Esponsorama Racing was a
motorcycle racing
The motorcycle sport of racing (also called moto racing and motorbike racing) includes motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Other categories include hill climbs, drag racing and ...
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 year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
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.
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 and two ''125GP'' class titles with
Stefan Bradl and
Efrén Vázquez.
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
commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...
bikes in the 250 cc class. In
2007
2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year.
Events
January
* January 1
**Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
the team switched to
Aprilia
Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle and Scooter (motorcycle), scooter manufacturer in Noale, Italy, founded by Alberto Beggio.
History
Early days
Aprilia, named after the Pre-war automobile, pre-war Lancia Aprilia, was founded after the Seco ...
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
Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on Road racing, road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held sin ...
bike in February 2009 and fielded a prototype in the 2009 Spanish Road Racing Championship. In
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
, 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
2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years).
2013 was designated as:
*International Year of Water Cooperation
*International Year of Quinoa
Events
January
* January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
season. In
2018
Events January
* January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency.
* January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
, the team made a significant number of wildcard entries with rider
Xavi Cardelús.
MotoGP
In 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 Avintia entered the MotoGP class with Kawasaki-engined FTR frames, fielding two bikes for
Hiroshi Aoyama and
Héctor Barberá.
For the 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. Following a mid-season agreement between Avintia and
Ducati
Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A () is an Italian motorcycle manufacturing company headquartered in Bologna, Italy.
History
Barely a month after the official liberation of Italy in 1944, SIATA announced its intention to sell this engine, called ...
, Barberá received an Open-specification
Ducati Desmosedici for the last five rounds.
In the team entered two Open class
Desmosedici GP14 motorcycles, for Barberá and Di Meglio. For Di Meglio was replaced by
Loris Baz. In the team changed its name to Reale Esponsorama Racing.
In
2018
Events January
* January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency.
* January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
, two bikes were fielded for
Tito Rabat and
Xavier Siméon. Former rider
Rubén Xaus joined the team as Siméon's coach. At the
British Grand Prix
The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor racing event organised in the United Kingdom by Motorsport UK. First held by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) in 1926 British Grand Prix, 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 ...
, 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
This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year.
Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
, Rabat returned and was partnered by Czech rider
Karel Abraham.
In
2020
The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
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
Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
, 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,
and focusing on their Moto3 and MotoE activities.
Moto3
In
2017
2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly.
Events January
* January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
, Avintia debuted in the Moto3 class entering a KTM for
Vicente Pérez in two races as a wildcard. For
2018
Events January
* January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency.
* January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
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
This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year.
Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
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
The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
, 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
This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year.
Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
. 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,
Andorra
Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...
n
Xavier Cardelús.
Results
;Notes
* Season still in progress.
MotoGP results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
References
External links
*
{{Avintia Racing
Motorcycle racing teams
Motorcycle racing teams established in 1994
1994 establishments in Spain