Repsol riders. Sergio Gadea
Date of birth: December 30th, 1984Place of birth: Puzol (Valencia)Age: 20First race: April 2001. Ricardo Tormo (Cheste). 125 cc class.First Grand Prix: Spanish GP 2003Total Grand Prix: 204 in 200316 in 2004Classification 2004: 19th Motorcycling World Championship (125 cc) Career Highlights: 2001: 9th Bancaja Promotion Formula (125 cc)2002: 2nd Bancaja Promotion Formula (125 cc)11th Spanish Road Racing Championship (125 cc)2003: 2nd Bancaja Promotion Formula (125 cc)2nd Spanish Road Racing Championship (125 cc)2004: 19th Motorcycling World Championship (125 cc) The young 20-year old Valencian rider Sergio Gadea, entered the world of competition only three years ago but his regularity, perseverance and good results have earned him the jump to the 125cc Motorcycle World Championship in 2004 with the Repsol Aspar Team at the control of an Aprilia. His love for motorcycles and competition is no coincidence, it runs in the family. His grandfather, Pablo Gadea, had raced the Spanish Championship in the 50s and 60s with the same bike he used to work and with the competition number 33, the same number Sergio Gadea has been using during his still short sports career. He got his first motorbike, a minibike, from his maternal grandfather at the age of nine. He rode a couple of times with his father and his grandfather but he finally decided to drop it. As time went by, his passion for motorbikes increased and in 2001 he convinced his father to enter the Bancaja Promotion Formula. His initial idea was to race in the 50cc class, but he was already 16 so he was directly moved up to the 125cc. Things worked out quite well and he finished in a meritorious 9th position; a great result considering that it was his first contact with the world of competition. He entered the Spanish Road Racing Championship the following year, where he met Héctor Barberá, Julito Simón and Jordi Carchano. On a standard Honda and with a small team, Gadea became that season runner-up of the Promotion Formula and eleventh of the Spanish Championship, which was won by Hector Barbera. The young promise, went on racing both championships in the 2003 season, but this time with Aprilia. The Bancaja Promotion Formula became an important testing bench to go for the Spanish Road Racing Championship title. It finally didnt work out and Gadea had to settle for the vice-championship both in the Promotion Formula and the Spanish Championship, which went to Álvaro Bautista. That same year he was invited to take part as wild card rider in the three World Championship GP staged in Spain. He finished 25th in Jerez, in his first participation in the Championship and his first race on the new Aprilia. He got stuck at the start in Barcelona but managed to move up to the sixteenth place. With one lap to go and making good proof of his competitive spirit, he crashed after touching Azuma. But this is how Sergio likes to race, fighting, hand-to-hand. Despite the crash, he picked up his bike and crossed the finish line in 23rd place. At the Valencia Grand Prix, Gadea finished in a meritorious twentieth position, a bit over a second behind the winner, despite racing with serious problems in the suspensions of his Aprilia. Sergio didnt want to impose himself too much pressure in his first World Championship season because he only knew the circuits of Valencia, Catalonia, Jerez and Portugal. Every day meant a new challenge, but to overcome it, he counted on the invaluable help of Jorge Martínez Aspar and his whole team. He faced the year with great excitement and his intention was to work day by day, to learn and to move forward slowly but steady. His target: scoring in as many as possible races and getting good results; and if possible, being among the top five in his home Grand Prix in Valencia. And he did it. During the first test sessions to adapt to the new bike at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Cheste, Sergio Gadea clocked a good time, improving his own best time (14116), less than a second slower than the pole of the previous year. The first steps in the World Championship are never easy, but Sergio Gadea managed to forward, step-by-step. With an in crescendo performance, Gadea finished among the top 15 six times and set a highlight in Valencia, his home GP, where he almost managed to get on the podium with his team-mate Pablo Nieto. He finally finished fifth, his best result of the season. Nineteenth in the Championship, Sergio finished ahead of many other class rookies. The young 20-year-old rider faces in 2005 his second season in the World Championship, in Aspars team and with the confidence provided by a whole year of experience to be able to fight and be among the top riders. When he is not in a racing circuit, Sergio enjoys skiing, a sport he does since the age of three but had to give-up when he started racing in order to avoid possible injuries, and jet skiing. He is not a great soccer fan but he supports the Valencia C.F. soccer club. Among his favourite riders there are Rossi, as the best, and Gibernau because of the way he works. His favourite circuits are Valencia and Jerez. The jump to the World Championship meant a qualitative change in his life. Travelling and working in the field he loves most, i.e. riding bikes, makes it worth giving up doing what any other 20-year old would do and growing apart from family and friends.
