 |
 Corsi in 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Italian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 24 April 1987 Rome, Italy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Fiamme Oro [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current team | MV Agusta Forward Racing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bike number | 24 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Simone Corsi (born 24 April 1987) is an Italian former Grand Prix motorcycle racer. [2] Born in Rome, Corsi has been racing in motorcycle world championships for nearly 20 years, amassing over 300 races, [3] 4th all-time, behind only Valentino Rossi, Andrea Dovizioso and Loris Capirossi.
Corsi's first Grand Prix race was in the 125cc category, in 2002 at Mugello, and riding a Honda RS125R he finished the race in 22nd. From the following year on, he would compete regularly in the world championship's levels.
In 2003, Corsi rode a Honda for Scot Racing Team, along with teammate Andrea Dovizioso. He achieved nine point scoring finishes, a season's best result of 9th in two races, and finished 19th in the final standings with 32 points.
In the following year he improved, finishing in the points ten times, finishing in the top-10 four times, and scoring his first podium with a 3rd place in Japan, with Dovizioso winning the race. Corsi ended the season 13th in the final standings with 61 points, while his teammate Dovizioso won the World Championship title with 293 points.
For 2005 both Corsi and Dovizioso moved up to 250cc, but were now riding different bikes. Corsi had a good first half of the year, as he finished in the points in seven of the eight races. However, in the second half's eight races he finished in the points only once, ending the season 14th in the standings, with 59 points.
Corsi returned to the 125cc class for 2006 with Gilera, but he fell short of an impressive season, two fourth places were the best results of his year, and he finished 12th in the championship, with 79 points.
In 2007, he won his first Grand Prix race at the Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul, and finished 3rd in Mugello. Corsi ended the season 6th in the standings, with 168 points, both being career high totals so far.
For 2008, Corsi received a factory spec Aprilia RSA 125 and he was seen as a title favourite for the year. Corsi won races in Jerez, Estoril, Mugello, and the season closer in Valencia, and also finished 3rd in Assen, Rimini, and Sepang, but ultimately finished 2nd in the championship with 225 points, 39 points behind the Derbi of Mike Di Meglio, who also won four races himself, winning the title.
For 2009, it had been speculated that Corsi would ride for the Scot Honda team in 250cc's, but he continued in 125cc with Aprilia, in one last hope of winning the World Championship. It was a down year for him, finishing on the podium only twice (a 2nd place in Donnington, and a 3rd place in Indianapolis), and concluded his career's final year of the 125cc category with only 81 points, good for 11th in the rider's standings.
In 2010, Corsi stepped up to the new intermediate class, Moto2, for Team JiR. He scored his first podium, and his team's first podium in the intermediate class, with a 3rd place at Le Mans, moving into third place in the championship standings temporarily. [4] He added another 3rd placed podium at Mugello, but a crash at both Silverstone and the Sachsenring put a dent his championship hopes. [5] He finished the season well, with regular top-10 finishes, ending his second season in the intermediate class (following the debut 2005 season) 5th in the rider's championship, with 138 points.
In 2011, Corsi now riding for IodaRacing Project, he basically replicated his 2010 season, scoring two 3rd place finishes (this time in Jerez, and Aragón), and finishing 6th in the final standings, with 127 points.
For the 2012 season Corsi stayed with the IodaRacing Project team, and regressed, not scoring any podiums during the year, his highest finish being three 5th places in Barcelona, Silverstone and Brno, ending the year a disappointing 11th in the standings, with 88 points.
Switching teams again, Corsi would ride for Forward Racing in the 2013 Moto2 World Championship, and have his usual season, riding mostly in the middle of the pack, a regular points finisher, occasional top-10 finishes, and one podium, this time coming as a 2nd place in Germany. He finished the year 11th in the rider's championship, with 108 points.
Staying with Forward Racing, Corsi was partnered by Mattia Pasini for the 2014 season, and had a very half and half year. He started the season off well, with three straight 5th place finishes in Qatar, Texas, and Argentina, before a retirement in Jerez. This was followed by a 2nd place in Le Mans, a 4th place in Mugello, and another retirement in Barcelona. A 3rd place in Germany was followed up by a 5th place in Indianapolis, a 12th place in Brno, and a retirement in Silverstone, where he broke his left arm. Corsi underwent a four hour operation at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford to fix the open and displaced fracture of the ulna of his left arm, reducing and fixing the fracture with a plaque and screws. During the surgery, the doctors discovered injuries to the extensor tendons of the wrist, that were also repaired. [6] These severe injuries saw Corsi miss the remaining six races of the season rehabbing, prematurely ending his 2014 season. He still managed to finish the year 7th in the standings, with 100 points.
For the 2015 Moto2 World Championship, Corsi's teammate at Forward Racing was Lorenzo Baldassarri. He started the season off poorly, being involved in a crash with Esteve Rabat in the season opener in Qatar, causing both riders to retire from the race. In Mugello, he was involved in a collision with Sam Lowes, in which Corsi turned in on Lowes, causing himself to crash, Lowes managing to go on, eventually finishing 4th. Altogether, Corsi had an average year, scoring no podiums, his season's best results were two 4th places in Germany and San Marino, and finished 12th overall in the rider's championship, with 86 points.
In 2016, Corsi joined Speed Up to replace Sam Lowes, who left to Gresini Racing. Corsi had his usual year, starting the season off really well, scoring a 3rd place in the season opener at Qatar, and a 2nd place in Le Mans, the fifth race of the season. In Austin, with 5 laps remaining, he tried overtaking Takaaki Nakagami in the first corner, going up the inside of the Japanese rider when there was no room, causing Nakagami to crash. He was placed under investigation by race direction, but it was subsequently deemed a racing incident. In Barcelona, he was investigated after making contact with Lorenzo Baldassari in a chicane, but it too was deemed a racing incident. He had a similar incident with Nakagami in Brno that year as in Austin, but this time Corsi receiving a ride-through penalty for dangerous riding. He would score points regularly during the rest of the year, but had no further podiums, finishing 10th in the standings, with 103 points.
Staying with Speed Up for the 2017 season, Corsi would continue his bad habit of being involved in crashes, this time in Jerez, where he was involved in his third collision with Nakagami and his first with Xavi Vierge. Corsi tried to overtake too many riders into turn one, lost the front, and took out all three of them from the race. Overall he had another average year, finishing with no podiums, a season's best of 4th in Germany, 117 points, and 9th in the championship.
Corsi switched to team Tasca Racing for the 2018 season, partnering Federico Fuligni. Corsi had a weaker year, seeing the checkered flag in the top-10 only four times, and finished 14th in the rider's championship with 53 points.
In 2019, Corsi had his Grand Prix career's worst year, finishing in the points only twice in the first 9 races of the season, an 8th place in Austin and a 14th place in Barcelona. His poor performances led to Tasca Racing replacing him with ex-teammate Mattia Pasini from the Brno round onwards, after the summer break. [7] Corsi thus finished with only 10 points, 24th in the rider's championship.
Corsi made his return to MV Agusta Forward Racing for the 2020 season, partnering Stefano Manzi, and continued declining in his performances. He finished in the points only six times, and only finished in the top-10 once, a 10th place finish in Aragon. He ended the year 24th in the championship again, this time with 15 points.
Partnered by Lorenzo Baldassarri at Forward for the 2021 Moto2 World Championship, Corsi started the year off in the worst way possible, a high-side in the opening round of Qatar, resulting in a compound fracture in his left wrist. [8] He was replaced for the second round by Tommaso Marcon, and for the third by Miquel Pons, with rumours starting to circle whether or not it was going to be his last year. He finished 9th in Le Mans, 10th in Aragon, and 13th in Austin, and the following weekend in Misano saw Corsi start his 300th career race, becoming only the 5th rider after Loris Capirossi, Valentino Rossi, Andrea Dovizioso, and Thomas Lüthi to achieve this feat. [3] The final round in Valencia saw him take an unexpected pole position in qualifying, his first pole in nearly nine years, [9] but on the warm-up lap Corsi's bike stalled, and he entered the pits in tears, unable to start the race from the front of the grid due to a technical issue. [10] He ended the season 24th in the standings with 16 points, and was extended for another year by Forward Racing for his brilliant pole position.
In what is due to be Corsi's 20th and final season in Grand Prix racing, he will be joined by teammate Marcos Ramírez at Forward Racing for the 2022 Moto2 season. [11] The year was a major disappointment, with Corsi failing to score a point and he and Ramirez were never really looking competitive because of a bike with not many upgrades and tensions between Forward Racing and MV Agusta (now being bought by KTM) with Corsi being replaced by Álex Escrig, ending his long career in Grand Prix racing.
It was later announced that Corsi would be retained by MV Agusta as a coach and test rider, with the possibility of doing some wild card rides both on the European and the World championships. He also tried to join the World Supersport paddock (by also winning 2 races out of the 2 he raced in the Italian championship), but he could not find a ride for 2023.
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Bike | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Pos | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Honda | MIS1 | MON | VAL | MIS2 | MIS3 10 | 22nd | 6 |
| Class | Seasons | 1st GP | 1st Pod | 1st Win | Race | Win | Podiums | Pole | FLap | Pts | WChmp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 125cc | 2002–2004, 2006–2009 | 2002 Italy | 2004 Japan | 2007 Turkey | 95 | 5 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 646 | 0 |
| 250cc | 2005 | 2005 Spain | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 59 | 0 | ||
| Moto2 | 2010–2022 | 2010 Qatar | 2010 France | 209 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 961 | 0 | |
| Total | 2002–2022 | 320 | 5 | 21 | 5 | 2 | 1666 | 0 | |||
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap of the race)
| Year | Class | Bike | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Pos | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 125cc | Honda | JPN | RSA | SPA | FRA | ITA 22 | CAT | NED | GBR | GER | CZE | POR | RIO | PAC | MAL | AUS | VAL | NC | 0 | ||||
| 2003 | 125cc | Honda | JPN 12 | RSA 14 | SPA 21 | FRA 14 | ITA 12 | CAT 15 | NED 12 | GBR Ret | GER 9 | CZE Ret | POR 9 | RIO 22 | PAC 15 | MAL | AUS | VAL Ret | 19th | 32 | ||||
| 2004 | 125cc | Honda | RSA 14 | SPA 12 | FRA 15 | ITA 11 | CAT Ret | NED 18 | RIO 13 | GER 12 | GBR 5 | CZE 9 | POR Ret | JPN 3 | QAT Ret | MAL Ret | AUS 16 | VAL 8 | 13th | 61 | ||||
| 2005 | 250cc | Aprilia | SPA 9 | POR 17 | CHN 8 | FRA 11 | ITA 9 | CAT 5 | NED 10 | GBR 6 | GER Ret | CZE Ret | JPN 11 | MAL Ret | QAT 17 | AUS 16 | TUR Ret | VAL Ret | 14th | 59 | ||||
| 2006 | 125cc | Gilera | SPA 11 | QAT 9 | TUR 4 | CHN 10 | FRA 10 | ITA 10 | CAT Ret | NED 4 | GBR 13 | GER 5 | CZE 15 | MAL 15 | AUS DNS | JPN DNQ | POR 9 | VAL 19 | 12th | 79 | ||||
| 2007 | 125cc | Aprilia | QAT 5 | SPA Ret | TUR 1 | CHN 5 | FRA 8 | ITA 3 | CAT 7 | GBR 10 | NED 5 | GER 4 | CZE 7 | RSM Ret | POR 4 | JPN 6 | AUS 4 | MAL 7 | VAL 12 | 7th | 168 | |||
| 2008 | 125cc | Aprilia | QAT 7 | SPA 1 | POR 1 | CHN Ret | FRA 13 | ITA 1 | CAT 5 | GBR 5 | NED 3 | GER 5 | CZE 10 | RSM 3 | IND 7 | JPN 7 | AUS 8 | MAL 3 | VAL 1 | 2nd | 225 | |||
| 2009 | 125cc | Aprilia | QAT 14 | JPN 15 | SPA 14 | FRA Ret | ITA 18 | CAT 16 | NED 8 | GER Ret | GBR 2 | CZE Ret | IND 3 | RSM 7 | POR Ret | AUS 5 | MAL Ret | VAL 4 | 11th | 81 | ||||
| 2010 | Moto2 | Motobi | QAT 8 | SPA 5 | FRA 3 | ITA 3 | GBR Ret | NED 12 | CAT 6 | GER Ret | CZE 8 | IND 5 | RSM 4 | ARA 5 | JPN 11 | MAL 10 | AUS 8 | POR 14 | VAL 7 | 5th | 138 | |||
| 2011 | Moto2 | FTR | QAT 6 | SPA 3 | POR 5 | FRA 7 | CAT 4 | GBR 10 | NED 14 | ITA 7 | GER 8 | CZE 9 | IND 14 | RSM 10 | ARA 3 | JPN 5 | AUS 15 | MAL Ret | VAL Ret | 6th | 127 | |||
| 2012 | Moto2 | FTR | QAT 8 | SPA 17 | POR Ret | FRA Ret | CAT 5 | GBR 5 | NED Ret | GER 6 | ITA 18 | IND 8 | CZE 5 | RSM Ret | ARA 7 | JPN 6 | MAL 22 | AUS 6 | VAL 17 | 11th | 88 | |||
| 2013 | Moto2 | Speed Up | QAT 7 | AME 15 | SPA 13 | FRA 11 | ITA 7 | CAT 10 | NED Ret | GER 2 | IND 6 | CZE 9 | GBR 9 | RSM Ret | ARA Ret | MAL 11 | AUS 4 | JPN Ret | VAL 4 | 11th | 108 | |||
| 2014 | Moto2 | Forward KLX | QAT 5 | AME 5 | ARG 5 | SPA Ret | 7th | 100 | ||||||||||||||||
| Kalex | FRA 2 | ITA 4 | CAT Ret | NED 13 | GER 3 | IND 5 | CZE 12 | GBR Ret | RSM | ARA | JPN | AUS | MAL | VAL | ||||||||||
| 2015 | Moto2 | Kalex | QAT Ret | AME 11 | ARG Ret | SPA 8 | FRA 18 | ITA Ret | CAT 13 | NED 10 | GER 4 | IND | CZE 11 | GBR Ret | RSM 4 | ARA 9 | JPN 7 | AUS 13 | MAL 9 | VAL 9 | 12th | 86 | ||
| 2016 | Moto2 | Speed Up | QAT 3 | ARG 20 | AME 6 | SPA Ret | FRA 2 | ITA 12 | CAT Ret | NED 7 | GER Ret | AUT Ret | CZE 19 | GBR 8 | RSM Ret | ARA 9 | JPN 6 | AUS 7 | MAL 11 | VAL 11 | 10th | 103 | ||
| 2017 | Moto2 | Speed Up | QAT 17 | ARG 6 | AME 7 | SPA Ret | FRA 8 | ITA 8 | CAT 11 | NED Ret | GER 4 | CZE 6 | AUT 11 | GBR 6 | RSM 7 | ARA 7 | JPN Ret | AUS 7 | MAL 11 | VAL 9 | 9th | 117 | ||
| 2018 | Moto2 | Kalex | QAT 14 | ARG 23 | AME 12 | SPA 12 | FRA 14 | ITA 10 | CAT 12 | NED 15 | GER 8 | CZE 15 | AUT Ret | GBR C | RSM 11 | ARA 12 | THA 10 | JPN Ret | AUS 19 | MAL 16 | VAL 10 | 14th | 53 | |
| 2019 | Moto2 | Kalex | QAT 19 | ARG Ret | AME 8 | SPA Ret | FRA Ret | ITA Ret | CAT 14 | NED Ret | GER 21 | CZE | AUT | GBR | 24th | 10 | ||||||||
| NTS | RSM 19 | ARA 21 | THA | JPN | AUS | MAL | VAL | |||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | Moto2 | MV Agusta | QAT 21 | SPA 15 | ANC Ret | CZE DNS | AUT 20 | STY 20 | RSM 14 | EMI 12 | CAT 15 | FRA 16 | ARA 10 | TER 15 | EUR Ret | VAL 17 | POR Ret | 24th | 15 | |||||
| 2021 | Moto2 | MV Agusta | QAT DNS | DOH | POR | SPA Ret | FRA 9 | ITA Ret | CAT 16 | GER Ret | NED 21 | STY 25 | AUT 19 | GBR 22 | ARA 10 | RSM Ret | AME 13 | EMI 19 | ALR 17 | VAL DNS | 24th | 16 | ||
| 2022 | Moto2 | MV Agusta | QAT 18 | INA Ret | ARG 17 | AME Ret | POR Ret | SPA 18 | FRA 16 | ITA Ret | CAT 22 | GER Ret | NED 20 | GBR 20 | AUT 20 | RSM Ret | ARA 19 | JPN Ret | THA 24 | AUS Ret | MAL | VAL Ret | 35th | 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 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | Pos | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Yamaha | AUS | AUS | INA | INA | NED 16 | NED 13 | SPA | SPA | EMI 6 | EMI 6 | GBR | GBR | ITA | ITA | CZE | CZE | FRA | FRA | SPA | SPA | POR | POR | ARG | ARG | 17th* | 23* |
* Season still in progress.
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Bike | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Pos | Pts | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | ||||
| 2022 | Yamaha | MIS | MIS | VAL | VAL | MUG | MUG | MIS2 6 | MIS2 4 | MUG2 | MUG2 | IMO | IMO | 21st | 23 |
Valentino Rossi is an Italian former professional motorcycle road racer and nine-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champion. Nicknamed The Doctor, he is widely considered to be one of the greatest motorcycle racers of all time, with some labelling him as the greatest ever. He has nine Grand Prix World Championships to his name, seven of which were in the premier 500cc/MotoGP class. He holds the record of most premier class victories, with 89 victories to his name. He won premier class World Championships with both Honda and Yamaha. He is also the only road racer to have competed in 400 or more Grands Prix, and rode with the number 46 for his entire career.
Daniel Pedrosa Ramal is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racer who retired from regular competition after the 2018 season. He grew up in Castellar del Vallès, a village near Sabadell. He is a three-time World Champion being the 125cc world champion in 2003, 250cc world champion in 2004, the youngest ever to win it and repeated it in 2005.
Jorge Lorenzo Guerrero is a Spanish former professional motorcycle racer. He is a five-time World Champion, with three MotoGP World Championships and two 250cc World Championships.
Mika Kallio is a Finnish Grand Prix motorcycle racer, currently serving as the lead test and development rider for the Red Bull KTM team in MotoGP. He debuted in the 125cc World Championship with the Finnish rookie team Ajo Motorsport in the 2001 German Grand Prix and was awarded the "Rookie of the Year" with the team in 2002. After moving to the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team during the 2003 season, he finished runner-up in the 125cc class in both 2005 and 2006, and also finished runner-up in the 2014 Moto2 World Championship. Moving up to MotoGP full-time for 2009 and 2010, he obtained the "Rookie of the Year" award in his first season in the premier class.
Gábor Talmácsi is a Hungarian former professional motorcycle racer. He was the 2007 125cc World Champion, and he is the first and only Hungarian to win a road racing World Championship. He has a younger brother, Gergő, who is also a motorcycle racer. Due to a leg injury suffered in 2013, Talmácsi has retired from racing professionally. After retiring from racing, he set up his own team Talmácsi Racing, which competed in the European Superstock 600 Championship and raced with Honda CBR600RRs, until the series folded at the end of 2015.
Ben Spies, is an American former professional motorcycle road racer. 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.
Andrea Dovizioso is an Italian former professional motorcycle racer. He raced with WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team for the 2022 season but announced his intended-retirement after the Misano round in September. Dovizioso was the 2004 125cc World Champion, but is best known for his time with the Ducati Team in the MotoGP class, finishing championship runner-up to Marc Márquez for three consecutive seasons in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Cal Crutchlow is an English professional motorcycle racer who retired from regular competition after the 2020 season. He is contracted as a test rider for Yamaha Motor Racing, which he is expected to continue in 2022 and 2023. During 2021 he returned to race for two Yamaha teams as a replacement rider in four MotoGP events, and will replace Andrea Dovizioso for the last six events of 2022 after Dovizioso's retirement announced mid-season.
LCR Team is a motorcycle racing team competing in the MotoGP World Championship under the name LCR Honda Castrol with rider Álex Rins and LCR Honda Idemitsu with rider Takaaki Nakagami, as well as the MotoE World Cup under the name LCR E-Team. The team was founded in 1996 by rider Lucio Cecchinello.
Japan Italy Racing, more commonly known as JiR, is a Monte Carlo based motorcycle racing team which competed in the MotoGP series from 2005 to 2008 and from 2010 to 2015 in the Moto2 class.
Mike Di Meglio is a French Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and three-time world champion claiming the 2008 125cc title, as well as winning the 2022 & 2017-2018 FIM Endurance World Championship. Since the 2018-2019 FIM EWC season, Di Meglio has raced for F.C.C. TSR Honda France. From 2019 on, he also competes in the MotoE World Cup aboard an Energica Ego Corsa. He twice won the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race in 2017 on Yamaha and in 2020 on the Honda CBR. He also twice won the Bol d'Or 24-hour motorcycle endurance race on Circuit Paul Ricard. In 2017 Yamaha and 2018 Honda.
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.
Andrea Iannone is an Italian professional motorcycle racer who competed in the MotoGP World Championship from 2013 to 2019. Iannone is a race winner in MotoGP, Moto2 and 125 cc World Championships.
Marc Márquez Alentà is a Spanish professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, who has raced for Honda's factory team since his MotoGP debut in 2013. Born in Cervera, Catalonia, Spain, he is nicknamed the 'Ant of Cervera' worldwide, and 'el tro de Cervera' in his hometown, meaning the 'Thunder of Cervera'. He is one of four riders to have won world championship titles in three different categories, after Mike Hailwood, Phil Read and Valentino Rossi, and is one of the most successful motorcycle racers of all time, with eight Grand Prix World Championships to his name, six of which are in the premier class. Márquez became the third Spaniard after Àlex Crivillé and Jorge Lorenzo to win the premier class title, and is the most successful Spanish rider in MotoGP to date, with 59 wins. In 2013 he became the first rider since Kenny Roberts in 1978 to win the premier class title in his first season, and the youngest to win the title overall, at 20 years and 266 days of age.
Takaaki Nakagami is a Japanese Grand Prix motorcycle racer, competing for LCR Honda Idemitsu in MotoGP. He won the Japanese Road Race Championship 125cc class in 2006 and J-GP2 class in 2011.
Johann Zarco is a French Grand Prix motorcycle racer, best known for winning the 2015 and 2016 Moto2 World Championships with his 2015 triumph being a record points total for the intermediate class. He currently rides for Pramac Racing in MotoGP.
Brad Binder is a South African Grand Prix motorcycle racer. He is most-known for winning the 2016 Moto3 World Championship. In November 2019 he was confirmed as Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider in MotoGP class for the 2020 season, replacing Johann Zarco who had abandoned his factory ride earlier during that year.
Francesco "Pecco" Bagnaia is an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle racer competing in MotoGP for the Ducati Lenovo Team. He is the current MotoGP World Champion and a previous Moto2 World Champion. He is the first person from Valentino Rossi's VR46 Riders Academy to win a world title in the premier class.
Lorenzo Baldassarri is an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle racer, currently competing for GMT94 Yamaha in the 2023 Superbike World Championship. Baldassarri recently raced in the Supersport World Championship, finshing runner-up to Dominique Aegerter in the 2022 standings, but is best known for winning the 2011 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup.
Joan Mir Mayrata is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racer who, from 2023, is riding for the Repsol Honda Team. Mir is best known for winning the 2020 MotoGP World Championship with Suzuki. He is the fourth Spanish rider to win the premier class title after Àlex Crivillé, Jorge Lorenzo and Marc Márquez, and the second Mallorcan after Lorenzo. Mir also won the 2017 Moto3 World Championship title with Leopard Racing.
