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| Rubén Xaus | |
|---|---|
 Rubén Xaus | |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Born | (1978-02-18)18 February 1978 (age 47) Sant Cugat del Vallès,Catalunya (Spain) |
| Website | rubenxaus.net |
Rubén Xaus (born 18 February 1978 inBarcelona,Catalonia,Spain) is a retiredmotorcycleroad racer. During his career he competed in both theSuperbike World Championship and theMotoGP. He is nicknamed 'Spider-Man', as his lanky frame leads him to hang over the bike in an unusual way.
His father, who competed in amateur mountainbicycle races, gave Xaus his first motorcycle at the age of five, aMontesa 25cc. Aged 14, he was racing dirt-bikes, but his father convinced him to turn his attentions towards road racing. Xaus took part in the 125cc Catalan Championship, the 125cc Solo Moto Criterium, and that same year he took victory in the 80cc Catalonia Supermoto Championship.
In 1994, Xaus competed in the Open Ducados Supersport series in Spain – finishing 17th place, improving to third the following year. In 1995, he entered the FIM Thunderbike trophy and contested four 250cc Grand Prix. Xaus finished sixth in Thunderbike in 1996, moving to World Supersport in 1997 taking 17th overall.
In 1998, Xaus rode in the German Pro-Superbike series, taking sixth place overall. In1999 he finished fifth in theSupersport World Championship, taking his first ever victory atMisano. In2000, he rode one of the officialDucati factory team Supersport bikes, finishing seventh and taking one victory.
For2001, Xaus moved to the factory Ducati Superbike team in partnership with then-championTroy Bayliss. He struggled early in the season, with a best result of 5th from the first 8 meetings. However, in race 2 atOschersleben he became the first Spaniard ever to take victory in theSuperbike World Championship. A pair of 2nds atAssen (helping Bayliss to clinch the title) and a second win at Imola gave him sixth in the championship. Sixth place in2002 was followed by fifteen podiums and seven victories in2003, finishing runner up to teammateNeil Hodgson.
Xaus made his move into theMotoGP World Championship in2004 as part of the satellite D'Antin Ducati team. The team was grossly under funded and could not afford testing time, but Xaus adapted better to the situation than teammate Hodgson. Consistent points-scoring performances and a first podium atQatar saw him snap up the ‘Rookie of the Year’ title and 11th place overall in the championship standings. In2005, he moved to the Fortuna Yamaha Team to ride alongside his friendToni Elías. But a more pronounced power delivery and difficult chassis and Xaus's charging/forced riding style meant he looked a different rider to the one of 2004. He crashed numerous times, finishing 16th overall with a best finish of 10th[1].
| Season | Class | Moto | Race | Win | Pod | Pole | FLap | Pts | Plcd | WCh |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | MotoGP | GP4 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 77 | 11th | – |
| 2005 | MotoGP | Yamaha YZR-M1 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 16th | – |
| Total | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 129 | 0 |
For2006, Xaus returned to theSuperbike World Championship, with a ride for the newItalian satellite Ducati teamSterilgarda Berik, alongside team ownerMarco Borciani. He twice set the fastest lap, but his fast charges often ended in crashes, and he was only 14th overall.
Xaus ended the2007 season 6th with a total 201 points (next behind the former world championTroy Corser), scoring the team's first victory in Valencia.
For2008, Xaus was joined byMax Biaggi on aDucati 1098R forSterilgarda-GoEleven, under the team management of Borciani. He finished 2nd in race 2 at the season-opening event in Qatar and took a victory at Misano in Race 2 in front of Biaggi and Bayliss, but has had no further podiums. AtDonington Park, he believed he had finished 3rd in a race stopped by heavy rain, but found out immediately before the podium celebration that he had been disqualified for not returning to the pits quickly enough after crashing immediately before the race was stopped. He then refused to leave the podium and verbally assaulted the marshals, including the rider who inherited the third spot on the podium - his team-mateMax Biaggi[2]. With three rounds remaining he lies 10th in the standings.
On 26 June 2008, Xaus signed to ride theBMW S1000RR bike for the factoryBMW Motorrad team in the 2009 WSB Championship.[1][2]
On 16 March 2007, Xaus married long-term partner Mariona. The wedding was held inAndorra, where the couple live with their daughter Julia Xaus, who was born in November 2006. On January 2009 they had their second daughter Paula Xaus.[3]
Xaus' hobbies include mountain biking, snowboarding and golf. He is 183 cm tall and weighs 74 kg.
In 2024, Xaus introduced BRL Europehttps://www.baggereurope.com/ where he manages the series and also competes in it using bagger motorcycles.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position, races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Class | Bike | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Pos | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 250cc | Honda | AUS | MAL | JPN | SPA | GER | ITA | NED | FRA | GBR Ret | CZE 23 | BRA 16 | ARG Ret | EUR Ret | NC | 0 | ||||
| 2004 | MotoGP | Ducati | RSA Ret | ESP Ret | FRA 14 | ITA 5 | CAT 6 | NED 7 | BRA 12 | GER 11 | GBR 11 | CZE Ret | POR Ret | JPN 9 | QAT 3 | MAL 13 | AUS 11 | VAL Ret | 11th | 77 | |
| 2005 | MotoGP | Yamaha | SPA 18 | POR 10 | CHN 10 | FRA 12 | ITA 14 | CAT 10 | NED 12 | USA 11 | GBR Ret | GER 13 | CZE 18 | JPN 10 | MAL 15 | QAT 14 | AUS 12 | TUR 14 | VAL 15 | 16th | 52 |
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Pos. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Honda | SMR Ret | GBR Ret | GER 19 | ITA 14 | EUR 12 | AUT 15 | NED Ret | GER DNS | SPA 15 | JPN 15 | INA 5 | 17th | 20 |
| 1999 | Yamaha | RSA Ret | GBR Ret | SPA Ret | ITA 2 | GER Ret | SMR 1 | USA 23 | EUR 2 | AUT Ret | NED 3 | GER 2 | 5th | 101 |
| 2000 | Ducati | AUS 23 | JPN 18 | GBR Ret | ITA 6 | GER 2 | SMR Ret | SPA 18 | EUR 7 | NED 1 | GER 4 | GBR Ret | 7th | 77 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Race of Champions Nations' Cup 2001with: Fernando Alonso Jesús Puras | Succeeded by |