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.
Changes for 2016
French oil and gas giants company Total was selected to become official fuel supplier of Moto2 and Moto3 beginning from 2016 onwards, replacing Eni after five seasons as a fuel supplier of Moto2 and Moto3.[12]
The 2016 season looked set to see the return of the Austrian Grand Prix to the series' schedule after 19 years absence. The race will be held at the Red Bull Ring, which was the venue of the last Austrian Grand Prix, when the track was called A1 Ring.[13]
Having been on the calendar since 2008, the Indianapolis round has been discontinued.[15]
Teams and riders
A provisional entry list was announced on 7 November 2015.[16] All Moto2 competitors raced with an identical CBR600RR inline-four engine developed by Honda. Teams competed with tyres supplied by Dunlop.
JiR Moto2 announced that they would withdraw from the championship at the end of the 2015 season.[44]
Dynavolt Intact GP expanded to enter a second bike, while Italtrans Racing downgraded to a single entry in 2016.
Leopard Racing returned to the Moto2 class after previously competing as Kiefer Racing from 2010 to 2012. The team is competing on Kalex bikes, with Danny Kent and Miguel Oliveira as their riders.
AGP Racing, who were listed on the provisional entry list, withdrew from the championship due to financial problems, leaving Federico Fuligni and Remy Gardner without rides.[45]
Azlan Shah, who was on the provisional entry list with JPMoto Malaysia, withdrew due to financial problems.[46]
In-season changes
After the Grand Prix of the Americas, Efrén Vázquez left the JPMoto Malaysia team. He was replaced by Danny Eslick in the 5th race and by Ricard Cardús in the 6th race. Before the 7th race, the JPMoto Malaysia team went bankrupt, so the team retired from the rest of the season.
Luis Salom was killed after an accident during Friday practice at the Catalan Grand Prix. His teammate Jesko Raffin withdrew from the weekend.[47] Before the Dutch TT, the SAG Racing Team announced that they will complete the season with Raffin as the team's sole rider, with Salom's spot on the team left vacated for the rest of the season.[48]
Dominique Aegerter got injured after the Czech Republic Grand Prix, so he was replaced by Iker Lecuona for the 12th and the 13th races. Aegerter returned for the 14th race. However, upon signing a 2017 contract with Leopard Racing, he was fired from Interwetten, bringing Lecuona back for the remaining 4 races.
^"Top10 for Pons in the first day at Motorland". AGR Team. Argiñano & Ginés Racing Team. 23 September 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-09-24. Retrieved 23 September 2016. 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.
^"Xavier Siméon: 2016. Kallio in QMMF team" [Xavier Siméon: Replaces Mika Kallio in QMMF Team for 2016]. Speedweek.com (in German). Speedweek. 24 October 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
^ abPiana, Alessio (2 June 2016). "Remy Gardner con Tasca Racing nel Mondiale" [Remy Gardner with Tasca Racing in the Worlds]. CorseDiMoto (in Italian). GazzaNet. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
^"Meet the Wildcards: A mixing pot". MotoGP.com. Dorna Sports. 30 May 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016. 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.
^"Moto2-WM 2016: Startfeld schrumpft weiter" [Moto2 World Championship 2016: Starting field continues to shrink]. Speedweek.com (in German). Speedweek. 23 December 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix
Jonas Folger
Sam Lowes
Thomas Lüthi
Argentine motorcycle Grand Prix
Johann Zarco
Motorcycle Grand Prix of the Americas
Álex Rins
Italian motorcycle Grand Prix
Dutch TT
Takaaki Nakagami
Xavier Siméon
Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix
Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix
San Marino and Rimini's Coast motorcycle Grand Prix
Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix
Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix
Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix
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