The 2016 FIM MotoGP World Championship was the premier class of the 68th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
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).
The following Grands Prix took place in 2016: [6] [7] [8]
A provisional entry list was announced on 7 November 2015. [10]
All the bikes used Michelin tyres.
Round | Grand Prix | Pole position | Fastest lap | Winning rider | Winning team | Winning constructor | Report |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
2 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
3 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
4 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
5 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
6 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
7 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
8 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
9 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
10 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
11 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
12 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
13 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
14 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
15 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
16 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
17 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
18 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
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 |
|
Bold – Pole |
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 | ![]() | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 369 |
2 | ![]() | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 353 |
3 | ![]() | 2 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 261 |
4 | ![]() | 6 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 208 |
5 | ![]() | 13 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 9 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 16 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 101 |
![]() | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
Pos | Constructor | QAT ![]() | ARG ![]() | AME ![]() | SPA ![]() | FRA ![]() | ITA ![]() | CAT ![]() | NED ![]() | GER ![]() | AUT ![]() | CZE ![]() | GBR ![]() | RSM ![]() | ARA ![]() | JPN ![]() | AUS ![]() | MAL ![]() | VAL ![]() | Pts |
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 | ![]() | 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 | ![]() | 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 | ![]() | 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 | ![]() | 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 | ![]() | 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 | ![]() | 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 | ![]() | 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 | ![]() | 35 | Ret | Ret | 16 | 11 | Ret | 11 | 6 | Ret | 2 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 1 | Ret | Ret | 141 |
9 | ![]() | 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 | ![]() | 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 | ![]() | 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 |
Pedrosa's victory marks the eighth different winner in 2016, an all-time first since the championship began in 1949 - and he did it from eighth on the grid.
The only other year in the 68 year history of motorcycle grand prix racing that there were eight different winners in a premier-class season was in 2000, when eight riders won 500cc Grands Prix: Kenny Roberts Jnr, Garry McCoy, Valentino Rossi, Max Biaggi, Alex Barros, Alex Criville, Loris Capirossi and Norick Abe.
Ducati test rider Michele Pirro has a wild-card entry and was seen trying an experimental rear wheel design in FP3.
Avintia Ducati MotoGP rider Loris Baz will miss this weekend's San Marino Grand Prix due to injuries sustained at Silverstone, replaced by World Superbike Championship racer Xavi Fores.