# Sandro Cortese

Alessandro "Sandro" Cortese (born 6 January 1990) is a retired German motorcycle racer, who last competed in 2020 World Superbike Championship for Team Pedercini. Cortese won his first world title in the Moto3 class, in 2012, and his second in the Supersport World Championship, in 2018. He lives in Berkheim, Germany.
Cortese contested every race from his Grand Prix début in 2005 until the 2016 French Grand Prix, where he missed the race due to a knee injury.

## Career
### Early career

Cortese was born in Ochsenhausen, West Germany, as the son of an Italian father and a German mother. He started his career at the age of nine on pocket bikes and was European Pocket Bike champion as well as German Mini Bike champion. He competed in the German IDM Championship in the 125cc class, finishing 10th.

### 125cc World Championship

Cortese made his 125cc World Championship debut with Kiefer-Bos-Castrol Honda in 2005, finishing the season in 26th place with 8 points. His best finish was 14th place in Germany, the Czech Republic, and Turkey. In 2006, he switched to the 2005 125cc Championship-winning team, Elit – Caffè Latte Honda as team mate to 125cc World Champion Thomas Lüthi. He made steady progress scoring some championship points, His best result was in the Portuguese Grand Prix in 10th place, improving his championship standing to 17th place with 23 points.
In 2007 his team was renamed Emmi – Caffè Latte and it switched to Aprilia motorbikes. Lüthi moved up to 250cc, also with Aprilia. Cortese improved in 2007, finishing most of the season's races in the top 10, including 7th places in the French, the Italian and German Grands Prix. He finished the championship in 14th place with 66 points. For 2008 he rode a works Aprilia RSA 125. The 2008 season started poorly for him, finishing outside the top 8 at the first five races. His fortunes changed for the better after Mugello and he finished consistently in the top eight. In the Australian Grand Prix he crashed while leading but managed to recover to sixth and helped Mike Di Meglio to win the championship by finishing ahead of Simone Corsi, Di Meglio's championship rival. In the Malaysian Grand Prix he rode the fastest lap of the race despite starting 18th on the grid to finish fourth. He was the only 125cc rider to finish all races that year, gaining points in every race except in China.
In 2009, Cortese rode for the Finnish Ajo Motorsport team that took Di Meglio to his 125cc World Championship. He replaced Di Meglio and teamed up with Dominique Aegerter, running factory Derbi RSA 125 bikes. Cortese finished on the podium three times and ended up sixth in the championship.
For 2010 he rode a Derbi again, for Ajo Motorsport. He was teamed up with Marc Márquez and Adrián Martín, with each rider running different sponsorship. Cortese took two podiums during the season, at the Sachsenring and Indianapolis. He also achieved pole position in Italy, and finished seventh in the championship.
For the 2011 season, Cortese moved to Dirk Heidolf's Racing Team Germany outfit, as a single-bike entry. He took second-place finishes in Qatar and Portugal, before taking his first Grand Prix victory – in his 109th start – in the Czech Republic, having battled with Johann Zarco in the closing stages of the race. Cortese eventually ended the season fourth in the championship.

### Moto2 World Championship

Cortese moved up to Moto2 class as a Moto3 champion in 2013. He joined Dynavolt Intact GP as the sole rider of the team. In 2014, Cortese recorded his first podium finish in Moto2 at Brno. He remained at the team until the end of 2017 season.

### Supersport World Championship

After failing to secure a ride for 2018 Moto2 season, Cortese signed a deal with Kallio Racing to race in Supersport World Championship, aboard Yamaha YZF-R6. He won 2 races at Aragon and Donington Park, securing 8 podium finishes and became the champion of 2018 Supersport World Championship in his maiden season.

### Superbike World Championship

He promoted to Superbike class for 2019 season, signing for GRT Yamaha World SBK team where he finished 12th in the standings. The following year he moved to Team Pedercini, switched bike from Yamaha to Kawasaki. He crashed in the first race of Portimao round, suffering multiple injuries which he would recover from after 8 months. He did not participate for the rest of the season, and his place was taken over by Roman Ramos, Valentin Debise, and Loris Cresson respectively.

### Retirement

Twenty months after his crash at Portimão, Cortese announced his retirement from motorcycle racing on his own Instagram account. He credited local emergency medical efforts for saving him from paraplegia but noted that his body has never fully recovered from the accident. Cortese is due to start a job at one of his former sponsors, Gutmann Gruppe.

## Career statistics
### Grand Prix motorcycle racing
#### By season

| Season | Class | Motorcycle | Type | Team | Race | Win | Podium | Pole | FLap | Pts | Plcd |
| 2005 | 125cc | Honda | Honda RS125R | Kiefer-Bos-Castrol Honda | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 26th |
| 2006 | 125cc | Honda | Honda RS125R | Elit – Caffè Latte | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 17th |
| 2007 | 125cc | Aprilia | Aprilia RS125 | Elit – Caffè Latte | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 66 | 14th |
| 2008 | 125cc | Aprilia | Aprilia RSA 125 | Elit – Caffè Latte | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 141 | 8th |
| 2009 | 125cc | Derbi | Derbi RSA 125 | Ajo Interwetten | 16 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 130 | 6th |
| 2010 | 125cc | Derbi | Derbi RS 125 R | Avant Mitsubishi Ajo | 17 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 143 | 7th |
| 2011 | 125cc | Aprilia | Aprilia RSA 125 | Intact-Racing Team Germany | 17 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 225 | 4th |
| 2012 | Moto3 | KTM | KTM RC250GP | Red Bull KTM Ajo | 17 | 5 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 325 | 1st |
| 2013 | Moto2 | Kalex | Kalex Moto2 | Dynavolt Intact GP | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 19th |
| 2014 | Moto2 | Kalex | Kalex Moto2 | Dynavolt Intact GP | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 9th |
| 2015 | Moto2 | Kalex | Kalex Moto2 | Dynavolt Intact GP | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 90 | 11th |
| 2016 | Moto2 | Kalex | Kalex Moto2 | Dynavolt Intact GP | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 61 | 15th |
| 2017 | Moto2 | Suter | Suter MMX2 | Dynavolt Intact GP | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 18th |
| Total | | | | | 221 | 7 | 29 | 10 | 11 | 1362 | |

#### By class

| Class | Seasons | 1st GP | 1st Pod | 1st Win | Race | Win | Podiums | Pole | FLap | Pts | WChmp |
| 125cc | 2005–2011 | 2005 Spain | 2009 Qatar | 2011 Czech Republic | 116 | 2 | 11 | 3 | 7 | 736 | 0 |
| Moto3 | 2012 | 2012 Qatar | 2012 Qatar | 2012 Portugal | 17 | 5 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 325 | 1 |
| Moto2 | 2013–2017 | 2013 Qatar | 2014 Czech Republic | | 88 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 301 | 0 |
| Total | 2005–2017 | | | | 221 | 7 | 29 | 10 | 11 | 1362 | 1 |

#### Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Class | Bike | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Pos | Pts |
| 2005 | 125cc | Honda | SPA 20 | POR 25 | CHN Ret | FRA 15 | ITA Ret | CAT 23 | NED 24 | GBR 15 | GER 14 | CZE 14 | JPN Ret | MAL 21 | QAT 17 | AUS 19 | TUR 14 | VAL Ret | | | 26th | 8 |
| 2006 | 125cc | Honda | SPA 16 | QAT Ret | TUR 16 | CHN 17 | FRA 15 | ITA Ret | CAT 19 | NED 14 | GBR 14 | GER 13 | CZE 11 | MAL 17 | AUS 14 | JPN 14 | POR 10 | VAL 18 | | | 17th | 23 |
| 2007 | 125cc | Aprilia | QAT 17 | SPA 7 | TUR Ret | CHN 18 | FRA 7 | ITA 7 | CAT 11 | GBR 12 | NED 8 | GER 7 | CZE 10 | RSM 15 | POR Ret | JPN Ret | AUS 10 | MAL Ret | VAL Ret | | 14th | 66 |
| 2008 | 125cc | Aprilia | QAT 11 | SPA 10 | POR 10 | CHN 16 | FRA 11 | ITA 8 | CAT 8 | GBR 9 | NED 4 | GER 6 | CZE 7 | RSM 7 | INP 5 | JPN 6 | AUS 6 | MAL 4 | VAL 5 | | 8th | 141 |
| 2009 | 125cc | Derbi | QAT 3 | JPN 6 | SPA 6 | FRA 12 | ITA 10 | CAT 9 | NED Ret | GER 6 | GBR Ret | CZE 6 | INP 18 | RSM 5 | POR 2 | AUS 3 | MAL 6 | VAL 8 | | | 6th | 130 |
| 2010 | 125cc | Derbi | QAT 5 | SPA 11 | FRA 6 | ITA Ret | GBR 6 | NED 5 | CAT 4 | GER 3 | CZE 16 | INP 2 | RSM 5 | ARA 5 | JPN 12 | MAL 6 | AUS Ret | POR Ret | VAL 5 | | 7th | 143 |
| 2011 | 125cc | Aprilia | QAT 2 | SPA 6 | POR 2 | FRA 7 | CAT 4 | GBR 7 | NED 4 | ITA 12 | GER 8 | CZE 1 | INP 3 | RSM 4 | ARA 7 | JPN 5 | AUS 1 | MAL 2 | VAL Ret | | 4th | 225 |
| 2012 | Moto3 | KTM | QAT 3 | SPA 3 | POR 1 | FRA 6 | CAT 2 | GBR 3 | NED 2 | GER 1 | ITA 3 | INP 2 | CZE 3 | RSM 1 | ARA 2 | JPN 6 | MAL 1 | AUS 1 | VAL 2 | | 1st | 325 |
| 2013 | Moto2 | Kalex | QAT 17 | AME 25 | SPA 18 | FRA 12 | ITA 14 | CAT Ret | NED 14 | GER 14 | INP 16 | CZE Ret | GBR 20 | RSM Ret | ARA 10 | MAL Ret | AUS 11 | JPN 15 | VAL 16 | | 19th | 22 |
| 2014 | Moto2 | Kalex | QAT 7 | AME 14 | ARG 9 | SPA 9 | FRA 12 | ITA 13 | CAT Ret | NED Ret | GER Ret | INP 6 | CZE 3 | GBR 18 | RSM 12 | ARA 12 | JPN Ret | AUS 6 | MAL 7 | VAL Ret | 9th | 85 |
| 2015 | Moto2 | Kalex | QAT 7 | AME 14 | ARG 7 | SPA Ret | FRA 14 | ITA 8 | CAT Ret | NED 17 | GER 11 | INP Ret | CZE 8 | GBR 8 | RSM 8 | ARA 13 | JPN 3 | AUS Ret | MAL 7 | VAL 13 | 11th | 90 |
| 2016 | Moto2 | Kalex | QAT 15 | ARG Ret | AME 12 | SPA Ret | FRA DNS | ITA 11 | CAT Ret | NED 12 | GER 15 | AUT 11 | CZE 23 | GBR 12 | RSM 9 | ARA 13 | JPN 5 | AUS 3 | MAL 17 | VAL Ret | 15th | 61 |
| 2017 | Moto2 | Suter | QAT 22 | ARG 8 | AME 23 | SPA Ret | FRA 14 | ITA 19 | CAT Ret | NED Ret | GER 8 | CZE Ret | AUT Ret | GBR Ret | RSM 5 | ARA 9 | JPN Ret | AUS 9 | MAL Ret | VAL Ret | 18th | 43 |

### Supersport World Championship
#### Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Bike | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos | Pts |
| 2018 | Yamaha | AUS 3 | THA 4 | SPA 1 | NED 6 | ITA 4 | GBR 1 | CZE 2 | ITA 3 | POR 6 | FRA 2 | ARG 2 | QAT 2 | 1st | 208 |

### Superbike World Championship
#### Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Bike | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | Pos | Pts |
| Year | Bike | R1 | SR | R2 | R1 | SR | R2 | R1 | SR | R2 | R1 | SR | R2 | R1 | SR | R2 | R1 | SR | R2 | R1 | SR | R2 | R1 | SR | R2 | R1 | SR | R2 | R1 | SR | R2 | R1 | SR | R2 | R1 | SR | R2 | R1 | SR | R2 | Pos | Pts |
| 2019 | Yamaha | AUS 8 | AUS 7 | AUS 8 | THA 7 | THA 7 | THA 7 | SPA 7 | SPA 9 | SPA 10 | NED 13 | NED C | NED 11 | ITA Ret | ITA 13 | ITA C | SPA 8 | SPA 9 | SPA 6 | ITA 7 | ITA Ret | ITA 15 | GBR Ret | GBR Ret | GBR 13 | USA 14 | USA 11 | USA 14 | POR 8 | POR 8 | POR 10 | FRA 10 | FRA 11 | FRA Ret | ARG DNS | ARG 7 | ARG 15 | QAT Ret | QAT 8 | QAT 10 | 12th | 134 |
| 2020 | Kawasaki | AUS 13 | AUS 11 | AUS 9 | SPA 14 | SPA 14 | SPA 14 | POR Ret | POR DNS | POR DNS | SPA | SPA | SPA | SPA | SPA | SPA | SPA | SPA | SPA | FRA | FRA | FRA | POR | POR | POR | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 19th | 14 |