1998 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

1998 F.I.M. Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

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1997

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1999

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1998 World Champions
500cc – Mick Doohan (Honda)
250cc – Loris Capirossi (Aprilia)
125cc – Kazuto Sakata (Aprilia)

Mick Doohan (pictured at Phillip Island) became the 1998 500cc world champion

The 1998 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 50th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.

Season summary

Mick Doohan and Honda continued to dominate the 500 class with the Australian taking 8 victories and Honda winning all but one race. ^[1] Simon Crafar winning the British Grand Prix for Yamaha's lone victory. ^[1] After being shocked by 500 class rookie Max Biaggi's opening round victory in the Japanese Grand Prix, Doohan went on to claim his fifth world championship in as many years, finishing off the season with four consecutive wins. ^[1]

A controversial finish marked the 250 title race. Aprilia teammates Tetsuya Harada and Loris Capirossi both went into the final race in Argentina with a chance to win the title, Capirossi leading Harada by 4 points. ^[1] With one corner to go, Harada was in second, with Capirossi third, which would have given Harada the championship on tiebreak. Entering the final turn, his bike was struck from behind by Capirossi's machine, sending both riders off the track. ^[1] Valentino Rossi took the win with Capirossi recovering to finish in second and claiming the title. ^[1] Afterwards, Aprilia would release Capirossi from his contract. ^[1]

Kazuto Sakata would win his second 125 title for Aprilia after a tight battle with Tomomi Manako and Marco Melandri. ^[1]

1998 Grand Prix season calendar

The following Grands Prix were scheduled to take place in 1998: ^[2]

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Circuit
1	5 April	Marlboro Grand Prix of Japan	Suzuka Circuit
2	19 April	Marlboro Malaysian Grand Prix	Johor Circuit
3	3 May	Gran Premio Marlboro de España	Circuito Permanente de Jerez
4	17 May	Gran Premio Q8 d'Italia	Mugello Circuit
5	31 May	Grand Prix de France	Circuit Paul Ricard
6	14 June	Gran Premio Comunidad de Madrid	Circuito Permanente del Jarama
7	27 June ††	Rizla Dutch TT	TT Circuit Assen
8	5 July	British Grand Prix	Donington Park
9	19 July	Polini Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland	Sachsenring
10	23 August	Grand Prix České republiky	Brno Circuit
11	6 September	Gran Premio Cirio Città di Imola	Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari
12	20 September	Grand Prix Marlboro de Catalunya	Circuit de Catalunya
13	4 October	Qantas Australian Grand Prix	Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit
14	25 October	Gran Premio Marlboro de Argentina	Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez

†† = Saturday race

Calendar changes

• The Malaysian Grand Prix and Japanese Grand Prix swapped places, with Japan hosting the opening round Grand Prix, instead of Malaysia.
• The Malaysian Grand Prix moved from the Shah Alam Circuit to the Johor Circuit.
• The German Grand Prix moved from the Nürburgring to the Sachsenring because of the very low number of spectators who came to view the race there.
• The Austrian Grand Prix was removed from the calendar, mainly because of a low number of spectators.
• The Rio Grand Prix was removed from the calendar because of organisational problems.
• The Indonesian Grand Prix was removed from the calendar because of 1997 Asian financial crisis that affected the country and was replaced by the Argentine Grand Prix.
• The Madrid Grand Prix was added as an extra, one-off Grand Prix.

1998 Grand Prix season results

Round	Date	Race	Location	125cc winner	250cc winner	500cc winner	Report
1	5 April	Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix	Suzuka	Kazuto Sakata	Daijiro Kato	Max Biaggi	Report
2	19 April	Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix	Johor	Noboru Ueda	Tetsuya Harada	Mick Doohan	Report
3	3 May	Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix	Jerez	Kazuto Sakata	Loris Capirossi	Àlex Crivillé	Report
4	17 May	Italian motorcycle Grand Prix	Mugello	Tomomi Manako	Marcellino Lucchi	Mick Doohan	Report
5	31 May	French motorcycle Grand Prix	Paul Ricard	Kazuto Sakata	Tetsuya Harada	Àlex Crivillé	Report
6	14 June	Madrid motorcycle Grand Prix	Jarama	Lucio Cecchinello	Tetsuya Harada	Carlos Checa	Report
7	27 June ††	Dutch TT	Assen	Marco Melandri	Valentino Rossi	Mick Doohan	Report
8	5 July	British motorcycle Grand Prix	Donington	Kazuto Sakata	Loris Capirossi	Simon Crafar	Report
9	19 July	German motorcycle Grand Prix	Sachsenring	Tomomi Manako	Tetsuya Harada	Mick Doohan	Report
10	23 August	Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix	Brno	Marco Melandri	Tetsuya Harada	Max Biaggi	Report
11	6 September	City of Imola motorcycle Grand Prix	Imola	Tomomi Manako	Valentino Rossi	Mick Doohan	Report
12	20 September	Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix	Catalunya	Tomomi Manako	Valentino Rossi	Mick Doohan	Report
13	4 October	Australian motorcycle Grand Prix	Phillip Island	Masao Azuma	Valentino Rossi	Mick Doohan	Report
14	25 October	Argentine motorcycle Grand Prix	Buenos Aires	Tomomi Manako	Valentino Rossi	Mick Doohan	Report

†† = Saturday race

Participants

500cc participants

Team Constructor Motorcycle No. Rider Rounds Repsol Honda Honda Honda NSR500 1 Mick Doohan All 2 Tadayuki Okada 1–4, 7, 10–14 4 Àlex Crivillé All Honda NSR500V 15 Sete Gibernau All Suzuki Grand Prix Team Suzuki Suzuki RGV500 (XR88) 3 Nobuatsu Aoki All 20 Luca Cadalora 7 25 Yukio Kagayama 2–5 27 Katsuaki Fujiwara 10–12 29 Keiichi Kitagawa 1 33 Mark Willis 13 / Yamaha Team Rainey Yamaha Yamaha YZR500 (OWK1) 5 Norick Abe All 12 Jean-Michel Bayle 10–12, 14 20 Luca Cadalora 5–6 21 Kyoji Nanba 1–4, 9 Marlboro Team Kanemoto Honda Honda NSR500 6 Max Biaggi All / / Muz Roc Rennen Sport MuZ MuZ 500 7 Doriano Romboni 1–2 16 Jean-Philippe Ruggia 7 20 Luca Cadalora 14 77 Eskil Suter 4–6, 8–12 Movistar Honda Pons Honda Honda NSR500 8 Carlos Checa 1–8, 10–14 14 Juan Borja 8 19 John Kocinski 1–7, 10–14 39 Gregorio Lavilla 9 Honda Gresini Honda Honda NSR500 9 Alex Barros All / Team Roberts Marlboro Team Roberts Modenas KR Modenas KR3 10 Kenny Roberts Jr. All 28 Ralf Waldmann 1–7, 9–14 Red Bull Yamaha WCM Yamaha Yamaha YZR500 11 Simon Crafar All 55 Régis Laconi 1, 3–14 Shell Advance Racing Honda Honda NSR500V 14 Juan Borja 1–7, 10–14 18 Garry McCoy 1–10, 13 26 Bernard Garcia 11 42 Craig Connell 12, 14 42 Craig Connell 13 53 Russel Wood 2 58 Felisberto Teixeira 3 71 Juan Pablo Gianini 14 72 Fernando Cristóbal 6 72 Fernando Cristóbal 8–9 Dee Cee Jeans Racing Team Honda Honda NSR500V 17 Jurgen van den Goorbergh All Tecmas Honda Elf Honda Honda NSR500V 22 Sébastien Gimbert 1–6, 10–14 26 Bernard Garcia 7–9 F.C.C. TSR Honda Honda NSR500V 23 Matt Wait All Team Paton Paton Paton V70 C10/4 43 Paolo Tessari 11–12 63 Gianmaria Liverani 4 Yamaha Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha YZR500 50 Noriyuki Haga 1 BP Yamaha Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha YZR500 52 Norihiko Fujiwara 2 Team Polini Inoxmacel Honda Honda NSR500V 57 Fabio Carpani All Team Zupin Honda Honda NSR500V 60 Jörg Schöllhorn 9 Team Vimto Honda/Paul Bird Honda Honda NSR500V 68 John McGuinness 8 Team Millar Honda Britain Honda Honda NSR500V 88 Scott Smart 1, 3–14

Key Regular Rider Wildcard Rider Replacement Rider

250cc participants

Team Constructor Motorcycle No Rider Rounds Castrol 250 Team Honda Honda NSR250 4 Stefano Perugini All Benetton Honda Honda Honda NSR250 5 Tohru Ukawa All F.C.C. TSR Honda Honda NSR250 6 Haruchika Aoki All Team Semprucci Biesse Group Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 7 Takeshi Tsujimura All Antena 3 Yamaha Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 8 Luis D'Antin All 17 José Luis Cardoso All 92 David García 12 QUB Team Optimum TSR–Honda Honda NSR250 9 Jeremy McWilliams All Docshop Racing Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 11 Jürgen Fuchs 1–9 15 Martin Craggill 13 34 Marcellino Lucchi 10–11 45 Diego Giugovaz 12, 14 85 Mathias Neukirchen 9 Team Rizla Suzuki Suzuki Suzuki RGV250 12 Noriyasu Numata All 16 Johan Stigefelt All OXS Matteoni Racing ERP Honda Honda NSR250 14 Davide Bulega 5–14 Honda 1–4 49 Filippo Cotti 11 Edo Racing Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 18 Osamu Miyazaki 1–5, 7, 10–14 21 Franco Battaini 1–6, 10–14 33 Jamie Robinson 8–9 47 Ivan Clementi 6–9 Chesterfield Elf Tech 3 Honda Honda NSR250 19 Olivier Jacque 1–7, 10–14 20 William Costes 1–9 22 Matthieu Lagrive 10–14 68 Julien Allemand 8–9 Padgetts HRC Shop TSR–Honda Honda NSR250 24 Jason Vincent 1–13 Honda 82 Woolsey Coulter 8 82 Woolsey Coulter 14 Penguin Racing ERP–Honda Honda NSR250 25 Yasumasa Hatakeyama 4–9 Honda 1–3, 10–14 PR2 Mitsubishi Elaion Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 27 Sebastián Porto All 40 Gary May 8 41 Federico Gartner 1–7, 9–14 Aprilia Grand Prix Racing Team Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 31 Tetsuya Harada All 34 Marcellino Lucchi 3–4, 12 65 Loris Capirossi All Scuderia AGV Carrizosa TSR–Honda Honda NSR250 37 Luca Boscoscuro All 44 Roberto Rolfo All Strugnell Racing Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 42 William Strugnell 13 Team Taylor Racing Honda Honda NSR250 43 David Horton 13 Team Italia Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 45 Diego Giugovaz 11 Nastro Azzurro Aprilia Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 46 Valentino Rossi All Team RCGM Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 48 Igor Antonelli 11 BP Yamaha Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 50 Shinya Nakano 1, 13 Y.E.S.S. Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 51 Naoki Matsudo 1 Team Suzuki All Japan Suzuki Suzuki RGV250 52 Choujun Kameya 1 55 Yukio Kagayama 1 Team Kotake Honda Honda NSR250 53 Makoto Tamada 1 Castrol Honda Honda Honda NSR250 54 Daijiro Kato 1 Petronas Sprinta Team TVK Honda Honda NSR250 56 Shahrol Yuzy 2 SBK Sport Honda Honda NSR250 58 Eustaquio Gavira 3, 12 59 Ismael Bonilla 3, 6 60 Agustín Escobar 3 Equipo Competition M-3 Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 61 Manuel Luque 3 Brunskill Racing Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 62 Adam Brunskill 13 Allect Racing Honda Honda NSR250 63 Craig Frederickson 13 Rgv Spares Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 64 Shaun Geronimi 13 Racing Factory Honda Honda NSR250 66 Alex Hofmann 9 Equipe de France Honda Honda NSR250 67 Matthieu Lagrive 5 68 Julien Allemand 5 69 Vincent Philippe 5 F.P. Racing Honda Honda NSR250 70 Franck Poulle 5 Aprilia France Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 71 Hervé Mora 5 Team Sotano Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 72 José David de Gea 6 Hernandez Team Honda Honda NSR250 73 Alex Debón 6 Team Chupa Chups Honda Honda NSR250 74 Lucas Oliver Bultó 12 93 Iván Silva 12 MRTT Team Bolwerk Honda Honda NSR250 75 Maurice Bolwerk 7 Dee Cee Jeans Racing Team Honda Honda NSR250 76 Jarno Janssen 7 Racing Team Twello Honda Honda NSR250 77 André Romein 7 Johan Jong Brandbom Team Honda Honda NSR250 78 Rudie Markink 7 Schoenkaper O.Z. Honda Honda NSR250 79 Henk van der Lagemaat 7 Aprilia UK / Blacks Bikeshop Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 80 Paul Jones 8 Honda Britain / QUB Team Optimum Honda Honda NSR250 81 Callum Ramsay 8 Team Colin Appleyard Racing Honda Honda NSR250 83 Shane Norval 8 Team Klingels Honda Honda NSR250 84 Mike Baldinger 9 RS Rallye Sport Gmbh Honda Honda NSR250 86 Markus Ober 9 Imt Racing Team Honda Honda NSR250 87 Adrian Schmidt 9 Slovnaft Sport Moto Team ERP–Honda Honda NSR250 88 Vladimír Častka 10 Klub Racing Team Znojmo Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 89 Radomil Rous 10 Moto Racing Club Ostrava Honda Honda NSR250 90 Lukáš Vavrečka 10 Muller Maler Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 91 Lars Langer 10 Costa Azamar Honda Honda NSR250 94 David Ortega 12 Mitsubishi Mondial Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 95 Matías Ríos 14 Pablo Lessio Competicion Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 96 Leandro Mulet 14 Honda Castrol Gregorio Honda Honda NSR250 97 Diego Ruabén 14 Recouso Oscar Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 98 Gabriel Borgmann 14

Key Regular Rider Wildcard Rider Replacement Rider

125cc participants

Team Constructor Motorcycle No Rider Rounds Givi Honda LCR Honda Honda RS125R 2 Noboru Ueda 1–5, 12–14 10 Lucio Cecchinello All 52 Hiroyuki Kikuchi 6–10 Team UGT 3000 Honda Honda RS125R 3 Tomomi Manako All 39 Jaroslav Huleš All UGT 3000 Aprilia Aprilia RS125R 4 Kazuto Sakata All Honda Honda RS125R 9 Frédéric Petit All 85 Klaus Nöhles 9 Docshop Racing Aprilia Aprilia RS125R 5 Masaki Tokudome All Via Digital Team Aprilia Aprilia RS125R 7 Emilio Alzamora All 29 Ángel Nieto Jr. All 60 Fonsi Nieto 3, 6, 12 79 Pablo Nieto 12 Team Polini Inoxmacel Honda Honda RS125R 8 Gianluigi Scalvini All 15 Roberto Locatelli All 49 Andrea Zappa 11 70 Adrián Araujo 12 Team Valencia Aspar Aprilia Aprilia RS125R 11 Jose Ramon Ramirez 1–3 59 Jerónimo Vidal 3 59 Jerónimo Vidal 4–11, 13–14 73 Iván Martínez 6 73 Iván Martínez 12 Benetton Matteoni OXS Matteoni Honda Honda RS125R 13 Marco Melandri All 32 Mirko Giansanti All 55 Manuel Poggiali 11 Scuderia Alfa Nolan Aprilia Aprilia RS125R 14 Federico Cerroni 6–12, 14 18 Paolo Tessari 1–5 24 Alessandro Romagnoli 13 Team Semprucci Biesse Group Yamaha Yamaha TZ125 16 Christian Manna 1–11, 14 19 Andrea Ballerini 12–13 62 Yoshiaki Katoh All Team Yamaha Kurz Aral Yamaha Yamaha TZ125 17 Juan Enrique Maturana All 41 Youichi Ui All Team Pileri Honda Honda RS125R 19 Andrea Ballerini 1–3 65 Andrea Iommi 4–14 Mac Motors Liegeois Competicion Honda Honda RS125R 20 Masao Azuma All SCRAB Compétition Aprilia Aprilia RS125R 21 Arnaud Vincent All Marlboro Team ADAC Aprilia Aprilia RS125R 22 Steve Jenkner All Motoracing Team Aprilia Aprilia RS125R 23 Gino Borsoi All Vasco Rossi Racing Aprilia Aprilia RS125R 26 Ivan Goi All Fairbarin Cranes–Black Mamba Honda Honda RS125R 42 Chedryian Bresland 13 Teknic Motorcycle Clothing Honda Honda RS125R 43 Peter Galvin 13 Southern Cross Sports Honda Honda RS125R 44 Judd Greedy 13 Team Taylor Racing Honda Honda RS125R 45 Jay Taylor 13 Christopher West Plumbing Honda Honda RS125R 46 Anthony West 13 Team Italia Aprilia Aprilia RS125R 47 Riccardo Chiarello 11 Team RS Honda Honda RS125R 48 Max Sabbatani 11 M'Project Honda Honda RS125R 50 Yuzo Fujioka 1 J. Racing Yamaha Yamaha TZ125 51 Takashi Akita 1 Tube Riders & Ablecom Honda Honda RS125R 52 Hiroyuki Kikuchi 1 S.P. Tadao Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha TZ125 53 Nobuyuki Osaki 1 Castrol Team Harc Pro Honda Honda RS125R 54 Kazuhiro Takao 1 RRC Prakash RAO Honda Honda RS125R 56 Magilai Meganathan 2 Echo Team Berner Honda Honda RS125R 58 Álvaro Molina 3, 6, 12 Team Esparragoso IGM Yamaha Yamaha TZ125 61 Vicente Esparragoso 3 Ricci Corse Honda Honda RS125R 63 Marco Tresoldi 4, 11 Ciarom–MotoSprint Aprilia Aprilia RS125R 64 Claudio Cipriani 4 Honda France Honda Honda RS125R 67 Randy de Puniet 5 Ipone Dussauge Racing Honda Honda RS125R 68 Nicolas Dussauge 5 Team RMS Honda Honda RS125R 69 Jimmy Petit 5 Team TMR Honda Honda RS125R 71 Josep Sardà 6, 12 Team TJT Honda Honda RS125R 72 Sebastián Perelló 6 Ep Bos Electro Elburg EGA Honda Honda RS125R 74 Hans Koopman 7 Team Kroegman Yamaha Yamaha TZ125 75 Wim Kroegman 7 Le Coq Fight Racing Honda Honda RS125R 76 Harold de Haan 7 R.T.D. Dooderman Dakdekkers Honda Honda RS125R 77 Ronnie Timmer 7 Luvro Ramaker Toyota Racing Honda Honda RS125R 78 Wilhelm van Leeuwen 7 Honda Britain Honda Honda RS125R 80 Leon Haslam 8 L Rumney/Garstang Cleaning Honda Honda RS125R 81 Chris Palmer 8 Racing Lines/Clive Horton Honda Honda RS125R 82 John Pearson 8 Ulster Racing Honda Honda RS125R 83 David Mateer 8 Agip Esch Racing Honda Honda RS125R 84 Reinhard Stolz 9 Yamaha Loffler Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha TZ125 86 Oliver Perschke 9 Hein Gericke Castrol Jr Team Honda Honda RS125R 87 Dirk Heidolf 9 Motorrad B.U.S. Levior Racing Yamaha Yamaha TZ125 88 Maik Stief 9 Repsol Team Honda Honda RS125R 89 Igor Kaláb 10 Wernberger - Team Hanusch Honda Honda RS125R 90 Jakub Smrž 10 91 Martin Psotný 10 Delta Uamk Team Honda Honda RS125R 92 Michal Březina 10 Telemark Racing Team Honda Honda RS125R 93 Bohuslav Seifert 10 Matsuo Daido Yuasa–tam Honda Honda RS125R 94 Cristiano Vieira 14 Amauri–Revista Moto! Honda Honda RS125R 95 César Barros 14 Motosistem 1 Honda Honda RS125R 97 Silvio Cesar 14

Key Regular Rider Wildcard Rider Replacement Rider

Standings

Riders' standings

500cc

^{[3] [4]}

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

• Riders marked with light blue background were eligible for Rookie of the Year award.

Pos Rider Bike JPN MAL ESP ITA FRA MAD NED GBR GER CZE IMO CAT AUS ARG Pts 1 Mick Doohan Honda Ret 1 2 1 2 Ret 1 2 1 Ret 1 1 1 1 260 2 Max Biaggi Honda 1 3 3 2 5 6 2 6 2 1 3 DSQ 8 5 208 3 Àlex Crivillé Honda 4 4 1 3 1 5 6 4 3 2 2 Ret 3 Ret 198 4 Carlos Checa Honda 8 2 4 4 3 1 5 WD 7 10 6 DNS 8 139 5 Alex Barros Honda 7 Ret 5 9 Ret 9 4 5 4 3 4 7 4 3 138 6 Norifumi Abe Yamaha 14 Ret 6 6 7 2 Ret 3 Ret 5 6 3 5 4 128 7 Simon Crafar Yamaha 9 Ret 13 7 9 8 3 1 Ret 11 11 5 2 13 119 8 Tadayuki Okada Honda 2 Ret 7 DNQ 8 4 7 2 9 2 106 9 Nobuatsu Aoki Suzuki 6 Ret 8 8 8 4 7 7 10 12 9 11 6 12 101 10 Régis Laconi Yamaha DNS 14 10 11 7 9 8 5 9 12 8 7 6 86 11 Sete Gibernau Honda 10 Ret 12 14 10 3 Ret Ret Ret 6 8 4 Ret 9 72 12 John Kocinski Honda 13 5 11 5 4 Ret DNS 15 13 9 12 10 64 13 Kenny Roberts Jr. Modenas KR3 11 11 9 Ret 13 WD 12 Ret 6 10 14 10 10 11 59 14 Ralf Waldmann Modenas KR3 Ret 9 10 11 12 10 DNS 7 13 15 12 Ret 15 46 15 Jurgen van den Goorbergh Honda Ret 8 18 16 15 Ret 10 9 8 16 Ret 13 11 14 40 16 Jean-Michel Bayle Yamaha 8 5 Ret 7 28 17 Garry McCoy Honda Ret 10 15 13 17 11 11 13 Ret DNS Ret 23 18 Kyoji Nanba Yamaha 5 Ret 16 12 9 22 19 Matt Wait Honda Ret 12 20 Ret 18 13 13 Ret 14 20 18 14 13 17 17 20 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha 3 16 21 Scott Smart Honda Ret 21 19 Ret 12 14 10 Ret 21 Ret 15 15 DNS 14 22 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki 6 19 17 DNS 10 23 Luca Cadalora Yamaha 6 Ret 10 Suzuki Ret MuZ Ret 24 Bernard Garcia Honda 15 11 12 Ret 10 25 Norihiko Fujiwara Yamaha 7 9 26 Eskil Suter MuZ 18 Ret 14 Ret 13 14 Ret Ret 7 27 Gregorio Lavilla Honda 11 5 28 Doriano Romboni MuZ 12 DNS 4 29 John McGuinness Honda 12 4 30 Sébastien Gimbert Honda Ret 13 17 15 16 DNQ 19 Ret Ret Ret 16 4 31 Fernando Cristóbal Honda 15 14 15 4 32 Juan Borja Honda 15 Ret Ret Ret 14 Ret Ret DNS 17 17 Ret 16 18 3 33 Mark Willis Suzuki 14 2 34 Fabio Carpani Honda 16 Ret Ret 20 19 16 DNQ 15 16 Ret 19 Ret Ret 20 1 Katsuaki Fujiwara Suzuki 18 16 Ret 0 Paolo Tessari Paton Ret 16 0 Craig Connell Honda Ret Ret 19 0 Juan Pablo Gianini Honda 21 0 Felisberto Teixeira Honda 22 0 Keiichi Kitagawa Suzuki Ret 0 Russell Wood Honda Ret 0 Gianmaria Liverani Paton Ret 0 Jean-Philippe Ruggia MuZ Ret 0 Jörg Schöllhorn Honda WD 0 Pos. Rider Bike JPN MAL ESP ITA FRA MAD NED GBR GER CZE IMO CAT AUS ARG 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 position Italics – Fastest lap

250cc

^[5]

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

• Riders marked with light blue background were eligible for Rookie of the Year award.

Pos Rider Bike JPN MAL ESP ITA FRA MAD NED GBR GER CZE IMO CAT AUS ARG Pts 1 Loris Capirossi Aprilia 7 5 1 4 3 3 Ret 1 4 2 2 3 2 2 224 2 Valentino Rossi Aprilia Ret Ret 2 2 2 Ret 1 Ret 3 Ret 1 1 1 1 201 3 Tetsuya Harada Aprilia 4 1 DSQ 3 1 1 Ret 2 1 1 10 2 Ret Ret 200 4 Tohru Ukawa Honda Ret 2 4 7 Ret 2 5 4 Ret 5 4 5 5 4 145 5 Olivier Jacque Honda 5 3 3 Ret 4 Ret Ret Ret 5 4 3 3 112 6 Haruchika Aoki Honda 11 4 6 6 6 Ret 3 5 Ret 6 6 7 8 Ret 112 7 Stefano Perugini Honda 12 6 7 5 5 Ret Ret 3 Ret 11 3 6 6 Ret 102 8 Takeshi Tsujimura Yamaha 15 11 8 12 9 7 7 8 6 8 9 10 12 11 91 9 Jeremy McWilliams TSR-Honda 10 7 Ret Ret 7 9 12 7 2 4 Ret Ret Ret 6 87 10 Luis D'Antin Yamaha DNS Ret 9 9 8 6 4 9 12 12 11 16 7 Ret 74 11 José Luis Cardoso Yamaha 8 10 Ret 8 13 5 Ret 10 7 10 12 Ret Ret Ret 61 12 Roberto Rolfo TSR-Honda Ret 12 13 Ret 14 10 10 12 11 15 8 8 13 5 61 13 Jason Vincent TSR-Honda 19 14 Ret Ret 10 8 8 6 5 7 15 11 Ret 60 14 Luca Boscoscuro TSR-Honda 18 Ret 11 10 Ret Ret 9 DNS 8 9 7 12 10 10 58 15 Marcellino Lucchi Aprilia 5 1 3 Ret Ret 52 16 Noriyasu Numata Suzuki 9 12 14 Ret Ret Ret 11 11 9 14 14 13 9 7 52 17 Jürgen Fuchs Aprilia 17 8 Ret Ret 12 4 2 Ret DNS 45 18 Franco Battaini Yamaha Ret Ret 12 11 11 DNS 13 13 9 Ret 9 34 19 Shinya Nakano Yamaha 2 4 33 20 Daijiro Kato Honda 1 25 21 Johan Stigefelt Suzuki Ret Ret Ret DNS Ret 12 15 13 Ret 16 21 15 11 8 22 22 Sebastián Porto Aprilia Ret 9 Ret Ret Ret Ret 6 DNS Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 17 23 Naoki Matsudo Yamaha 3 16 24 Osamu Miyazaki Yamaha 14 15 10 Ret Ret DNS 18 18 14 15 14 14 25 Davide Bulega Honda 20 Ret Ret 14 11 ERP-Honda 16 14 17 DNS 13 20 16 Ret Ret 12 26 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki 6 10 27 Yasumasa Hatakeyama Honda Ret Ret 16 17 20 17 14 Ret 9 ERP-Honda 13 Ret 13 16 15 DNS 28 Ivan Clementi Yamaha 11 14 Ret Ret 7 29 Alex Hofmann Honda 10 6 30 William Costes Honda DNS Ret 15 16 Ret Ret 13 14 Ret 6 31 Choujun Kameya Suzuki 13 3 32 Diego Giugovaz Aprilia 17 18 13 3 33 Jamie Robinson Yamaha 16 14 2 34 Federico Gartner Aprilia Ret 16 18 15 Ret 16 WD Ret Ret 24 Ret 19 17 1 35 Julien Allemand Honda 15 17 WD 1 36 Ismael Bonilla Honda 17 15 1 37 Mike Baldinger Honda 15 1 38 Woolsey Coulter Honda Ret 15 1 Matthieu Lagrive Honda DNS 19 22 19 18 16 0 Makoto Tamada Honda 16 0 Shaun Geronimi Yamaha 16 0 Shahrol Yuzy Yamaha 17 0 Vincent Philippe Honda 17 0 David Horton Honda 17 0 Franck Poulle Honda 18 0 Jarno Janssen Honda 18 0 Shane Norval Honda 18 0 Diego Ruabén Honda 18 0 Maurice Bolwerk Honda 19 0 Igor Antonelli Aprilia 19 0 Leandro Mulet Yamaha 19 0 Rudie Markink Honda 20 0 David García Honda 20 0 Craig Frederickson Honda 20 0 Gabriel Borgmann Yamaha 20 0 André Romein Honda 21 0 Vladimír Častka ERP-Honda 21 0 Lucas Oliver Bultó Honda 21 0 Radomil Rous Yamaha 22 0 David Ortega Honda 22 0 Filippo Cotti Honda 23 0 Eustaquio Gavira Honda Ret Ret 0 Agustín Escobar Honda Ret 0 Hervé Mora Aprilia Ret 0 Alex Debón Honda Ret 0 Gary May Aprilia Ret 0 Paul Jones Aprilia Ret 0 Callum Ramsay Honda Ret 0 Markus Ober Honda Ret 0 Mathias Neukirchen Aprilia Ret 0 Adrian Schmidt Honda Ret 0 Iván Silva Honda Ret 0 William Strugnell Honda Ret 0 Matías Ríos Yamaha Ret 0 Martin Craggill Aprilia DNS 0 Manuel Luque Yamaha DNQ 0 José David de Gea Yamaha DNQ 0 Henk van de Lagemaat Honda DNQ 0 Lukáš Vavrečka Honda DNQ 0 Lars Langer Yamaha DNQ 0 Adam Brunskill Yamaha DNQ 0 Pos. Rider Bike JPN MAL ESP ITA FRA MAD NED GBR GER CZE IMO CAT AUS ARG 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 position Italics – Fastest lap

125cc

^[6]

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

• Riders marked with light blue background were eligible for Rookie of the Year award.

Pos Rider Bike JPN MAL ESP ITA FRA MAD NED GBR GER CZE IMO CAT AUS ARG Pts 1 Kazuto Sakata Aprilia 1 6 1 4 1 4 2 1 7 2 4 9 4 5 229 2 Tomomi Manako Honda 2 3 2 1 Ret Ret 3 Ret 1 Ret 1 1 2 1 217 3 Marco Melandri Honda 10 Ret 10 2 2 2 1 4 13 1 2 8 3 2 202 4 Masao Azuma Honda 3 9 4 9 3 Ret 10 Ret Ret Ret 3 3 1 4 135 5 Lucio Cecchinello Honda 4 12 Ret Ret 5 1 4 6 DNS 3 Ret 4 7 3 130 6 Mirko Giansanti Honda Ret 2 3 Ret Ret Ret 6 2 Ret 4 Ret 2 12 6 113 7 Masaki Tokudome Aprilia 8 4 12 10 8 9 5 5 9 Ret 5 13 16 8 97 8 Gianluigi Scalvini Honda 6 13 8 3 Ret 5 Ret 9 Ret 5 12 10 9 10 89 9 Roberto Locatelli Honda Ret 5 Ret Ret 4 Ret 7 Ret 3 8 7 5 6 Ret 87 10 Frédéric Petit Honda 11 7 11 8 6 8 8 8 DNS 10 11 15 14 13 78 11 Youichi Ui Yamaha Ret Ret 7 5 11 7 12 3 Ret Ret 6 Ret 5 15 76 12 Arnaud Vincent Aprilia 20 10 14 11 12 Ret 16 11 2 6 9 12 Ret 7 72 13 Noboru Ueda Honda Ret 1 5 7 Ret 6 18 9 62 14 Ivan Goi Aprilia 15 15 Ret 13 9 Ret 14 10 11 9 10 11 11 11 53 15 Hiroyuki Kikuchi Honda 7 3 13 15 4 7 DNS 52 16 Yoshiaki Katoh Yamaha 12 17 Ret 19 10 11 Ret Ret 6 15 8 7 Ret 14 45 17 Steve Jenkner Aprilia Ret 11 16 14 7 10 9 Ret 8 11 14 16 15 17 45 18 Gino Borsoi Aprilia Ret Ret 9 6 Ret 16 11 7 Ret 14 Ret 20 10 12 43 19 Ángel Nieto Jr. Aprilia 13 8 13 Ret Ret 6 17 12 10 12 Ret 18 13 Ret 41 20 Jaroslav Huleš Honda Ret 14 6 Ret Ret 12 15 Ret Ret Ret Ret 19 8 18 25 21 Emilio Alzamora Aprilia 21 16 Ret 17 Ret Ret Ret 14 5 Ret 13 14 21 DNS 18 22 Nobuyuki Osaki Yamaha 5 11 23 Juan Enrique Maturana Yamaha 16 Ret Ret 18 14 15 19 16 12 13 16 Ret 17 16 10 24 Takashi Akita Yamaha 9 7 25 Paolo Tessari Aprilia 19 18 18 12 15 5 26 Jerónimo Vidal Aprilia 19 16 13 Ret 20 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 3 27 Álvaro Molina Honda Ret 13 25 3 28 Federico Cerroni Aprilia Ret 18 13 17 Ret 18 DNS Ret 3 29 Fonsi Nieto Aprilia 15 14 17 3 30 Kazuhiro Takao Honda 14 2 31 Andrea Iommi Honda Ret 16 18 21 18 14 16 19 24 22 Ret 2 32 Claudio Cipriani Aprilia 15 1 33 Christian Manna Yamaha Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 15 17 DNS Ret 1 34 Andrea Zappa Honda 15 1 Klaus Nöhles Honda 16 0 Jose Ramon Ramirez Aprilia 17 Ret 17 0 Max Sabbatani Honda 17 0 Leon Haslam Honda 17 0 Randy de Puniet Honda 17 0 Josep Sardà Honda 17 23 0 Igor Kaláb Honda 18 0 Reinhard Stolz Honda 18 0 Jimmy Petit Honda 18 0 Andrea Ballerini Honda 18 DSQ Ret 0 Yamaha 21 19 Cristiano Viera Honda 19 0 Michal Březina Honda 19 0 Oliver Perschke Yamaha 19 0 Iván Martínez Aprilia 19 Ret 0 Silvio Cesar Honda 20 0 Jay Taylor Honda 20 0 Bohuslav Seifert Honda 20 0 Dirk Heidolf Honda 20 0 Marco Tresoldi Honda 20 Ret 0 Pablo Nieto Aprilia 22 0 Hans Koopman EGA Honda 22 0 Peter Galvin Honda 23 0 Wilhelm van Leeuwen Honda 23 0 Harold de Haan Honda 24 0 Alessandro Romagnoli Aprilia Ret 0 Anthony West Honda Ret 0 Judd Greedy Honda Ret 0 Adrián Araujo Honda Ret 0 Riccardo Chiarello Aprilia Ret 0 Jakub Smrž Honda Ret 0 Martin Psotný Honda Ret 0 Maik Stief Yamaha Ret 0 Chris Palmer Honda Ret 0 David Mateer Honda Ret 0 John Pearson Honda Ret 0 Nicolas Dussauge Honda Ret 0 Magilai Meganathan Honda Ret 0 Yuzo Fujioka Honda Ret 0 Chedryian Bresland Honda DNS 0 Manuel Poggiali Honda DNS Sebastián Perelló Honda DNS Vicente Esparragoso Yamaha DNS César Barros Honda DNQ Ronnie Timmer Honda DNQ Wim Kroegman Yamaha DNQ Pos. Rider Bike JPN MAL ESP ITA FRA MAD NED GBR GER CZE IMO CAT AUS ARG 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 position Italics – Fastest lap

Manufacturers' standings

500cc

^[7]

Pos.	Manufacturer	JPN	MAL	ESP	ITA	FRA	MAD	NED	GBR	GER	CZE	IMO	CAT	AUS	ARG	Pts
1	Honda	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	345
2	Yamaha	3	7	6	6	6	2	3	1	5	5	5	3	2	4	198
3	Suzuki	6	6	8	8	8	4	7	7	10	12	9	11	6	12	111
4	Modenas KR3	11	9	9	11	12	10	12	Ret	6	10	14	10	10	11	73
5	MuZ	12	DNS		18	Ret	14	Ret	Ret	13	14	Ret	Ret		Ret	11
	Paton				Ret							Ret	16			0
Pos.	Manufacturer	JPN	MAL	ESP	ITA	FRA	MAD	NED	GBR	GER	CZE	IMO	CAT	AUS	ARG	Pts

250cc

^[8]

Pos.	Manufacturer	JPN	MAL	ESP	ITA	FRA	MAD	NED	GBR	GER	CZE	IMO	CAT	AUS	ARG	Pts
1	Aprilia	4	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	338
2	Honda	1	2	3	5	4	2	3	3	10	5	3	4	3	3	215
3	Yamaha	2	10	8	8	8	5	4	8	6	8	9	9	4	9	134
4	TSR-Honda	10	7	11	10	7	8	8	6	2	4	7	8	10	5	128
5	Suzuki	6	13	14	Ret	Ret	12	11	11	9	14	14	13	9	7	59
6	ERP Honda				13	16	13	16	15	13	20	16	Ret	Ret	12	14
Pos.	Manufacturer	JPN	MAL	ESP	ITA	FRA	MAD	NED	GBR	GER	CZE	IMO	CAT	AUS	ARG	Pts

125cc

Pos.	Manufacturer	JPN	MAL	ESP	ITA	FRA	MAD	NED	GBR	GER	CZE	IMO	CAT	AUS	ARG	Pts
1	Honda	2	1	2	1	2	1	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	330
2	Aprilia	1	4	1	4	1	4	2	1	2	2	4	9	4	5	243
3	Yamaha	5	17	7	5	10	7	12	3	6	13	6	7	5	14	111
	EGA Honda							22								0
Pos.	Manufacturer	JPN	MAL	ESP	ITA	FRA	MAD	NED	GBR	GER	CZE	IMO	CAT	AUS	ARG	Pts

^[9]

References

• Büla, Maurice & Schertenleib, Jean-Claude (2001). Continental Circus 1949-2000. Chronosports S.A. ISBN   2-940125-32-5
• "The Official MotoGP website" . Retrieved 2010-07-06.

1. Noyes, Dennis; Scott, Michael (1999), Motocourse: 50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix, Hazleton Publishing Ltd, ISBN   1-874557-83-7
2. "motogp.com · 500cc World Standing 1998". www.motogp.com.
3. "motogp.com · 500cc World Standing 1998". www.motogp.com. Archived from the original on 2017-08-05. Retrieved 2010-06-09.
4. "500cc Grand Prix entry list for 1998".
5. "motogp.com · 250cc World Standing 1998". www.motogp.com.
6. "motogp.com · 125cc World Standing 1998". www.motogp.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-17. Retrieved 2010-06-09.
7. "GP Marlboro de Argentina – 500cc – World Championship Classification" (PDF). MotoGP.com. Dorna Sports. 25 October 1998. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
8. "1998 championship standings". classic.autosport.com. Autosport. Archived from the original on 27 November 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
9. "GP Marlboro de Argentina – 125cc – World Championship Classification" (PDF). MotoGP.com. Dorna Sports. 25 October 1998. Retrieved 26 November 2016.