Biography

Stefan Bradl was born in Augsburg (Germany) on 29th of November 1989 and was confirmed as the 2011 Moto2 World Champion at the final round of the season in Valencia, making the 21 year-old the first German rider to take a World Championship since Dirk Raudies in the 125cc class in 1993. His first title also made Bradl the youngest German rider ever to take a World Championship. Gaining his first experience on the Grand Prix stage in the 125cc category in 2005, the son of former 250cc World Championship runner-up Helmut Bradl rode as a wildcard in three rounds before making his full-time debut in the 2006 season. That maiden campaign was cut short by a nasty leg break at the end of the warm up session for the Malaysian GP when Bradl was hit by another bike, but he had shown enough during the season to be lined up by Honda for a factory 125cc ride in 2007. However, after testing for the team the youngster withdrew from the project citing personal reasons and instead rode in the Spanish National Championship, which he won. His form in the domestic competition prompted the Blusens Aprilia team to field him in the World Championship that same season as a wildcard, and he was then entered for the remainder of the campaign with the Spanish outfit. With his career seemingly back on track Bradl linked up with the Kiefer Racing set-up for 2008 and had a revelatory year, winning two races, taking six podiums in total and ending the season fourth overall in the Championship. Big things were expected for 2009 as Bradl continued with Kiefer in the 125cc class, but the title challenge that had been expected failed to materialize and he ended the year tenth in the standings. With the introduction of the new Moto2 format in 2010 Bradl and the Kiefer team made the step up to the intermediate category and the German rider went on to start from pole for the first five races, the first time since 2003 that a rider had done so in the intermediate class. Bradl’s consistency and cool head ensured him regular podiums (eleven times) including 4 victories and one crash only at Assen. Heading into the final round of the year with a 23-point advantage over Márquez after the Spaniard missed the Malaysian GP through injury, Bradl was then confirmed World Champion with the withdrawal of his rival for the final round in Valencia. The day after the last GP of the season the Moto2 World Champion has tested the LCR Honda RC212V impressing everybody for his constancy and his skills including the Team Manager Lucio Cecchinello who contracted him in the premier class for the following 2 years.

Stefan Bradl: “The first time I rode a motorbike my father had to hold me in the back otherwise I would have fallen down. I was only 4 and it was a Honda QR50 cross pocket bike. It took me a while to get it out of the garage because I was scared of the noise from the engine. Maybe I was born to do this ”job” and now that I am racing in MotoGP my father does not hold me in the back anymore but he is still a very important support to me. You can not even imagine how strong this Honda RCV is and every corner and every gear is a real fight”.    

Info

Birth date: 29/11/1989 (22 years)

Birth place: Augsburg, GER 

First Grand Prix: CAT – 2005 – 125cc First Pole Position: QAT – 2011 – Moto2

First Podium: QAT – 2008 – 125cc

First GP Victory: CZE – 2008 – 125cc Grand Prix Starts: 86 Grand Prix Victories: 7

Podiums: 18

Pole Positions: 7 Race Fastest Lap: 5 World Championship Wins: 1 - 2011 – Moto2

Total Points 2011: 274  


MotoGP Career

2005: 125cc World Championship –  35th position on a KTM, 3 starts, 1 point

2006: 125cc World Championship –  26th position on a KTM, 9 starts, 4 points

2007: 125cc World Championship –  18th position on an Aprilia, 9 starts, 39 points 2008: 125cc World Championship –  4th position on an Aprilia, 17 starts, 187 points, 2 wins 2009: 125cc World Championship –  10th position on an Aprilia, 16 starts, 85 points

2010: Moto2 World Championship –  9th position on a Suter, 16 starts, 97 points, 1 win

2011: Moto2 World Championship –  1st position on a Kalex, 16 starts, 274 points, 4 wins