Alex Hofmann

Infobox Former Grand Prix motorcycle rider


Caption = Alex Hofmann in 2005
Name = Alex Hofmann
Nationality = flagicon|Germany German
Years = 1997 - 2007
Teams = Yamaha, Honda, TSR-Honda, Aprilia, Kawasaki, Ducati
Races = 106
Championships = 0
Wins = 0
Podiums = 0
Points = 315
Poles = 0
Fastest laps = 0
First race = 1997 125cc German Grand Prix
First win =
Last win =
Last race = 2007 MotoGP Portuguese Grand Prix

Alex Hofmann (born May 24, 1980 in Mindelheim, Germany) is a motorcycle racer in MotoGP. He is nicknamed 'The Hoff' in English-speaking countries, a nod to David Hasselhoff.

He successfully raced in Motocross in his early teens, before entering the German 125cc championship for the first time in 1995, and the European series alongside it a year later. In 1997 he was runner-up in the German series, and also started the German 125cc World Championship race as a wild card.

In 1998 he moved up to 250cc, winning every race in the German championship and also winning the European title, as well as coming 10th in a one-off in the 250cc World Championship. From 1999 to 2001 Hofmann was a regular in this series, although without taking a podium finish, and missing 8 races in 2000 due to injury.

MotoGP

He started 2002 without a ride, but made his MotoGP debut as a stand-in rider for Garry McCoy at the WCM Red Bull team, also filling in for Loris Capirossi for Sito Pons' team. He was hired to be Kawasaki's test rider role in 2003. In two starts, he scored points both times. He and Shinya Nakano replaced McCoy and Andrew Pitt as full-time racers in 2004. The next two years were difficult, mainly due to an ill-handling bike and injuries [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/motorbikes/4381745.stm Alex Hofmann] retrieved from bbc.co.uk] , partly through his love of Motocross. Points were rare and Kawasaki chose Randy de Puniet for 2006 over Hofmann.

In 2006 he joined the D'Antin Pramac team, riding on a 2006 customer version of the works Ducati alongside Jose Luis Cardoso. When their factory rider Sete Gibernau was injured at the Circuit de Catalunya (a race in which Alex finished 8th, helped by 3 riders not starting the resumption of the race), Hofmann was appointed as his replacement for the next 2 races, before returning to D'Antin for his home race at Sachsenring [http://www.insidebikes.com/racing/gp/preview/preview_detail.asp?id=7264 Sachsenring; D'Antin Ducati Preview - July 11, 2006] retrieved from insidebikes.com] , dropping out early.

In 2007 he remained with D'Antin, alongside the veteran Alex Barros. Fifth place at Le Mans took him to 10th in the championship after five rounds, ahead of reigning champion Nicky Hayden. He was a strong 8th at Assen. Preparation for his home round at the Sachsenring were hampered by a hand injury suffered when a friend closed a car door onto it, but he scored minor points in the race. He injured his hand in practice at Laguna Seca [http://www.trymysport.co.uk/sports_news/dantin_racing_news/2007/jul07/hofmann_injury_update.htm FIVE WEEK RECOVERY TIME FOR ALEX HOFMANN AFTER PRACTICE CRASH] retrieved from trymysport.co.uk] . He was replaced at Laguna Seca by Chaz Davies and by Ivan Silva at Brno. He returned to racing at Misano but he was fired by the team following the Portuguese Grand Prix, after pulling out of the race while in with a chance of scoring points, due to a lack of motivation. [http://www.crash.net/news_view.asp?cid=6&id=154579 Hofmann sacked.] retrieved from crash.net on September 17 2007]

Personal

His girlfriend is called Romina Rados. He loves action sports such as skiing and BMX bikes. At 1.80m he is tall for a motorcycle racer. His favourite food is Italian.

Career statistics

By season

References

External links

* [http://www.alex66.com Official website]
* [http://www.motogp.com/en/motogp/motogp_riders.htm?menu=riders&rider_id=2545&from=archive Official MotoGP profile]
* [http://store.eastcoastwheels.com/alexhoffman66.html Bio at EastCoast wheels]
* [http://www.crash.net/driver_view~cid~6~did~378.htm Crash.net profile]