Derbi's origins trace to 1922 and a small bicycle workshop in the village of Mollet, near Barcelona, founded by Simeó Rabasa i Singla (1901–1988). The business repaired and hired out bicycles until May 1944, when Rabasa formed a limited liability company called Bicycletes Rabasa to move into bicycle manufacturing. Success came quickly, and by 1946 the company began developing a motorised version. The first model, the 48cc SRS, incorporated plunger rear suspension and set the template for what would follow.
The SRS sold well enough to prompt a fundamental change in direction. On 7 November 1950, the company renamed itself Nacional Motor SA. That same summer, at the Barcelona Trade Fair, the company unveiled its first true motorcycle, the Derbi 250. The name Derbi derives from the Catalan phrase Derivats de Bicicletes — derivatives of bicycles — an acknowledgement of the company's origins.
Derbi mounted a serious Grand Prix motorcycle racing campaign beginning in the late 1960s. The company's first documented win came in 1968 with Barry Smith at the Isle of Man TT, and from there the race record accumulated into one of the sport's more remarkable stories in the smaller classes.
In the 50cc World Championship, Derbi claimed titles in 1969, 1970 and 1972. When the 50cc class was replaced by an 80cc category in 1984, Derbi adapted and won four consecutive world championships between 1986 and 1989, before the class was discontinued in Grand Prix competition altogether.
In the 125cc class, Derbi's championship record spans four decades: world titles in 1971, 1972, 1988, 2008 and 2010. The 2008 and 2010 titles came during a revival of the company's competition program, demonstrating that Derbi remained a competitive force in Grand Prix motorcycle racing well into the modern era.
Unlike many of its Spanish contemporaries — Ossa, Bultaco and Montesa all struggled severely during the same period — Derbi successfully navigated the economic turbulence that followed Spain's transition to democracy and its entry into the European Community. The company remained independent under the Rabasa family until Simeó Rabasa i Singla's death in 1988. The business stayed in family hands through the 1990s before being acquired by the Piaggio Group in 2001, bringing it into the same corporate structure as Vespa, Aprilia and Moto Guzzi.
Derbi's record in Grand Prix motorcycle racing represents one of the broadest championship footprints of any manufacturer operating primarily in small-displacement categories. Titles across the 50cc, 80cc and 125cc classes, won across a span of more than four decades, reflect both the longevity of the company's competitive commitment and its engineering adaptability as regulations and technology changed around it. In the context of Spanish motorsport history, Derbi stands as the domestic motorcycle manufacturer that most successfully sustained international racing success across the modern era.