Sebastián Porto (born September 12, 1978 as Sebastián Porco) is an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish ( masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines ...

professional

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruisin ...

road racer Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...

. He currently races in the Brazilian Moto 1000 GP Championship aboard a

BMW S1000RR BMW S1000RR is a race oriented sport bike initially made by BMW Motorrad to compete in the 2009 Superbike World Championship, that is now in commercial production. It was introduced in Munich in April 2008, and is powered by a four-cylinder ...

Career

Early career

Born in

Rafaela Rafaela () is a city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, about 96 km from the provincial capital. It is the head town of the Castellanos Department. It has a population of 99,150 per the . The city was established in 1881 by Guillermo ...

Santa Fe Province The Province of Santa Fe ( es, Provincia de Santa Fe, ) is a province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco (divided by the 28th parallel south), Corrientes, Entre R ...

, 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 A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, starting in

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone on b ...

with

Aprilia Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded immediately after World War II in Noale, Italy, by Alberto Beggio. The company started as a manufacturer of bicycles and moved on to manufacture scooters and small-capacity motorcycles. ...

. In

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school s ...

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 Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...

Sebastián Porto career statistics at MotoGP.com
/ref> He moved to the

Repsol Repsol S.A.
El Nuevo Herald, 2012-05-31Originally an init ...

team in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

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 The Dutch Tourist Trophy, also known as the ''TT Assen'', is an annual Dutch motorsport event established in 1925 for road racing motorcycles held on the TT Circuit Assen, also known as the ‘Cathedral of Speed'. The event attained world champi ...

at Assen and also finished second in the

Australian Grand Prix The Australian Grand Prix is an annual motor racing event which is under contract to host Formula One until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Grand Prix has moved frequently with 23 different venu ...

, before the

Repsol Repsol S.A.
El Nuevo Herald, 2012-05-31Originally an init ...

team moved to

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...

bikes for 2006. Rather than the expected switch to

MotoGP Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start of ...

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

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 Kalex Engineering is a German specialty engineering company that designs, manufactures and sells high-performance parts for motorcycles. Kalex Engineering was founded in 2008 in the Bavarian city of Bobingen, Germany by Klaus Hirsekorn and Al ...

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)

References

External links

*
Interview

On his retirement
{{DEFAULTSORT:Porto, Sebastian 1978 births Living people People from Rafaela Argentine motorcycle racers 250cc World Championship riders TC 2000 Championship drivers Top Race V6 drivers Argentine racing drivers Moto2 World Championship riders Sportspeople from Santa Fe Province