Mike Di Meglio (born 17 January 1988) is a French

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 ...

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, cruising ...

road racer and three-time world champion claiming the 2008 125cc title,afp.google.com, France's Di Meglio wins motorcycle 125cc world championship
as well as winning the

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& 2017-2018 FIM Endurance World Championship. Since the 2018-2019 FIM EWC season, Di Meglio has raced for F.C.C. TSR Honda France. From 2019 on, he also competes in the

MotoE World Cup The FIM Enel MotoE World Championship (formerly known as the MotoE World Cup) is a class of motorcycle racing that uses only electric motorcycles. The series is sanctioned by the FIM and the inaugural season in 2019 was due to support MotoG ...

aboard an

Energica Ego The Energica Ego is an electrically propelled sport road motorcycle designed and marketed by Energica Motor Company. It is claimed by Energica to be the world's first street-legal electric Italian sport motorcycle. The prototype was finished in ...

Corsa. He twice won the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...

endurance race in 2017 on

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

and in 2020 on the

Honda CBR The Honda CBR models are a series of Honda sport bikes first introduced in 1983. With the exception of the single-cylinder CBR125R, CBR150R, CBR250R, and CBR300R, all CBR motorcycles have inline engines. Less sporting/general models make up CB ...

. He also twice won the

Bol d'Or The Bol d’Or is a 24-hour endurance race for motorcycles, held annually in France. The riding of each bike is now shared by a team of three riders. History The Bol d’Or, first organized by Eugene Mauve, in 1922, was a race for motorcycles ...

24-hour

endurance race on

Circuit Paul Ricard The Circuit Paul Ricard () is a French motorsport race track built in 1969 at Le Castellet, Var, near Marseille, with finance from pastis magnate Paul Ricard. Ricard wanted to experience the challenge of building a racetrack. The circuit has h ...

. In 2017

and 2018

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

. Di Meglio first came to the attention of the Fédération Française de Motocyclisme (French Motorcycle Federation) 2002 Prix de l'Avenir. He also took a trial with the Liegois team in Carole, with whom he took part in a Spanish Championship race. Later he raced at world championship level between 2003 and 2015.

Early life

Di Meglio was born in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

. Of Italian descent, his paternal grandfather was born in

Lentini Lentini ( scn, Lintini, historically Liuntini; la, Leontīnī; grc, Λεοντῖνοι) is a town and in the Province of Syracuse, South East of Sicily (Southern Italy). History The city was founded by colonists from Naxos as Leontini in 72 ...

(

Province of Siracusa The Province of Syracuse ( it, provincia di Siracusa; scn, pruvincia di Sarausa) was a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. Its capital was the city of Syracuse, a town established by Greek colonists arriving from Corinth ...

Career

125cc World Championship

2003

When Di Meglio turned 15 years old, he decided to accept offers by the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Freesoul Racing Team on

Aprilia Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded immediately after World War II in Noale, Italy, by Alberto Beggio. The company started as a manufacturer of bicycles and moved on to manufacture scooters and small-capacity motorcycles. ...

to debut in the 125cc world championship in

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. Although he managed to score points, including 13th place at

Catalunya Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the northe ...

, it was a difficult season for him, crashing often and not achieving good results. Later, at the mid-season, he was offered by the Italian MetaSystem Rg Service to replace Italian veteran Andrea Ballerini, but this time the team was on

, he tried to attempt to achieve his goals, but he failed to improve and didn't score any championship points.

2004

After a disappointing 2003, Di Meglio vowed to salvage a wrecked debut. He signed with Globet.com Racing on

alongside Gino Borsoi for the 2004 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. The start was promising with a front-row start and a fifth-place finish at

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, but he failed to be consistent due to several crashes.

2005

Di Meglio stayed with the same team for , but his team joined forces with Team Scot which runs on

machinery, the same team that helped Andrea Dovizioso win the 125cc World Championship. Di Meglio was their official rider on board on a factory Honda RS125RW along with Fabrizio Lai but it was under the Kopron Racing World name. His performance improved, scoring points regularly. He performed heroically at the

French Grand Prix The French Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de France), formerly known as the Grand Prix de l'ACF (Automobile Club de France), is an auto race held as part of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One World Championsh ...

by fighting for a podium position, finishing fourth and making his home fans happy and entertained. However, it was his podium finish in the wet

British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Ch ...

by finishing second place behind

Julián Simón Julián Simón Sesmero (born 3 April 1987) is a Spanish motorcycle racer. He is best known for winning the 2009 125cc World Championship. Career 125cc World Championship Born in Villacañas, Toledo, Spain, Simón began his racing career r ...

, which gave him a reputation as a wet weather expert. He also finished a credible fourth place in the hot

Qatar Grand Prix The Qatar Grand Prix is a Formula One motor racing event which is held in Qatar. It was held for the first time on 21 November as part of the championship at the Losail International Circuit, and after not taking place during the season due to ...

ahead of future 125cc champion

Thomas Lüthi Thomas Lüthi (born 6 September 1986) is a Swiss sporting director at Prüstel GP, and former Grand Prix motorcycle racer. He spent 19 years in Grand Prix world championships, becoming one of only six riders to reach 300 race starts, spending m ...

. The high point of the season for the Frenchman was his controversial win at the

Turkish Grand Prix The Turkish Grand Prix ( tr, ) is a Formula One auto racing, motor race held at the Istanbul Park Circuit, designed by Hermann Tilke. The race was part of the Formula One World Championship between and , and to , the latter two being due to ...

, when

Mika Kallio Mika Kallio (born 8 November 1982) is a Finnish Grand Prix motorcycle racer, currently serving as the lead test and development rider for the Red Bull KTM team in MotoGP. He debuted in the 125cc World Championship with the Finnish rookie team Aj ...

crashed and race leader Luthi had run wide to avoid him.

2006

He joined the Fédération Française de Motocyclisme's world championship team run by Alain Bronec for . The FFM Honda GP 125 team also provided him with a factory bike just like the previous season, but despite his big ambitions and a factory bike, he suffered an injury, and scored in only four races that resulted in eight points. He left the team immediately for Team Scot the following year after

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

as the result of his performance with the team.

2007

For , Di Meglio returned to Team Scot, the team that had helped him win his first Grand Prix in 2005. He was teamed with the young Italian Stefano Musco. In the first few races, he managed to score championship points. He had a very bad crash during the qualifying session of the

Spanish Grand Prix The Spanish Grand Prix ( es, Gran Premio de España, ca, Gran Premi d'Espanya) is a Formula One motor racing event currently held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The race is one of the oldest in the world still contested, celebrating it ...

, breaking his collarbone and was forced to miss the

as a result. He returned in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

to a fourteenth-place finish and followed that with a ninth place at

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

. A front row start at

Mugello The Mugello is a historic region and valley in northern Tuscany, in Italy, corresponding to the course of the River Sieve. It is located to the north of the city of Florence and includes the northernmost portion of the Metropolitan City of Fl ...

did not come to much either as he crashed out on the third lap of the race. After this, several disappointing race results followed except in the wet race at Donington, where he finished in sixth place and in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, where he finished fourth despite crashing out of second place while chasing race leader

Mattia Pasini Mattia Pasini (born 13 August 1985) is an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. Career Early career Born in Rimini, Pasini participated in his first race at the age of 9. 125cc World Championship After several successful years in the Ita ...

2008

For , he was offered to ride with the Finnish

Ajo Motorsport Ajo Motorsport is a Finnish Grand Prix motorcycle racing team, currently competing in the Moto2 and Moto3 classes under the name Red Bull KTM Ajo and in the MotoE class under the name Avant Ajo MotoE. The team's founder and principal is former ra ...

, teamed with Dominique Aegerter. He returned to

machines, but officially rides for Aprilia's sister

Piaggio Piaggio & C. SpA (Piaggio ) is an Italian motor vehicle manufacturer, which produces a range of two-wheeled motor vehicles and compact commercial vehicles under seven brands: Piaggio, Vespa, Gilera, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Derbi, and Scarabeo. Its ...

company,

Derbi Derbi is a manufacturer of motorcycles, scooters, mopeds and recreational all-terrain vehicles produced by Nacional Motor S.A.U., a Spanish subsidiary of Piaggio & Co. SpA. History Derbi's origins began with a little bicycle workshop in the v ...

. He is riding the

RSA 125 factory bike. His campaign started slowly within

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finishing in fourth, beaten to the podium at the line by Stefan Bradl. In

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and

, Di Meglio picked up minor points and trailed title contender

Simone Corsi Simone Corsi (born 24 April 1987) is an Italian former Grand Prix motorcycle racer. Born in Rome, Corsi has been racing in motorcycle world championships for nearly 20 years, amassing over 300 races, 4th all-time, behind only Valentino Rossi, ...

, but starting in

, Corsi's pace started to slip away including a crash from a minor incident with

Lorenzo Zanetti Lorenzo Demetrio Zanetti (born 10 August 1987) is an Italian motorcycle racer. He currently races in the CIV Superbike Championship, aboard a Ducati 1199 Panigale. Racing career Born in Brescia, Zanetti finished second behind Luca Di Giuseppe ...

and reigning world champion

Gábor Talmácsi Gábor Talmácsi (born 28 May 1981 in Budapest, Hungary) is a Hungarian former professional motorcycle racer. He was the 2007 125cc World Champion, and he is the first and only Hungarian to win a road racing World Championship. He has a younge ...

struggling that allow Di Meglio to take full advantage. A win in the shortened

started a consistent run lasting until at

San Marino San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...

where he crashed out while fighting for third place with Corsi. At the

Australian Grand Prix The Australian Grand Prix is an annual motor racing event which is under contract to host Formula One until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Grand Prix has moved frequently with 23 different venu ...

, Di Meglio became the only second Frenchman to win the world championship after

Arnaud Vincent Arnaud Vincent (born 30 November 1974) is a French former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was the 2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Moth ...

250cc World Championship

2009

For , he moved up to the 250cc class with the

Aspar Team Aspar Team (formerly Ángel Nieto Team) is a Grand Prix motorcycle racing team from Spain, competing in the Moto2, Moto3 and MotoE World Championships. History The team was created by former world champion Jorge Martínez in 1992, when he was s ...

, alongside

Álvaro Bautista Álvaro Bautista Arce (born 21 November 1984) is a Spanish motorcycle road racer. He won the 2022 Superbike World Championship, with Ducati factory team. After the 2019 World Superbike season with the factory Ducati team, for 2020 and 2021 h ...

. In his debut race in

he qualified third but dropped to 11th on lap 1, before fighting back. He ran fifth in the later stages, but aggressively passed Bautista on the final lap before passing

Raffaele de Rosa Raffaele De Rosa (born 25 March 1987 in Naples) is an Italian motorcycle road racer. He competes in the Supersport World Championship aboard a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R, he won the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup in 2016. Career 125cc World Championship ...

for third. He did not take another top five finish until round ten at Donington, but hit form from this point on. He took pole at Indianapolis, and claimed second place at Estoril in a photo-finish with

Héctor Barberá Héctor Barberá Vall (born November 2, 1986) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He competes in MotoAmerica aboard a BMW S1000RR. Career Born in Dos Aguas, Valencia Province, Barberá began his World Championship career at the ...

. He was fighting for top rookie honours with de Rosa but lost out to him as a result of crashing out in

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

while de Rosa finished third.

Moto2 World Championship

2010

The saw the debut of the Moto2 class as the new intermediate class of Grand Prix racing, replacing the 250cc class. Di Meglio failed to take full advantage of it, with several poor race finishes in the first three races of the season and a crash at

. Di Meglio took his first points-scoring finishes at

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

rounds with seventh and eighth respectively. Despite his good results at those rounds, he failed to be competitive again until

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

where he finished in sixth place, having started on the front row.

2011

In , Di Meglio moved to Tech3's Moto2 programme, finishing in 23rd place.

2012

In , Di Meglio split his season between the

Speed Up Speed Up is an Italian motorcycle racing team and constructor founded in 2010 and based in Vicenza, Italy. In 2012 the company started building its own branded chassis under the Speed Up Factory name. Beginning with the 2021 season, the compan ...

, MZ, and Kiefer Racing teams. He ultimately improved to 22nd place in the championship.

2013

Di Meglio switched to the JiR team for on Motobi-sponsored machinery. He finished the season in 20th position.

MotoGP World Championship

2014

Di Meglio made his premier-class debut in with Avintia Racing. He finished his rookie season in 25th place with 9 points, last of all the season regular riders.

2015

For 2015, Di Meglio was retained by Avintia, this time riding a one-year-old Ducati GP14. Despite scoring fewer points than the previous season, he made a slight improvement to finish in 24th place on the season. At the close of the season, Di Meglio was dropped by Avintia in favour of compatriot

Loris Baz Loris Baz (born 1 February 1993) is a French motorcycle racer. He is competing for satellite BMW team Bonovo in the 2022 Superbike World Championship, together with Eugene Laverty. Baz has previously competed in World Superbikes for Ten Kate Rac ...

FIM Endurance World Championship

2016–2017

Following his dismissal from the MotoGP class, Di Meglio moved to endurance racing in the

FIM Endurance World Championship The Endurance World Championship ( FIM EWC) is the premier worldwide endurance championship in motorcycle road racing. The championship season consists of a series of endurance races (with a duration of six, eight, twelve or twenty-four hours) h ...

with the successful French GMT94 Yamaha team, partnering riders

Niccolò Canepa Niccolò Canepa (born 14 May 1988 in Genoa) is an Italian professional motorcycle road racer contracted from 2022 to RNF Racing in the MotoE World Cup aboard an Energica Ego Corsa. Canepa won the 2007 European Superstock 1000 Championship on a D ...

and

David Checa David Checa (born 20 April 1980) is a Spanish professional motorcycle road racer. He is four time FIM Endurance World Champion, winning the title in 2004, 2014, 2016-2017 and 2018-2019. In 2016 he was the French Superbike Champion. He previously ...

. The team achieved wins at the 24 Heures Motos, Oschersleben 8 Hours, and 8 Hours of Slovakia Ring, leading GMT94 to their third team's championship and helping Yamaha to the manufacturer's championship. As Di Meglio did not compete in the first race of the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

, the

, he was classified 3rd in the rider's championship behind his teammates and members of the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team.

2017–2018

The following season, Di Meglio remained with GMT94 and teammates Canepa and Checa. The team achieved one win at the Bol d'Or and ultimately finished the season in 2nd place behind F.C.C. TSR

France.

2018–2019

For 2018–2019, Di Meglio switched to F.C.C. TSR

France, replacing compatriot Alan Techer to partner

Joshua Hook Joshua Frederick Hook (born 9 January 1993) is an endurance world champion motorcycle racer from Australia. Currently competing in the FIM Endurance World Championship with F.C.C. TSR Honda France. He was the winner of 2011 Australia 125GP Cha ...

and Freddy Foray. They achieved wins at the Bol d'Or and Oschersleben 8 Hours, finishing the teams' and riders' championships in 2nd place behind Team SRC Kawasaki France.

MotoE World Cup

2019

In late 2018, Di Meglio was confirmed to be rejoining the Grand Prix paddock as part of the inaugural MotoE season, racing for Marc VDS. He achieved a third-place podium in the German opener, followed by a grand slam in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

(pole, win, and fastest lap), but subsequent retirements and poor finishes relegated him to just 6th position at the conclusion of the season.

Career statistics

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

By season

By class

Races by year

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

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

References

External links

* *
Team Aspar web site (archived from 2010)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Di Meglio, Mike 125cc World Championship riders 250cc World Championship riders French motorcycle racers 1988 births Living people Sportspeople from Toulouse French people of Italian descent French people of Sicilian descent Moto2 World Championship riders Avintia Racing MotoGP riders Supersport World Championship riders MotoGP World Championship riders MotoE World Cup riders