Josep Rovira Paxau was born in Masía Carboneres, a rural house with about 10 hectares of arable land in the municipality of Gurb (Osona-Barcelona) on May 27, 1952. He was the fourth child of Andreu and Maria and had been preceded by Montse, Carme, Joan and followed by Andreu and Miquel.
Despite the interest of his parents, Josep was never interested in the themes of the land, the countryside, the livestock… On the other hand, the tractor, the car, the motorbike and any tool, was his habitat where he was most comfortable and a space for new challenges. He studied EGB at the schools of San Juan de Roda de Ter “Els Capellans” as the centre was known, an hour’s walk from home. The next step was to study “Industrial Mastery” (equivalent to the current vocational training) at the Salle de Manlleu, combined with the real apprenticeship at the Salamí textile factory (Can Grau) of the Masies de Roda.
paxau: A LIFE LINKED TO TRIAL
He began to forge his skills as a motorcycle trainer in a small improvised workshop at home, after leaving the world of cycling, in which he had competed until the amateur category. On his return from compulsory military service, he opened the Motos Paxau workshop in Torelló together with Aurora, who would later become his wife, and as a result of this union they were later joined by Marta, his daughter. This small workshop was very soon the epicenter of numerous preparations, both for motocross and trial bikes, although the balance would end up opting for trial, his great passion.
He was fundamental in the sporting career of Toni Arcarons, several times Spanish Motocross champion. One of his bikes, the water-cooled Montesa Cappra 125, showed the capacity for technical innovation that he was capable of developing and merited numerous articles in the specialized press. Already in the world of trial, the Bultaco Sherpa, the Montesa Cota or the Ossa Mick Andrews modified by Paxau, were gaining relevance among the community, while also promoting trial races for amateurs, which was finally transformed into a regional championship (COTA – Campionat Osona Trial Aficionat).
Paxau went directly with Ossa’s competition team before taking over of the development of Merlin motorcycles, a young brand created in 1980 by Ignacio Bultó and Pedro Arpa after the disappearance of Bultaco. The first successes came with the state titles of trial junior 83 (Jordi Solé) and senior 84 (Alberto Puig – current manager of the Repsol Honda Team in the MotoGP World Championship). In 1984 and 85 the Merlin de Paxau won the Spanish Championship with Lluís Gallach as driver as well as a meritorious seventh position in the World Championship.
At the 1985 Barcelona Motor Show, the project for a new trial motorcycle promoted by Narcís Casas and Josep M. Pibernat under the name of Gas Gas was presented. The project of launching a new technical challenge from scratch attracted Paxau, and in his workshop in Torelló the birth of the new motorcycle that saw the light of day in 1986 (with the name of Gas Gas Halley 325 referring to the Comet Halley visible in 1986) materialized. With Gabino Renales as rider, the first state victory in the Llafranc Trial was achieved.
On the same day, Alex Crivillé was proclaimed champion of the Criterium Solo Moto de velocidad at the Jarama in Madrid, with a Honda MBX of the Taulé team prepared by Paxau, after having won the races of Jerez and Calafat with authority previously.
The first major international success, an area in which Paxau already had great prestige, came in 1987. Gabino Renales took victory at the Belgian Grand Prix. The development of the Gas Gas motorcycles in Torelló was incessant, while new technical solutions were applied, these made the Catalan motorcycles the focus of attention around the world.
At the beginning of the 90s, the successes of the Gas Gas were incredible and Amós Bilbao as a reference rider was a clear exponent.
The competitiveness of the bikes made by Paxau was the way to go and the desired tool for the best riders. This is how Jordi Tarrés, world champion in previous years and who signed for the Girona-based brand, perceived it. The Paxau-Tarrés duo was infallible in ’93, ’94 and ’95 with the achievement of all possible titles, both within the national territory and in the World Championship, winning for the first time the world titles in motorcycle and home rider. The brand’s interest in enduro, despite the great success of trial bikes, made Paxau uncomfortable and this led to the breakup between the two parties at the end of 1998.
This circumstance led to the birth of a new trial bike project, the Sherco (Sherpa Sher and Bultaco co), promoted by the French industrialist Marc Teissier and the former rider Andreu Codina, aware that the viability of the project was only possible with the participation of Paxau. The first model was presented in 1999 and that season the British driver Graham Jarvis already competed in the world championship. The Sherco motorcycles designed and developed in Torelló and manufactured in Caldes de Montbui, soon captured a large part of the trial motorcycle sector, consolidated with the design and development of a 4-stroke engine that in the hands of Albert Cabestany conquered numerous successes.
In 2017 Paxau closed the professional stage of more than 40 years dedicated to the world of motoring, with a very relevant weight in the international arena and his technical footprint is still present today, not only with the brands with which he had a relationship, but also in many others that saw in his criteria a script to follow.
Throughout these 40 years of professional activity, many of the best exponents of the world of trial, as well as other areas of motorcycling, have passed through the Motos Paxau facilities in Torelló and it has been an important part of the sporting career for many of them.
Toni Arcarons, Jordi Arcarons (motocross), Alex Crivillé (speed) and trial, Albert Juvanteny, Lluís Gallach, Alberto Puig, Jordi Solé, Amós Bilbao, Xavier Vilalta, Jordi Tarrés, César Panicot, Marc Catllà, Angel García, Juan Luis López de la Torre, Jorge Arjones, José M. Juan, Xavier Puigdemont, Marc Freixa, Josep Arcarons, Marcel Justribó, Andreu Codina, Gabino Renales, Joan Pons, Albert Cabestany, Dani Oliveras, David Cobos, Melchor Estorch, Graham Jarvis, Steve Colley, Loris Gubian, Emma Bristow… Between all of them, numerous national, European and World titles with the bikes created by Paxau.
In addition to all this great trajectory in the world of high-competition motorcycling, the Motos Paxau workshop in Torelló was the epicenter of repair, preparation and place to find advice for thousands of fans and practitioners from all over the world, who trusted in the tuning of their motorcycles throughout the more than 40 years of service to the public.
