Mirko Giansanti raced his first event at just 7 years of age and made his Grand Prix debut as a wildcard at Mugello in´96. A point-scoring ride in his second appearance that year at Catalunya contributed to a full ride on a Honda in´97, when he finished 9th. He progressed to 6th the following season with Aprilia but was back with Honda and challenging for honours in 2000, when his title chances were prematurely cut short by a hand injury after leading the chase in the early stages. The Italian showed just glimpses of his best form in 2001, adding just one podium to his previous nine. The highlight of his 2002 season was a second place at Suzuka, but he eventually left the CE BA Corse Honda team to join Matteoni Racing the next year. With the Italian team, he took tenth and ninth overall in 2003 and 2004 respectively. He moves up to the 250cc class this year on a kitted Aprilia.