Miguel Praia

Miguel Praia is a retired Portuguese motorcycle racer. He was the first Portuguese racer to participate full time in the Superbike World Championship. As of 2025, he is the director of the Algarve International Autodrome Motor Club, which hosts the Portuguese MotoGP Grand Prix.

Career

Portuguese championships

Praia was born in Portalegre, Portugal. His first race was in 1994 at the age of 16 on a Yamaha TZR50. In 1997 he rode a full championship for the first time, finishing 3rd overall riding a Yamaha TZR125.
After the death of his brother Alberto, Praia stopped racing, but returned in 1999 riding a Yamaha TZ125 in the Portuguese 125GP championship, finishing in 6th place.
In 2000, Praia had a good year in the newly established Aprilia Challenge 125cc, ending most races in 1st place and setting several lap records, but a jury decision in the last round placed him in 2nd position overall.
In 2001, Praia moved up into the 600cc category. He finished in 8th position in Troféu Honda CBR600RR.
After a not outstanding year in a supersport class, 2002 was Praia's breakout year. He set new lap records in most rounds, and became champion for Troféu Honda CBR600RR 2002. In 2003 he repeated this achievement, winning the champion's title for Troféu Honda CBR600RR again.
In 2005, at the end of the Portuguese Stocksport 1000 championship, Praia entered the Superbike World Championship, winning the last two races on a Honda CBR1000RR he had never ridden before.

European championships

In an attempt to get more and better experience from an international competition, in 2002 and 2003, Praia raced in European Supersport Championship, as the highest-performing Portuguese racer.

World championships

By invitation of the Portuguese Government,Praia participated in the Macau Grand Prix in 2002 and in 2003, finishing 5th and 4th respectively. In 2003 he entered the Portuguese round of the MotoGP 250cc championship as a wildcard and finished 22nd.
2004 was Praia's first year in full World class championships. He joined team NCR Ducati in the Superbike World Championship along with his teammate Garry McCoy. As the number 2 in the team and a newcomer into the Superbikes world, Praia had a disappointing season, racing on a Ducati 999RS and then a Ducati 998RS. He finished the championship in 30th place.
Praia switched teams the following year to join DFX Extreme team with a Yamaha R1 in 2005, and saw much improvement in his lap times, but in a year with many newcomers from other world championships in the Superbikes class, his finishing placing dropped to 34th.
Praia switched to a lower class in 2006, the Supersport World Championship, but this time with a new Portuguese team, Parkalgar Racing Team, and riding a Honda CBR600RR. The team experiences some problems in getting the right setup for the machine, and the year did not go well; Praia had to abandon some races due to mechanical failures, and eventually retired from the championship.
In 2007, Praia made better lap times compared with the previous years, but more new rivals from Superbikes and other world championships also joined the championship, and his faster speeds were not reflected in the final standings, again finishing 34th.
In 2008, the Parkalgar Racing Team secured Factory Honda support and a new Honda CBR600RR better shaped then the previous year's ones. The pre-season tests at Almería in January raised expectations for the team, with Praia's team-mate Craig Jones setting a new lap record for the track and Miguel Praia less than a second behind.

Career highlights

1997 - 3rd place in 125cc Produção 1999 - 6th place in 125GP 2000 - 2nd place in Aprilia Challenge 125cc 2001 - 8th place in Troféu Honda CBR600RR 2002 - Champion in Troféu Honda CBR600RR 2002 - Best Portuguese in European Supersport Championship2002 - 5th place in Macau GP2003 - Champion in Troféu Honda CBR600RR2003 - 22nd place in Portuguese round of MotoGP 250cc2003 - Best Portuguese in European Supersport Championship2003 - 4th place in Macau GP2004 - 30th place in Superbike World Championship 2005 - 34th place in Superbike World Championship2006 - Not-classified in Supersport World Championship2007 - 34th place in Supersport World Championship2008 - 25th place in Supersport World Championship2009 - 15th place in Supersport World Championship2010 - 12th place in Supersport World Championship2011 - 13th place in Supersport World Championship2012 - 23rd place in CEV Moto2 Championship2013 – 1st place in Superbike category of 500 Miles Brazil2013 – 4th place in Brazilian Moto 1000 GP Championship2014 – 4th place in Brazilian Moto 1000 GP Championship2015 – 4th place in Brazilian Moto 1000 GP Championship