Sandro Cortese

Sandro Cortese
Cortese at the 2010 Qatar Grand Prix.
Nationality	German
Born	January 6, 1990[1] Ochsenhausen, West Germany
Current team	Dynavolt Intact GP
Bike number	11
Motorcycle racing career statistics Moto2 World Championship Active years 2013–2016 Manufacturers Kalex 2015 championship position 11th (90 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 54 0 2 0 0 198 Moto3 World Championship Active years 2012 Manufacturers KTM Championships 1 (2012) 2012 championship position 1st (325 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 17 5 15 7 4 325 125cc World Championship Active years 2005–2011 Manufacturers Honda, Derbi, Aprilia Championships 0 2011 championship position 4th (225 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 116 2 11 3 7 736

Alessandro "Sandro" Cortese (born January 6, 1990) is a German motorcycle racer, currently competing in the Moto2 Grand Prix World Championship. Having contested every race since his Grand Prix début in 2005, Cortese won his first world title in the Moto3 class, in 2012.^[2] He lives in Berkheim, Germany.

Career

National racing

Cortese was born in Ochsenhausen, West Germany, as the son of an Italian father and a German mother. He started his career at the age of nine on pocket bikes and was European Pocket Bike champion as well as German Mini Bike champion. He competed in the German ITM Championship in the 125cc class, finishing 10th.^[1]

125cc World Championship

Cortese made his 125cc World Championship debut with Kiefer-Bos-Castrol Honda in 2005, finishing the season in 26th place with 8 points. His best finish was 14th place in Germany, the Czech Republic, and Turkey. In 2006, he switched to the 2005 125cc Championship-winning team, Elit – Caffè Latte Honda as team mate to 125cc World Champion Thomas Lüthi. He made steady progress scoring some championship points, His best result was in the Portuguese Grand Prix in 10th place, improving his championship standing to 17th place with 23 points.

In 2007 his team was renamed Emmi – Caffè Latte and it switched to Aprilia motorbikes. Lüthi moved up to 250cc, also with Aprilia. Cortese improved in 2007, finishing most of the season's races in the top 10, including 7th places in the French, the Italian and German Grands Prix. He finished the championship in 14th place with 66 points. For 2008 he rode a works Aprilia RSA 125. The 2008 season started poorly for him, finishing outside the top 8 at the first five races. His fortunes changed for the better after Mugello and he finished consistently in the top eight. In the Australian Grand Prix he crashed while leading but managed to recover to sixth and helped Mike Di Meglio to win the championship by finishing ahead of Simone Corsi, Di Meglio's championship rival. In the Malaysian Grand Prix he rode the fastest lap of the race despite starting 18th on the grid to finish fourth. He was the only 125cc rider to finish all races that year, gaining points in every race except in China.

In 2009, Cortese rode for the Finnish Ajo Motorsport team that took Di Meglio to his 125cc World Championship. He replaced Di Meglio and teamed up with Dominique Aegerter, running factory Derbi RSA 125 bikes. Cortese finished on the podium three times and ended up sixth in the championship.

For 2010 he rode a Derbi again, for Ajo Motorsport. He was teamed up with Marc Márquez and Adrián Martín, with each rider running different sponsorship. Cortese took two podiums during the season, at the Sachsenring and Indianapolis. He also achieved pole position in Italy, and finished seventh in the championship.

For the 2011 season, Cortese moved to Dirk Heidolf's Racing Team Germany outfit, as a single-bike entry.^[3] He took second place finishes in Qatar and Portugal, before taking his first Grand Prix victory – in his 109th start – in the Czech Republic, having battled with Johann Zarco in the closing stages of the race.^[4] Cortese eventually ended the season fourth in the championship.

Moto2 World Championship

In 2014, Cortese recorded his first podium finish in Moto2 at Brno.

Grand Prix motorcycle racing career

By class

Class	Seas	1st GP	1st Pod	1st Win	Race	Win	Podiums	Pole	FLap	Pts	WChmp
125 cc	2005–2011	2005 Spain	2009 Qatar	2011 Czech Republic	116	2	11	3	7	736	0
Moto3	2012	2012 Qatar	2012 Qatar	2012 Portugal	17	5	15	7	4	325	1
Moto2	2013–2016	2013 Qatar	2014 Czech Republic		54	0	2	0	0	198	0
Total	2005–Present				187	7	28	10	11	1259	1

By seasons and teams

Season	Class	Team	Motorcycle	Type	Races	Wins	Podiums	Poles	Fastest Laps	Pts	Position
2005	125cc	Kiefer-Bos-Castrol Honda	Honda	Honda RS125R	16	0	0	0	0	8	26th
2006	125cc	Elit – Caffè Latte	Honda	Honda RS125R	16	0	0	0	0	23	17th
2007	125cc	Emmi – Caffè Latte	Aprilia	Aprilia RS 125	17	0	0	0	0	66	14th
2008	125cc	Emmi – Caffè Latte	Aprilia	Aprilia RSA 125	17	0	0	0	1	141	8th
2009	125cc	Ajo Interwetten	Derbi	Derbi RSA 125	16	0	3	1	2	130	6th
2010	125cc	Ajo Motorsport	Derbi	Derbi RS 125 R	17	0	2	1	2	143	7th
2011	125cc	Intact-Racing Team Germany	Aprilia	Aprilia RSA 125	17	2	6	1	2	225	4th
2012	Moto3	Red Bull KTM Ajo	KTM	KTM M32	17	5	15	7	4	325	1st
2013	Moto2	Dynavolt Intact GP	Kalex	Kalex Moto2	17	0	0	0	0	22	19th
2014	Moto2	Dynavolt Intact GP	Kalex	Kalex Moto2	18	0	1	0	0	85	9th
2015	Moto2	Dynavolt Intact GP	Kalex	Kalex Moto2	18	0	1	0	0	90	11th
2016	Moto2	Dynavolt Intact GP	Kalex	Kalex Moto2	1	0	0	0	0	1*	15th*
Total					187	7	28	10	11	1259

* Season still in progress.

Races by year

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

Yr	Class	Bike	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Pos	Pts
2005	125cc	Honda	SPA 20	POR 25	CHN Ret	FRA 15	ITA Ret	CAT 23	NED 24	GBR 15	GER 14	CZE 14	JPN Ret	MAL 21	QAT 17	AUS 19	TUR 14	VAL Ret			26th	8
2006	125cc	Honda	SPA 16	QAT Ret	TUR 16	CHN 17	FRA 15	ITA Ret	CAT 19	NED 14	GBR 14	GER 13	CZE 11	MAL 17	AUS 14	JPN 14	POR 10	VAL 18			17th	23
2007	125cc	Aprilia	QAT 17	SPA 7	TUR Ret	CHN 18	FRA 7	ITA 7	CAT 11	GBR 12	NED 8	GER 7	CZE 10	RSM 15	POR Ret	JPN Ret	AUS 10	MAL Ret	VAL Ret		14th	66
2008	125cc	Aprilia	QAT 11	SPA 10	POR 10	CHN 16	FRA 11	ITA 8	CAT 8	GBR 9	NED 4	GER 6	CZE 7	RSM 7	IND 5	JPN 6	AUS 6	MAL 4	VAL 5		8th	141
2009	125cc	Derbi	QAT 3	JPN 6	SPA 6	FRA 12	ITA 10	CAT 9	NED Ret	GER 6	GBR Ret	CZE 6	IND 18	RSM 5	POR 2	AUS 3	MAL 6	VAL 8			6th	130
2010	125cc	Derbi	QAT 5	SPA 11	FRA 6	ITA Ret	GBR 6	NED 5	CAT 4	GER 3	CZE 16	IND 2	RSM 5	ARA 5	JPN 12	MAL 6	AUS Ret	POR Ret	VAL 5		7th	143
2011	125cc	Aprilia	QAT 2	SPA 6	POR 2	FRA 7	CAT 4	GBR 7	NED 4	ITA 12	GER 8	CZE 1	IND 3	RSM 4	ARA 7	JPN 5	AUS 1	MAL 2	VAL Ret		4th	225
2012	Moto3	KTM	QAT 3	SPA 3	POR 1	FRA 6	CAT 2	GBR 3	NED 2	GER 1	ITA 3	IND 2	CZE 3	RSM 1	ARA 2	JPN 6	MAL 1	AUS 1	VAL 2		1st	325
2013	Moto2	Kalex	QAT 17	AME 25	SPA 18	FRA 12	ITA 14	CAT Ret	NED 14	GER 14	IND 16	CZE Ret	GBR 20	RSM Ret	ARA 10	MAL Ret	AUS 11	JPN 15	VAL 16		19th	22
2014	Moto2	Kalex	QAT 7	AME 14	ARG 9	SPA 9	FRA 12	ITA 13	CAT Ret	NED Ret	GER Ret	IND 6	CZE 3	GBR 18	RSM 12	ARA 12	JPN Ret	AUS 6	MAL 7	VAL Ret	9th	85
2015	Moto2	Kalex	QAT 7	AME 14	ARG 7	SPA Ret	FRA 14	ITA 8	CAT Ret	NED 17	GER 11	IND Ret	CZE 8	GBR 8	RSM 8	ARA 13	JPN 3	AUS Ret	MAL 7	VAL 13	11th	90
2016	Moto2	Kalex	QAT 15	ARG Ret	AME 12	SPA	FRA	ITA	CAT	NED	GER	GBR	AUT	CZE	RSM	ARA	MAL	JPN	AUS	VAL	21th*	5*

* Season still in progress.

References

1. Sandro Cortese | The Official MotoGP Website
2. "Cortese crowned Moto3 World Champion with win in Sepang". MotoGP.com (Dorna Sports). 21 October 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
3. "Cortese joins Racing Team Germany". motogp.com (Dorna Sports). 14 December 2010. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
4. "First victory for Cortese in Brno". Dorna Sports. 14 August 2010. Retrieved 19 August 2011.

External links

• Official website
• Sandro Cortese Profile at Yahoo! Sport