Esponsorama Racing

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Esponsorama Racing
2022 nameAvintia Esponsorama Racing
BaseMadrid, Spain
PrincipalRaúl Romero
Riders' Championships

Esponsorama Racing was a motorcycle racing team who formerly competed in the various categories of Grand Prix road racing from 2000 to 2022.

The team was established in 1994 by Raúl Romero and Josep Oliva as By Queroseno Racing, also known as Team BQR. In 2012 the team changed its name to Avintia Racing, following an alliance between BQR and the Grupo Avintia. In 2020 the team rebranded itself as Esponsorama Racing, in line with their registered company name, though Grupo Avintia remained as a main sponsor.

At the end of the 2022 season, the team left the Grand Prix racing paddock after 23 seasons.[1]

History

Domestic racing

Team BQR started competing in the Spanish road racing championship (Campeonato de España de Velocidad). Between 2005 and 2008 the team won three Fórmula Extreme titles with José David de Gea[2] and two 125GP class titles with Stefan Bradl[3] and Efrén Vázquez.[4]

Grand Prix racing

125 and 250 cc classes

After many World Championship wildcard appearances, BQR became a full entry in the 2001 season using Honda bikes in the 250 cc class. In 2007 the team switched to Aprilia machinery. BQR won its first World Championship race with Scott Redding riding an Aprilia 125 at the 2008 British Grand Prix.

Moto2

The team unveiled the first Moto2 bike in February 2009 and fielded a prototype in the 2009 Spanish Road Racing Championship. In 2010, they participated in the new Moto2 World Championship, with Yonny Hernández and Mashel Al Naimi as riders. The team continued in Moto2 until the conclusion of the 2013 season. In 2018, the team made a significant number of wildcard entries with rider Xavi Cardelús.

MotoGP

In 2012 the team debuted in the MotoGP class as a Claiming Rule Team using both FTR Moto and Inmotec frames badged as BQR, powered by Kawasaki engines. The riders were Iván Silva and Yonny Hernández. In 2013 Avintia entered the MotoGP class with Kawasaki-engined FTR frames, fielding two bikes for Hiroshi Aoyama and Héctor Barberá.

For the 2014 season Aoyama was replaced by Mike Di Meglio and the team fielded a new bike badged as the Avintia GP14, reportedly based on the 2007-2009 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR with some input from Kawasaki.[5][6] Following a mid-season agreement between Avintia and Ducati, Barberá received an Open-specification Ducati Desmosedici for the last five rounds.[7]

In 2015 the team entered two Open class Desmosedici GP14 motorcycles, for Barberá and Di Meglio. For 2016 Di Meglio was replaced by Loris Baz. In 2017 the team changed its name to Reale Esponsorama Racing.

In 2018, two bikes were fielded for Tito Rabat and Xavier Siméon. Former rider Rubén Xaus joined the team as Siméon's coach.[8] At the British Grand Prix, Rabat's major crash with Franco Morbidelli at Stowe corner was a contributing factor in the decision to cancel the race due to unsafe conditions. As a result of the triple fracture he sustained to his right leg, Rabat missed the remaining 7 races of the 2018 season, and was replaced by Christophe Ponsson and Jordi Torres. For 2019, Rabat returned and was partnered by Czech rider Karel Abraham.

In 2020 the team now known as Esponsorama Racing retained Tito Rabat, this time paired with KTM factory exile Johann Zarco. They also received a factory-support from Ducati - with the one-year old Desmosedici-spec bikes - because of the direct contract from Ducati for Zarco. For 2021, 2020 Moto2 World Champion Enea Bastianini and Luca Marini joined the team, both using a 2019-specification Ducati Desmosedici. The riders had different liveries on their bike, as Marini used the Sky Racing Team VR46 livery, entered under the Italian flag, in an agreement with VR46. At the end of the 2021 season, Esponsorama announced they would be leaving the MotoGP class after 10 seasons, with the VR46 team taking their grid slots,[9] and focusing on their Moto3 and MotoE activities.

Moto3

In 2017, Avintia debuted in the Moto3 class entering a KTM for Vicente Pérez in two races as a wildcard. For 2018 the team entered a single full-season entry, beginning the season with Livio Loi for the first seven rounds and replacing him with Pérez for the remainder of the season. In 2019 the team began with Pérez for the first seven rounds, but replacing him with Stefano Nepa for the remaining races, and addition to a number of wildcard entries for Nepa, Meikon Kawakami, and Carlos Tatay. In 2020, Avintia entered reigning Red Bull Rookies champion Tatay as their sole full-season entry in the class.

MotoE

As a satellite team in MotoGP, Avintia was given an entry in the inaugural MotoE World Cup in 2019. The team achieved two wins with Eric Granado and two podiums with their former MotoGP rider Xavier Siméon, good for third and sixth place in the championship, respectively. For the 2020 season, the team retained Granado and partnered him with their former Moto2 rider, Andorran Xavier Cardelús.

Results

Year Class Team name Motorcycle Riders Races Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points Pos.
2003 250cc Troll Honda BQR Honda RS250R Spain Alex Debón 16 0 0 0 0 81 11th
Andorra Eric Bataille 15 0 0 0 0 28 19th
2004 250cc Würth Honda BQR Honda RS250R Spain Alex Debón 15 0 0 0 0 82 12th
Spain José David de Gea 5 0 0 0 0 8 27th
Andorra Eric Bataille 10 0 0 0 0 12 24th
2005 250cc Würth Honda BQR Honda RS250R Spain Alex Debón 16 0 0 0 0 67 12th
Spain Arturo Tizón 3 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Australia Anthony West 1 (7)[a] 0 0 0 0 0 (30)[a] 17th
Czech Republic Radomil Rous 11 0 0 0 0 11 25th
125cc Würth Honda BQR Honda RS125R Spain Tito Rabat 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2006 250cc Würth Honda BQR Honda RS250R Spain Arturo Tizón 16 0 0 0 0 11 23rd
Colombia Martín Cárdenas 7 (11)[a] 0 0 0 0 28 (37)[a] 15th
Turkey Sinan Sofuoğlu 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Spain Aleix Espargaró 9 0 0 0 0 20 19th
125cc Würth Honda BQR Honda RS125R Spain Tito Rabat 11 0 0 0 0 11 23rd
Spain Aleix Espargaró 6 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2007 250cc Blusens Aprilia
Blusens Aprilia Germany
Aprilia RSV 250 Spain Arturo Tizón 6 0 0 0 0 1 30th
Spain Efrén Vázquez 10 0 0 0 0 1 29th
Spain Aleix Espargaró 17 0 0 0 0 47 15th
125cc Blusens Aprilia
Blusens Aprilia Germany
Aprilia RS 125 Spain Pablo Nieto 17 0 0 0 0 57 15th
Netherlands Hugo van den Berg 12 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Germany Stefan Bradl 9 0 0 0 0 39 18th
2008 250cc Blusens Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 Spain Russell Gómez 9 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Spain Manuel Hernández 7 0 0 0 0 5 23rd
Republic of Ireland Eugene Laverty 12 0 0 0 0 8 21st
Spain Daniel Arcas 4 (5)[a] 0 0 0 0 2 25th
125cc Blusens Aprilia Junior Aprilia RS 125 Spain Efrén Vázquez 15 0 0 0 1 31 20th
United Kingdom Scott Redding 17 1 1 0 2 105 11th
BQR Blusens Italy Dino Lombardi 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2009 250cc Aeropuerto-Castello-Blusens Aprilia RSA 250 Spain Alex Debón 16 0 1 0 1 101 10th
125cc Blusens-Aprilia Aprilia RSA 125 Spain Esteve Rabat 16 0 0 0 0 37 18th
United Kingdom Scott Redding 16 0 1 0 0 50.5 15th
Aprilia RS 125 Spain Johnny Rosell 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2010 Moto2 Blusens-STX BQR-Moto2 Spain Dani Rivas 1 (2)[a] 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Colombia Yonny Hernández 17 0 0 0 0 32 21st
Qatar Mashel Al Naimi 15 0 0 0 0 0 NC
France Anthony Delhalle 2 (3)[a] 0 0 0 0 0 NC
125cc Blusens-STX Aprilia RSA 125 Spain Esteve Rabat 17 0 2 0 0 147 6th
2011 Moto2 Blusens-STX FTR M211 Spain Joan Olivé 1 (6)[a] 0 0 0 0 0 NC
United States Kenny Noyes 17 0 0 0 0 11 28th
Colombia Martín Cárdenas 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Spain Esteve Rabat 17 0 1 0 0 79 10th
Colombia Yonny Hernández 14 0 0 0 1 43 19th
125cc Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing Aprilia RSA 125 Spain Maverick Viñales 17 4 9 3 3 248 3rd
Spain Josep Rodríguez 5 (8)[a] 0 0 0 0 2 (3)[a] 32nd
Spain Sergio Gadea 12 0 2 0 0 103 9th
2012 MotoGP Avintia Blusens BQR-Kawasaki Spain Iván Silva 16 0 0 0 0 12 23rd
Colombia Yonny Hernández 15 0 0 0 0 28 17th
Spain David Salom 2 0 0 0 0 1 27th
Australia Kris McLaren 0 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Japan Hiroshi Aoyama 1 0 0 0 0 3 25th
Inmotec-Kawasaki Italy Claudio Corti 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Moto2 Avintia Blusens FTR Moto M212
Suter MMX2
Spain Julián Simón 17 0 2 0 0 81 13th
2013 MotoGP Avintia Blusens FTR MGP13 Japan Hiroshi Aoyama 16 0 0 0 0 13 20th
Spain Héctor Barberá 18 0 0 0 0 35 16th
Spain Iván Silva 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Spain Javier del Amor 1 0 0 0 0 1 27th
Moto2 Avintia Blusens Kalex United Kingdom Kyle Smith 9 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Spain Toni Elías 11 0 0 0 0 22 18th
Spain Dani Rivas 1 (3)[a] 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Argentina Ezequiel Iturrioz 6 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Spain Álex Mariñelarena 4 (6)[a] 0 0 0 0 2 27th
2014 MotoGP Avintia Racing Avintia GP14
Ducati Desmosedici GP14
Spain Héctor Barberá 18 0 0 0 0 26 18th
France Mike Di Meglio 18 0 0 0 0 9 25th
2015 MotoGP Avintia Racing Ducati Desmosedici GP14 Spain Héctor Barberá 18 0 0 0 0 33 15th
France Mike Di Meglio 18 0 0 0 0 8 24th
2016 MotoGP Avintia Racing Ducati Desmosedici GP14 Spain Héctor Barberá 16 (18)[a] 0 0 0 0 102 10th
France Loris Baz 15 0 0 0 0 35 20th
Italy Michele Pirro 2 (7)[a] 0 0 0 0 1 (36) [a] 19th
Spain Javier Forés 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Australia Mike Jones 2 0 0 0 0 1 27th
2017 MotoGP Reale Avintia Racing Ducati Desmosedici GP16 Spain Héctor Barberá 18 0 0 0 0 28 22nd
Ducati Desmosedici GP15 France Loris Baz 18 0 0 0 0 45 18th
Moto3 Reale Avintia Academy KTM RC250GP Spain Vicente Pérez 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2018 MotoGP Reale Avintia Racing Ducati Desmosedici GP16
Ducati Desmosedici GP17
Belgium Xavier Siméon 18 0 0 0 0 1 26th
Ducati Desmosedici GP16 France Christophe Ponsson 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Ducati Desmosedici GP17 Spain Tito Rabat 12 0 0 0 0 35 17th
Ducati Desmosedici GP16 Spain Jordi Torres 5 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Moto2 Reale Avintia Stylobike Kalex Moto2 Andorra Xavier Cardelús 12 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Moto3 Reale Avintia Academy 77 KTM RC250GP Belgium Livio Loi 8 0 0 0 0 8 30th
Spain Vicente Pérez 9 0 0 0 0 26 16th
2019 MotoGP Reale Avintia Racing Ducati Desmosedici GP18 Czech Republic Karel Abraham 19 0 0 0 0 9 24th
Spain Tito Rabat 18 0 0 0 0 23 20th
Moto3 Reale Avintia Arizona 77
Fundacion Andreas Perez 77
KTM RC250GP Spain Vicente Pérez 7 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Italy Stefano Nepa 13 0 0 0 0 24 25th
Brazil Meikon Kawakami 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Spain Carlos Tatay 3 0 0 0 0 8 30th
MotoE Avintia Esponsorama Racing Energica Ego Corsa Belgium Xavier Siméon 6 0 2 0 0 58 6th
Brazil Eric Granado 6 2 2 2 2 71 3rd
2020 MotoGP Hublot Reale Avintia Racing
Hublot Reale Avintia
Esponsorama Racing
Ducati Desmosedici GP19 France Johann Zarco 14 0 1 1 1 77 13th
Spain Tito Rabat 14 0 0 0 0 10 22nd
Moto3 KTM RC250GP Spain Carlos Tatay 15 0 0 0 0 26 22nd
MotoE Avintia Esponsorama Racing Energica Ego Corsa Andorra Xavier Cardelús 7 0 0 0 0 34 15th
Brazil Eric Granado 7 1 1 1 2 53 7th
2021 MotoGP Sky VR46 Esponsorama
Sky VR46 Avintia
Esponsorama Racing
Avintia Esponsorama
Ducati Desmosedici GP19 Italy Luca Marini 18 0 0 0 0 41 19th
Italy Enea Bastianini 18 0 2 0 1 102 11th
Moto3 Avintia VR46
Avintia VR46 Academy
Avintia Esponsorama Racing
KTM RC250GP Italy Ellia Bartolini 4 0 0 0 0 7 27th
Italy Niccolò Antonelli 16 0 4 1 0 152 6th
Spain Carlos Tatay 14 0 0 0 0 40 21st
MotoE Avintia Esponsorama Racing Energica Ego Corsa Portugal André Pires 6 0 0 0 0 12 18th
Andorra Xavier Cardelús 7 0 0 0 0 21 16th
2022 Moto3 QJmotor Avintia Racing Team KTM RC250GP Italy Matteo Bertelle 10 0 0 0 0 16 24th
Italy Elia Bartolini 20 0 0 0 0 27 22nd
Italy Luca Lunetta 1 0 0 0 0 0 35th
Italy Nicola Carraro 9 0 0 0 0 0 29th
MotoE Avintia Esponsorama Racing Energica Ego Corsa Andorra Xavier Cardelús 6 0 0 0 0 31 15th
Spain Yeray Ruiz 2 0 0 0 0 0 23rd
Spain Unai Orradre 2 0 0 0 0 2 22nd
Notes

* Season still in progress.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Non-bracketed number refers to the number accumulated with team, with number in brackets referring to the total accumulated for the season.

MotoGP results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Tyres Constructor Team No. Riders Race Rider's standings Team standings Manufactures standings
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Pts Pos Pts Pos Pts Pos
2012 B QAT SPA POR FRA CAT GBR NED GER ITA USA IND CZE RSM ARA JPN MAL AUS VAL
BQR-FTR Kawasaki Spain Avintia Blusens 22 Spain Iván Silva 16 0 (12)[a] 23rd 44 10th 2 11th
68 Colombia Yonny Hernández 14 2 (28)[a] 17th
BQR Kawasaki 22 Spain Iván Silva 15 Ret 18 20 18 12 18 16 14 12 Ret Ret Ret 15 Ret 12 (12)[a] 23rd 35 6th
43 Australia Kris McLaren DNQ 0 NC
44 Spain David Salom 15 Ret 1 27th
68 Colombia Yonny Hernández Ret Ret 15 18 15 Ret 14 Ret 12 9 12 12 13 Ret DNS 26 (28)[a] 17th
73 Japan Hiroshi Aoyama 13 3 25th
2013 B QAT AME SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GER USA IND CZE GBR RSM ARA MAL AUS JPN VAL
FTR Kawasaki Spain Avintia Blusens 7 Japan Hiroshi Aoyama 15 17 18 19 Ret WD 17 16 15 14 18 14 14 11 20 17 16 13 20th 49 10th 46 5th
8 Spain Héctor Barberá 13 18 12 18 10 Ret 20 11 10 16 Ret 13 Ret Ret 14 14 16 12 35 16th
22 Spain Iván Silva 23 0 NC
77 Spain Javier del Amor 15 1 27th
2014 B QAT AME ARG SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GER IND CZE GBR RSM ARA JPN AUS MAL VAL
Ducati Spain Avintia Racing 8 Spain Héctor Barberá 19 15 5 9 11 24 (26)[a] 18th 35 10th 211 3rd
Avintia Ret 15 16 15 Ret Ret 19 18 18 Ret 17 19 19 2 (26)[a] 18th 11 7th
63 France Mike Di Meglio 17 18 19 Ret 19 18 Ret 20 22 12 18 20 Ret 17 19 14 13 21 9 25th
2015 B QAT AME ARG SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GER IND CZE GBR RSM ARA JPN AUS MAL VAL
Ducati Spain Avintia Racing 8 Spain Héctor Barberá 15 12 13 14 13 13 16 Ret 13 15 16 13 18 16 9 16 13 16 33 15th 41 9th 256 3rd
63 France Mike Di Meglio 19 Ret 18 22 Ret 16 14 18 Ret 17 18 14 13 20 15 20 18 Ret 8 24th
2016 M QAT ARG AME SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GER GBR AUT CZE RSM ARA MAL JPN AUS VAL
Ducati Spain Avintia Racing 7 Australia Mike Jones 16 15 1 27th 139 9th 261 3rd
8 Spain Héctor Barberá 9 5 9 10 8 12 11 6 9 DSQ 5 14 13 13 4 11 102 10th
12 Spain Javier Forés Ret 0 NC
51 Italy Michele Pirro 15 Ret 1 (36)[a] 19th
76 France Loris Baz Ret Ret 15 13 12 Ret 17 13 14 DNS 18 16 Ret 13 18 35 20th
2017 M QAT ARG AME SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GER CZE AUT GBR RSM ARA JPN AUS MAL VAL
Ducati Spain Reale Avintia Racing 8 Spain Héctor Barberá 13 13 14 12 Ret 14 9 16 DSQ 20 17 14 Ret 18 14 20 14 15 28 22nd 73 11th 310 3rd
76 France Loris Baz 12 11 Ret 13 9 18 12 8 19 Ret 9 15 16 21 10 18 Ret 16 45 18th
2018 M QAT ARG AME SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GER CZE AUT GBR RSM ARA THA JPN AUS MAL VAL
Ducati Spain Reale Avintia Racing 10 Belgium Xavier Siméon 21 21 20 17 18 17 Ret Ret 19 20 Ret C Ret 19 18 16 15 17 DNS 1 27th 37 12th 335 2nd
23 France Christophe Ponsson 23 0 NC
53 Spain Tito Rabat 11 7 8 14 Ret 13 Ret 16 13 Ret 11 C 35 19th
81 Spain Jordi Torres 20 19 17 17 DNS 14 1 28th
2019 M QAT ARG AME SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GER CZE AUT GBR RSM ARA THA JPN AUS MAL VAL
Ducati Spain Reale Avintia Racing 17 Czech Republic Karel Abraham 18 Ret 16 16 DSQ 14 Ret 17 15 19 15 15 17 18 19 18 14 17 14 9 24th 32 11th 318 3rd
53 Spain Tito Rabat 19 Ret 15 15 Ret Ret 9 16 11 16 Ret 16 13 15 17 DNS Ret 11 23 20th
2020 M SPA ANC CZE AUT STY RSM EMI CAT FRA ARA TER EUR VAL POR
Ducati Spain Hublot Reale Avintia Racing
Spain Hublot Reale Avintia
Spain Esponsorama Racing
5 France Johann Zarco 11 9 3 Ret 14 15 11 Ret 5 10 5 9 Ret 10 77 13th 87 10th 221 1st
53 Spain Tito Rabat 14 11 16 16 21 Ret Ret 15 Ret 20 14 Ret 17 18 10 22nd
2021 M QAT DOH POR SPA FRA ITA CAT GER NED STY AUT GBR ARA RSM AME EMI ALR VAL
Ducati Italy Sky VR46 Esponsorama
Spain Esponsorama Racing
10 Italy Luca Marini 16 18 12 15 12 17 12 15 18 14 5 15 20 19 14 9 12 17 41 19th 143 8th 357 1st
23 Italy Enea Bastianini 10 11 9 Ret 14 Ret 10 16 15 12 Ret 12 6 3 6 3 9 8 102 11th
Notes

* Season still in progress.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Non-bracketed number refers to the number accumulated with the motorcycle, with number in brackets referring to the total accumulated for the season.

References

  1. ^ Althof, Tim (2022-12-12). "After 23 years: Esponsorama no longer in the GP paddock". Speedweek.com. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  2. ^ "De Gea Wins Spanish 1000cc Formula Xtreme Race, Championship At Valencia". Roadracing World Publishing. 18 November 2007. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  3. ^ "Stefan Bradl, Campeón de España de 125". MotorpasionMoto.com (in Spanish). 26 November 2007. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  4. ^ "Efrén Vázquez se proclama Campeón de 125GP del CEV en Jerez". Plusmoto.com (in Spanish). 17 November 2008. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  5. ^ Emmett, David (16 July 2014). "The Comprehensive Midsummer MotoGP Silly Season Update". MotoMatters.com. David Emmett. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  6. ^ Birt, Matthew (21 July 2014). "Ducati to expand to six bike effort in MotoGP". MotorcycleNews.com. Bauer Consumer Media. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  7. ^ "Avintia Ducati unveiled at Aragon". Crash.net. Crash Media Group. 25 September 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  8. ^ Fialho, Fabio. "Ruben Xaus returns to MotoGP as coach of Xavier Simeon". Motorcycle Sports. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  9. ^ Duncan, Lewis (28 April 2021). "VR46 team to race in MotoGP from 2022 with Saudi backing". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 14 September 2021.