Randy De Puniet

Randy de Puniet


PERSONAL DETAILS
NAME: RANDY DE PUNIET
TEAM: HONDA LCR
NATIONALITY: FRENCH
DATE OF BIRTH: 14 FEBRUARY 1981
MARRIED: SINGLE

Randy de Puniet has been involved with motorcycles since he was old enough to walk. At three-years-of-age the young Frenchman first threw his leg over a motorcycle, with his race debut coming just three years later at the tender age of six years.

After winning back-to-back titles in the French National 125cc Championship in 1997 and 1998, de Puniet made his Grand Prix debut as a wild-card entry at the 1998 Grand Prix.

His performance in his first world championship race was enough to secure the young Frenchman a full time ride in the championship the following year.

In 2001 de Puniet moved up to the quarter-litre class aboard a customer specification Aprilia 250cc machine. Two podiums on a non-factory bike the following season were enough to convince Aprilia to give Randy a factory bike for 2003, and he repaid them with his debut grand prix win in that season's Catalunya Grand Prix.

Having secured 5 wins, 22 podiums and 9 pole positions during his time in the 250cc World Championship, de Puniet was signed by Kawasaki at the end of the 2005 season to step up to the MotoGP class, where he rode a Ninja ZX-RR alongside Shinya Nakano in 2006.

The 25-year-old Frenchman showed flashes of speed during his debut season, in which he qualified fourth for his home race at Le Mans and took a best finish of 10th.

With Nakano moving on for 2007, and replaced by test rider Olivier Jacque (himself later replaced by Anthony West) de Puniet found himself in the role of team leader. Kawasaki's first 800cc motorcycle was also drawing compliments from throughout the field, and the pressure began to mount for de Puniet to produce.

Randy undoubtedly had the raw speed to succeed - he qualified in the top six on nine occasions - but was he also crashed frequently, failing to reach the finish seven times from 18 races. de Puniet finally scored his debut MotoGP podium at round 15, the Japanese Grand Prix, but by then he had already surprised Kawasaki by signing for the satellite Honda LCR outfit, for whom he had previously ridden in 250.


Achievements:

2007 Stays with the factory Kawasaki team in MotoGP. 11th in championship. 108 points.

2006 Signs to ride for the Kawasaki Racing Team in MotoGP. 16th in championship. 37 points.

2005 8th in the 250cc World Championship on a Repsol Aprilia. 138 points.

2004 3rd in the 250cc World Championship on an LCR Aprilia. 214 points.

2003 4th in the 250cc World Championship on an LCR Aprilia. 208 points.

2002 9th in the 250cc World Championship on a Campetella Racing Aprilia. 119 points.

2001 13th in the 250cc World Championship with Equipe de France - Scrab GP. Scored 50 points.

2000 17th in the 125cc World Championship with 50 points.

1999 18th in the 125cc World Championship.

1998 Ninth in the European Championship.
French 125cc Open Championship winner.
Made 125cc World Championship debut (FRA).

1997 Won Cagiva Cup.
Won the French National Championship 125cc
Second in the French 125cc Open Championship.
Stock-Motorbikes winner.

1996 Fourth in the Cagiva Cup.
Fifth in Stock-Motorbikes

1995 Won the Typhoon Cup.

END OF 2007.
STARTS: N/A
WINS: 5 (250CC)
POLES: 9 (250CC)
FASTEST LAPS: 4 (250CC)
POINTS: N/A
DEBUT: SPN 2006 (MOTOGP) / JPN 2001 (250CC) / FRA 1998 (125CC)
DRIVEN FOR: HONDA LCR (2008) / KAWASAKI RACING TEAM (2007 - 2006)

Can't have a Randy thread without a Randy pic...

oh now i feel at home!!!!!!

He's some more to make you feel more at ease tammez..

Nice one Maro posting the sausage pic. You've started my day with a good laugh

I reckon Maro has that pic of Randy & lil Randy as her computers desktop image !

It's not his most flattering photo is it. Certainly not something to swoon over but well worth a giggle

oh i am giggling
and i dont giggle
ever
but randy brings out the school girl in me
and i didnt have school girl in me when i was a school girl

Poor randy, during the autograph session, almost all others had a ride back to the pits, he was the only one to walk back, and it was raining.

i would have given him a ride

but he might not have made it back to the pits

It had to be that pic... it had to be!!!!

Gi

De Puniet to skip Jerez test for wrist injury recovery
Wednesday, 19 November 2008

Frenchman resting up in order to prepare for 2009 season, avoiding surgery.


LCR Honda´s Randy de Puniet will miss next week´s MotoGP Official Test –the last premier class event of 2008- in order to recover from the nagging wrist injury that has plagued the Frenchman in the final third of the year.

De Puniet and his team still have data with which to plan their 2009 plan of attack, thanks to the post-race run-out in Valencia late last month that marked his first ride with the Honda-Bridgestone package. Following that appearance he immediately went in for treatment on the injury, although surgery appears not to be necessary.

`I won´t be testing in Jerez, which will be good for me to recover completely. I´m wearing a big protective support on my hand and wrist and, although I can´t do some movements with my right hand, the injury is getting better and less painful,´ says De Puniet, who could be seen with the support at the recent EICMA show in Italy when he made a guest appearance.

`I need to wear it for two more weeks and then it should be OK. At the moment I am only running and riding, but when I get better I will go back to my usual training like riding motocross and playing squash.´

With plenty of time in which to plan his 2009 campaign, De Puniet has set similar goals to those established for him by LCR Honda boss Lucio Cecchinello, and is hoping for big things from the coming season.

`My target is to improve consistency in race results. On and off the bike I will work differently to last year; I have the speed, a good team and good tyres as well, and I´m confident of having my best year in MotoGP. That´s my target.´

De Puniet will resume testing on February 5th, 2009, at the MotoGP Official Test in Sepang.

valegirl46 wrote:De Puniet to skip Jerez test for wrist injury recovery

u know what randy has been doing to get the injury

I have absolutely no idea what you might be talking about Trudi....

LOL!!!

well duh
cuz i am not there taking care of him like i should be

Well you better snap to it so Tamm, Randy needs you....

okay
i am on my way
but it may take a while
its a long walk to france

Why don't you just get Randy to pay for the flights, him being a Moto GP star and all that!!!




Sorry that was very insensitive of me, how could Randy be able to pay for the flights when he is still trying to pay for all the damage done to the bikes he has crashed this year

oh that was cruel

those bikes were defective i'm sure

no one could stay on them

Well Randy certainly couldn't

Ok I'll stop slagging off poor Randy now, sorry Tam

lol
its okay
i know his faults and love him anyway

De Puniet enjoys Bologna visit
Monday, 15 December 2008

LCR Honda´s French MotoGP star Randy de Puniet was an enthusiastic guest at the Bologna motorshow this weekend.



Randy de Puniet took part in an Xtreme Supermoto race at the Bologna motorshow over the weekend, thoroughly enjoying the experience onboard a Honda 450CRF despite some bad weather at the event and coming home in eighth position.

The 27-year-old also met fans and signed autographs at the show before commenting, `I enjoyed myself very much during these two days. The bad weather conditions slowed down our pace but it was good training for me. The guys here are very fast because they have competed in the Supermoto championship for a long time and I never expected to end in the top ten.´

`We suffered some light slides during the races but luckily everybody escaped unhurt from the incidents. I think it was a very exciting show for the spectators and I hope to be here again next year. I was able to test the condition of my wrist during the races and I can finally say that it is fixed. Our next winter test session will be held in Sepang in the first week of February so I will keep on training until that date, even on supermoto bikes.´

Paddock Press: Turco reviews De Puniet´s 2008 season
Tuesday, 16 December 2008

Frenchman´s 2008 campaign as seen by Moto Revue journalist.



Few would say that Randy de Puniet was overly cautious in 2008, given his penchant for pushing the LCR Honda RC212V past its limits in a crash-strewn season. However, Moto Revue´s Michel Turco believes that the Frenchman did just that in the final races of the year, as he reveals in the latest edition of Paddock Press:

`He was too careful in the first few laps of the last races and lost a lot of positions. At the end of the season, he was quite far down in the World Championship and it´s been a bad year for him,´ says Turco.

`He also had a lot of crashes - too many crashes I would say- and after that he lost his confidence.´

Paddock Press takes on a French feel today, with Sylvain Guintoli´s 2008 season also coming under the microscope in the other half of a double-bill.