Born on 9 November 1959 in Barcelona, he won the motorcycle racing World Championship twice with Honda, first in 1988 and then in 1989. He debuted in a grand prix world championship in 1981 and his first victory came riding a Kobas at the Spanish Grand Prix in 1984. In 1990, having won the 250cc World Championship twice, he made the leap to the premier 500cc category and a year later retired to form his own team.

Of all his achievements, the Prince of Asturias Award for Sport, obtained in 1990, stands out particularly as he is the only motorcycle racer to hold it. He was also awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sports Merit by the Spanish National Sports Council in 1994. For over 10 years he was President of the International Road Racing Teams Association, and was representative of the World Championship Racers on the International Motorcycling Federation for over 6 years.

He currently heads one of the leading teams in the intermediate Moto2 category, having previously attained an enviable list of honours during his time in MotoGP as the best private team of all time.