Portuguese championships Praia was born in
Portalegre,
Portugal. His first race was in 1994 at the age of 16 on a
Yamaha TZR50. In 1997 he rode a full championship for the first time, finishing 3rd overall riding a Yamaha
TZR125. After the death of his brother Alberto, Praia stopped racing, but returned in 1999 riding a Yamaha TZ125 in the Portuguese
125GP championship, finishing in 6th place. In 2000, Praia had a good year in the newly established
Aprilia Challenge 125cc, ending most races in 1st place and setting several lap records, but a jury decision in the last round placed him in 2nd position overall. In 2001, Praia moved up into the 600cc category. He finished in 8th position in Troféu
Honda CBR600RR. After a not outstanding year in a supersport class, 2002 was Praia's breakout year. He set new lap records in most rounds, and became champion for Troféu Honda CBR600RR 2002. In 2003 he repeated this achievement, winning the champion's title for Troféu Honda CBR600RR again. In 2005, at the end of the Portuguese Stocksport 1000 championship, Praia entered the
Superbike World Championship, winning the last two races on a
Honda CBR1000RR he had never ridden before.
European championships In an attempt to get more and better experience from an international competition, in 2002 and 2003, Praia raced in
European Supersport Championship, as the highest-performing Portuguese racer.
World championships By invitation of the Portuguese Government,Praia participated in the
Macau Grand Prix in 2002 and in 2003, finishing 5th and 4th respectively. In 2003 he entered the Portuguese round of the
MotoGP 250cc championship as a wildcard and finished 22nd. 2004 was Praia's first year in full World class championships. He joined team NCR Ducati in the
Superbike World Championship along with his teammate
Garry McCoy. As the number 2 in the team and a newcomer into the Superbikes world, Praia had a disappointing season, racing on a
Ducati 999RS and then a
Ducati 998RS. He finished the championship in 30th place. Praia switched teams the following year to join DFX Extreme team with a
Yamaha R1 in 2005, and saw much improvement in his lap times, but in a year with many newcomers from other world championships in the Superbikes class, his finishing placing dropped to 34th. Praia switched to a lower class in 2006, the
Supersport World Championship, but this time with a new Portuguese team, Parkalgar Racing Team, and riding a
Honda CBR600RR. The team experiences some problems in getting the right setup for the machine, and the year did not go well; Praia had to abandon some races due to mechanical failures, and eventually retired from the championship. In 2007, Praia made better lap times compared with the previous years, but more new rivals from Superbikes and other world championships also joined the championship, and his faster speeds were not reflected in the final standings, again finishing 34th. In 2008, the Parkalgar Racing Team secured Factory Honda support and a new Honda CBR600RR better shaped then the previous year's ones. The pre-season tests at
Almería (Circuito de Almería) in January raised expectations for the team, with Praia's team-mate
Craig Jones setting a new lap record for the track and Miguel Praia less than a second behind.
Career highlights •
1997 - 3rd place in 125cc Produção (Portuguese championship) •
1999 - 6th place in 125GP (Best Rookie) (Portuguese championship) •
2000 - 2nd place in
Aprilia Challenge 125cc (Portuguese championship) •
2001 - 8th place in Troféu
Honda CBR600RR (Portuguese championship) •
2002 - Champion in Troféu Honda CBR600RR (Portuguese championship) •
2002 - Best
Portuguese in
European Supersport Championship •
2002 - 5th place in
Macau GP •
2003 - Champion in Troféu
Honda CBR600RR •
2003 - 22nd place in Portuguese round (in
Autódromo do Estoril) of
MotoGP 250cc •
2003 - Best Portuguese in
European Supersport Championship •
2003 - 4th place in Macau GP •
2004 - 30th place in
Superbike World Championship (Best Rookie) •
2005 - 34th place in
Superbike World Championship •
2006 - Not-classified in
Supersport World Championship •
2007 - 34th place in
Supersport World Championship •
2008 - 25th place in
Supersport World Championship •
2009 - 15th place in
Supersport World Championship •
2010 - 12th place in
Supersport World Championship •
2011 - 13th place in
Supersport World Championship •
2012 - 23rd place in CEV Moto2 Championship •
2013 – 1st place in Superbike category of 500 Miles Brazil •
2013 – 4th place in Brazilian Moto 1000 GP Championship ==Career statistics==