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Michel Fabrizio

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Michel Fabrizio
NationalityItalian
Born (1984-09-17) 17 September 1984 (age 40)
Frascati, Italy
Current teamG.A.P. Motozoo Racing by Puccetti
Bike number84
Motorcycle racing career statistics
MotoGP World Championship
Active years2004, 20062007, 2009, 2014
ManufacturersHarris WCM, Aprilia, Honda, Ducati, ART
Championships0
2014 championship positionNC (0 pts)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
14 0 0 0 0 14
125cc World Championship
Active years2002
ManufacturersGilera
Championships0
2002 championship position31st (4 pts)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
16 0 0 0 0 4
Superbike World Championship
Active years20062015
ManufacturersHonda, Ducati, Suzuki, BMW, Aprilia, Kawasaki
Championships0
2015 championship position25th (13 pts)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
218 4 35 1 11 1549.5
Supersport World Championship
Active years20042005, 2021
ManufacturersHonda, Kawasaki
Championships0
2021 championship position37th (6 pts)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
29 0 5 1 3 153

Michel Fabrizio (born 17 September 1984) is a former professional motorcycle road racer. From 2006 to 2015, he raced in the Superbike World Championship. In 2021 he competed in the Supersport World Championship aboard a Kawasaki ZX-6R, before retiring on September 26 from motorsport as a sign of protest after Dean Berta Viñales fatal crash in Jerez.

Career

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Personal life and early career

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Born in Frascati, near Rome, Fabrizio first raced in Minimoto at the age of 6, winning several titles before reaching his teens. He won the Aprilia Challenge in 2001, and raced in the 125 cc World Championship for Gilera in 2002, with little success.

He won the 2003 European Superstock championship aboard a Suzuki GSXR 1000.

MotoGP and World Supersport

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In 2004 he made his first appearance in MotoGP, with the Harris WCM team.[1] Despite his lack of experience and riding with inferior equipment compared to his racing rivals, Fabrizio managed to impress the paddock with several point scoring finishes and by consistently outpacing his teammate, Chris Burns. His most notable result came in the wet at Jerez, where he scored 10th place despite a small crash during the race. Further points scoring finishes occurred in Italy and Germany.

During the Dutch grand prix at Assen, Fabrizio fractured his ankle in a spectacular crash, forcing him to miss the next round in Brazil. He was replaced by 2003 Harris WCM rider David De Gea.[2] For the Portuguese round in Estoril, Fabrizio was presented with an opportunity to ride for Italian manufacturer Aprilia on the RS Cube. Regular rider Shane Byrne was suffering from a broken wrist, leading Aprilia to fly both Fabrizio and Anthony West out to Mugello to test the bike alongside Jeremy McWilliams. After impressing the team during the test, Fabrizio was selected to replace Byrne at Estoril. In turn, Fabrizio was replaced by British rider James Ellison for the race.[3]

Realizing his dream of riding for a factory team ended up becoming an unravelling for Fabrizio, as he suffered a violent headshake from the much-maligned RS Cube during the first lap of the race. Despite continuing for 11 laps, the pain became too much and forced Fabrizio to retire from the race. Luckily, no serious injury was suffered, but this proved to not be the end of Fabrizio's problems during the year.[4][5]

With expectations to return to the Harris WCM team for the next round at Motegi in Japan,[5] he suddenly found himself without a ride, being replaced by 125cc rider Youichi Ui.[6] With no options left, Fabrizio retired from the MotoGP season, finishing a disappointing 22nd.

To end his 2004 season, he took a ride with Team Italia Megabike in the Supersport World Championship, competing in the final two rounds of the series. In his first appearance, at his home track of Imola, Fabrizio took an impressive 7th place. At the series finale in France, he gained further notoriety after qualifying 2nd in only his second World Supersport appearance. He failed to finish the race, but had done enough to prove himself.[7]

In 2005 he raced his first full season in the Supersport World Championship, on a factory Honda. He was 5th overall, with 9 top 5 results in the 12 races, although without a win.[8]

Superbike World Championship

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For 2006 Fabrizio was teamed with the veteran Pierfrancesco Chili on privateer Honda machinery. He started his career with fifth and eighth at Qatar.[9] He stood in for Toni Elías on MotoGP Fortuna Honda at Donington Park, but crashed in practice and broke his collarbone.[10] He replaced the injured Elías again for the same team in the 2007 German Grand Prix at Sachsenring on July 15, 2007.

At Brno in the 2006 Superbike World Championship, he started tenth, but chose hard-compound tyres, which remained on the pace as other riders faded. In the first race he passed a fading Andrew Pitt as well as Fonsi Nieto, Troy Corser and Noriyuki Haga in the closing laps to score his first Superbike World Championship podium finish. In race two he fared even better - after passing James Toseland for fourth towards the end, he caught the battle for second between Haga and Corser. As Corser attempted a move, Fabrizio dived down the inside of both, slithering and nearly hitting Haga, before edging ahead of them both to the line, immediately improving on his career-best result with a second. His best results of 2007 were two third places, at Assen and Brno. In both seasons he was eleventh overall.[11]

In 2008 he raced alongside Troy Bayliss for Ducati Xerox Team on the new Ducati 1098.[12] He came third in race one at Philip Island, Australia, despite a huge crash at the original start.[13] At Miller Motorsports Park, he qualified on the front row and took a pair of third places, despite dropping to eleventh on lap one of the first race.[14] He had a double-DNF at Assen, shortly before an arm operation, and finished a career-best 8th overall.

For 2009, he stays on at Ducati Xerox, partnering Noriyuki Haga after Bayliss' retirement. His first WSBK win (in his 94th start) came at Monza after Ben Spies ran out of fuel. Seven successive podiums followed, cementing his third place in the standings behind Haga and Spies. This run ended at Brno when he took Spies down as they battled for the lead. He finished the season third overall.

Fabrizio and Haga both continue with the team for 2010. The bike dominated pre-season testing at Phillip Island.[15]

After Ducati announced that they would be ending support for their World Superbike operations at the end of the 2010 season,[16] Fabrizio agreed a contract with Team Suzuki Alstare to race in the 2011 Superbike World Championship season.[17]

MotoGP World Championship

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In August 2009, after Casey Stoner announced his intention to withdraw from the next three Grand Prix, it was announced that his place in the Ducati Marlboro team would be taken by Mika Kallio whilst the Finn's place at Pramac Racing would be taken by Fabrizio.[18] His race was marred by physical difficulties, which caused him to retire from the first race in Brno. Fabrizio then being unavailable for the next race in Indianapolis the ride was given to Aleix Espargaró for the remaining two races.[19]

Career statistics

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Career summary

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Season Series Team Races Poles Wins Points Position
2002 125cc Team Italia Gilera 16 0 0 4 31st
2003 European Stock 1000 Team Alstare Corona 9 3 4 152 1st
2004 MotoGP WCM 10 0 0 8 22nd
MS Aprilia Racing
World Supersport Italia Megabike 2 0 0 9 27th
2005 World Supersport Team Megabike 12 1 0 138 5th
2006 World Superbike D.F.X. Treme 24 0 0 125 11th
2007 World Superbike D.F.X. Corse 25 0 0 132 11th
MotoGP Honda Gresini 1 0 0 6 21st
2008 World Superbike Ducati Xerox 28 0 0 223 8th
2009 World Superbike Ducati Xerox 28 1 3 382 3rd
MotoGP Pramac Racing 1 0 0 0 20th
2010 World Superbike Ducati Xerox 26 0 1 195 8th
2011 World Superbike Alstare Suzuki 26 0 0 152 12th
2012 World Superbike BMW Motorrad Italia 26 0 0 137.5 11th
2013 World Superbike Red Devils Roma 27 0 0 188 7th
Pata Honda World Superbike
2014 World Superbike Iron Brain Grillini Kawasaki 6 0 0 2 32nd
MotoGP Octo IodaRacing Team 2 0 0 0 NC
2015 World Superbike Althea Racing 2 0 0 13 25th

CIV 125cc Championship

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Races by year

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Bike 1 2 3 4 5 Pos Pts
2001 Aprilia MIS1
MON
VAL
Ret
MIS2
10
MIS3
9
16th 13

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

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Races by year

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(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
2002 125cc Gilera JPN
Ret
RSA
15
SPA
18
FRA
17
ITA
16
CAT
Ret
NED
Ret
GBR
Ret
GER
23
CZE
25
POR
Ret
BRA
23
PAC
13
MAL
26
AUS
Ret
VAL
20
31st 4
2004 MotoGP Harris WCM RSA
18
SPA
10
FRA
16
ITA
15
CAT
16
NED
Ret
BRA GER
15
GBR
20
CZE
17
22nd 8
Aprilia POR
Ret
JPN QAT MAL AUS VAL
2006 MotoGP Honda SPA QAT TUR CHN FRA ITA CAT NED GBR
WD
GER USA CZE MAL AUS JPN POR VAL NC 0
2007 MotoGP Honda QAT ESP TUR CHN FRA ITA CAT GBR NED GER
10
USA CZE RSM POR JPN AUS MAL VAL 21st 6
2009 MotoGP Ducati QAT JPN SPA FRA ITA CAT NED USA GER GBR CZE
Ret
INP RSM POR AUS MAL VAL NC 0
2014 MotoGP ART QAT AME ARG SPA FRA ITA
Ret
CAT
20
NED GER INP CZE GBR RSM ARA JPN AUS MAL VAL NC 0

Supersport World Championship

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Races by year

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Pos Pts
2004 Honda SPA AUS SMR ITA GER GBR GBR NED ITA
7
FRA
Ret
27th 9
2005 Honda QAT
3
AUS
Ret
SPA
4
ITA
4
EUR
Ret
SMR
Ret
CZE
2
GBR
2
NED
3
GER
5
ITA
4
FRA
3
5th 138
2021 Kawasaki SPA
14
SPA
21
POR
16
POR
Ret
ITA
Ret
ITA
Ret
NED
13
NED
15
CZE
22
CZE
Ret
SPA
Ret
SPA
20
FRA
Ret
FRA
DNS
SPA
21
SPA
21
SPA
C
SPA
DNS
POR POR ARG ARG INA INA 37th 6

Superbike World Championship

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Races by year

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pos Pts
R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2
2006 Honda QAT
5
QAT
8
AUS
15
AUS
11
SPA
13
SPA
10
ITA
Ret
ITA
14
EUR
Ret
EUR
15
SMR
Ret
SMR
6
CZE
3
CZE
2
GBR
Ret
GBR
12
NED
3
NED
10
GER
Ret
GER
8
ITA
Ret
ITA
Ret
FRA
11
FRA
13
11th 125
2007 Honda QAT
Ret
QAT
12
AUS
Ret
AUS
9
EUR
13
EUR
12
SPA
7
SPA
11
NED
12
NED
6
ITA
8
ITA
11
GBR
Ret
GBR
C
SMR
Ret
SMR
Ret
CZE
6
CZE
3
GBR
5
GBR
4
GER
Ret
GER
13
ITA
5
ITA
Ret
FRA
14
FRA
9
11th 132
2008 Ducati QAT
9
QAT
5
AUS
3
AUS
19
SPA
Ret
SPA
13
NED
Ret
NED
Ret
ITA
9
ITA
5
USA
3
USA
3
GER
7
GER
6
SMR
Ret
SMR
11
CZE
3
CZE
2
GBR
12
GBR
6
EUR
Ret
EUR
5
ITA
7
ITA
2
FRA
Ret
FRA
14
POR
Ret
POR
2
8th 223
2009 Ducati AUS
4
AUS
5
QAT
Ret
QAT
Ret
SPA
2
SPA
3
NED
9
NED
4
ITA
1
ITA
2
RSA
2
RSA
2
USA
3
USA
2
SMR
3
SMR
2
GBR
12
GBR
3
CZE
Ret
CZE
3
GER
7
GER
9
ITA
3
ITA
1
FRA
4
FRA
13
POR
5
POR
1
3rd 382
2010 Ducati AUS
2
AUS
3
POR
11
POR
11
SPA
Ret
SPA
Ret
NED
13
NED
12
ITA
7
ITA
Ret
RSA
1
RSA
8
USA
Ret
USA
9
SMR
4
SMR
3
CZE
Ret
CZE
3
GBR
4
GBR
Ret
GER
Ret
GER
19
ITA
7
ITA
Ret
FRA
6
FRA
3
8th 195
2011 Suzuki AUS
6
AUS
8
EUR
Ret
EUR
7
NED
5
NED
7
ITA
5
ITA
3
USA
Ret
USA
5
SMR
Ret
SMR
6
SPA
Ret
SPA
4
CZE
4
CZE
4
GBR
Ret
GBR
9
GER
16
GER
Ret
ITA
Ret
ITA
Ret
FRA
12
FRA
Ret
POR
11
POR
14
12th 152
2012 BMW AUS
6
AUS
Ret
ITA
Ret
ITA
Ret
NED
6
NED
10
ITA
C
ITA
DNS
EUR
10
EUR
13
USA
9
USA
12
SMR
14
SMR
6
SPA
6
SPA
11
CZE
8
CZE
10
GBR
2
GBR
13
RUS
5
RUS
Ret
GER
Ret
GER
Ret
POR
10
POR
8
FRA
12
FRA
Ret
11th 137.5
2013 Aprilia AUS
3
AUS
4
SPA
8
SPA
11
NED
12
NED
9
ITA
6
ITA
5
GBR
10
GBR
10
POR
7
POR
10
ITA
5
ITA
8
RUS
5
RUS
C
GBR
14
GBR
11
GER
6
GER
8
7th 188
Honda TUR
10
TUR
10
USA
13
USA
10
FRA
7
FRA
Ret
SPA
17
SPA
14
2014 Kawasaki AUS
WD
AUS
WD
SPA
Ret
SPA
Ret
NED
Ret
NED
14
ITA
Ret
ITA
Ret
GBR GBR MAL MAL SMR SMR POR POR USA USA SPA SPA FRA FRA QAT QAT 32nd 2
2015 Ducati AUS AUS THA THA SPA SPA NED NED ITA
10
ITA
9
GBR GBR POR POR SMR SMR USA USA MAL MAL SPA SPA FRA FRA QAT QAT 25th 13

References

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  1. ^ "Ducati signs Michel Fabrizio for 2008 season". us.motorsport.com. 11 September 2007. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  2. ^ Sports, Dorna. "De Gea replaces injured Fabrizio at WCM | MotoGP™". www.motogp.com. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  3. ^ "Fabrizio to race Byrne's Aprilia". Crash. 2004-08-31. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  4. ^ Sports, Dorna. "Fabrizio gets bitten by the Cube | MotoGP™". www.motogp.com. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  5. ^ a b "'Big shock' sends Fabrizio into retirement". Crash. 2004-09-06. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  6. ^ "Ui gets WCM ride, Jacque 'happy to be back'". Crash. 2004-09-16. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  7. ^ "Michel Fabrizio". Crash. 2009-01-23. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  8. ^ "world-supersport-600". Website.lineone.net. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
  9. ^ "BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Motorbikes | Toseland and Corser win in Qatar". News.bbc.co.uk. 25 February 2006. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
  10. ^ "Honda Racing Communications Centre". www.honda-racing.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 October 2006. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  11. ^ "MotorcycleUSA.com - Michel Fabrizio". Motorcycle-usa.com. Archived from the original on 2007-08-16. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
  12. ^ "Ducati Corse Signs Michel Fabrizio For 2008". Londonbikers.com. Archived from the original on 2008-10-08. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
  13. ^ "World Superbikes: Troy Bayliss and Michael Fabrizio to miss Valencia test - Motorcycle Sport". Motorcyclenews.com. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
  14. ^ "WSB: Checa pulls off US double - Visordown Motorcycle news : Racing news". Visordown.com. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
  15. ^ "Fabrizio fastest, Ducati dominates final test". crash.net. Crash Media Group. 2010-02-22. Retrieved 2010-02-22.
  16. ^ "Ducati to quit WSB". Insidebikes. Carole Nash. 2010-08-27. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  17. ^ "Fabrizio confirmed as sole Alstare entry". Insidebikes. Carole Nash. 2010-10-14. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  18. ^ "Stoner out for three races as Kallio steps in". GPUpdate.net. 2009-08-10. Retrieved 2011-01-30.
  19. ^ "Espargaró to make MotoGP debut at Indy | MotoGP™".
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