The 1996 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 48th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
Honda's Mick Doohan continued his domination of the 500 class with 8 victories. [1] His Repsol Honda teammate, Àlex Crivillé beat him to the line twice in Austria and the Czech Republic. [1] Luca Cadalora, now with the Kanemoto Honda team took two wins for the fourth consecutive year. [1] Suzuki's hopes were dashed when Daryl Beattie suffered head injuries in a pre-season crash. [1] He returned only to crash in Spain then two races later in France which effectively ended his career. [1] Loris Capirossi won his first 500 Grand Prix when Crivillé collided with his teammate, Doohan on the last lap of the Australian round. [1] A new European team made its debut with the Elf team using a Swissauto V4 sidecar engine in an ROC chassis. [1] It proved to be fast but unreliable. Honda introduced the NSR500V, a V twin as a cost-effective alternative for privateer teams. [1]
Max Biaggi claimed his third consecutive 250 championship for Aprilia. [1] Haruchika Aoki repeated as the 125 champion for Honda. [1] Newcomers winning their first Grands Prix were Norifumi Abe in the 500 class, Olivier Jacque in the 250 class and Valentino Rossi in the 125 class. [1]
The following Grands Prix were scheduled to take place in 1996: [2] [3]
| Round | Date | Grand Prix | Circuit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 31 March | | Shah Alam Circuit |
| 2 | 7 April | | Sentul International Circuit |
| 3 | 21 April | | Suzuka Circuit |
| 4 | 12 May | | Circuito Permanente de Jerez |
| 5 | 26 May | | Mugello Circuit |
| 6 | 9 June | | Circuit Paul Ricard |
| 7 | 29 June †† | | TT Circuit Assen |
| 8 | 7 July | | Nürburgring |
| 9 | 21 July | | Donington Park |
| 10 | 4 August | | A1-Ring |
| 11 | 18 August | | Brno Circuit |
| 12 | 1 September | | Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari |
| 13 | 15 September | | Circuit de Catalunya |
| 14 | 6 October | | Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet |
| 15 | 20 October | | Eastern Creek |
†† = Saturday race
| Round | Date | Grand Prix | Circuit | 125cc winner | 250cc winner | 500cc winner | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 31 March | | Shah Alam | | | | Report |
| 2 | 7 April | | Sentul | | | | Report |
| 3 | 21 April | | Suzuka | | | | Report |
| 4 | 12 May | | Jerez | | | | Report |
| 5 | 26 May | | Mugello | | | | Report |
| 6 | 9 June | | Paul Ricard | | | | Report |
| 7 | 29 June †† | | Assen | | | | Report |
| 8 | 7 July | | Nürburgring | | | | Report |
| 9 | 21 July | | Donington | | | | Report |
| 10 | 4 August | | A1-Ring | | | | Report |
| 11 | 18 August | | Brno | | | | Report |
| 12 | 1 September | | Imola | | | | Report |
| 13 | 15 September | | Catalunya | | | | Report |
| 14 | 6 October | | Rio de Janeiro | | | | Report |
| 15 | 20 October | | Eastern Creek | | | | Report |
†† = Saturday race
Points are awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider has 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 |
|
Bold – Pole |
Points are awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider has 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 |
|
Bold – Pole |
Points are awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider has 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 |
|
Bold – Pole |