As of round 17 Race · updated 10/13/2026, 07:18 PM (Japan time)

Riders

William Costes

No freely licensed photo found, so the race number and team colour are shown instead. About photos

Nationality: France
Number: 20
Born: July 1, 1972(age 54)
Birthplace: Clermont Ferrand

Birth date and place from the official rider profile

Career

Made a Grand Prix debut in 250cc at Shah Alam in 1997.

In 250cc (1997–1998): 16 starts, 0 wins, 0 podiums.

In all, 16 Grand Prix starts, 0 wins and 0 podiums (within the official results database).

Written automatically from the official results database (no opinions about the rider)

Starts with no race result

The official records keep only the qualifying order and the starting grid for these races; the race result is missing (the official site has none either).

Year	Event	Class	Grid	Qualifying
1998	Japanese GP	250cc	25	2'13.321

Season by season

500cc250cc ★ Champion

The strip shows each year's team (team colour). Tap for team and machine

Scope: official results DB, 1996–1998 (the rider's racing years)

Totals

250cc1997–1998

Win rate0.0%

Podium rate0.0%

Average finish (when classified)avg P14.3

29 pts · Poles 0

7 of these races have no result in the official data; their results come from the Italian Wikipedia.

500cc1996–1996

Win rate0.0%

Podium rate0.0%

Average finish (when classified)—

0 pts · Poles 0

Points are counted per class, never added across classes. Tap a number for the list of races | Scope: official results DB, 1996–1998 (the rider's racing years)

Against the greats, and the class of their debut

Grand Prix debut in 1997. Of the 73 riders who debuted that year, 0 also raced in 2026.

Max Biaggi 4 world titles
15 races together: ahead 1, behind 13, both out 1
Loris Capirossi 3 world titles
22 races together: ahead 3, behind 17, both out 2
Haruchika Aoki 2 world titles
23 races together: ahead 1, behind 19, both out 3

Greats: 2+ world titles or 30+ MotoGP / 500cc wins. Up to 4 who shared 10+ races, most titles first. A finisher counts as ahead of a non-finisher.

Results by condition (races)

250cc 23 races · 1997–1998

By grid positionSmall sample

average grid average finish (classified)

Grid 10–15	12.3 → 9.0	0 wins / 3 races
Grid 16〜	20.2 → 14.8	0 wins / 20 races

By circuit (best average first)Small sample

Paul Ricard2 racesavg P9.0

Assen2 racesavg P10.0

Imola1 racesavg P12.0

Red Bull Ring1 racesavg P13.0

Donington2 racesavg P14.0

Mugello2 racesavg P16.5

Jerez2 racesavg P17.0

Sentul1 racesavg P17.0

Nürburgring1 racesavg P20.0

Rio1 races—

Suzuka1 races—

Catalunya1 races—

Shah Alam1 races—

Brno1 races—

Johor1 races—

Jarama1 races—

Sachsenring1 races—

Phillip Island1 races—

250cc: all in the Multiple suppliers era; no track-condition records.

Fewer than 30 races: small sample (dashed). Average finish counts classified finishes only | Scope: official results DB, 1996–1998 (the rider's racing years)

Distance ridden and distance travelled

Counted from 1949 (lap lengths before 1998 researched from published sources: estimates)15 races with an estimated lap length

Ridden on the bike

Every session

at least 1,140 miles
0.0× around the Earth · 404 laps

Travelled between circuits

at least 45,692 miles
1.8× around the Earth · at least 4.1 days

From 1949. Every session in the seasons with the lap analysis documents, races only before. Tests not included. Laps × that year's lap length.A minimum, calculated from straight-line distances between circuits. Connections, tests and trips home are not included, so the real figures are longer.

Every race

79.3%Start rate (23/29)

5Longest run of absences (races)

15Longest run of starts (races)

8.3Estimated points lost to absences

1Win3Podium8Points18No pointsRRetired–Absent

1997 250cc P20 · 23 pts

1998 250cc P30 · 6 pts

Tap a cell for the event, qualifying, sprint and race results and points

? How the estimate is made

Estimate = average of the last 3 races before each absence

Seasons in which at least half of the races were started | Scope: official results DB, 1996–1998 (the rider's racing years)

1997	Shah Alam	grid 22	DNF
1997	Suzuka	grid 25	DNF
1997	Jerez	grid 23	19
1997	Mugello	grid 21	17
1997	Red Bull Ring	grid 16	13 +3
1997	Paul Ricard	grid 11	9 +7
1997	Assen	grid 16	7 +9
1997	Imola	grid 22	12 +4
1997	Nürburgring	grid 21	20
1997	Rio	grid 21	DNF
1997	Donington	grid 12	DNF
1997	Brno	grid 16	DNF
1997	Catalunya	grid 14	DNF
1997	Sentul	grid 23	17
1997	Phillip Island	grid 19	DNF
1998	Johor	grid 20	DNF
1998	Jerez	grid 22	15 +1
1998	Mugello	grid 22	16
1998	Paul Ricard	grid 16	DNF
1998	Jarama	grid 21	DNF
1998	Assen	grid 17	13 +3
1998	Donington	grid 17	14 +2
1998	Sachsenring	grid 25	DNF