Julián Simón

Julián Simón Sesmero (born 3 April 1987) is a Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from Spain. He is best known for winning the 2009 125cc World Championship.

125cc World Championship

Born in Villacañas, Toledo, Spain, Simón began his racing career racing for Honda in the 2002 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season at the Spanish Grand Prix. In 2003 he raced for Malaguti before switching to Aprilia in 2004 and KTM in 2005. He won the 2005 125cc British Grand Prix.

250cc World Championship

In the 2007 season he raced in the 250cc class for the Repsol Honda team, before riding a KTM in 2008.

Return to 125cc class

In 2009 he signed with the Mapfre Aspar team to compete in the 125 class. He famously celebrated winning a race a lap before the race finished, allowing himself to be overtaken. He eventually finished fourth. He was dominant at the subsequent Sachsenring race, dominating both wet qualifying and the dry race. This set the tone for a dominant season in which he clinched the title by overtaking closest rival Bradley Smith on the final lap at Phillip Island. He then also beat Smith to win the final two races of the year.

Moto2 World Championship

For 2010 he stepped up to the new Moto2 class with Mapfre Aspar, initially on an RSV chassis but switching to Suter after the first two rounds. He scored his first podium – and his team's first podium – in the class at the French round at Le Mans, moving into fourth place in the championship standings.

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)