 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
| Miguel Praia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Portuguese | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 2 March 1978 Portalegre, Portugal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Miguel Praia (born 2 March 1978) is a retired Portuguese,[Motorcycle racing|motorcycle racer]]. He now works on the broadcast team for MotoGP in Portugal.
Praia was born in Portalegre, Portugal. His first race was in 1994 at the age of 16 on a Yamaha TZR50. In 1997 he rode a full championship for the first time, finishing 3rd overall riding a Yamaha TZR125.
After the death of his brother Alberto Praia, he stopped racing, but returned in 1999 riding a Yamaha TZ125 in the Portuguese 125GP championship, finishing in 6th place.
In 2000, Praia had a good year in the newly established Aprilia Challenge 125cc, ending most races in 1st place and setting several lap records, but a jury decision in the last round placed him in 2nd position overall.
In 2001, Praia moved up into the 600cc category. He finished in 8th position in Troféu Honda CBR600RR.
After a not outstanding year in a supersport class, 2002 was Praia's breakout year. He set new lap records in most rounds, and became champion for Troféu Honda CBR600RR 2002. In 2003 he repeated this achievement, winning the champion's title for Troféu Honda CBR600RR again.
In 2005, at the end of the Portuguese Stocksport 1000 championship, he entered the Superbike World Championship, winning the last two races on a Honda CBR1000RR he had never ridden before.
In an attempt to get more and better experience from an international competition, in 2002 and 2003 Miguel Praia raced in European Supersport Championship, as the highest-performing Portuguese racer.
By invitation of the Portuguese Government, Miguel Praia participated in the Macau Grand Prix in 2002 and in 2003, finishing 5th and 4th respectively. In 2003 he entered the Portuguese round of the MotoGP 250cc championship as a wildcard and finished 22nd.
2004 was his first year in full World class championships. He joined team NCR Ducati in the Superbike World Championship along with his teammate Garry McCoy. As the number 2 in the team and a newcomer into the Superbikes world, Praia had a disappointing season, racing on a Ducati 999RS and then a Ducati 998RS. He finished the championship in 30th place.
He switched teams the following year to join DFX Extreme team with a Yamaha R1 in 2005, and saw much improvement in his lap times, but in a year with many newcomers from other world championships in the Superbikes class, his finishing placing dropped to 34th.
Praia switched to a lower class in 2006, the Supersport World Championship, but this time with a new Portuguese team, Parkalgar Racing Team, and riding a Honda CBR600RR. The team experiences some problems in getting the right setup for the machine, and the year did not go well; Praia had to abandon some races due to mechanical failures, and eventually retired from the championship.
In 2007, Praia made better lap times compared with the previous years, but more new rivals from Superbikes and other world championships also joined the championship, and his faster speeds were not reflected in the final standings, again finishing 34th.
In 2008 the Parkalgar Racing Team secured Factory Honda support and a new Honda CBR600RR better shaped then the previous year's ones. The pre-season tests at Almería (Circuito de Almería) in January raised expectations for the team, with Praia's team-mate Craig Jones setting a new lap record for the track and Miguel Praia less than a second behind.
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Class | Bike | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Pos | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 250cc | Yamaha | JPN | RSA | SPA | FRA | ITA | CAT | NED | GBR | GER | CZE | POR 22 | BRA | PAC | MAL | AUS | VAL | NC | 0 |
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Bike | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos | Pts | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | ||||
| 2004 | Ducati | SPA 13 | SPA 19 | AUS 16 | AUS Ret | SMR DNQ | SMR DNQ | ITA Ret | ITA Ret | GER 17 | GER Ret | GBR 14 | GBR Ret | USA DNS | USA Ret | EUR Ret | EUR 15 | NED Ret | NED 16 | ITA Ret | ITA 21 | FRA 18 | FRA 14 | 30th | 8 | ||
| 2005 | Yamaha | QAT 20 | QAT 18 | AUS 16 | AUS 14 | SPA Ret | SPA Ret | ITA 23 | ITA Ret | EUR 15 | EUR Ret | SMR 18 | SMR 16 | CZE 23 | CZE 21 | GBR Ret | GBR Ret | NED 21 | NED 19 | GER 16 | GER 18 | ITA | ITA | FRA | FRA | 34th | 3 |
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Bike | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Pos | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Honda | QAT | AUS | SPA 20 | ITA 19 | EUR 23 | SMR Ret | CZE Ret | GBR 27 | NED 18 | GER 18 | ITA Ret | FRA 16 | NC | 0 | ||
| 2007 | Honda | QAT 19 | AUS 24 | EUR 20 | SPA 21 | NED Ret | ITA 21 | GBR 11 | SMR 21 | CZE Ret | GBR 21 | GER Ret | ITA Ret | FRA Ret | 34th | 5 | |
| 2008 | Honda | QAT 13 | AUS 21 | SPA 15 | NED 17 | ITA Ret | GER 13 | SMR Ret | CZE Ret | GBR Ret | EUR Ret | ITA 13 | FRA Ret | POR 12 | 25th | 14 | |
| 2009 | Honda | AUS Ret | QAT 12 | SPA 18 | NED Ret | ITA 12 | RSA 16 | USA 12 | SMR 10 | GBR Ret | CZE Ret | GER 11 | ITA 9 | FRA 12 | POR 10 | 15th | 40 |
| 2010 | Honda | AUS 9 | POR Ret | SPA 12 | NED 10 | ITA 10 | RSA 10 | USA 14 | SMR 9 | CZE 7 | GBR 6 | GER 13 | ITA Ret | FRA 10 | 12th | 66 | |
| 2011 | Honda | AUS Ret | EUR 11 | NED 8 | ITA Ret | SMR 12 | SPA 9 | CZE Ret | GBR 8 | GER Ret | ITA 8 | FRA 13 | POR 8 | 13th | 51 | ||
| 2012 | Honda | AUS | ITA | NED | ITA | EUR | SMR | SPA | CZE | GBR | RUS | GER 16 | POR 17 | FRA 22 | NC | 0 | |
| 2013 | Honda | AUS | SPA | NED | ITA | GBR | POR 20 | ITA | RUS | GBR | GER | TUR | FRA | SPA | NC | 0 | |
| 2015 | Honda | AUS | THA | SPA | NED | ITA | GBR | POR 15 | ITA | MAL | SPA | FRA | QAT | 37th | 1 |
Neil Stuart Hodgson is a British former motorcycle racer, who won the 2000 British Superbike Championship, and the 2003 Superbike World Championship titles. He then went on to have a moderately successful four years in the American Superbike Championship, with a best 5th place championship finish.
Chaz Davies, is a British motorcycle racer, primarily known for his career in the Superbike World Championship, where he finished three times as runner-up. In 2024, Davies was confirmed as a rider in the MotoE World Championship, an electrically powered race series.
Rubén Xaus is a retired motorcycle road racer. During his career he competed in both the Superbike World Championship and the MotoGP. He is nicknamed 'Spider-Man', as his lanky frame leads him to hang over the bike in an unusual way.
Héctor Barberá Vall is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He competes in MotoAmerica aboard a BMW S1000RR.
Michel Fabrizio is a former professional motorcycle road racer. From 2006 to 2015, he raced in the Superbike World Championship. In 2021 he competed in the Supersport World Championship aboard a Kawasaki ZX-6R, before retiring on September 26 from motorsport as a sign of protest after Dean Berta Viñales fatal crash in Jerez.
Eugene Laverty is a former professional motorcycle road racer from Northern Ireland, the brother of Michael and John.
Ben Spies, is an American team principal for a MotoAmerica Supersport (600cc) professional motorcycle road racing team who previously was a racer himself. He was sometimes nicknamed "Elbows" due to his riding style, in which his elbows protruded outward. Spies won the AMA Superbike Championship for Yoshimura Suzuki in 2006, and successfully defended it in 2007 and 2008.
Max Neukirchner is a professional motorcycle racer currently competing in the Endurance FIM World Championship aboard a Yamaha YZF-R1.
Fabrizio Lai is a Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from Italy. He currently competes in the CIV Superbike Championship, aboard a MV Agusta F4.
Alessandro "Sandro" Cortese is a former German motorcycle racer, who last competed in 2020 World Superbike Championship for Team Pedercini. Cortese won his first world title in the Moto3 class, in 2012., and his second in the Supersport World Championship, in 2018. He lives in Berkheim, Germany.
Dominique Aegerter is a Swiss professional circuit racer of solo motorcycles, competing in World superbike Championship. He won the Supersport World Championship in 2021 and 2022. He also won the MotoE World Cup in 2022. He is also the first Swiss rider to set foot on a world SBK podium.
Broc Parkes is an Australian motorcycle racer, best known for his success in the Supersport World Championship. He currently races in the Endurance FIM World Championship aboard a Yamaha YZF-R1.
Raffaele De Rosa is an Italian road racer of solo motorcycles. He has competed mainly in the Supersport World Championship.
Daniel Webb is a British motorcycle racer. For 2021 he competed in the World Supersport Championship until mid-way through the season, then in the British Supersport Championship as a replacement for injured Kyle Smith.
Michele Pio Pirro is a motorcycle road racer from Italy, He was 2007 and 2008 the Italian CIV National Champion in the Superstock class and a test rider for Ducati factory racing in MotoGP and rides occasionally as a wildcard.
Taylor Mackenzie is a former Grand Prix motorcycle racer based in Leicestershire, England. In late 2021, Mackenzie announced his intended retirement from racing at the end of the season. Shortly afterwards, it was announced that from the 2022 season, Mackenzie would be team manager for VisionTrack Honda Moto3, a new team in Moto3 headed by ex-racer Michael Laverty.
Péter Sebestyén is a Hungarian motorcycle racer, competing in the 2022 Supersport World Championship for the Evan Bros. Yamaha team. He has raced in the Superbike World Championship, the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup, the 2010 and 2011 125cc World Championships, the Spanish 125GP Championship, the German 125GP Championship, the European Junior Cup and the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup.
Glenn James Scott is an Australian motorcycle racer.
Samuel Deane Lowes is a British motorcycle racer who competed in the Moto2 World Championship with ELF Marc VDS Racing Team aboard a Kalex since 2019. From 2024, Lowes remains with the same team ownership which moves into a new class of racing, World Superbikes, using a Ducati Panigale V4 R.
Alexander Thomas Lowes is an English motorcycle racer. He signed in October 2019 for the Kawasaki Racing Team in Superbike World Championship as team-mate to multi-world champion Jonathan Rea.
