He previously raced for the Ducati satellite team Gresini in and Honda 's factory team from his MotoGP debut in until Born in Cervera , Catalonia , Spain, he is nicknamed the 'Ant of Cervera' worldwide due to his height of 5' 7" 1. He is one of four riders to have won world championship titles in three different categories, after Mike Hailwood , Phil Read and Valentino Rossi , and is one of the most successful motorcycle racers of all time , with eight Grand Prix World Championships to his name, six of which are in the premier class.
In he became the first rider since Kenny Roberts in to win the premier class title in his first season, and the youngest to win the title overall, at 20 years and days of age. He became the first rider since Kenny Roberts in to win the premier class title in his rookie season, and the youngest to secure the title overall.
He then went on to win the title with three races to spare and became the third highest all time Grand Prix winner. He secured the title with four races to spare at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand, marking his 8th World Championship and 6th in the Premier Class. For , as a factory KTM rider, he scored another podium with his 3rd place at Jerez, before achieving his first pole position at the French Grand Prix at the age of 16 years and 89 days, becoming the youngest Spanish rider to take pole position in a motorcycle racing world championship.
He also took pole for the Malaysian Grand Prix but he retired from both races. His tenth victory of the season moved him to within one of tying the record set by Rossi in He finished 21st in Portugal , before taking his first victory in the class at the French Grand Prix.
He did not start the race, as he failed a medical examination prior to the warm-up on race morning. This performance, which involved overtaking 20 bikes on the first lap alone, became the biggest comeback in the sport's history. He qualified sixth and eventually finished third behind Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi. He suffered his 4th crash of the weekend with only 3 laps to go in the race; his first non-finish since joining the premier class.
