Stefan
Bradl
Germany
·
Superbike
Date of birth | November 29, 1989 |
|---|---|
Birthplace | Augsburg, Germany |
Age | 36 |
Nationality | Germany |
Career start | 2000 |
Disciplines | MotoGP |
Stefan Bradl was born into racing. He's the son of grand prix racer Helmut Bradl, who made a name for himself in the 250cc class in the 1980s and 1990s. Stefan began his career in the 125cc World Championship in 2005 as a wildcard, going on to ride a few more races in 2006 before a bad injury in practice for the Malaysian GP ended his season.
He returned later in the year to compete in the Red Bull MotoGP academy, and in 2008 he showed his talent again with a fourth-placed World Championship finish. Stefan's progress continued in 2010 when he moved to the Moto2 class, winning the Portuguese GP and placing ninth overall.
The following season he was crowned World Champion after a masterful campaign. Moving up to MotoGP™ in 2012 as the reigning Moto2 World Champion, Bradl impressed with his adaptation to the powerful 1,000cc machinery.
His dedication and work ethic paid off with a top-eight championship finish in his debut campaign, and the following season he scored a podium at Laguna Seca.
After a third season with the LCR Honda team in MotoGP™, Stefan switched to a Yamaha in 2015 before another change of machinery to Aprilia midway through the campaign meant Stefan had to adapt again. He continued with the Aprilia Gresini team in 2016 and then announced a change of direction with a move to WSBK and a return to a Honda bike for 2017.
He took on this new adventure with the Red Bull Honda World Superbike team and finished in 14th place in the 2017 overall world championship.
The following year Stefan was contracted as a test rider for Repsol Honda Team and returned to compete in MotoGP™ at the Malaysian Grand Prix. In 2019 he contested four races and then in 2020 started 11 grands prix and twice finished inside the top 10.
Stefan continues to work as a test rider for the Repsol Honda team and in the last three seasons has deputised for the injured Marc Márquez on numerous occasions.