Sebastián Porto
Sebastián Porto (born September 12, 1978 as Sebastián Porco) is an Argentine professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He currently races in the Brazilian Moto 1000 GP Championship aboard a BMW S1000RR.
Sebastián Porto | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Current team | BMW Motorrad Petronas Racing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bike number | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Career
Early career
Born in Rafaela, Santa Fe Province, Porto started his racing career at age 11, competing in the mini-motorcycle local circuit. His first international competition was the 125cc 1994 Argentine Grand Prix, and only two years later he won the 250cc European Championship.
250cc, (1995-2006)
The bulk of his racing career was in the 250cc World Championship, starting in 1996 with Aprilia. In 1999 he moved to Yamaha and finished in 9th place in his first two years at the team and in 5th place in the 2002 championship, winning the Brazilian Grand Prix in Rio de Janeiro [1]
He moved to the Repsol Aprilia team in 2004 and was championship runner-up, winning five Grands Prix and taking ten podium positions in total. In the 2005 season he claimed the Dutch TT at Assen and also finished second in the Australian Grand Prix, before the Repsol team moved to Honda bikes for 2006.
Rather than the expected switch to MotoGP after the 2006 season, he surprised everyone with the news of his retirement from motorcycle competition, claiming he had a hard time adjusting to the 250cc Honda bike, and that he was no longer enjoying his work. He returned to racing in late 2013.
2014, Wildcard Comeback on Moto2
Porto make one-off wildcard appearance at newly Termas Rio Hondo Grand Prix entered by Argentina TSR Motorsport riding a Kalex bikes, He finish the race in 23rd place after starting from 32nd on the grid.
Titles and achievements
Being the most visible exponent of motorcycling in Argentina, he has received all 12 Argentine Olimpia Awards for that sport between 1994 and 2005.
- 1992 - Argentine Promotional 100cc Champion
- 1994 - Argentine 250cc Champion
- 1995 - Spanish 250cc Champion (Open Ducados)
- 1996 - European 250cc Champion
- 1999 - 9th place in the 250cc World Championship
- 2000 - Michel Metraux Trophy for best rider on a non-works bike
- 2000 - 9th place in the 250cc World Championship
- 2002 - Brazilian Grand Prix 250cc winner
- 2002 - 5th place in the 250cc World Championship
- 2004 - Five Grand Prix wins (Czech Republic, Australia, Qatar, Netherlands, Italy) and ten total podium finishes
- 2004 - 2nd place in the 250cc World Championship
- 2005 - Dutch TT 250cc winner
Career statistics
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1994 | 125cc | Aprilia | AUS | MAL | JPN | ESP | AUT | GER | NED | ITA | FRA | GBR | CZE | USA | ARG Ret |
EUR | NC | 0 | ||||
1995 | 250cc | Aprilia | AUS | MAL | JPN | ESP | GER | ITA | NED | FRA | GBR | CZE | BRA | ARG 13 |
EUR | 28th | 3 | |||||
1996 | 250cc | Aprilia | MAL Ret |
INA 9 |
JPN 16 |
SPA 12 |
ITA 16 |
FRA 16 |
NED Ret |
GER 20 |
GBR | AUT 13 |
CZE Ret |
IMO Ret |
CAT 12 |
BRA 12 |
AUS 13 |
19th | 25 | |||
1997 | 250cc | Aprilia | MAL Ret |
JPN 12 |
SPA Ret |
ITA 10 |
AUT 9 |
FRA 7 |
NED Ret |
IMO Ret |
GER 16 |
BRA 9 |
GBR 9 |
CZE 10 |
CAT 18 |
INA 9 |
AUS 9 |
11th | 60 | |||
1998 | 250cc | Aprilia | JPN Ret |
MAL 9 |
SPA Ret |
ITA Ret |
FRA Ret |
MAD Ret |
NED 6 |
GBR DNS |
GER Ret |
CZE Ret |
IMO Ret |
CAT Ret |
AUS Ret |
ARG Ret |
22nd | 17 | ||||
1999 | 250cc | Yamaha | MAL 15 |
JPN 17 |
SPA 12 |
FRA 7 |
ITA 9 |
CAT 9 |
NED 12 |
GBR Ret |
GER 7 |
CZE Ret |
IMO 9 |
VAL 6 |
AUS 9 |
RSA 6 |
BRA 6 |
ARG 4 |
9th | 98 | ||
2000 | 250cc | Yamaha | RSA 8 |
MAL 8 |
JPN 12 |
SPA 9 |
FRA 10 |
ITA Ret |
CAT Ret |
NED 7 |
GBR 11 |
GER 9 |
CZE 8 |
POR Ret |
VAL 8 |
BRA 8 |
PAC Ret |
AUS 11 |
9th | 83 | ||
2001 | 250cc | Yamaha | JPN 9 |
RSA 7 |
SPA Ret |
FRA 8 |
ITA Ret |
CAT 14 |
NED 14 |
GBR Ret |
GER Ret |
CZE 8 |
POR Ret |
VAL 13 |
PAC Ret |
AUS Ret |
MAL Ret |
BRA Ret |
16th | 39 | ||
2002 | 250cc | Yamaha | JPN 5 |
RSA 8 |
SPA 7 |
FRA 8 |
ITA 7 |
CAT Ret |
NED 4 |
GBR Ret |
GER 3 |
CZE 2 |
POR 3 |
BRA 1 |
PAC 8 |
MAL 4 |
AUS 3 |
VAL Ret |
5th | 172 | ||
2003 | 250cc | Honda | JPN 4 |
RSA 4 |
SPA 6 |
FRA Ret |
ITA 8 |
CAT 7 |
NED 5 |
GBR 6 |
GER 4 |
CZE 5 |
POR 5 |
BRA Ret |
PAC Ret |
MAL 8 |
AUS Ret |
VAL 6 |
8th | 127 | ||
2004 | 250cc | Aprilia | RSA 3 |
SPA 7 |
FRA Ret |
ITA 1 |
CAT 4 |
NED 1 |
BRA Ret |
GER 2 |
GBR 2 |
CZE 1 |
POR 2 |
JPN 4 |
QAT 1 |
MAL 2 |
AUS 1 |
VAL Ret |
2nd | 256 | ||
2005 | 250cc | Aprilia | SPA 2 |
POR 9 |
CHN 5 |
FRA Ret |
ITA 5 |
CAT Ret |
NED 1 |
GBR 5 |
GER 5 |
CZE 7 |
JPN Ret |
MAL 3 |
QAT 5 |
AUS 2 |
TUR Ret |
VAL | 6th | 152 | ||
2006 | 250cc | Honda | SPA Ret |
QAT 7 |
TUR 10 |
CHN Ret |
FRA 14 |
ITA 13 |
CAT | NED | GBR | GER | USA | CZE | MAL | AUS | JPN | POR | VAL | 18th | 20 | |
2014 | Moto2 | Kalex | QAT | AME | ARG 23 |
SPA | FRA | ITA | CAT | NED | GER | IND | CZE | GBR | RSM | ARA | JPN | AUS | MAL | VAL | NC | 0 |
External links
- Official page on Facebook (in Spanish)
- Interview
- ESPN profiles (in Spanish)
- On his retirement (in Spanish)
Sporting positions | ||
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Preceded by |
250 cc motorcycle European Champion 1996 |
Succeeded by |