Pons Racing

History

500cc (1992 - 2001)

2001

The year saw the arrival of new title sponsor in West cigarettes, replacing Emerson Electronics after just one year.

MotoGP (2002 - 2005)

2002

Both Barros and Capirossi remained in the team with the factory-spec NSR500 in the year where 990cc four-stroke machinery made their debut in the top class.https://www.motogp.com/en/news/2002/03/01/barros-and-capirossi-discuss-the-merits-of-their-2002-spec-nsr500/133000

West Honda Pons had a solid season with the 500cc bikes where Barros scored two consecutive podiums in Assen and Donington Park, while Capirossi finished third in Welkom before suffered wrist injury in Assen. German Alex Hofmann filled Capirossi's seat in Donington and Sachsenring, finished 10th in his home race.https://www.motogp.com/en/news/2002/07/04/hofmann-to-replace-capirossi-at-donington-park/133578

Alex Barros was given the four-stroke RC211V in the last four races of the season, the decision which paid off by finished in top three in those four races, two of them being a victory in Motegi and Valencia, ended the season in fourth place, eleven points behind second placed Max Biaggi. Capirossi scored another podium in Motegi, finished eighth in the final standings - the highest for a rider using a two-stroke machinery all year.

At the end of the season both riders left Honda Pons, along with title sponsor West.

2003

Honda Pons entered a new chapter in team's history, with R. J. Reynolds's Camel cigarettes became team's title sponsor.https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/71640/1/camel-to-partner-pramac-pons-from-2003 Max Biaggi joined the team from factory Yamaha team, while HRC moved Tohru Ukawa from Repsol Honda. Both riders rode the customer-spec RC211V.

Biaggi won 2 races in Donington Park (After Rossi got 10-seconds time penalty for yellow flag infringement) and Motegi en route to third place in the standings, while Ukawa ended the season in eight place before demoted to factory testing role with Honda, ended his full time Grand Prix career.https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/73524/1/ukawa-im-retiring

2004

Max Biaggi remained in the team, joined by Makoto Tamada as Pons and Pramac Racing collaborate as one team. Due to the agreement, Tamada raced with Bridgestone tires, while Biaggi remained with Michelin.

The team's technical director Antonio Cobas died in Barcelona just days before the opening round in South Africa.https://www.motogp.com/en/news/2004/04/14/motogp-community-loses-antonio-cobas/136010 Max Biaggi finished the race in second place after battled with Valentino Rossi throughout the race. Camel Honda then won two races in a row in Brazil and Germany courtesy of Tamada and Biaggi respectively, with Tamada's victory was the first for Bridgestone in MotoGP. Tamada scored another win in Motegi en route to sixth place in the standings, while Biaggi ended the year in the same way he finished 2003, in third place.

2005

The agreement with Pramac ended as the company switched to D'Antin Racing as title sponsor, while Camel remained in the team. Alex Barros returned to the team after spending the last two seasons with Tech3 and Repsol Honda respectively, along with Troy Bayliss who left Ducati.

Barros winning in Portugal along with 11 top-10 finishes, finished 8th in the standings. Bayliss scored 5 top-10 finishes in 11 races, however his season was cut short when he injured his wrist in a motocross accident.https://www.motorcyclenews.com/sport/motogp/2005/september/bayliss-out-of-japan-gp/ Tohru Ukawa, Shane Byrne, Chris Vermeulen and Ryuichi Kiyonari filled Bayliss's seat for the remainder of the season. Both Barros and Bayliss moved to Superbike World Championship at the end of the season

Pons signed Carlos Checa and Australian rookie Casey Stoner for the 2006 season. However, the team lost their title sponsor Camel, who moved to Yamaha, forcing the team to withdraw from MotoGP after 25 seasons in the sport. Checa ended up moved to Tech 3, while Lucio Cecchinello's LCR Team secured the lease of one of the RC211V and signed Stoner.

250cc / Moto2 (2009 - present)

Results

Motorcycle racing

;Notes

• Season still in progress.

Formula Renault 3.5 Series

Notes

References

References

1. (26 August 2023). "PONS Racing closes a stage as Sito Pons faces a new era". Dorna Sports.
2. Sports, Dorna. "Tohru Ukawa joins Honda Pons for the 2003 season {{!}} MotoGP™".
3. Sports, Dorna. "Camel Honda announce official line-up {{!}} MotoGP™".
4. Sports, Dorna. "Pons pulls out of MotoGP {{!}} MotoGP™".