Loris Capirossi

Loris Capirossi is an Italian motorcycle racer, who currently rides the factory Ducati MotoGP bike. A former World 250ccGP Champion, Loris is one of the regular front-runners, currently 3rd in the championship, in a gaggle of riders who are usually the next-best behind his rival and close friend Valentino Rossi for the top step of the podium.

He first raced internationally in 1989 in the European 125cc Championship, before moving up to the World Championship at that level in 1990, as team-mate to Fausto Gresini (who now runs the Telefonica MotoGP team) becoming its youngest ever champion that year, and retaining the title a year later. He went to 250s in 1992 on a year-old bike, but in the following 2 years he lead the championship for long periods without quite winning it.

1995 was his first season in the top-level 500cc championship, with a Pileri Honda, often qualifying better than he raced but still taking 6th in the series, before taking a win in 1996 for Wayne Rainey's Yamaha team. However, he was not a regular front-runner, and so returned to 250s a year later, winning the crown in 1998, against Rossi.

He returned to the top level in 2000, and has been there ever since through it's evolution to today's 990cc 2-stroke MotoGP bikes. He won his home race in 2000, and 3 more en route to 3rd overall in 2001. In 2003 he joined Ducati, taking their first win at Barcelona and 4th overall, before a slightly dissappointing 2004 on a bike with huge straight line speed but a lack of grip. Still, he stayed on the bike more often than team-mate Troy Bayliss, and thus stayed in the team for a 2005 season which saw him become competitive by the end of the year, aided by improving Bridgestone tyres.