A LEADER OF CHAMPIONS
In 1997 Jorge Martinez “Aspar” contested his final Grand Prix as a racer but his career was a long way from over. In 1992 Jorge created his own team, which immediately began to flourish until it became one of the largest and most successful in the World Championship. Having himself been one of the greatest riders in history, he was now turning his efforts towards giving his best for each and every rider that came through his doors.
At the start a single structure was used to tackle both the World and Spanish Championships but in 2002 the riders began to change and a clear definition between the two teams began to form, with only certain members of personnel involved in both outfits.
As the years have gone by small details have been refined and improved, but the
one thing that has never changed has been the special attention given by the team to rider development and Jorge’s role as a promoter for the driving school at the Circuito de la Comunidad Valenciana, which he helped to set up.
Since its creation several top riders have passed through Aspar’s garage: Toni Elias, Sebastian Porto, Fonsi Nieto, Pablo Nieto, Gélete Nieto, Randy De Puniet, Arnaud Vincent, Alex Debon, Emilio Alzamora, Jeronimo Vidal and Angel Rodriguez, to name just a few. They have come from different countries but the search is always on for youngsters from his beloved Valencia, with the full support of the Cheste circuit, where the first corner bears his name.
There is no doubt that the 2006 was the culmination and the fruit of a job well done for the Master Mva Aspar Team. Jorge Martinez “Aspar” put together a team with the skill and talent to finally fulfil the dreams of the Valencian outfit as they lifted the World Championship title thanks to one of Spain’s brightest racing talents in Alvaro Bautista. For “Aspar” it was the only thing left for him to win as a manager in the class.
The 2006 season proved to be a turning point for the entire team. The eyes of the world’s media had focused on them at the third round of the season, when Hector Faubel, Alvaro Bautista and Sergio Gadea scored an historic triple podium at Turkey. A if that wasn’t enough, the trio were at it again at Cataluña, where Bautista took the victory ahead of Faubel and Gadea. That was also the first occasion any rider had scored back-to-bacl victories in the category since 2002 - Alvaro ending that record-breaking run in stunning style. It had been even longer that a rider had gone on to dominate the 125cc category in the way that Baustista would do, with the title battle in recent years almost invariable going down to the final round. However, the statistics that season were a clear sign of the Master Mva Aspar Team’s potential in the 125cc and 250cc classes.
After thirteen rounds of the season, Alvaro Bautista sealed the 125cc World title. Faubel, Pasini and Gadea would eventually finish the season in third, fourth and fifth place respectively, whilst in the 250cc class Alex de Angelis ended the season with his first career victory in the final round at Valencia to seal third place overall. Between them, they took a total of thirteen victories, fifteen second places, thirteen thirds and ten pole positions in a spectacular season.
Following another highly successful year the two Aspar teams will aim to continue their progress in 2008. From early in the year it was clear that the single cylinder title would again belong to an Aspar rider and after an intriguing battle between Hector Faubel and Gabor Talmacsi the World Championship eventually went to the Hungarian. Aspar were champions for the second successive season. Faubel was runner-up to Talmacsi with the team gaining eight wins, nine second places and six
thirds. But the success did not remain solely with Bancaja Aspar, as the 250cc championship saw the arrival of 2006 125cc World Champion Álvaro Bautista who formed a great partnership with Alex de Angelis in the Master-Mapfre Aspar team.
Between them they took two wins, nine second place finishes and four thirds – again demonstrating the strength of the Aspar set-up. The achievements of the last few seasons have set the bar high for the 2009 season. A repeat of the successes of 2006, 2007 and 2008 is a huge ask, especially considering the titles of 2006 and 2007, as well as the runner-up spot of 2007.
Season on season, the Spanish outfit has consolidated its position as the team to beat in the smaller categories of Grand Prix racing. In 2008 they were represented on the podium at the majority of races – eleven times in 250 and ten times in 125, including four victories in each category. Indeed, it was another season of success for the “Aspar” men, with Álvaro Bautista bringing the quarter-litre championship runner-up trophy back to Alzira.
For 2009 the bar was raised even higher by the Aspar Team, with a line-up of two World Champions in the 250cc class in Álvaro Bautista and Mike Di Meglio and a talented young pretender - Bradley Smith – signed up to join the experienced race winners Julián Simón and Sergio Gadea in 125. Bautista fought for the series lead throughout the season but three crashes in the latter stages of the campaign ruled him out of the running before the final round took place at Valencia. However, his final season in the intermediate class was lit up by two victories and eight podium finishes. Mike, meanwhile, scored two podiums and set a pole position in an impressive rookie campaign.
In almost a carbon copy of the 2006 and 2007 seasons, the 125 class was dominated by Bancaja Aspar riders. Smith became a winner at last and improved so much throughout the season that he would have won the title if it weren’t for the sublime form of Simón. Gadea rediscovered himself as a rider and finally reproduced his best form after an indifferent 2008. Simón, meanwhile, simply swept the board and just as his compatriot Bautista had done in 2006, the kid from Villacañas was in a league of his own at virtually every Grand Prix.
The opening stages of the season confirmed what the majority of the paddock had been predicting since preseason. Seven pole positions, seven wins, five podiums and seven fastest laps were enough to seal the title for Simón in Australia, two races before the end of the season. Julián failed to finish on the podium at just four out of sixteen rounds and he rounded the season off in style with three straight wins in the final three rounds – the last one in front of his home crowd at Valencia. The Bancaja Aspar team left an indelible mark on the history of motorcycle racing in 2009, with
the title and the runner-up spot in the 125cc World Championship, thanks to Julián Simón and Bradley Smith, eight one-twos, a triple podium and victory in more than half of the races.
It seems that every year it is a bigger challenge than the last to continue setting new limits and breaking new boundaries. It is difficult but not impossible because ‘Aspar’, currently the King Midas of motorcycle racing, turns everything he touches into gold. Like Alvaro Bautista and Julian Simón, who were both struggling for results before signing for the Aspar Team but became virtually unbeatable with the backing of a team that lives and breathes victories.
Nico Terol joined the team in similar circumstances in 2010. He had enjoyed two decent seasons but had so far been unable to take the next step towards a serious challenge for victories and titles. He immediately gained consistency, tasting the podium champagne at fourteen out of sixteen races contested, celebrating three victories and learning exactly what it takes to set pole positions and fastest laps. Despite finishing runner-up in a close finish Nico showed that he has the talent and temperament of a true champion, as well as the determination. At the mid-point of the season, in Barcelona, he fractured two vertebrae but he returned after the summer break at Brno to take back to back wins and carry the title fight to the final round in Valencia.
There is not much that hasn't already been said about the season enjoyed by Julián Simón, another rider who has given up on accepting second place as a satisfactory finish since joined the Aspar Team. The Spaniard's 2010 season began besieged by technical problems but his team reacted quickly to put things right. From then on, Julito began putting together podium after podium (eight in total – five second places and three thirds) to finish the first ever season of Moto2 racing as the championship runner-up.
Whilst Nico Terol and Julián Simón set the smaller categories alight with their runner-up finishes in 125cc and Moto2 respectively perhaps the biggest challenge for the Aspar Team in 2010 was its venture into the elite class, MotoGP. Finally ‘Aspar’ was able to extend his racing project into all three categories with a Valencian rider, Héctor Barberá, making a big impression in his rookie campaign.