Alex Barros facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Alex Barros |
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Barros aboard the Honda RC211V in Jerez 2004
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| Born | October 18, 1970 São Paulo, Brazil |
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Alexandre Barros (born October 18, 1970) is a famous Brazilian motorcycle racer. He won 7 races in the top 500cc/MotoGP class. He also won a race in the Superbike World Championship. After a long career in Grand Prix events, he moved to Superbike racing in 2006. He came back to MotoGP for one last season in 2007 before retiring.
Contents
Career Highlights of Alex Barros
Starting Young: Early Racing Days
Alex Barros began racing motorcycles when he was just 8 years old. He won his very first race in the Brazilian minibike championship! For the next two years, he became the Brazilian moped champion twice. In 1981, he won the Brazilian 50cc title. By 1985, he was the Brazilian 250cc champion.
His international racing journey started in 1986. He competed in the 80cc category at only 15 years old. He finished 16th in the championship that year. In 1987, he raced in the 80cc class again, ending up 17th.
Moving Up: 250cc World Championship
In 1988, Barros entered his first race in the 250cc World Championship. He didn't score any points that year. However, he finished 3rd in the Latin American circuit for the same class. The following year, 1989, he placed 18th in the World Championship, earning 30 points.
Reaching the Top: 500cc and MotoGP World Championship
In 1990, Alex Barros made history. He became the youngest rider ever to join the top motorcycling class, the 500cc category, at 20 years old. In his first year, he finished 12th overall. He had good results, including 5th place at the Belgium Grand Prix. Two years later, he achieved his first podium finish, taking third place in the Netherlands.
His big breakthrough came in 1993 when he joined the Suzuki team. After starting third in the US Grand Prix, Barros won his first race in Spain! He ended that year's world championship in sixth place. His teammate, Kevin Schwantz, was the champion that year. In 1996, Barros had his best performance yet, finishing 4th in the championship. He repeated this amazing feat in 2000, 2001, and 2002.
His win at Mugello in 2001 was very special. It was the last time a rider other than Valentino Rossi won there until 2009. In 2002, the first year of MotoGP (with bigger engines), he scored 204 points. He won races at Motegi and Valencia.
The year 2003 was tough for Barros because of injuries. But in 2004, he again finished 4th in the championship. This season was mostly won by Valentino Rossi, Sete Gibernau, and Max Biaggi. In 2005, Barros won again in Portugal. He returned to MotoGP in 2007, riding for Pramac d'Antin. He even finished third at Mugello that year.
Racing in Superbike World Championship
In 2006, Alex Barros joined the Klaffi Honda team in the Superbike World Championship (WSBK). He even paid some of his own money to race! He had a great start with two top 10 finishes. Then, he got two podium finishes at Round 2 in Phillip Island. He also finished second and fourth at Monza.
Barros often had slow starts in races that season. But he still ended up as the second-best Honda rider in the championship, finishing 6th overall. He won his only WSBK race at Imola and then got a second place in the next race there.
Brazilian Superbike Racing
Even after leaving MotoGP, Alex Barros kept racing! He is still very competitive and has won many races in the Brazilian SuperBike Championship.
In 2016, Alex won the Brazilian SuperBike final on a BMW S1000RR. Alex also owns the BMW Motorrad Alex Barros Racing Team. He started this team after he stopped racing in MotoGP in 2007. In the final race of the Brazilian Superbike series in Sao Paolo, his team won the championship with four podium finishes. Alex himself raced in that final. He finished second in race 1 and won race 2 by a good margin. As of 2019, Alex Barros was still racing in this championship.
Winning the Suzuka 8 Hours Race
In 1999, Alex Barros teamed up with Japanese rider Tadayuki Okada. They won the famous Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race. They were riding a Honda RC45 superbike.
See also
In Spanish: Alex Barros para niños
