José Luís Cardoso
Encyclopedia
Jose Luis Cardoso is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
) is a Grand Prix
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix is the premier championship of motorcycle road racing currently divided into three distinct classes: 125cc, Moto2 and MotoGP. The 125cc class uses a two-stroke engine while Moto2 and MotoGP use four-stroke engines. In 2010 the 250cc two-stroke was replaced...
motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
road racer
Road racing
Road racing is a general term for most forms of motor racing held on paved, purpose-built race tracks , as opposed to oval tracks and off-road racing...
. During the 2006 season
2006 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 2006 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 58th F.I.M. Road racing World Championship season.-Season summary:The 2006 MotoGP season was one of the closest battles and most thrilling in recent memory in which Honda's Nicky Hayden didn't claim the championship from Valentino Rossi until the...
, he rode for the Pramac d'Antin Ducati squad, his second time with this team.
Early career
His first success was victory in the 1990 Andalucian 125cc championship, before moving up to the national championship a year later. In 1993 he won the Spanish 125cc title, as well as the Andalucian 250cc series, and made his 125cc World Championship debut in his home round. He combined world and Spanish 250cc racing over the next two seasons, finishing as runner-up in his domestic series in 1995.Cardoso concentrated on international racing for the first time in 1996, but did not match his 16th overall in the world series over the next two seasons. He doubled up successfully in 1998, winning the Spanish 250cc title and finishing 11th in the international level.
500cc and MotoGP part 1
This was enough to earn him a 500cc World Championship ride with the TSR HondaHonda
is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
team in 1999
1999 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 1999 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 51st F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.-Season summary:The dominant reign of Honda's Mick Doohan came to an end with serious injuries suffered in practice for the Spanish Grand Prix. In his absence, his Honda team-mate Àlex Crivillé...
, finishing 25th overall. In 2000 his team had sponsorship from Maxon Dee Cee Jeans, and he finished 18th overall. 2001 was his first year with Luis D'Antin
Luis d'Antin
Luis d'Antin is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He had his best year in 1996 when he finished sixth in the 250cc world championship....
's team, and he racked up 45 points, more than double his 2000 total, although it was only good for 16th overall. The championship became MotoGP in 2002, although he only made 5 appearances, and did not race anything in 2003.
Recent years
In 2004 Cardoso won the Spanish Formula Extreme title, and in 20052005 Superbike World Championship season
The 2005 Superbike World Championship season was the 18th F.I.M. Superbike World Championship season. The season started on February 26 at Losail, and finished on October 9 at Magny-Cours after 12 rounds and 23 races...
, he moved to Superbike World Championship
Superbike World Championship
Superbike World Championship is the worldwide Superbike racing Championship. The championship was founded in . The Superbike World Championship season consists of a series of rounds held on permanent racing facilities...
, with the DFXtreme Yamaha team. He was highly competitive in testing, but struggled to finish races, ultimately coming only 31st overall. However, he went back to MotoGP and D'Antin in 2006
2006 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 2006 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 58th F.I.M. Road racing World Championship season.-Season summary:The 2006 MotoGP season was one of the closest battles and most thrilling in recent memory in which Honda's Nicky Hayden didn't claim the championship from Valentino Rossi until the...
, racing a 2005-spec Ducati as team-mate to German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Alex Hofmann
Alex Hofmann
Alexander Hofmann is a retired Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, who now works on German television coverage of the sport...
. With the WCM
World Championship Motorsports
World Championship Motorsports was a grand-prix motorcycle racing team formed in 1992 by Bob MacLean and Peter Clifford. The team ran Yamaha motorcycles from to . They were sponsored by Red Bull for to and were called Red Bull Yamaha WCM....
team absent, and Team Roberts powered by Honda
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
engines, they and Tech 3
Tech 3
Tech 3 is a motorcycle racing team currently competing in MotoGP World Championship under the name Monster Yamaha Tech 3 and uses the Yamaha YZR-M1 motorcycle....
Yamaha
Yamaha Motor Company
, is a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company. Yamaha Motor is part of Yamaha Corporation and its headquarter is located in Iwata, Shizuoka. Along with expanding Yamaha Corporation into the world's biggest piano maker, then Yamaha CEO Genichi Kawakami took Yamaha into the field of motorized...
are the only privateer teams on the grid, and Cardoso and Hofmann have usually only had Tech 3's James Ellison
James Ellison (motorcycle racer)
James Desmond Ellison is an English motorcycle racer. He is currently set to make a return to Moto GP for the 2012 season on a CRT bike for Paul Bird Motorsport. He is a double European Superstock champion, World Endurance champion and has previously raced in British Superbikes, World Supersport,...
near them at the bottom of the timesheets.