Pramac Racing
The D' Antin MotoGP team is a Spanish motor racing team, which starts in the MotoGP class of the Motorcycle World Championship. Team Principal and -holders is a former Spanish motorcycle racer Luis d' Antin.
The team was for many years under the name of Antena 3 Yamaha D' Antin announced 2005-2012 with a break in 2008, started as Pramac D' Antin MotoGP, named after the main sponsor and co-owner Pramac, an Italian industrial companies, which include scuba produces to generate electricity. In the 2008 season, the team was called Team Alice, as the Telecom Italia subsidiary Alice was the main sponsor.
History
In 1999 Luis D' Antin founded the team, with the Spanish telecommunications company Antena 3 he immediately found a potent sponsor, which should support the team by the end of 2002. It started in the 1999 season in the 250 cc class of the Motorcycle World Championship with Yamaha machines and the two Spaniards Fonsi Nieto and David Garcia as pilots.
For the 2000 season the team rose to the 500cc class and was able to celebrate with the Japanese Norick Abe in the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka in the only previous victory of the team. Abe took the end of the season in eighth place in the championship standings.
In the 2001 season, the D' Antin MotoGP started with the Spaniard José Luis Cardoso as the second driver alongside Abe, who reached the seventh world ranking this season.
For the 2002 season, the 500 - cc class to MotoGP class and the D' Antin team was launched with an unchanged driver line-up. Norick Abe drove consistently in the top ten and finished at the end of the season in sixth place in the driver standings.
In the 2003 season D' Antin sat for the first time a Yamaha four-stroke. Pilot this year was the Japanese Shin'ya Nakano, although it was able to score in every round of the season, but no podium import and finished the season in tenth place in the World Cup.
For the 2004 season the team switched to Ducati and put the factory bike from the previous year, with Loris Capirossi had won a World Championship race. As a driver, the Briton Neil Hodgson on Ducati Superbike World Champion had grown in the previous year, and the Spaniard Ruben Xaus was piloted into the team. The highlight of the season was a third place of Xaus at the Grand Prix of Qatar at Losail. However, during the year, the team ran into financial difficulties. After they had done with the potential sponsor VISA promising negotiations and even had a couple of races in the colors of the company, withdrew this and it was found during the season no other main sponsor.
The 2005 season is played back only with a driver, the Italian Roberto Rolfo. Due to the financial difficulties in the previous year you got from Michelin no longer racing tires delivered and had to make do with inferior material of Dunlop, which Rolfo often landed only on the rear seats.
Also in the 2006 season, the team started again on Ducati Desmosedici GP6 and got the motorcycle delivered, that was the current work machine technically almost equal. The two pilots Alex Hofmann and José Luis Cardoso, however, had in turn often struggle with the inferior tire material from Dunlop and often included only to the backbench.
For the 2007 season they were very optimistic about the team, since you started the brand new Desmosedici GP7, which according to the new regulations, only 800 cc instead of 990 cm ³ capacity had. On the side of Alex Hofmann continued the Brazilian veteran Alex Barros, who returned from the World Superbike Championship. The team was started in 2007 on Bridgestone tires, which after all could enter four Grand Prix victories in 2006 and so had the same package as the works team available, in which the Australian Casey Stoner to consider secured the world title. While Alex Barros races regularly finished in the top ten in Italy and could even enter a podium, Alex Hofmann was not so lucky. In Laguna Seca he was innocently involved in an accident with Sylvain Guintoli, in which he severely injured his left hand. After his return, he was released due to lack of motivation, his place in the team got Chaz Davies.
In the 2008 season, the Frenchman Sylvain Guintoli and Toni Elías the Spaniard drove for the team that ran as Alice team. It has continued to set a Ducati motorcycles with Bridgestone tires. Elías finished in the season two races to podium. At the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic he drove to second place and the Grand Prix of San Marino, he was third. Guintoli did not achieve podium finishes and ended the season in 13th place behind his team mate.
2009 undertook the back under Pramac Racing Team An incoming the two riders Mika Kallio and Niccolò Canepa. Both failed in the season podium finishes and drove to the ranks 15 and 16 in the season standings. In the later course of the season the team Michel Fabrizio, who played as a reserve driver a race dedicated. At the end of the season Aleix Espargaró drove four races for the team because Canepa at three heats, was unable to attend.
The following season, 2010 Kallio won his second year with the Pramac Racing. Canepa was replaced by Espargaró. Also in this season, the team was able to record any racing success for themselves. In the last two races at Estoril and Valencia, the Spaniard Carlos Checa for the retired from the team Mika Kallio.
The next year the team with the new riders Randy De Puniet and Loris Capirossi started. Both ended the 2011 season without a podium success at the stands 16 and 17 to the Grand Prix of Japan, the Australian Damian Cudlin drove in for the injured Capirossi without, however, in the points to come.
2012 undertook the team with Hector Barbera only a driver for the season, who scored the best team result after five years despite an injury to three not taken part in the race with the 11th place in the season standings. As a replacement driver for Toni Elías Barbera drove three races and secured 10 points. With a total of 93 points, the team finished eighth in the team standings.
Statistics
(As of end of season 2012)
- Motorcycle Racing Team
- Ducati