Alberto Puig (born 16 January 1967) is a Spanish former

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 ...

solo

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 ...

professional

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 ...

who is team manager for the

Repsol Honda Repsol Honda is the official factory team of the Honda Racing Corporation in the MotoGP class of Grand Prix motorcycle racing (World Championship road racing), backed by principal sponsor Repsol. History 1990s In the team entered a three ri ...

team in

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 ...

Motorcycle racing career

Puig had his best year in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson Ma ...

, when he finished in fifth place in the 500 cc class. In

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake strike ...

, Puig became the first Spanish competitor to win his home nation's 500 cc Grand Prix when he won the

1995 Spanish Grand Prix The 1995 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 14 May 1995 at the Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló. It was the fourth race of the 1995 Formula One season. It proved to be the final race for 1992 Formula One champion Nigel Mansel ...

. He then scored two more podium results to place himself in third place in the world championship, before he crashed heavily during practice for the

1995 French Grand Prix The 1995 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Magny-Cours on 2 July 1995. It was the seventh race of the 1995 Formula One World Championship. The 72-lap race was won by Michael Schumacher, driving a Benetton-Renault. Damon Hill ...

and broke his left leg, ending his season prematurely. He returned 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 ...

but his injuries hindered his progress and he decided to retire at the end of the

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

season at the age of 30.

Team manager

Puig runs the Red Bull MotoGP Academy, designed to find and train promising Grand Prix racers and, he is credited with starting the careers of

Casey Stoner Casey Joel Stoner (born 16 October 1985) is an Australian retired professional motorcycle racer, and a two-time MotoGP World Champion, in and . During his MotoGP career, Stoner raced for the factory teams of Ducati and Honda, winning a tit ...

Dani Pedrosa Daniel Pedrosa Ramal (born 29 September 1985) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racer who retired from regular competition after the season. He grew up in Castellar del Vallès, a village near Sabadell. He is a three-time World Champion bei ...

and Toni Elías. Puig also acted as manager for Pedrosa. He was named as Repsol Honda's team principal for the

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

season and has continued in that role through the present 2022 season. Despite having only ever won one race, Puig stirred controversy in the sport by diminishing the value of the 2020 season following Marc Marquez's crash in the opening round by stating, "But my opinion, and I know what I am talking about, is that when you win but the champion is not on the track you always have something left inside." "I will set my example: I won a race here in 1995, and I've always wondered if I would have won it if Mick Doohan hadn't fallen." Jack Miller responded that he had "heard two people say now two questions about the validity of the championship, and it's a complete crock".

Motorcycle Grand Prix Results

Points system from 1969 to 1987: Points system from 1988 to 1991: Points system in 1992: Points system from 1993: ( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

Alberto Puig Honda team manager profile

Official website

Biography {{DEFAULTSORT:Puig, Alberto 1967 births Living people Motorcycle racers from Catalonia Spanish motorcycle racers 250cc World Championship riders 500cc World Championship riders Sportspeople from Barcelona