostini to race a factory Yamaha in 250 in '90.
1989: Pons repeats as 250 champion for Campsa Honda, in dominant fashion;
Garriga slips to a winless 8th. Carlos Cardus finishes 4th on his
Repsol-sponsored NSR and takes his first win, becoming the 4th Spanish 250
race winner.
1990: Both Pons and Garriga and their Spanish-sponsored teams move up to
500, both having previously ridden in 500, Pons for Gallina HB Suzuki in '85
and Garriga for Cagiva in '86. Garriga finished 6th and Pons 10th.
1990: Carlos Cardus becomes Honda's top rider but loses the championship at
the final round to Yamaha's Kocinski. His season is noted by temperamental
behavior to the end.
1992: Catalunya is added as a permanent 2nd GP in Spain, initially hosting
the GP of Europe.
1992: Pons retires after two years in 500, best race result of 5th, but
continues to run his Campsa Honda team, hiring Criville, 13th in 250 on a
Cobas/Honda in '91, as his rider.
1992: Criville wins the 500 GP at Assen, becoming the first Spanish winner
in the premier class, after most of the best riders either didn't start or
didn't finish the race. He becomes the 3rd European 500 race winner in a
decade.
1992: Garriga finishes 3rd at the British GP, his first and only podium in
three years in 500.
1992: After the IRTA/2WP overthrow of the FIM, Ecclestone sells 2WP to
Dorna, a Spanish sports management and marketing company. One of their
actions in the early years is to push 125 to be a rider development class,
limiting rider participation to four seasons initially, and later imposing a
maximum age.
1994: After finishing a winless 8th in '93, Criville moves to the factory
Honda team, replacing 500 rookie of the year Beattie, who finished 3rd and
won a race, after the team loses Rothmans sponsorship. Alberto Puig, 9th
with one podium in 250 in '93, replaces Criville and finishes 5th in 500 in'94,
one place ahead of Criville.
1995: Spanish petroleum giant Repsol becomes the major sponsor of the Honda
factory team.
1995: Puig wins at Jerez on the now-Fortuna-sponsored Pons Honda, becoming
Spain's 2nd 500 race winner, but is badly injured a few rounds later while
sitting 3rd in points. Pons replaces him with Carlos Checa from 250, where
he is 9th in points.
1995: Criville wins the final round at Catalunya, his first win in three and
a half years.
1996: "Follow the Leader" Criville establishes his reputation for shadowing
Doohan, finishing one place behind him in 5 straight races before winning
the next 2, then back to following the next 3; the season ends with Criville
taking out Doohan on the final lap of his home GP in a notoriously dubious
move. He takes 2nd in the championship as well.
1996: Checa wins at Catalunya, becoming the 3rd Spanish 500 winner, ends the
year in 8th in points.
1996: Gibernau is hired out of the Spanish 250 championship by Rainey to
replace Harada in 250 after he quits on Yamaha, and finishes 22nd in the
championship.
1997: The peak of Repsol Honda NSR dominance, the team winning all 15 races.
1997: Gibernau is moved up to 500, after Capirossi unexpectedly leaves
Yamaha and takes the Philip Morris sponsorship with him, and finishes 13th
in the championship.
1997: Puig retires having finished 12th in the championship and never fully
recovering from his '95 injury.
1998: The temporary return of Jarama gives Spain three GPs, the most ever
for one country.
1998: Unemployed Gibernau inherits Aoki's NSR-V after his career-ending
testing injury, finishes 11th in the championship and gets his first podium,
at Jarama.
1998: Checa wins the GP of Madrid for now-MoviStar-sponsored Pons Honda,
and finishes a career-high 4th in the championship, right behind Criville.
1999: Valencia replaces Jarama as the third Spanish GP.
1999: Criville wins the 500 championship, Doohan eliminated by career-ending
injuries after two races, and becomes Spain's first and only premier class
champion. He is also only the 2nd rider to win the 125 and 500
championships, joining Phil Read
1999: Gibernau inherits Doohan's NSR and finishes 5th in the championship.
Checa is hired by the new Marlboro Yamaha factory team, and finishes 7th in
the championship. Pons runs Juan Borja, previously a true privateer in 500,
and he finishes 12th.
1999: Emilio Alzamora wins the 125 championship, Spain's 4th 125 champion,
and notable for not winning a race.
2000: Portugal and Estoril finally get a GP, making it effectively three and
a half GPs for Spain.
2000: Criville's defense of his championship ends in 9th with only one win.
Checa starts well, tied with Roberts for the championship lead after six
rounds, but falls to an eventual 6th.
2000: Pons hires two non-Spanish riders for the first time, and not
coincidentally has non-Spanish (West) sponsorship for the first time. His
team has its most successful year ever, riders finishing 4th and 7th and
both winning races.
2000: Former Pons sponsor MoviStar/Telefonica moves to the factory Suzuki
team, and are rewarded with a championship from Roberts.
2001: Gibernau is hired by Telefonica Suzuki after finishing 15th for Repsol
Honda in '00, replacing Aoki, who finished 10th. Gibernau wins at Valencia
in mixed conditions, becoming the 4th Spaniard to win in 500 (and Spanish
winners at all four contemporary Spanish GP tracks), but Criville remains
the only one to win outside of Spain.
2001: 18-year-old Toni Elias wins the 125 GP at Assen for Puig's Telefonica
MoviStar Honda, becoming only the 2nd Spaniard to win in 125 since Criville
and Martinez, and goes on to finish 3rd in the championship. He is the first
successful product of Puig's young rider development program in Spain; his
teammate is 15-year-old Dani Pedrosa, who takes 2 podiums and finishes 8th.
2002: Criville retires after a testing crash for D'Antin Antena Yamaha,
having left Honda after two disappointing seasons which included only one
win.
2002: Fonsi Nieto wins the 250 GP at Jerez for Telefonica MoviStar-Repsol
Aprilia, becoming the first Spanish winner in 250 since Cardus gave Kocinski
the "up yours" gesture at Brno in 1990.
2002: Elias wins the 250 GP at Motegi for Telefonica MoviStar-Repsol
Aprilia, becoming the first Spaniard to win in both 125 and 250, and the
17th ever, joining Ruffo, Haas, Hollaus, Ubbiali, Provini, Phillis,
Hailwood, Read, Ivy, Reggiani, Cadalora, Romboni, Capirossi, Waldmann,
Rossi, Melandri.
2002: Dani Pedrosa wins the 125 GP at Assen for Telefonica MoviStar Honda,
at age 16, the 2nd Puig protégé to taste success in GP. He wins twice more
and finishes 3rd in the championship.
2003: Telefonica leaves Suzuki in MotoGP and joins Gresini Honda; Gibernau
leaves Suzuki after finishing a podiumless 16th in '02 and also joins
Gresini. Sete inherits Katoh's factory RCV after he suffers life-ending
injury at the opening round, and wins 4 races and finishes 2nd in the
championship.
2003: Marlboro leaves the Yamaha factory team to sponsor the new Ducati
factory team; Biaggi also leaves Yamaha to join Pons Honda, now
Camel-sponsored. Spanish tobacco giant Altadis brings Fortuna sponsorship to
Yamaha, making Yamaha the last of the three long-time factories in
500/MotoGP to move to major Spanish sponsorship, all in less than a decade,
all employing Spanish riders. Checa, winless in 4 years on the team, is
promoted to lead rider; Yamaha fails to win a race for only the 2nd time in
32 years.
2003: Elias wins 5 GPs and takes 3rd in the 250 championship for Repsol
Telefonica MoviStar Aprilia; Nieto finishes 5th for the team.
2003: Pedrosa wins the 125 championship for Puig Telefonica Honda, Spain's
5th 125 champion; Jorge Lorenzo (Derbi) and Hector Barbera (Aspar Aprilia)
both win 125 races. All three riders are under age 18.
2003: At Le Mans Gibernau wins in MotoGP, Elias in 250 and Pedrosa in 125,
the first time Spaniards win in all three classes in the same GP.
2004: Gibernau again wins 4 races and takes 2nd in the MotoGP championship.
2004: Ruben Xaus becomes the first Spaniard from WSB to move to MotoGP,
signs with D'Antin Ducati after being 2nd in the WSB championship in '03;
takes a surprising podium in Qatar and finishes 11th overall.
2004: Pedrosa moves to 250 with Puig Telefonica Honda and wins the
championship his first year, and the first for Spain since Pons in '89.
Elias moves to Fortuna Honda and slips to 4th and wins only once; Nieto
(Repsol Aspar Aprilia) slips to 7th. Pedrosa becomes the 6th Spaniard to win
a race in the class, and the 19th rider to win in both 125 and 250.
2004: Barbera and Lorenzo finish 2nd and 4th in 125 and win 7 races between
them. Pablo Nieto and Alvaro Bautista finish 7th and 8th.
2004: Spaniards win 19 GPs in total, out of 48 opportunities, but still
trail Italy's 20, if one credit's Poggiali's win as Italian. The five riders
with wins all ride for teams with major Spanish sponsorship.
2005: Xaus and Elias sign with Tech 3 Yamaha in MotoGP, ride in Fortuna
colors. Elias finishes 12th and Xaus 16th. Checa leaves Yamaha for the
Ducati factory team, and finishes a winless 9th. Gibernau loses the last
corner fight with Rossi in the opener at Jerez, melts down and finishes a
winless 7th for Gresini Honda.
2005: Honda reveals the new concept RC211V at Brno, and their "compact bikes
for the compact riders of the future" strategy. Gibernau and Biaggi are
reluctant to ride it.
2005: Pedrosa again wins the 250 championship and takes 8 wins; Lorenzo and
Barbera move up with Fortuna Honda and finish 5th and 9th. All are under 20
years of age.
2006: Spanish musical chairs: Telefonica Gresini Honda loses out in the
Pedrosa sweepstakes as Dani signs with Repsol Honda, and Telefonica leaves
MotoGP as a result. Altadis and Fortuna leave Yamaha over a dispute
involving Rossi, and land at Gresini. Elias follows Fortuna to Gresini,
replacing Gibernau; Xaus heads back to WSB. Gibernau replaces Checa at
Ducati, and Checa replaces Elias at Tech 3.
2006: Pedrosa gets the ultimate development version of the original RCV,
while assumed lead rider Hayden is "encouraged" to race on the Brno machine
during winter testing. Pedrosa wins twice, becoming the 5th Spaniard to win
in class, and finishes 5th in the championship. He also becomes the first
Spaniard to win in 125, 250 and 500/MotoGP, the 7th in GP history to do it
(after Hailwood, Read, Cadalora, Capirossi, Rossi, Melandri), and becomes
the 2nd-youngest rider to win in the premier class, and almost certainly the
smallest.
2006: At the penultimate round at Estoril Pedrosa takes out teammate Hayden
and severely damages his championship chances; Elias beats Rossi in the
closest GP finish ever and becomes the 6th Spaniard to win in class, and the
8th rider to win in 125, 250 and 500/MotoGP - and the first of those to not
win a championship in any class, all the others having won championships in
at least two classes.
2006: Lorenzo wins the 250 championship and takes 8 GPs, and along the way
becomes the 7th Spaniard to win in 250 and the 21st rider to win in 125 and
250. Barbera finishes 7th and wins one race, becoming the 8th Spaniard to
win in 250 (that number doubling in 4 years) and the 22nd rider to win in
125 and 250.
2006: Bautista easily wins the 125 championship for Master-MVA Aspar
Aprilia, taking 8 wins.
2006: Spanish riders win 23 races out of 49 opportunities in all classes
combined, Spain's high water mark to date. The six riders with wins all
rode, as in '04, for teams with major Spanish sponsors.
2006: The Red Bull Rookies Cup, a training class for 13 to 16-year-olds
using 125s and inspired by Puig, is created and added to the series for
2007.
2007: Honda's new 800, an extension of the Brno bike concept, is clearly
designed for small riders, and doesn't fit champion Hayden, for the first
time a factory designing a bike not for their defending champion but for his
teammate. Pedrosa finishes 2nd in the MotoGP championship, winning twice,
despite problems with the machine and tires. Elias finishes 12th, and Checa,
having moved to LCR Honda, is 15th. Former Puig pupil Stoner wins the
championship easily, and becomes the 9th rider to win in all three classes.
2007: Lorenzo easily defends his 250 championship, winning 9 times. Bautista
moves up to 250 and finishes 5th, becoming the 9th Spaniard to win in 250,
that number doubling in 5 years, and 24th rider to win in 125 and 250 (the
majority of which having done it since the Dorna takeover in '92); Barbera
is a winless 6th.
2007: Hector Faubel finishes 2nd in 125, winning 5 times; he is 24 and in
his 6th GP season.
2008: Dorna intervenes on Pedrosa's behalf (and Rossi's) to provide him with
superior Bridgestone tires, which Honda refuses to accept, then allows Dani
to use after the summer break. He finishes 3rd in the championship, again
winning twice.
2008: Lorenzo moves up to the factory Yamaha team in MotoGP at age 20,
finishes 4th, wins the 3rd round at Estoril, becoming the 7th Spaniard to
win in the premier class and the 10th rider to win in 125, 250 and
500/MotoGP, that number having doubled in less than three years. His win is
the 32nd by a Spaniard in the premier class - and the very first for a team
without major Spanish sponsorship.
2008: Elias, having moved to D'Antin Ducati, finishes a winless 12th again.
2008: Bautista, inheriting Aprilia's top position from Lorenzo, fails to win
the championship, finishing 2nd. Alex Debon, having come to 250 in 2000,
finishes 4th and wins twice, becoming the 10th Spaniard to win in 250.
2008: The top Spaniard in 125 is Nicolas Terol in 5th, with one win. Joan
Olive continues to disappoint with a winless 7th, Pol Espargaro is 9th, and
after winning the opener Sergio Gadea ends up 12th. Is the well running dry?
2009: Pedrosa and Lorenzo continue on the Honda and Yamaha factory teams,
Elias returns to Gresini and is given a factory bike by Honda, Gibernau
comes out of retirement to ride for a new Ducati satellite team. Rumors
circulate that Repsol is losing patience with Pedrosa and will replace him
with Lorenzo in 2010.
2009: Bautista on the Mapfre Aspar Aprilia team and Barbera on the PepeWorld
Pons Aprilia team remain the top Spanish riders in 250, after Bautista
reportedly decided not to move up to MotoGP until 2010; Martinez had been
rumored to be running a new satellite team with either Suzuki or Kawasaki
during 2008.
2009: Dorna reveals details on the new 250 replacement class utilizing four
stroke 600cc motors; the machines debut in 2009 in the Spanish championship
also owned by Dorna.
XML Sitemap
>at La Mans last weekend, and the current championship leads by Lorenzo,
>Bautista and Simon in each class, I thought I'd put together a little
>history and timeline on the Spanish ascent in GP: