Pons Racing was a motorcycle and auto racing team owned by the British company Pons Racing UK Limited. The team principal is former 250 cc world champion , Sito Pons . In motorcycle road racing world championships, Pons has fielded riders such as Alex Barros , Max Biaggi , Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau . In auto racing, his team won the 2004 World Series by Nissan championship with driver Heikki Kovalainen .
20-451: At the end of 2023 , the team officially left Grand Prix motorcycle racing as a whole. 2001 The year saw the arrival of new title sponsor in West cigarettes , replacing Emerson Electronics after just one year. Both Barros and Capirossi remained in the team with the factory-spec NSR500 in the year where 990cc four-stroke machinery made their debut in the top class. [1] West Honda Pons had
40-631: A solid season with the 500cc bikes where Barros scored two consecutive podiums in Assen and Donington Park, while Capirossi finished third in Welkom before suffered wrist injury in Assen. German Alex Hofmann filled Capirossi's seat in Donington and Sachsenring, finished 10th in his home race. [2] Alex Barros was given the four-stroke RC211V in the last four races of the season, the decision which paid off by finished in top three in those four races, two of them being
60-486: A victory in Motegi and Valencia, ended the season in fourth place, eleven points behind second placed Max Biaggi. Capirossi scored another podium in Motegi, finished eighth in the final standings. At the end of the season both riders left Honda Pons, along with title sponsor West . Honda Pons entered a new chapter in team's history, with R. J. Reynolds 's Camel cigarettes became team's title sponsor. [3] Max Biaggi joined
80-695: The Blue Riband 500cc class as a replacement for Alberto Puig , a fellow Spaniard who broke both his legs in a horrifying crash in France. Checa shocked the paddock by being on the pace and nearly winning the Barcelona race. He continued with the team until 1998, the year he suffered near fatal injuries with a crash at Donington Park 's Craner Curves and was initially thought to have suffered only scrapes and bruises before complaining of pain. Hours later he had lost his vision, needed emergency surgery to remove his spleen and
100-461: The Sachsenring Checa got an updated frame, which other non-works Honda riders had found uncompetitive – this is believed to be due to Checa using the same Michelin tyres as the works team, the other Hondas being on Bridgestones . Checa returned to the series in 2010 , as replacement for Mika Kallio for the last two races of the season . For the 2008 season, Checa left MotoGP to join
120-610: The Ten Kate Honda team in the Superbike World Championship as a replacement for 2007 champion James Toseland . At Valencia he challenged Max Neukirchner for the win at the final corner, resulting in a collision which broke Neukirchner's collarbone. Checa's first two wins – following four podium finishes – both came in the meeting at Miller Motorsports Park in Salt Lake City on 1 June 2008. He did not reach
140-603: The 2011 Superbike World Championship . After racing in 500 cc and MotoGP for over a decade, mostly on Honda and Yamaha machinery with and without full manufacturer support, he moved to the Superbike World Championship on a Honda for 2008 . He has two Grand Prix victories. He has a younger brother, David Checa , also a motorcycle racer who competed in the Superbike World Championship for 2008 . Born in Barcelona , Spain, Checa made his debut in 125cc and 250cc motorcycle racing in 1993 for Honda . In 1995 , he moved up to
160-507: The Italian round at Imola and finished the season in third place in the 2010 championship. Checa dominated the opening round of the 2011 season, winning both races comfortably at Phillip Island on his Ducati 1098R. He won thirteen more times and was crowned the 2011 World Superbike Champion at the penultimate round at the Magny-Cours circuit in France, becoming the first Spaniard and only
180-491: The factory Yamaha team for the 2003 and 2004 seasons, before he moved to Marlboro Ducati in 2005 . In 2006 he returned to the Tech 3 Yamaha team, proving much steadier than in previous years and comfortably beating teammate James Ellison , but was not much a threat to the rest of the field, as they were on Dunlop tyres . He struggled as the sole LCR Honda rider in 2007, with the 800cc Honda proving uncompetitive for many riders. At
200-467: The lease of one of the RC211V and signed Stoner. Tuenti Móvil HP 40 Paginas Amarillas HP 40 * Season still in progress. 2018 Red Bull KTM Ajo 2019 Flexbox HP40 2020 Sky Racing Team VR46 2021 Red Bull KTM Ajo 2022 Red Bull KTM Ajo 2023 Red Bull KTM Ajo 2023 Moto2 World Championship The 2023 FIM Moto2 World Championship
220-650: The podium again, but consistent results elsewhere allowed him to finish fifth in the championship. He also won the Suzuka 8 Hours with teammate Ryuichi Kiyonari . In 2009 , Checa struggled to compete for much of the season, securing just four podium finishes and finishing seventh in the riders' standings, 32 points behind satellite Honda rider Leon Haslam . During the 2009 season, Ten Kate Honda announced that they would be downsizing their operation from three riders to just two. Both Checa and Ryuichi Kiyonari were released, with Jonathan Rea retained and Max Neukirchner joining
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#1732928396215240-599: The race. Camel Honda then won two races in a row in Brazil and Germany courtesy of Tamada and Biaggi respectively, with Tamada's victory was the first for Bridgestone in MotoGP. Tamada scored another win in Motegi en route to sixth place in the standings, while Biaggi ended the year in the same way he finished 2003, in third place. The agreement with Pramac ended as the company switched to D'Antin Racing as title sponsor, while Camel remained in
260-428: The remainder of the season. Both Barros and Bayliss moved to Superbike World Championship at the end of the season Pons signed Carlos Checa and Australian rookie Casey Stoner for the 2006 season. However, the team lost their title sponsor Camel , who moved to Yamaha, forcing the team to withdraw from MotoGP after 25 seasons in the sport. Checa ended up moved to Tech 3, while Lucio Cecchinello 's LCR Team secured
280-516: The team from Suzuki. In November 2009, Checa was confirmed as a rider at the Althea Ducati team, where he would race alongside Shane Byrne . He scored Althea's first win at the season opening meeting at Phillip Island , and was on course for victories in both races at Miller Motorsports Park in the United States before suffering mystery mechanical failures in both races. Checa went on to win
300-518: The team from factory Yamaha team, while HRC moved Tohru Ukawa from Repsol Honda. Both riders rode the customer-spec RC211V . Biaggi won 2 races in Donington Park (After Rossi got 10-seconds time penalty for yellow flag infringement) and Motegi en route to third place in the standings, while Ukawa ended the season in eight place before demoted to factory testing role with Honda, ended his full time Grand Prix career. [4] Max Biaggi remained in
320-460: The team, joined by Makoto Tamada as Pons and Pramac Racing collaborate as one team. Due to the agreement, Tamada raced with Bridgestone tires, while Biaggi remained with Michelin . The team's technical director Antonio Cobas died in Barcelona just days before the opening round in South Africa . [5] Max Biaggi finished the race in second place after battled with Valentino Rossi throughout
340-543: The team. Alex Barros returned to the team after spending the last two seasons with Tech3 and Repsol Honda respectively, along with Troy Bayliss who left Ducati. Barros winning in Portugal along with 11 top-10 finishes, finished 8th in the standings. Bayliss scored 5 top-10 finishes in 11 races, however his season was cut short when he injured his wrist in a motocross accident. [6] Tohru Ukawa , Shane Byrne , Chris Vermeulen and Ryuichi Kiyonari filled Bayliss's seat for
360-435: The top fifteen finishers. A rider had to finish the race to earn points. Each constructor was awarded the same number of points as their best placed rider in each race. The teams' standings were based on results obtained by regular and substitute riders; wild-card entries were ineligible. Carlos Checa Carlos Checa Carrera (born 15 October 1972) is a Spanish former professional motorcycle road racer and winner of
380-440: Was listed in critical condition. He fought back to ride that year, missing just one race, before racing for Yamaha as Max Biaggi 's teammate on two-strokes and four-strokes . He nearly won many races but had a habit of crashing after taking the lead. One such race was at Rio de Janeiro in 2002 when he stalled on the starting line, then rode through the field to take the lead only to crash a corner later. Checa continued racing with
400-559: Was part of the 75th FIM Road Racing World Championship season. Pedro Acosta won the championship with two races to spare after finishing second at the Malaysian round in Sepang , riding for Red Bull KTM Ajo . All teams used series-specified Dunlop tyres and Triumph 765cc 3-cylinder engines . The minimum age to have a license for Moto2 was raised to 18 years old. The following Grands Prix took place in 2023: Points were awarded to
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