Miguel Praia
Encyclopedia
Miguel Praia is a Portuguese motorcycle racer
Motorcycle racing
Motorcycle sport is a broad field that encompasses all sporting aspects of motorcycling. The disciplines are not all "races" or timed-speed events, as several disciplines test a competitor's various riding skills.-Motorcycle racing:...

.

Portuguese championships

His first race was in 1994 at the age of 16 in a Yamaha TZR50. In 1997 he rode a full championship for the first time, finishing 3rd overall riding a Yamaha TZR125.

After a the death of his Brother Alberto Praia, he stopped racing, but later in 1999 he came back into the racing world with a Yamaha TZ125 for the Portuguese 125GP championship, having finished it in 6th place. Was considered the Best Rookie.

The year 2000 revealed a good year in the newly started Aprilia
Aprilia
Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle company, one of the seven marques owned by Piaggio, the world's fourth largest motorcycle manufacturer.Aprilia started as a scooter manufacturer, but has more recently come to be known for its race-winning sportbikes...

 Challenge 125cc, with Miguel Praia ending most races in 1st place and setting lap records along the way, but a juries' decision at the last round, made him end the trophy in 2nd position.

In the following year, 2001, he decided to upscale into the 600cc category. Ended up in 8th position in Troféu Honda CBR600RR
Honda CBR600RR
The Honda CBR600RR is a sport motorcycle that was introduced by Honda in 2003 as a race replica version of Honda's CBRFx series motorcycles. It won every Supersport World Championship title from 2002 to 2008.- Racing roots :...

.

After a not-so-good entry in a supersport class, 2002 was a breakout year as he got full dedicated to motorcycle racing and set the best results ever. New lap records were set in most rounds, and as a result he became the champion of Troféu Honda CBR600RR 2002.

In 2003 the history repeated, and he took home again the champion's title for Troféu Honda CBR600RR. This year marked a change in his career with the decision of embracing a new and harder challenge: a world class championship.

Although he was already racing in Superbike World Championship
Superbike World Championship
Superbike World Championship is the worldwide Superbike racing Championship. The championship was founded in . The Superbike World Championship season consists of a series of rounds held on permanent racing facilities...

, in 2005 at the end of the Portuguese Stocksport 1000 championship, decided to give it a try, and managed to win the last 2 races, on a Honda CBR1000RR
Honda CBR1000RR
The CBR1000RR, also known as the Fireblade, is a liquid-cooled inline four-cylinder sport bike that was introduced by Honda in 2004 to replace the CBR954RR.-Racing roots:...

 he had never ridden.

European championships

In an attempt to get more and better experience from an international competition, in 2002 and 2003 Miguel Praia raced in European Supersport Championship, being always the best Portuguese racer.

World championships

By invitation of the Portuguese Governament, Miguel Praia went racing in the Macau Grand Prix
Macau Grand Prix
The Macau Grand Prix is a motor-racing event held annually in Macau, one of China's Special Administrative Regions. It is known for being the only street circuit racing event in which both car and motorcycle races are held...

 in 2002 and in 2003 finishing in 5th on the first year, and in 4th on the following. Also in 2003 he entered the Portuguese round of the MotoGP 250cc championship as a wildcard and finished 22nd.

The year 2004 was his starting point in full World class championships. He joined team NCR Ducati in the Superbike World Championship
Superbike World Championship
Superbike World Championship is the worldwide Superbike racing Championship. The championship was founded in . The Superbike World Championship season consists of a series of rounds held on permanent racing facilities...

 together with his teammate Garry McCoy
Garry McCoy
Garry McCoy is a professional motorcycle racer. He has won races in the 125 cc and 500 cc World Championships, as well as in the Superbike World Championship. He is noted for his oversteering style of riding, earning him the nickname "The Slide King".McCoy was born in Sydney...

. Being the number 2 in the team and a newcomer into the Superbikes world the championship did not went the best direction, and what should have been a learning year in a Ducati 999RS
Ducati 999
The Ducati 999 superseded the Massimo Tamburini designed Ducati 916, Ducati 996 and Ducati 998 range of superbikes in 2003, and was produced through 2006...

 and then a Ducati 998RS
Ducati 998
The Ducati 998, a successor to the Ducati 996 and the final variation on the Ducati 916, was produced in various models from 2002 to 2004. The new Testastretta engine shared many similarities with the previous Desmoquattro engine in the 996, although it was completely new from the crankshaft up....

, became very disappointing one. He finished the championship in 30th place, but still was considered the Best Rookie.

New year, new team and a new motorcycle to learn from. A fresh start at DFX Extreme team with a Yamaha R1 in 2005, gave Praia a better introduction and stable learning ground and a lot of improvements in lap times came from this. Although with a lot of newcomers from other world championships into the Superbikes class, the results at the end of the championship seemed worst: 34th place.

He decided to give it a try at a lower class in 2006, the Supersport World Championship, but this time with a newcomer Portuguese team: Parkalgar Racing Team. Once again, the motorcycle changed. It was now time for Honda CBR600RR
Honda CBR600RR
The Honda CBR600RR is a sport motorcycle that was introduced by Honda in 2003 as a race replica version of Honda's CBRFx series motorcycles. It won every Supersport World Championship title from 2002 to 2008.- Racing roots :...

. Besides great expectations, the team was experiencing some problems in getting the right setups for the machine, and the year did not went so well any either. Praia had to abandon some races due to mechanical failures and ended up not learning as much as needed, retiring from the championship.

2007 became a learning year in the Supersport world class with Praia getting best lap times compared with the previous year' ones. But some new rivals from Superbikes and other world championships came into play, and although the races results were better, the final score in the table did not seemed to reveal that, he finished 34th.

New year comes and along new changes. In 2008 the Parkalgar Racing Team secured Factory Honda support and new Honda CBR600RR better shaped then the previous year's ones. The pre-season tests at Almería
Almería
Almería is a city in Andalusia, Spain, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is the capital of the province of the same name.-Toponym:Tradition says that the name Almería stems from the Arabic المرية Al-Mariyya: "The Mirror", comparing it to "The Mirror of the Sea"...

 (Circuito de Almería) (in January) brought new and good expectations for the team, with Craig Jones
Craig Jones (motorcycle racer)
Craig Jones was an English motorcycle racer. He grew up in the town of Northwich and attended Charles Darwin Primary School and later Hartford High School.-Biography:...

 (Praia's teammate) setting new lap record for this track and Miguel Praia going only less-than-a-second behind. The first race of Supersport World Championship 2008
2008 Supersport World Championship season
The 2008 Supersport World Championship season was the 10th F.I.M. Supersport World Championship season. The season started on February 23 at Losail and finished on November 2 at Portimão after 13 rounds...

 will be in Losail International Circuit
Losail International Circuit
Losail International Circuit is a motor racing circuit located just outside Doha in the Persian Gulf State of Qatar.Built in just under a year by 1,000 workers at the cost of $US 58 million, the track opened in 2004 to the inaugural Marlboro Grand Prix of Qatar, won by Sete Gibernau...

 in Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...

 on February 23.

Career highlights

  • 1997 - 3rd place in 125cc Produção (Portuguese championship)
  • 1999 - 6th place in 125GP (Best Rookie) (Portuguese championship)
  • 2000 - 2nd place in Aprilia
    Aprilia
    Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle company, one of the seven marques owned by Piaggio, the world's fourth largest motorcycle manufacturer.Aprilia started as a scooter manufacturer, but has more recently come to be known for its race-winning sportbikes...

     Challenge 125cc (Portuguese championship)
  • 2001 - 8th place in Troféu Honda CBR600RR
    Honda CBR600RR
    The Honda CBR600RR is a sport motorcycle that was introduced by Honda in 2003 as a race replica version of Honda's CBRFx series motorcycles. It won every Supersport World Championship title from 2002 to 2008.- Racing roots :...

     (Portuguese championship)
  • 2002 - Champion in Troféu Honda CBR600RR (Portuguese championship)
  • 2002 - Best Portuguese
    Portugal
    Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

     in European Supersport Championship
  • 2002 - 5th place in Macau GP
    Macau Grand Prix
    The Macau Grand Prix is a motor-racing event held annually in Macau, one of China's Special Administrative Regions. It is known for being the only street circuit racing event in which both car and motorcycle races are held...

  • 2003 - Champion in Troféu Honda CBR600RR
    Honda CBR600RR
    The Honda CBR600RR is a sport motorcycle that was introduced by Honda in 2003 as a race replica version of Honda's CBRFx series motorcycles. It won every Supersport World Championship title from 2002 to 2008.- Racing roots :...

  • 2003 - 22nd place in Portuguese round (in Autódromo do Estoril
    Autódromo do Estoril
    The Autódromo do Estoril is a race course in Portugal, owned by state-run holding management company Parpública. Its length is . It was the home of the Formula One Portuguese Grand Prix from 1984 to 1996....

    ) of MotoGP 250cc
  • 2003 - Best Portuguese in European Supersport Championship
  • 2003 - 4th place in Macau GP
  • 2004 - 30th place in Superbike World Championship
    2004 Superbike World Championship season
    The 2004 Superbike World Championship season was the 17th F.I.M. Superbike World Championship season. The season started on February 29 at Valencia, and finished on October 3 at Magny-Cours after 11 rounds. The traditional Japanese round at Sugo was replaced with a new Canadian round which was...

     (Best Rookie)
  • 2005 - 34th place in Superbike World Championship
    2005 Superbike World Championship season
    The 2005 Superbike World Championship season was the 18th F.I.M. Superbike World Championship season. The season started on February 26 at Losail, and finished on October 9 at Magny-Cours after 12 rounds and 23 races...

  • 2006 - Retired in Supersport World Championship
    2006 Supersport World Championship season
    The 2006 Supersport World Championship season was the 8th FIM Supersport World Championship season. The season started on February 25 at Losail, and finished on October 8 at Magny-Cours after 12 races....

  • 2007 - 34th place in Supersport World Championship
    2007 Supersport World Championship season
    The 2007 Supersport World Championship season was the 9th F.I.M. Supersport World Championship season. The season started on February 24 at Losail and finished on October 7 at Magny-Cours after 13 rounds. Kenan Sofuoğlu won the riders' championship with a record 8 wins...


External links

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