Randy de Puniet

Read about Randy de Puniet, including career highlights, pictures and news of the road racer right here at Motorcycle USA.

Randy de Puniet became a hometown hero when won the French 125 Championship in '97 and '98. From 2001-2005 he labored in the 250 class before making the leap to MotoGP in 2006.

The lone Frenchman in the MotoGP paddock, De Puniet was one of the stand-out crop of 2006 MotoGP rookies. The former 250 rider may have finished back in 16th overall, but he showed some flare in testing and qualifying, starting on the second row of the grid on more than one occasion. In 2007 the second-year rider continued his development in the premier class aboard a Kawasaki, taking his best finish of the season in second-place at Motegi.

During 2008 De Puniet impressed everybody during preseason testing and official practices, but his championship scores didn't reflect his potential. De Puniet earned the notorious title of most crashed rider in the 2008 season, hitting the deck a total of 22 times.

2009 marked Randy's fourth season in MotoGP and his second aboard the Honda RC212V. The team also attracted a great deal of attention due to one of their new title sponsors, Playboy. The following year the Frenchman had one of his best seasons in the premier class regardless of not having any podium finishes. During the first seven races De Puniet had top-six finishes, including a fourth place result at Catalunya. Despite breaking his leg mid-way through the season at Sachsenring, the Frenchman finished ninth overall in 2010.   

For 2011 De Puniet will be joining Loris Capirossi on the Pramac Ducati team.