| Pramac Racing | |
|---|---|
| 2010 name | Pramac Racing Team |
| Base | Casole d'Elsa, Italy |
| Principal | Paolo Campinoti |
| Rider(s) | 14 Randy de Puniet 65 Loris Capirossi |
| Motorcycle | Ducati Desmosedici GP11 |
| Tyres | Bridgestone |
| Riders' Championships | - |
Pramac Racing is a motorcycle racing team currently competing in the MotoGP World Championship. The team was created in 2000 by Italian company Pramac.[1] In 2005 Pramac Racing joined forces with d’Antin MotoGP to form Pramac d'Antin. After d'Antin left the team in 2008, the team became known as Pramac Racing.
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The d'Antin MotoGP Team was set up in 1999 by Spanish former motorcycle racer Luis d'Antin. Beginning in 1999 the team raced in the 250 cc Spanish and World Championships with Yamaha and two Spanish riders Fonsi Nieto and David García.
Also beginning in 1999, the team ran in the 500 cc class with Japanese rider Norifumi Abe. Abe took a win in 2000 at the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. José Luís Cardoso joined the team in 2001 as second rider alongside Abe. A podium finish was the team's best result.
500 cc became MotoGP in 2002. The D'Antin team continued with the same riders and the same motorcycle the 500 cc 2-stroke Yamaha YZR500. The 500 cc 2-stroke motorcycle was not able to compete against the more powerful 990 cc 4-strokes and top 10 finishes were the team's best results.
The team got the new Yamaha YZR-M1 in 2003. Shinya Nakano was the team's only rider.
The team switched to Ducati motorcycles in 2004 using the previous season's Desmosedici GP3. 2003 Superbike World Champion Neil Hodgson and 2003 Superbike World Championship runner-up Rubén Xaus joined the team. The team ran into financial difficulties mid-season and was not able to run a test program. The teams best result was a third place for Xaus.
Pramac Racing entered MotoGP in 2002 using the Honda NSR500 with Tetsuya Harada as a rider.
In 2003 the team used the Honda RC211V with Makoto Tamada it was the only Honda team to use Bridgestone tyres. A podium in Brazil was the team's best result.
In 2004 Pramac Racing ran alongside Pons Racing under the name Camel Honda. Pramac ran Tamada using Bridgestone tyres while Pons ran Max Biaggi using Michelin tyres. Tamada finished the season with 2 wins.
in 2005 d’Antin MotoGP and Pramac Racing joined to form Pramac d'Antin. The team used the previous season's Desmosedici GP4 with Italian Roberto Rolfo as a rider. The team used Dunlop tyres and usually finished races near the back of the grid.
For 2006 the team was given use of the Desmosedici GP6 the same motorcycles the factory team was using. Alex Hofmann and José Luis Cardoso were the team's riders. The Dunlop tyres the team used were not competitive and once again the team finished races near the back of the grid.
Prior to the start of the 2007 season Pramac and d’Antin reached an agreement that saw the d'Antin team becoming an integral part of the Pramac Group.[2]
For the 2007 season the team used the new 800 cc Ducati Desmosedici GP7 and Bridgestone tyres. Brazilian Alex Barros joined the team alongside Alex Hofmann. Alex Barros had a strong season finishing regularly in the top 10 and taking a podium finish at the Italian Grand Prix. Hofmann had a more average season and he injured his hand in practice at Laguna Seca.[3] He was replaced at Laguna Seca by Chaz Davies and by Iván Silva at Brno. He returned to racing at Misano but he was fired by the team following the Portuguese Grand Prix, after pulling out of the race while in with a chance of scoring points, due to a lack of motivation.[4] Chaz Davies replaced Hoffmann for the 3 remaining rounds of the season.
In 2008 season the team continued using the Ducati Desmosedici GP8 and Bridgestone tyres. Sylvain Guintoli and Toni Elías were the team's riders. The team was sponsored by Alice (Telecom Italia), and was renamed Alice Team.
Luis d'Antin resigned from the team midway though the 2008 season at the German Grand Prix at Sachsenring.[5][6]
For the 2009 season the team continues, now under the name of Pramac Racing, using the Ducati Desmosedici GP9 and Bridgestone tyres with Mika Kallio and Niccolò Canepa riding for the team.[7]
On 19 August 2009 it was announced Aleix Espargaró will race for Pramac in Indianapolis and Misano, the seat having been filled by Michel Fabrizio at Brno. He will be replacing Mika Kallio who in turn replaced Casey Stoner at Ducati works team.[8]
2009 saw Niccolò Canepa and Mika Kallio ride for the team, with Michel Fabrizio and Aleix Espargaró also running races while Kallio stood in for Casey Stoner at the factory Ducati team. Kallio and Espargaró raced for Pramac for the 2010 season.
The Pramac team competed in the 2011 championship with riders Loris Capirossi and Randy de Puniet.[9]
Following Loris Capirossi's retirement at the end of the 2011 season, Héctor Barberá has been confirmed for 2012.[10]
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