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Loris Capirossi
Loris Capirossi - 2005.jpg
Capirossi in 2005
Nationality Italian
Born (1973-04-04) 4 April 1973 (age 51)
Castel San Pietro Terme, Italy
Motorcycle racing career statistics
MotoGP World Championship
Active years 1995–1996, 2000–2011
Manufacturers Honda (1995, 2000–2002)
Yamaha (1996)
Ducati (2003–2007, 2011)
Suzuki (2008–2010)
Championships 0
2011 championship position 17th (43 pts)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
217 9 42 13 10 1840
250cc World Championship
Active years 1992–1994, 1997–1999
Manufacturers Honda (1992–1994, 1999)
Aprilia (1997–1998)
Championships 1 (1998)
1999 championship position 3rd (209 pts)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
84 12 37 23 18 968
125cc World Championship
Active years 1990–1991
Manufacturers Honda
Championships 2 (1990, 1991)
1991 championship position 1st (200 pts)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
27 8 20 5 4 382
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Active years 1990–2011
First race 1990 125cc Japanese Grand Prix
Last race 2011 MotoGP Valencian Grand Prix
First win 1990 125cc British Grand Prix
Last win 2007 MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix
Championships 3
125cc: 1990, 1991
250cc: 1998
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
328 29 99 41 32 3190

Loris Capirossi (born 4 April 1973) is an Italian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, currently serving as Safety Advisor to Dorna Sports, the commercial rights holder of Grand Prix motorcycle racing.

He is a 9-time Premier Class race winner, competing between 1990 and 2011. He was the first Grand Prix rider to start at least 300 races, having made his 300th start at the 2010 season-opener Qatar Grand Prix. Capirossi is the 1990 and 1991 125cc World Champion, the 1998 250cc World Champion, while also holding the honor of Youngest World Champion in motorcycle racing, winning the 1990 125cc title at 17 years and 165 days old.

Career

125cc World Championship

Capirossi made his World Championship debut at 125 cc level in 1990 with the Polini Honda team operated by former world champion Paolo Pileri. He finished in the top six on ten occasions, eight of them on the podium, and took wins in Britain, Hungary and Australia. The massed Italian contingent helped him out by boxing in and thwarting his closest rival Hans Spaan of the Netherlands in the final round, to end a controversial season. In his first full season of Grand Prix racing, Capirossi took his first world championship aged only seventeen years, 5 months and 13 days.

His second season (1991) was even better, and saw him defend the 125cc title comfortably. He was only once off the front row of the grid, and had five pole positions, as well as four fastest laps. From thirteen rounds, he was on the podium for twelve, and finished sixth in Austria. He came second five times, and was a winner in Australia, Malaysia, and three European venues. His 225 points, 200 of them counted, were enough to help him move up to the 250cc class. During this second season, Capirosssi and his team were sponsored by AGV Helmets and AGV Sport leathers.

250cc World Championship

Capirossi moved up to 250 cc class for the 1992 season on a year-old bike. In 1993 Capirossi made his first win at Netherlands and added another two in San Marino and United States, but finished second and only four points behind Harada. It was the same in 1994, this time with one more win. He finished third at the end of the season behind Max Biaggi and Tadayuki Okada.

500cc World Championship

The 1995 season was Capirossi's first season in the top-level 500 cc championship. He was aboard a Pileri Honda, and although he often qualified better than he raced, he still took 6th in the championship. In 1996 Capirossi retired from five of the first seven races, but thereafter he was often in the points and won the final race in Australia riding for Wayne Rainey's Yamaha team.

Return to 250cc

Capirossi returned to the 250 cc championship for 1997. He battled his Aprilia teammate, Tetsuya Harada down to the final race of the 1998 season when the two riders were involved in a controversial incident in Argentina. Harada was leading the race into the final corner of the final lap when Harada's bike was rammed from behind by Capirossi's machine, sending the Japanese rider off the track. Valentino Rossi took the victory whilst Capirossi recovered to claim second place and the world championship. Aprilia would release him during the off-season.

He moved to Honda for the 1999 season, taking third in the championship with three victories. He was involved in further controversy in the 1999 season, being black flagged at Mugello for dangerous riding after being involved in an incident with Marcellino Lucchi at the start of the race, as well as passing under yellow flags.

Return to 500cc & MotoGP World Championship

Capirossi returned to the 500 cc championship for 2000, and remained there through its evolution to the 990 cc and eventually, 800 cc four-stroke MotoGP era. He won at his home race and finished 7th overall, one point behind Carlos Checa. The 2001 season was better than the year before, although without a win during the year. Also it was the last season for the 500 cc class, but for the 2002 season Capirossi found that he would ride inferior bikes from 2001. It was a less competitive year, hampered by a wrist injury in the seventh race of the season when he missed the chicane and turned from the track. He was not given access to Honda's four-stroke machine in late 2002 when teammate Alex Barros was, as he was already to leave the team.

In 2003 he joined Ducati, taking their first win at Barcelona and fourth overall in the championship, before a slightly disappointing 2004 season on a bike with huge straight line speed but a lack of grip. He stayed in the team for the 2005 season, which saw him become competitive by the end of the year, taking two victories in Japan and Malaysia, aided by improving Bridgestone tyres.

Capirossi and Ducati started the 2006 season with a striking victory at Jerez, and he placed second in both the French and Italian Grands Prix, tying for first in the Moto GP standings with American Nicky Hayden. However, he was caught up in a multiple bike collision at the start in Barcelona, missing the restart and losing championship ground to Hayden. Though he was knocked out in this horrendous looking accident, he did not suffer serious injuries beyond significant bruising. He returned for the next round, but a run of less competitive results saw him slip to fifth in the standings before the race at Brno. He started second, took the lead at the start, and pulled away from the field for an easy victory. He attributed this to a late setup change that the team believed could be applied to the bike at all circuits. He moved up in the championship standings to finish third overall, after taking second at the final race behind stand-in teammate Troy Bayliss.

2007 was not as strong a season for Capirossi. Immediately following the conclusion of the United States Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Ducati announced the signing of Marco Melandri and the extension of Casey Stoner's contract for the 2008 and 2009 seasons. This left Capirossi without a firm position on the Marlboro Ducati team; the possibilities were mooted to be a third position on the factory team, or an option to manage a satellite team. Capirossi was not informed of the decision before the story was released to the press, much to his displeasure.

On 16 August 2007, Capirossi announced that he would ride with the Suzuki factory team in the 2008 and 2009 seasons, alongside Australian Chris Vermeulen.

2008 was a less competitive season due to many weak results during the season. The only podium Capirossi had was in Czech Republic at Brno. In Spain, Capirossi was injured and missed two races. He finished the season in tenth place, his lowest position since 1996. In 2009, his season started with a crash in Qatar when he was in second place. In Italy, Capirossi fought with Stoner for first place but fell to fifth due to his slower Suzuki on the main straight. He finished the season in ninth place without a podium for the first time since 1992. On 11 April 2010, Capirossi became the first rider in the history of the sport to start 300 races, when he finished ninth in the season-opening Qatar Grand Prix. The rest of his campaign was plagued by retirements and injury. For 2011 Capirossi announced that he would ride for the Ducati Pramac Team.

On 11 June 2010, Capirossi rode a Suzuki around the Snaefell Mountain Course on the Isle of Man as part of Suzuki's 50th anniversary at the Isle of Man TT. On completion of his lap, Capirossi described the experience as 'amazing'.

On 1 September 2011, Capirossi announced that he would retire from MotoGP racing, at the end of the 2011 season.

After his retirement, his race number, the #65, is unofficially retired from the MotoGP class. On 7 November 2016, during the weeks leading to the 2016 Valencia GP, it was announced that his number had been retired from all classes of Grand Prix motorcycle racing. However, it may be an official retirement of the #65 in the MotoGP class only, as two days later, during the release of the entry list of the 2017 Moto3 season, Moto3 rider Philipp Öttl was listed still using the #65, a number that Öttl had used for his entire career so far.

Personal life

Married to Ingrid Tence, the couple reside in Monaco. Their first child, a boy, was born on 2 April 2007.

In August 2007, the Italian taxation authority announced that Capirossi was under investigation for suspected tax evasion in relation to alleged undeclared earnings of €1.3 million (US$1.77 million) in 2002. The authority also investigated London resident Valentino Rossi. Capirossi's manager Carlo Pernat told the press: "It's absolutely absurd. Loris really lives in Monte Carlo. I don't understand what they can hold against him. He doesn't own anything in Italy."

Capirossi is a member of the 'Champions for Peace' club, a group of more than 90 famous elite created by Peace and Sport, a Monaco-based international organization placed under the High Patronage of H.S.H Prince Albert II. This group of top level champions wish to make sport a tool for dialogue and social cohesion.

Books and movies

Capirossi's biography was published in 2017 by the publisher company Sperling & Kupfer under the title "65 – la mia vita senza paura (65 – my life without fear)". The book was written with the Italian writer Simone Sarasso and was published in Italy only.

Several key moments of Capirossi's career are also described in the book "Belìn che paddock" by MotoGP manager Carlo Pernat, who managed Capirossi for several years.

Capirossi's first year in the 125 GP Italian championship is told by himself and his former mechanic Guido Mancini in the first part of the documentary film Mancini, the Motorcycle Wizard, by director Jeffrey Zani. Capirossi was also interviewed for the MotoGP documentary Faster by Mark Neale.

Career statistics

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

By season

Season Class Motorcycle Team Number Race Win Podium Pole FLap Pts Plcd WCh
1990 125cc Honda RS125 Polini Honda 65 14 3 8 0 0 182 1st 1
1991 125cc Honda RS125 Polini Honda 1 13 5 12 5 4 200 1st 1
1992 250cc Honda NSR250 Marlboro Honda 6 13 0 0 0 0 27 12th
1993 250cc Honda NSR250 Marlboro Honda 65 14 3 7 7 5 193 2nd
1994 250cc Honda NSR250 Marlboro Honda 2 14 4 9 5 5 199 3rd
1995 500cc Honda NSR500 Team Pileri 65 12 0 1 0 0 108 6th
1996 500cc Yamaha YZR500 Rainey-Yamaha 65 15 1 2 0 0 98 10th
1997 250cc Aprilia RS250 Aprilia Racing Team 65 14 0 3 1 2 116 6th
1998 250cc Aprilia RS250 Aprilia Racing Team 65 14 2 9 8 3 224 1st 1
1999 250cc Honda NSR250 Elf Axo Honda Gresini 1 15 3 9 2 3 209 3rd
2000 500cc Honda NSR500 Emerson Honda Pons 65 16 1 4 1 1 154 7th
2001 500cc Honda NSR500 West Honda Pons 65 16 0 9 4 1 210 3rd
2002 MotoGP Honda NSR500 West Honda Pons 65 14 0 2 0 0 109 8th
2003 MotoGP Ducati GP3 Ducati Marlboro Team 65 16 1 6 3 1 177 4th
2004 MotoGP Ducati GP4 Ducati Marlboro Team 65 16 0 1 0 1 117 9th
2005 MotoGP Ducati GP5 Ducati Marlboro Team 65 15 2 4 3 1 157 6th
2006 MotoGP Ducati GP6 Ducati Marlboro Team 65 17 3 8 2 5 229 3rd
2007 MotoGP Ducati GP7 Ducati Marlboro Team 65 18 1 4 0 0 166 7th
2008 MotoGP Suzuki GSV-R Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 65 16 0 1 0 0 118 10th
2009 MotoGP Suzuki GSV-R Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 65 17 0 0 0 0 110 9th
2010 MotoGP Suzuki GSV-R Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 65 16 0 0 0 0 44 16th
2011 MotoGP Ducati GP11 Pramac Racing Team 65, 58 13 0 0 0 0 43 17th
Total 328 29 99 41 32 3190 3

By class

Class Seasons 1st GP 1st Pod 1st Win Race Win Podiums Pole FLap Pts WChmp
125cc 1990–1991 1990 Japan 1990 Nations 1990 Great Britain 27 8 20 5 4 382 2
250cc 1992–1994, 1997–1999 1992 Japan 1993 Austria 1993 Netherlands 84 12 37 23 18 968 1
500cc 1995–1996, 2000–2001 1995 Australia 1995 Catalunya 1996 Australia 59 2 16 5 2 570 0
MotoGP 2002–2011 2002 Japan 2002 South Africa 2003 Catalunya 158 7 26 8 8 1270 0
Total 1990–2011 328 29 99 41 32 3190 3

Races by year

(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 17 18 Pos. Pts
1990 125cc Honda JPN
6
SPA
7
NAT
3
GER
3
AUT
2
YUG
2
NED
Ret
BEL
2
FRA
4
GBR
1
SWE
7
CZE
Ret
HUN
1
AUS
1
1st 182
1991 125cc Honda JPN
3
AUS
1
SPA
3
ITA
2
GER
2
AUT
6
EUR
1
NED
2
FRA
1
GBR
1
RSM
2
CZE
2
MAL
1
1st 200
1992 250cc Honda JPN
9
AUS
Ret
MAL
9
SPA
11
ITA
9
EUR
Ret
GER
9
NED
8
HUN
Ret
FRA
Ret
GBR
7
BRA
7
RSA
5
12th 27
1993 250cc Honda AUS
Ret
MAL
12
JPN
10
SPA
10
AUT
2
GER
2
NED
1
EUR
Ret
RSM
1
GBR
2
CZE
5
ITA
2
USA
1
FIM
5
2nd 193
1994 250cc Honda AUS
3
MAL
3
JPN
2
SPA
Ret
AUT
1
GER
1
NED
Ret
ITA
3
FRA
1
GBR
1
CZE
Ret
USA
Ret
ARG
5
EUR
2
3rd 199
1995 500cc Honda AUS
8
MAL
Ret
JPN
Ret
SPA
6
GER
6
ITA
9
NED
4
FRA
DNS
GBR
4
CZE
4
BRA
9
ARG
5
EUR
3
6th 108
1996 500cc Yamaha MAL
Ret
INA
3
JPN
Ret
SPA
4
ITA
Ret
FRA
Ret
NED
Ret
GER
12
GBR
6
AUT
8
CZE
5
IMO
Ret
CAT
9
BRA
12
AUS
1
10th 98
1997 250cc Aprilia MAL
Ret
JPN
11
SPA
Ret
ITA
3
AUT
4
FRA
4
NED
3
IMO
Ret
GER
5
BRA
4
GBR
3
CZE
Ret
CAT
5
INA
14
AUS
DNS
6th 116
1998 250cc Aprilia JPN
9
MAL
5
SPA
1
ITA
4
FRA
3
MAD
3
NED
Ret
GBR
1
GER
4
CZE
2
IMO
2
CAT
3
AUS
2
ARG
2
1st 224
1999 250cc Honda MAL
1
JPN
3
SPA
3
FRA
Ret
ITA
DSQ
CAT NED
1
GBR
2
GER
2
CZE
7
IMO
1
VAL
3
AUS
6
RSA
5
BRA
3
ARG
Ret
3rd 209
2000 500cc Honda RSA
3
MAL
Ret
JPN
12
SPA
6
FRA
8
ITA
1
CAT
6
NED
3
GBR
4
GER
6
CZE
5
POR
13
VAL
Ret
BRA
Ret
PAC
8
AUS
2
7th 154
2001 500cc Honda JPN
8
RSA
2
SPA
8
FRA
7
ITA
2
CAT
3
NED
3
GBR
10
GER
8
CZE
3
POR
2
VAL
Ret
PAC
3
AUS
3
MAL
2
BRA
5
3rd 210
2002 MotoGP Honda JPN
9
RSA
3
SPA
4
FRA
7
ITA
6
CAT
6
NED
Ret
GBR GER CZE
6
POR
Ret
BRA
5
PAC
3
MAL
9
AUS
Ret
VAL
Ret
8th 109
2003 MotoGP Ducati JPN
3
RSA
Ret
SPA
Ret
FRA
Ret
ITA
2
CAT
1
NED
6
GBR
4
GER
4
CZE
Ret
POR
3
BRA
6
PAC
8
MAL
6
AUS
2
VAL
3
4th 177
2004 MotoGP Ducati RSA
6
SPA
12
FRA
10
ITA
8
CAT
10
NED
8
BRA
4
GER
Ret
GBR
7
CZE
5
POR
7
JPN
Ret
QAT
Ret
MAL
6
AUS
3
VAL
9
9th 117
2005 MotoGP Ducati SPA
13
POR
9
CHN
12
FRA
7
ITA
3
CAT
12
NED
10
USA
10
GBR
6
GER
9
CZE
2
JPN
1
MAL
1
QAT
10
AUS TUR VAL
7
6th 157
2006 MotoGP Ducati SPA
1
QAT
3
TUR
6
CHN
8
FRA
2
ITA
2
CAT
Ret
NED
15
GBR
9
GER
5
USA
8
CZE
1
MAL
2
AUS
7
JPN
1
POR
12
VAL
2
3rd 229
2007 MotoGP Ducati QAT
Ret
SPA
12
TUR
3
CHN
6
FRA
8
ITA
7
CAT
6
GBR
Ret
NED
Ret
GER
2
USA
Ret
CZE
6
RSM
5
POR
9
JPN
1
AUS
2
MAL
11
VAL
5
7th 166
2008 MotoGP Suzuki QAT
8
SPA
5
POR
9
CHN
9
FRA
7
ITA
7
CAT
Ret
GBR NED
WD
GER
7
USA
15
CZE
3
RSM
7
INP
16
JPN
6
AUS
10
MAL
7
VAL
9
10th 118
2009 MotoGP Suzuki QAT
Ret
JPN
7
SPA
6
FRA
8
ITA
5
CAT
5
NED
9
USA
Ret
GER
11
GBR
11
CZE
5
INP
7
RSM
5
POR
Ret
AUS
12
MAL
9
VAL
14
9th 110
2010 MotoGP Suzuki QAT
9
SPA
Ret
FRA
Ret
ITA
10
GBR
Ret
NED
13
CAT
7
GER
11
USA
10
CZE
Ret
INP
11
RSM
Ret
ARA JPN
Ret
MAL
Ret
AUS
DNS
POR
13
VAL
Ret
16th 44
2011 MotoGP Ducati QAT
Ret
SPA
11
POR
12
FRA
Ret
CAT
9
GBR
10
NED
DNS
ITA GER USA
12
CZE
13
INP
Ret
RSM
Ret
ARA
Ret
JPN AUS
9
MAL
C
VAL
9
17th 43

See also

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