Raül Torras Martinez

Name: Raül Torras Martinez

Date of Birth: September 5^th, 1976

Place of Birth: Sant Hilari Sacalm, Girona, Spain

Nationality: Spanish

Races competed: MX & Flat Track, Supermoto, Road Racing & Endurance

Twitter: @Torras49

Facebook: Raül Torras Racing

Getting into biking:

“I started racing MX in 1996, because I started work and I had the money. There was no tradition in motorbikes in my family so I had to start by myself, without help. In the first few months I had to keep the MX bike & gears at a friend’s house as my father would have been very disappointed if he knew. After some months, my parents were divorced, and I was able to let them know.”

First bike:

“My first bike was a moped at the age of 14; it was a PUCH X-10 49cc.”

Racing Icon:

“Kevin Schwantz; he used to say “I start braking when I see God”.”

Career Highlights (pre-2018):

“Winning the 24 hour SBK endurance race of Catalunya (2012), just 3 months after “destroying” my left foot in a MX test in which I needed two lots of surgery.”

Raül’s first appearance at the Isle of Man came in the 2016 Manx Grand Prix, where he placed 6^th in the Newcomers A race and 23^rd in the Senior MGP. This saw Torras take the step up to the TT the following year, making him the first Spaniard to race at the TT since Antonio Maeso in 2013. It was a more than successful first time appearance at the TT as he finished all three of his races – 29^th in the Senior, 30^th in the Superbike and 33^rd in the Superstock – winning a bronze replica in each.

He set a fastest lap of 122.534mph to become the second fastest Spaniard around the Mountain Course and only narrowly miss out on bettering Maeso’s lap of 122.535mph set in 2010. Along with Maeso and Sergio Romero, Raul is one of only three Spanish riders to lap the Mountain Course at more than 120mph.

He returned to the island later in 2017 for the Classic TT but he was forced to retire from the Superbike race due to mechanical issues.

2018 season:

A very consistent year at the 2018 Isle of Man TT saw Torras complete every race he competed in. His highest finish impressively came in the Senior TT where he placed 18^th, riding the 2016 Yamaha R1. With an average speed of 121.827mph and total race time of 01:51:29.556, it was a superb effort from the Spaniard in the week’s feature race.

Another great showing came in the Superbike encounter where Raul came in 22^nd place; again riding the 2016 Yamaha R1 around the Mountain Course. His other top 30 finish was in the Superstock TT, where he crossed the line over 12 seconds faster than Frank Gallagher to claim 26^th place.

Raul also managed 36^th and 35^th place in the Supersport 1 and Supersport 2 races respectively which meant he won five bronze replicas from his five races. And having bettered Maeso’s speed in the Superbike race, Raul lapped quicker as the week wore on and the Senior race saw him set a new personal best lap of 124.249mph to cement his status as the fastest Spanish rider ever to have lapped the 37.73-mile Mountain Course.

Prior to the TT, he made his third appearance at the North West 200 and took two top twenty finishes with 19^th in both the Superstock and feature NW200 Superbike races with further finishes coming in the two Supersport encounters in 24^th and 29^th.

He went on to make his debut at the Ulster Grand Prix in August and enjoyed an excellent day with 14^th in the Superbike race and 16^th in Superstock whilst he immediately broke the 120mph barrier around the Dundrod course ending with a personal best lap of 124.707mph.

Torras headed to the Macau GP for the first time in 2018, but unfortunately he was unable to race due to sustaining a head injury at the Mandarin Oriental Bend during the free practice on the Thursday morning.

2019 season:

Raul opened his season once more at the North West 200 with his first result coming in Thursday evening’s Superstock race where he placed an impressive 19^th place. That proved to be his only finish of the meeting as he sat out Saturday’s schedule which saw many riders do likewise due to the wet weather.

Onto the TT and Torras impressed in the Supersport TT 1 race in which he placed 29^th with an average speed of 116.305mph riding a Yamaha. In the Supersport TT 2 race he managed 33^rd, with a faster average speed of 116.948mph. In the other race he competed in he placed 41^st in the Superbike encounter which was won by Peter Hickman. An incident during a practice session saw him hit by another rider and although he didn’t crash, it left him with an arm injury which meant he wasn’t able to start the Superstock or Senior races.

He was back in action at the Ulster Grand Prix, taking 31^st place in the opening Superbike race but he improved considerably in the two other ‘big bike’ races with 19^th and 22^nd place finishes.

Favourite course/track:

“Isle of Man TT and the Mountain Course, of course! It’s awesome!”

Aspirations:

“To have fun with the bike… and be able to fight for a Top-20 at a 1000cc TT class.”

Career Achievements – at a glance:

• 1996 to 2011: MX & Flat track. 2000 Girona MX Junior 250cc Champion, 2000 Girona Flat Track Champion, Silver Medal at 2003 MX World Police & Fire Games
• 2003 to 2017 many SUPERMOTO races:
• Catalan & Spanish Championship, P3 at 2008 Spanish Championship in Aprilia’s Cup
• 2005 to nowadays in Road Racing: Spain’s Yamaha R1 Challenge, Mediterranean Championship, Catalan Championship, 13 times at 24h Endurance of Catalunya Circuit (2 times SBK winner, 2 times P2 in Stock 1000), 2006 Endurance amateur 600cc Champion
• Sixth in the 2016 Senior Manx Grand Prix Newcomers race
• 21st in the 2016 Senior Manx Grand Prix race
• Made Isle of Man TT Races debut in 2017, finishing 30th in the Superbike race, 33rd in the Superstock and 29th in the Senior, lapping at more than 120mph in each and setting a new personal best lap of the Mountain Course at 122.534mph
• 2017 Superbike Classic TT (DNF mechanical issues)
• 2018 Isle of Man TT races – 18^th Senior, 22^nd Superbike, 26^th Superstock and 35^th and 36^th in the Supersport races. Won five bronze replicas to make it five in total and set a new personal best lap of 124.249mph to become the fastest Spanish rider ever around the Mountain Course
• 2019 Isle of Man TT races – 29^th and 33^rd Supersport races, 41^st Superbike
• Has now started 11 TT races, finishing all 11 and winning 10 bronze replicas
• Made North West 200 debut in 2016 – Supersport (25th and 29th)
• 2017 North West 200 – Superstock (23rd) and Superbike (23rd) – fastest lap of 113.715mph
• 2018 North West 200 – NW200 Superbike (19^th), Superstock (19^th), Supersport (24^th and 29^th)
• 2018 Ulster Grand Prix debut – Superbike (14^th), Superstock (16^th), set a personal best lap of Dundrod of 124.707mph
• 2019 North West 200 – 19^th Superstock race
• 2019 Ulster Grand Prix – 19^th, 22^nd and 31^st Superbike races

Find out more about your other favourite road racers HERE!