2016 MotoGP World Championship

The 2016 FIM MotoGP World Championship was the premier class of the 68th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.

2016 F.I.M. Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

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2015

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2017

2016 Moto2 World Championship
2016 Moto3 World Championship

Marc Márquez won his third MotoGP world title, and fifth world title overall, by winning the Japanese Grand Prix.

Season summary

Jorge Lorenzo was the defending world champion, having secured his third MotoGP title and fifth overall Championship title at the 2015 Valencian Community Grand Prix.^[1]

The riders' championship title was won for the third time by Marc Márquez, after his fifth victory of the season at the Japanese Grand Prix has given him an unassailable lead over his title rivals Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi – who both crashed out at Motegi – with three races remaining.^[2][3] Márquez's title marked a return to the top step for Honda after a difficult 2015 campaign for its factory team. Márquez ultimately won the championship by 49 points.

Reigning champion Lorenzo won three of the first six races to lead the title race, but very poor wet weather form during wet races in mid-season curtailed his title bid along with no wins in the dry until the season-ending race in Valencia. Rossi has been the most consistent title challenger, yet he has crashed out of three races up until Márquez's decisive victory in Japan. The Yamaha team has suffered a severe win drought from June onwards, going eight races without a win before Márquez has clinched the title. The drought reached ten races before Lorenzo's Valencian triumph, in his final race for the manufacturer before his move to Ducati in 2017. Rossi has clinched the runner-up position by 16 points from Lorenzo, while their performances earned Yamaha the teams' championship, although Honda won the manufacturers' championship. The only rookie in this season was Tito Rabat – who clinched the rookie of the year award. LCR Honda rider, Cal Crutchlow, achieved the top independent rider award; winning races at Brno and Phillip Island and finished in 7th place in the championship with 141 points. Ducati and Suzuki both have won at least one race during the season, with Ducati's first win marking the first non Yamaha or Honda win for six years.

The 2016 season saw numerous records in regards to race winners. Cal Crutchlow, Jack Miller, Andrea Iannone and Maverick Viñales each won their first races in the premier class, the first time that four new winners had emerged in a MotoGP season. Between the Italian Grand Prix in May and the San Marino Grand Prix in September, eight riders – Lorenzo, Rossi, Miller, Márquez, Iannone, Crutchlow, Viñales and Dani Pedrosa – won in eight successive races, surpassing the previous record of seven, between the 1999 Imola Grand Prix and the 2000 South African Grand Prix. With a win for Andrea Dovizioso in Malaysia further adding to the tally, the total of nine winners was also a record for a single premier class season,^[4] surpassing the previous record of eight in the 2000 season.^[5] This season also marked the first non-factory teams to win a race since the 2006 season, with wins for Marc VDS from Miller (at the Dutch TT) and for LCR from Crutchlow (at the Czech and Australian Grands Prix).

Calendar

The following Grands Prix took place in 2016:^[6][7][8]

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Circuit
1	20 March ‡	Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar	Losail International Circuit, Lusail
2	3 April	Gran Premio Motul de la República Argentina	Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo, Termas de Río Hondo
3	10 April	Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas	Circuit of the Americas, Austin
4	24 April	Gran Premio Red Bull de España	Circuito de Jerez, Jerez de la Frontera
5	8 May	Monster Energy Grand Prix de France	Bugatti Circuit, Le Mans
6	22 May	Gran Premio d'Italia TIM	Mugello Circuit, Scarperia e San Piero
7	5 June	Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló
8	26 June	Motul TT Assen	TT Circuit Assen, Assen
9	17 July	GoPro Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland	Sachsenring, Hohenstein-Ernstthal
10	14 August	NeroGiardini Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg
11	21 August	HJC Helmets Grand Prix České republiky	Brno Circuit, Brno
12	4 September	Octo British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone
13	11 September	Gran Premio TIM di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini	Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, Misano Adriatico
14	25 September	Gran Premio Movistar de Aragón	MotorLand Aragón, Alcañiz
15	16 October	Motul Grand Prix of Japan	Twin Ring Motegi, Motegi
16	23 October	Michelin Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix	Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Phillip Island
17	30 October	Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang
18	13 November	Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana	Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Valencia

‡ = Night race

Calendar changes

• The Grand Prix of the Americas and the Argentine Grand Prix have swapped places, with Argentina hosting the second round, while the Grand Prix of the Americas hosts the third round.
• For the first time in the history of the Dutch TT, the races were held on a Sunday.^[6]
• The 2016 season had seen the return of the Austrian Grand Prix to the series' schedule after 19 years of absence. The last race, which had been the 1997 Austrian Grand Prix, was held at the A1 Ring, now called the Red Bull Ring.^[6]
• Having been on the calendar since 2008, the Indianapolis Grand Prix was taken off the calendar.^[9]

Teams and riders

A provisional entry list was announced on 7 November 2015.^[10]

Team Constructor Motorcycle No. Rider Rounds Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia RS-GP 6 Stefan Bradl[11] All 19 Álvaro Bautista[12] All Ducati Team Ducati Desmosedici GP16 04 Andrea Dovizioso[13] All 29 Andrea Iannone[12] 1–14, 17–18[a] 51 Michele Pirro[15] 13–14[a] 8 Héctor Barberá[16] 15–16 51 Michele Pirro[17] 6, 10 Octo Pramac Yakhnich[18] Desmosedici GP15 9 Danilo Petrucci 1, 5–18 51 Michele Pirro[19] 2–4 45 Scott Redding[20] All Avintia Racing Desmosedici GP14 8 Héctor Barberá[12] 1–14, 17–18 7 Mike Jones[16] 15–16 76 Loris Baz[21] 1–6, 9–12, 14–18 51 Michele Pirro[22] 7–8 12 Javier Forés[23] 13 Aspar Team MotoGP Pull & Bear Aspar Team 50 Eugene Laverty[12] All 68 Yonny Hernández[24] All Repsol Honda Team Honda RC213V 26 Dani Pedrosa[25] 1–15, 18[b] 73 Hiroshi Aoyama[26][27] 15[b] 7 17 69 Nicky Hayden[28] 16 93 Marc Márquez[29] All LCR Honda 35 Cal Crutchlow[30] All Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS 43 Jack Miller[31] 1–10, 12–13, 15–18 69 Nicky Hayden[32] 14 53 Tito Rabat[33] All Red Bull KTM Factory Racing[34] KTM RC16 36 Mika Kallio[35] 18 Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki GSX-RR 25 Maverick Viñales[12] All 41 Aleix Espargaró[12] All Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha YZR-M1 46 Valentino Rossi[36] All 99 Jorge Lorenzo[37] All Yamalube Yamaha Factory Racing 21 Katsuyuki Nakasuga[38] 15 Monster Yamaha Tech 3 38 Bradley Smith[12] 1–11, 15–18 22 Alex Lowes[39] 12–14 44 Pol Espargaró[40] All

Key Regular rider Wildcard rider Replacement rider

Notes

1. Andrea Iannone competed in Friday practice sessions at Misano and Aragón, before being replaced by Michele Pirro. At Misano, Pirro initially competed as a wildcard,^[14] but was officially designated as a rider replacement.^[15]
2. Dani Pedrosa competed in Friday practice sessions at Motegi, before crashing heavily and fracturing a collarbone. He was replaced by Hiroshi Aoyama for the remainder of the weekend.

All the bikes used Michelin tyres.

Team changes

• Marc VDS Racing expanded to enter a second bike.
• After entering two bikes in 2015, LCR Team reverted to a single entry in 2016.
• The Aspar Team ended their association with Honda and returned to Ducati; the team had used Ducatis in 2010 and 2011.
• Forward Racing left MotoGP, as they announced a new partnership with MV Agusta in the Superbike World Championship and Supersport World Championship in 2016.^[41]
• AB Motoracing left MotoGP as Karel Abraham moved to the Superbike World Championship.
• IodaRacing announced that they would have left MotoGP and competed in the Superbike World Championship.^[42] Their constructor, ART, also left MotoGP.

Rider changes

• Tito Rabat, the 2014 Moto2 World Champion, made his MotoGP debut with Marc VDS Racing, the team he had won the Moto2 title with.
• Yonny Hernández did not have his contract with Pramac Racing renewed, and moved to Aspar Team to replace Nicky Hayden, who left MotoGP for the Superbike World Championship.
• Having competed in MotoGP since 2011, Karel Abraham switched to the Superbike World Championship.
• Loris Baz moved to Avintia Racing to replace Mike Di Meglio who moved to the Endurance World Championship.
• Scott Redding left Marc VDS Racing at the end of the 2015 season to join Pramac Racing. His place was taken by Jack Miller.
• Alex de Angelis left MotoGP for the Superbike World Championship.
• Stefan Bradl remained with Aprilia after riding for them as a replacement rider in the 2015 season after Marco Melandri left MotoGP during the middle of the season.

Rule changes

• Starting in 2016, Michelin has become the series' official tyre supplier following Bridgestone's withdrawal from the category.^[43] The Grand Prix Commission have also agreed a rule change to the 2016 regulations to increase the wheel size from 16.5 inches to 17 inches (similar to Moto2 and Moto3).^[44]
• The previous Factory and Open classes will be merged: every bike must adopt the unified electronic package (ECU and software).^[45] Each rider will be able to use up to seven engines in a season, albeit with frozen specifications, and the maximum fuel tank capacity will be 22 litres.^[46] Factories without a dry win between 2013 and 2015 will still be allowed to use 12 engines with free development, but in case of a determined number of podiums or wins scored during 2016 the factory will lose these benefits for the next season.^[46] Similarly, any manufacturer not scoring a single podium in 2016 will gain those concessions in 2017.

Results and standings

Grands Prix

Round	Grand Prix	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning rider	Winning team	Winning constructor	Report
1	Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix	Jorge Lorenzo	Jorge Lorenzo	Jorge Lorenzo	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	Report
2	Argentine Republic motorcycle Grand Prix	Marc Márquez	Marc Márquez	Marc Márquez	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	Report
3	Motorcycle Grand Prix of the Americas	Marc Márquez	Marc Márquez	Marc Márquez	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	Report
4	Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix	Valentino Rossi	Valentino Rossi	Valentino Rossi	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	Report
5	French motorcycle Grand Prix	Jorge Lorenzo	Valentino Rossi	Jorge Lorenzo	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	Report
6	Italian motorcycle Grand Prix	Valentino Rossi	Andrea Iannone	Jorge Lorenzo	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	Report
7	Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix	Marc Márquez	Maverick Viñales	Valentino Rossi	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	Report
8	Dutch TT	Andrea Dovizioso	Danilo Petrucci	Jack Miller	Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS	Honda	Report
9	German motorcycle Grand Prix	Marc Márquez	Cal Crutchlow	Marc Márquez	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	Report
10	Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix	Andrea Iannone	Andrea Iannone	Andrea Iannone	Ducati Team	Ducati	Report
11	Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix	Marc Márquez	Cal Crutchlow	Cal Crutchlow	LCR Honda	Honda	Report
12	British motorcycle Grand Prix	Cal Crutchlow	Maverick Viñales	Maverick Viñales	Team Suzuki Ecstar	Suzuki	Report
13	San Marino and Rimini Riviera motorcycle Grand Prix	Jorge Lorenzo	Dani Pedrosa	Dani Pedrosa	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	Report
14	Aragon motorcycle Grand Prix	Marc Márquez	Marc Márquez	Marc Márquez	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	Report
15	Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix	Valentino Rossi	Marc Márquez	Marc Márquez	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	Report
16	Australian motorcycle Grand Prix	Marc Márquez	Cal Crutchlow	Cal Crutchlow	LCR Honda	Honda	Report
17	Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix	Andrea Dovizioso	Andrea Dovizioso	Andrea Dovizioso	Ducati Team	Ducati	Report
18	Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix	Jorge Lorenzo	Jorge Lorenzo	Jorge Lorenzo	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	Report

Riders' standings

Scoring system

Points were awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider had to finish the race to earn points.

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th
Points	25	20	16	13	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1

Pos Rider Bike Team QAT ARG AME SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GER AUT CZE GBR RSM ARA JPN AUS MAL VAL Pts 1 Marc Márquez Honda Repsol Honda Team 3 1 1 3 13 2 2 2 1 5 3 4 4 1 1 Ret 11 2 298 2 Valentino Rossi Yamaha Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 4 2 Ret 1 2 Ret 1 Ret 8 4 2 3 2 3 Ret 2 2 4 249 3 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 1 Ret 2 2 1 1 Ret 10 15 3 17 8 3 2 Ret 6 3 1 233 4 Maverick Viñales Suzuki Team Suzuki Ecstar 6 Ret 4 6 3 6 4 9 12 6 9 1 5 4 3 3 6 5 202 5 Andrea Dovizioso Ducati Ducati Team 2 13 Ret Ret Ret 5 7 Ret 3 2 Ret 6 6 11 2 4 1 7 171 6 Dani Pedrosa Honda Repsol Honda Team 5 3 Ret 4 4 4 3 12 6 7 12 5 1 6 WD Ret 155 7 Cal Crutchlow Honda LCR Honda Ret Ret 16 11 Ret 11 6 Ret 2 15 1 2 8 5 5 1 Ret Ret 141 8 Pol Espargaró Yamaha Monster Yamaha Tech 3 7 6 7 8 5 15 5 4 Ret 10 13 DNS 9 8 6 5 9 6 134 9 Andrea Iannone Ducati Ducati Team Ret Ret 3 7 Ret 3 Ret 5 5 1 8 Ret WD WD Ret 3 112 10 Héctor Barberá Ducati Avintia Racing 9 5 9 10 8 12 11 6 9 DSQ 5 14 13 13 4 11 102 Ducati Team 17 Ret 11 Aleix Espargaró Suzuki Team Suzuki Ecstar 11 11 5 5 6 9 Ret Ret 14 Ret Ret 7 Ret 7 4 Ret 13 8 93 12 Álvaro Bautista Aprilia Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 13 10 11 Ret 9 Ret 8 Ret 10 16 16 10 10 9 7 12 7 10 82 13 Eugene Laverty Ducati Pull & Bear Aspar Team 12 4 12 9 11 13 13 7 11 18 6 12 14 14 Ret 14 12 16 77 14 Danilo Petrucci Ducati Octo Pramac Yakhnich DNS 7 8 9 Ret Ret 11 7 9 11 17 8 9 10 12 75 15 Scott Redding Ducati Octo Pramac Yakhnich 10 Ret 6 19 Ret Ret 16 3 4 8 15 17 15 19 9 7 15 14 74 16 Stefan Bradl Aprilia Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Ret 7 10 14 10 14 12 8 DNS 19 14 Ret 12 10 10 11 17 13 63 17 Bradley Smith Yamaha Monster Yamaha Tech 3 8 8 17 12 Ret 7 Ret 13 13 9 Ret 13 8 14 9 62 18 Jack Miller Honda Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS 14 Ret DNS 17 Ret Ret 10 1 7 DNS 16 DNS Ret 10 8 15 57 19 Michele Pirro Ducati Octo Pramac Yakhnich 12 8 16 36 Ducati Team 10 12 7 12 Avintia Racing 15 Ret 20 Loris Baz Ducati Avintia Racing Ret Ret 15 13 12 Ret 17 13 4 DNS 18 16 Ret 5 18 35 21 Tito Rabat Honda Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS 15 9 13 18 Ret DNS 14 11 16 14 10 15 17 Ret 14 16 18 17 29 22 Yonny Hernández Ducati Pull & Bear Aspar Team Ret Ret 14 15 Ret 16 17 Ret 18 17 11 11 16 16 12 13 Ret Ret 20 23 Katsuyuki Nakasuga Yamaha Yamalube Yamaha Factory Racing 11 5 24 Alex Lowes Yamaha Monster Yamaha Tech 3 13 Ret DNS 3 25 Hiroshi Aoyama Honda Repsol Honda Team 15 16 1 26 Nicky Hayden Honda Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS 15 1 Repsol Honda Team 17 27 Mike Jones Ducati Avintia Racing 18 15 1 Mika Kallio KTM Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Ret 0 Javier Forés Ducati Avintia Racing Ret 0 Pos Rider Bike Team QAT ARG AME SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GER AUT CZE GBR RSM ARA JPN AUS MAL VAL Pts

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Points classification Blue Non-points classification Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired, not classified (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX) Bold – Pole Italics – Fastest lap Light blue – Rookie

Constructors' standings

Each constructor received the same number of points as their best placed rider in each race.

Pos	Constructor	QAT	ARG	AME	SPA	FRA	ITA	CAT	NED	GER	AUT	CZE	GBR	RSM	ARA	JPN	AUS	MAL	VAL	Pts
1	Honda	3	1	1	3	4	2	2	1	1	5	1	2	1	1	1	1	8	2	369
2	Yamaha	1	2	2	1	1	1	1	4	8	3	2	3	2	2	6	2	2	1	353
3	Ducati	2	4	3	7	7	3	7	3	3	1	4	6	6	11	2	4	1	3	261
4	Suzuki	6	11	4	5	3	6	4	9	12	6	9	1	5	4	3	3	6	5	208
5	Aprilia	13	7	10	14	9	14	8	8	10	16	14	10	10	9	7	11	7	10	101
	KTM																		Ret	0
Pos	Constructor	QAT	ARG	AME	SPA	FRA	ITA	CAT	NED	GER	AUT	CZE	GBR	RSM	ARA	JPN	AUS	MAL	VAL	Pts

Teams' standings

The teams' standings were based on results obtained by regular and substitute riders; wild-card entries were ineligible.

Pos	Team	Bike No.	QAT	ARG	AME	SPA	FRA	ITA	CAT	NED	GER	AUT	CZE	GBR	RSM	ARA	JPN	AUS	MAL	VAL	Pts
1	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	46	4	2	Ret	1	2	Ret	1	Ret	8	4	2	3	2	3	Ret	2	2	4	482
		99	1	Ret	2	2	1	1	Ret	10	15	3	17	8	3	2	Ret	6	3	1
2	Repsol Honda Team	7																	16		454
		26	5	3	Ret	4	4	4	3	12	6	7	12	5	1	6	WD			Ret
		69																17
		73															15
		93	3	1	1	3	13	2	2	2	1	5	3	4	4	1	1	Ret	11	2
3	Ducati Team	04	2	13	Ret	Ret	Ret	5	7	Ret	3	2	Ret	6	6	11	2	4	1	7	296
		8															17	Ret
		29	Ret	Ret	3	7	Ret	3	Ret	5	5	1	8	Ret	WD	WD			Ret	3
		51													7	12
4	Team Suzuki Ecstar	25	6	Ret	4	6	3	6	4	9	12	6	9	1	5	4	3	3	6	5	295
		41	11	11	5	5	6	9	Ret	Ret	14	Ret	Ret	7	Ret	7	4	Ret	13	8
5	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	22												13	Ret	DNS					199
		38	8	8	17	12	Ret	7	Ret	13	13	9	Ret				13	8	14	9
		44	7	6	7	8	5	15	5	4	Ret	10	13	DNS	9	8	6	5	9	6
6	Octo Pramac Yakhnich	9	DNS				7	8	9	Ret	Ret	11	7	9	11	17	8	9	10	12	161
		45	10	Ret	6	19	Ret	Ret	16	3	4	8	15	17	15	19	9	7	15	14
		51		12	8	16
7	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	6	Ret	7	10	14	10	14	12	8	DNS	19	14	Ret	12	10	10	11	17	13	145
		19	13	10	11	Ret	9	Ret	8	Ret	10	16	16	10	10	9	7	12	7	10
8	LCR Honda	35	Ret	Ret	16	11	Ret	11	6	Ret	2	15	1	2	8	5	5	1	Ret	Ret	141
9	Avintia Racing	7															18	15			139
		8	9	5	9	10	8	12	11	6	9	DSQ	5	14	13	13			4	11
		12													Ret
		51							15	Ret
		76	Ret	Ret	15	13	12	Ret			17	13	4	DNS		18	16	Ret	5	18
10	Pull & Bear Aspar Team	50	12	4	12	9	11	13	13	7	11	18	6	12	14	14	Ret	14	12	16	97
		68	Ret	Ret	14	15	Ret	16	17	Ret	18	17	11	11	16	16	12	13	Ret	Ret
11	Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS	43	14	Ret	DNS	17	Ret	Ret	10	1	7	DNS		16	DNS		Ret	10	8	15	87
		53	15	9	13	18	Ret	DNS	14	11	16	14	10	15	17	Ret	14	16	18	17
		69														15
Pos	Team	Bike No.	QAT	ARG	AME	SPA	FRA	ITA	CAT	NED	GER	AUT	CZE	GBR	RSM	ARA	JPN	AUS	MAL	VAL	Pts