Stephen Rubini
| Stephen Rubini | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | French |
| Born | 6 January 1999 Digne-les-Bains, France |
| Current team | Honda Racing Brasil |
| Bike number | 106 |
Stephen Rubini (born 6 January 1999)[1] is a French professional Motocross racer. Rubini has competed in the FIM Motocross World Championship since the 2017 season.
Rubini is a two-time champion in the French Elite Motocross Championship, with his most recent title coming in the Elite MX2 class during 2019.
At European level Rubini has finished second in both the EMX125 and EMX250 classes. He has one World Championship-level overall podium to his name, obtained at the 2022 MXGP of Italy in the MX2 class.
Career
[edit]Junior career
[edit]Rubini progressed through the highest levels of the junior structure in his native France. He won the Minivert 85 class in 2011 and in the following year finished third in the 85cc 'Cadet' class of the French Elite Motocross Championship. In 2013, Rubini moved up to the 'Juniors' class of the French Elite Championship for 125 machines, finishing ninth overall with three top-three finishes.[2] He made his debut in the EMX125 class of the European Motocross Championship in 2014, riding in two rounds and not scoring any points.
2015 would mark Rubini's first full European Championship campaign, seeing him adapt to the level well with tenth in the final standings. Showing good speed on the hard pack tracks he was able to record seven top-five races finishes alongside finishing third in the Juniors class in the French Elite Championship. These results saw Rubini selected for the FIM Motocross Junior World Championship in Spain, where he finished eleventh overall in the 125 class, picking up fourth place in the opening race.
Rubini remained in the EMX125 class for the 2016 season, after being signed up by the Silver Action KTM team.[3] In the European Motocross Championship, Rubini won six races and four overall races to finish second in the standings behind Jago Geerts despite missing the final two rounds. Domestically, Rubini won the 'Juniors' 125 title in France, winning four overall victories and ten individual races.
250 Career
[edit]After his 2016 season ended with a wrist injury, Rubini was signed up by the Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team to become a factory Kawasaki rider in the MX2 class of the 2017 FIM Motocross World Championship.[4] The step up to the MX2 class saw Rubini score sporadically throughout the season, with two ninth place race finishes at the French rounds being his most notable results. Following this, Rubini returned to the Silver Action KTM team for the 2018 FIM Motocross World Championship.[5] In his second season in the MX2 class he showed improvement, being a regular fixture inside the points over the opening rounds before having a breakout ride in the opening race at the Russian round where he finished fifth. Unfortunately he then missed several rounds throughout the remainder of the season, but did manage to record two more top-ten race finishes, placing 23rd in the final standings.
Rubini signed for the Assomotor Honda team for the 2019 season, a move which saw him drop down into the EMX250 class of the European Motocross Championship. After the experience gained from racing in the World Championship, Rubini was an immediate front runner in the EMX250 class, ultimately fighting a tight championship battle with Roan van de Moosdijk and Alberto Forato. The campaign would see Rubini win three rounds of the season and four individual race wins within that. After his double race win at the German round, Rubini was leading the championship with two rounds together.[6] However, after being outscored by van de Moosdijk in the sand of Lommel, Rubini ultimately finished runner-up by six points. This would not be the case in the French Elite Motocross Championship though, where he won five races on the way to his first senior domestic title in the Elite MX2 class.
He stayed with the Assomotor Honda team for 2020, moving back into the MX2 class of the 2020 FIM Motocross World Championship.[7] After competing in every round of the season, Rubini progressed to become a consistent top-ten finisher, with two fifth places being the highlights of his year contributing to tenth in the final standings. In 2021 FIM Motocross World Championship season, Rubini missed several rounds only appearing in the top-ten twice and suffering from injury problems.[8] The 2022 FIM Motocross World Championship season would be his last in the MX2 class due to the under-23 age rule. Moving to the Ship to Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz team,[9] Rubini had his best season to date at World Championship level. He returned to his 2021 form in the early part of the season, with a fifth in the first race of the year. At the seventh round in Italy, a second in the opening race contributed in him finishing third overall, his first World Championship podium.[10] A further third in the opening race at the Spanish round was his best result of the rest of the season a he finished ninth in the final standings.
450 Career
[edit]Rubini remained with the same SR Motoblouz team for his transition to a 450, but only competed in three rounds of the MXGP class of the 2023 FIM Motocross World Championship. Focussing on the Elite MX1 class of the 2023 French Elite Motocross Championship, he won three rounds and finished as runner-up to teammate Valentin Guillod. Later in the season, he raced the final three rounds of the 2023 AMA National Motocross Championship scoring 26 points in the 450 class. Rubini then finished his season by racing the final two rounds of the Brazilian Motocross Championship, winning both events. Following this, Rubini signed for the Honda Racing Brasil team to compete in Brazil full-time for the 2024 season. This resulted in the Frenchman finishing runner-up in the MX1 standings with five race wins to his name.
Honours
[edit]European Motocross Championship
French Elite Motocross Championship
French Motocross Championship
- Minivert 85: 2011
Brazilian Motocross Championship
- MX1: 2024
Career statistics
[edit]FIM Motocross World Championship
[edit]By season
[edit]| Season | Class | Number 106 | Motorcycle | Team | Race | Race Wins | Overall Wins | Race Top-3 | Overall Podium | Pts | Plcd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | MX2 | 118 | Kawasaki | Monster Energy CLS Kawasaki | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 70 | 27th |
| 2018 | MX2 | 118 | KTM | KTM Silver Action | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 107 | 23rd |
| 2019 | MX2 | 118 | Honda | Team Honda RedMoto Assomotor | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| 2020 | MX2 | 118 | Honda | Honda Racing Assomotor | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 279 | 10th |
| 2021 | MX2 | 118 | Honda | Team Honda Racing Assomotor | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 142 | 18th |
| 2022 | MX2 | 38 | Honda | Team Ship to Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz | 36 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 384 | 9th |
| 2023 | MXGP | 38 | Honda | Team Ship to Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 31st |
| Total | 153 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1009 |
AMA National Motocross Championship
[edit]By season
[edit]| Season | Class | Number | Motorcycle | Team | Races | Race Wins | Overall Wins | Race Top-3 | Overall Podium | Pts | Plcd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 450 | 106 | Kawasaki | TPJ Fly Racing Team | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 31st |
References
[edit]- ^ "Stephen Rubini Bio". mxgpresults.com. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
- ^ "CHAMPIONNAT de FRANCE Motocross 125 Junior - 2013" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
- ^ Andy McKinstry (18 May 2016). "Interview: Stephen Rubini". gatedrop.com. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
- ^ "New Line Up for Monster Energy Kawasaki MX2" (Press release). Kawasaki.co.uk. 1 October 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
- ^ "Rubini re-signs with Silver Action KTM!". 19 September 2017. gatedrop.com. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
- ^ "Rubini and Guyon Take Top Step in EMX". 24 June 2019. actionsportsconnection.com. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
- ^ "Signing: Stephen Rubini Stephen Rubini jumps back into MX2". Lewis Phillips. mxvice.com. 31 October 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
- ^ "Surgery for Stephen Rubini after injury during training". Andrew Hill. tmxnews.co.uk. 11 March 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
- ^ "Confirmed: SR Honda sign up two MX2 World Championship riders". Andy McKinstry. gatedrop.com. 18 November 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
- ^ "Stephen Rubini rides to his first podium at MXGP of Maggiora!". lovemytraining.com. 9 May 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2023.