27 year old Tomás, born in Granollers (Barcelona), is an experienced rider who made his racing debut in 1987 in the Regional Motocross Championship of Girona. He stayed in this series until 1992 before moving in succesive years to scooter races and then Supersport. In 1997 he finished runner-up in the Championship of Cataluña in both categories and in the following year he ended up third in the European Supersport Championship. The Spaniard, noted for his sporting spirit, lists his 4th position in the Montmeló 24 Hours as his greatest sporting acheivement – given that he had to race the final 5 hours in fifth gear due to a gearbox fault. Tomás competed in four rounds of last year’s MotoGP in the 500cc class, scoring 3 points with a 13th placed finish in his first race in Valencia. In 2001 he will contest his first full season alongside motorcycling’s best on a Honda 500.