Ivan Silva's racing life started in the junior categories in 1986. Under the guidance of Dani Amatriain he began to record various successes, including the 1995 Spanish and Catalan 75cc Championships, before turning in impressive performances in the Cagiva 125cc Cup and the Aprilia 250cc Cup. He went on to make several podium appearances in the 250cc category of the Spanish Championship, and in 2001 made the jump to the 250cc World Championship. His first MotoGP appearance came in 2006, where he replaced an injured Alex Hofmann on the D'Antin team for three rounds, with one more appearance in 2007, again standing in for Hofmann at the Czech GP. Silva’s return to the premier class in 2012 sees the Spanish rider aboard the Avintia Racing MotoGP BQR-FTR project for his first full-time opportunity in MotoGP following his victorious year in the Spanish Stock Extreme championship.