The 2016 FIM Moto2 World Championship was a part of the 68th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season. The season was marred by the death of Luis Salom during a free practice session, at the Catalan Grand Prix. [1]
Johann Zarco started the season as the defending World Champion, having secured his first championship title at the 2015 Japanese Grand Prix. [2] With victory at the Malaysian Grand Prix – his sixth of the 2016 season – Zarco was able to retain his title, [3] amassing an unassailable points lead ahead of the final round in Valencia. As a result, Zarco became the first French rider to win multiple world motorcycle racing titles, [4] as well as becoming the first rider in the Moto2 era to defend the world championship, and the first to do so in the intermediate class since Jorge Lorenzo in 2006 and 2007. [5] Zarco completed the season with victory in Valencia, [6] as he won the championship by an eventual margin of 42 points.
The runner-up position remained up for grabs in Valencia, as four-time winner Thomas Lüthi, double winner Álex Rins and Franco Morbidelli all had a mathematical chance of finishing there. Ultimately with a second-place finish, [6] Lüthi finished clear of Rins by 20 points; Lüthi's last-lap pass on Morbidelli also cost the latter third place in the championship by a point, as Rins had finished the race in fifth place. [6] Morbidelli took a total of eight podium finishes, including each of the last five races, but was unable to take a victory. Four other riders won races; Sam Lowes took two race victories at Jerez and Aragon, [7] [8] Jonas Folger won at Brno, [9] while first Grand Prix victories went to Takaaki Nakagami at Assen, [10] and Lorenzo Baldassarri in Misano. [11] The constructors' championship went to Kalex with a maximum score of 450 points, with a 34-race winning streak at the conclusion of the season – a run stretching back to a Speed Up victory for Lowes at the 2015 Motorcycle Grand Prix of the Americas.
The following Grands Prix took place in 2016. [13]
A provisional entry list was announced on 7 November 2015. [15] All Moto2 competitors raced with an identical CBR600RR inline-four engine developed by Honda. Teams competed with tyres supplied by Dunlop.
Round | Grand Prix | Pole position | Fastest lap | Winning rider | Winning team | Winning constructor | Report |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix | Jonas Folger | Sam Lowes | Thomas Lüthi | Garage Plus Interwetten | Kalex | Report |
2 | Argentine Republic motorcycle Grand Prix | Sam Lowes | Johann Zarco | Johann Zarco | Ajo Motorsport | Kalex | Report |
3 | Motorcycle Grand Prix of the Americas | Álex Rins | Sam Lowes | Álex Rins | Páginas Amarillas HP 40 | Kalex | Report |
4 | Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix | Sam Lowes | Álex Rins | Sam Lowes | Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 | Kalex | Report |
5 | French motorcycle Grand Prix | Thomas Lüthi | Álex Rins | Álex Rins | Páginas Amarillas HP 40 | Kalex | Report |
6 | Italian motorcycle Grand Prix | Sam Lowes | Thomas Lüthi | Johann Zarco | Ajo Motorsport | Kalex | Report |
7 | Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix | Johann Zarco | Johann Zarco | Johann Zarco | Ajo Motorsport | Kalex | Report |
8 | Dutch TT | Thomas Lüthi | Takaaki Nakagami | Takaaki Nakagami | Idemitsu Honda Team Asia | Kalex | Report |
9 | German motorcycle Grand Prix | Takaaki Nakagami | Xavier Siméon | Johann Zarco | Ajo Motorsport | Kalex | Report |
10 | Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix | Johann Zarco | Johann Zarco | Johann Zarco | Ajo Motorsport | Kalex | Report |
11 | Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix | Johann Zarco | Jonas Folger | Jonas Folger | Dynavolt Intact GP | Kalex | Report |
12 | British motorcycle Grand Prix | Sam Lowes | Thomas Lüthi | Thomas Lüthi | Garage Plus Interwetten | Kalex | Report |
13 | San Marino and Rimini Riviera motorcycle Grand Prix | Johann Zarco | Álex Rins | Lorenzo Baldassarri | Forward Team | Kalex | Report |
14 | Aragon motorcycle Grand Prix | Sam Lowes | Franco Morbidelli | Sam Lowes | Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 | Kalex | Report |
15 | Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix | Johann Zarco | Franco Morbidelli | Thomas Lüthi | Garage Plus Interwetten | Kalex | Report |
16 | Australian motorcycle Grand Prix | Thomas Lüthi | Franco Morbidelli | Thomas Lüthi | Garage Plus Interwetten | Kalex | Report |
17 | Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix | Johann Zarco | Luca Marini | Johann Zarco | Ajo Motorsport | Kalex | Report |
18 | Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix | Johann Zarco | Johann Zarco | Johann Zarco | Ajo Motorsport | Kalex | 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 | Kalex | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 450 |
2 | Speed Up | 3 | 12 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 15 | 13 | 8 | Ret | 9 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 11 | 136 |
3 | Tech 3 | 19 | 14 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 24 | 16 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 47 |
4 | Suter | 22 | 26 | DNS | 25 | 19 | 10 | 6 | ||||||||||||
TSR | 22 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
TransFIORmers | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
NTS | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
Pos | Constructor |
QAT |
ARG |
AME |
SPA |
FRA |
ITA |
CAT |
NED |
GER |
AUT |
CZE |
GBR |
RSM |
ARA |
JPN |
AUS |
MAL |
VAL |
Pts |
The Argiñano & Ginés Racing Team brought 3 riders this time to Alcañiz; the two official riders, Marcel Schrötter and Áxel Pons, and our European Champion Steven Odendaal as a wild card.
Ramdan Rosli (Petronas AHM Malaysia) will join the Moto2 World Championship for the weekend, the Malaysian also making the step over from the FIM CEV Repsol series.
The 2016 FIM Moto2 World Championship was a part of the 68th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season. The season was marred by the death of Luis Salom during a free practice session, at the Catalan Grand Prix. [1]
Johann Zarco started the season as the defending World Champion, having secured his first championship title at the 2015 Japanese Grand Prix. [2] With victory at the Malaysian Grand Prix – his sixth of the 2016 season – Zarco was able to retain his title, [3] amassing an unassailable points lead ahead of the final round in Valencia. As a result, Zarco became the first French rider to win multiple world motorcycle racing titles, [4] as well as becoming the first rider in the Moto2 era to defend the world championship, and the first to do so in the intermediate class since Jorge Lorenzo in 2006 and 2007. [5] Zarco completed the season with victory in Valencia, [6] as he won the championship by an eventual margin of 42 points.
The runner-up position remained up for grabs in Valencia, as four-time winner Thomas Lüthi, double winner Álex Rins and Franco Morbidelli all had a mathematical chance of finishing there. Ultimately with a second-place finish, [6] Lüthi finished clear of Rins by 20 points; Lüthi's last-lap pass on Morbidelli also cost the latter third place in the championship by a point, as Rins had finished the race in fifth place. [6] Morbidelli took a total of eight podium finishes, including each of the last five races, but was unable to take a victory. Four other riders won races; Sam Lowes took two race victories at Jerez and Aragon, [7] [8] Jonas Folger won at Brno, [9] while first Grand Prix victories went to Takaaki Nakagami at Assen, [10] and Lorenzo Baldassarri in Misano. [11] The constructors' championship went to Kalex with a maximum score of 450 points, with a 34-race winning streak at the conclusion of the season – a run stretching back to a Speed Up victory for Lowes at the 2015 Motorcycle Grand Prix of the Americas.
The following Grands Prix took place in 2016. [13]
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 |
A provisional entry list was announced on 7 November 2015. [15] All Moto2 competitors raced with an identical CBR600RR inline-four engine developed by Honda. Teams competed with tyres supplied by Dunlop.
|
|
Round | Grand Prix | Pole position | Fastest lap | Winning rider | Winning team | Winning constructor | Report |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix | Jonas Folger | Sam Lowes | Thomas Lüthi | Garage Plus Interwetten | Kalex | Report |
2 | Argentine Republic motorcycle Grand Prix | Sam Lowes | Johann Zarco | Johann Zarco | Ajo Motorsport | Kalex | Report |
3 | Motorcycle Grand Prix of the Americas | Álex Rins | Sam Lowes | Álex Rins | Páginas Amarillas HP 40 | Kalex | Report |
4 | Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix | Sam Lowes | Álex Rins | Sam Lowes | Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 | Kalex | Report |
5 | French motorcycle Grand Prix | Thomas Lüthi | Álex Rins | Álex Rins | Páginas Amarillas HP 40 | Kalex | Report |
6 | Italian motorcycle Grand Prix | Sam Lowes | Thomas Lüthi | Johann Zarco | Ajo Motorsport | Kalex | Report |
7 | Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix | Johann Zarco | Johann Zarco | Johann Zarco | Ajo Motorsport | Kalex | Report |
8 | Dutch TT | Thomas Lüthi | Takaaki Nakagami | Takaaki Nakagami | Idemitsu Honda Team Asia | Kalex | Report |
9 | German motorcycle Grand Prix | Takaaki Nakagami | Xavier Siméon | Johann Zarco | Ajo Motorsport | Kalex | Report |
10 | Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix | Johann Zarco | Johann Zarco | Johann Zarco | Ajo Motorsport | Kalex | Report |
11 | Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix | Johann Zarco | Jonas Folger | Jonas Folger | Dynavolt Intact GP | Kalex | Report |
12 | British motorcycle Grand Prix | Sam Lowes | Thomas Lüthi | Thomas Lüthi | Garage Plus Interwetten | Kalex | Report |
13 | San Marino and Rimini Riviera motorcycle Grand Prix | Johann Zarco | Álex Rins | Lorenzo Baldassarri | Forward Team | Kalex | Report |
14 | Aragon motorcycle Grand Prix | Sam Lowes | Franco Morbidelli | Sam Lowes | Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 | Kalex | Report |
15 | Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix | Johann Zarco | Franco Morbidelli | Thomas Lüthi | Garage Plus Interwetten | Kalex | Report |
16 | Australian motorcycle Grand Prix | Thomas Lüthi | Franco Morbidelli | Thomas Lüthi | Garage Plus Interwetten | Kalex | Report |
17 | Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix | Johann Zarco | Luca Marini | Johann Zarco | Ajo Motorsport | Kalex | Report |
18 | Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix | Johann Zarco | Johann Zarco | Johann Zarco | Ajo Motorsport | Kalex | 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 | Kalex | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 450 |
2 | Speed Up | 3 | 12 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 15 | 13 | 8 | Ret | 9 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 11 | 136 |
3 | Tech 3 | 19 | 14 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 24 | 16 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 47 |
4 | Suter | 22 | 26 | DNS | 25 | 19 | 10 | 6 | ||||||||||||
TSR | 22 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
TransFIORmers | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
NTS | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
Pos | Constructor |
QAT |
ARG |
AME |
SPA |
FRA |
ITA |
CAT |
NED |
GER |
AUT |
CZE |
GBR |
RSM |
ARA |
JPN |
AUS |
MAL |
VAL |
Pts |
The Argiñano & Ginés Racing Team brought 3 riders this time to Alcañiz; the two official riders, Marcel Schrötter and Áxel Pons, and our European Champion Steven Odendaal as a wild card.
Ramdan Rosli (Petronas AHM Malaysia) will join the Moto2 World Championship for the weekend, the Malaysian also making the step over from the FIM CEV Repsol series.