The 1998
Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 50th
F.I.M. Road Racing
Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on p ...
World Championship season.
Season summary
Mick Doohan and
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...
continued to dominate the 500 class with the Australian taking 8 victories and Honda winning all but one race.
winning the
British Grand Prix
The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World C ...
for
Yamaha's lone victory.
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.
A controversial finish marked the 250 title race.
Aprilia
Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded immediately after World War II in Noale, Italy, by Alberto Beggio. The company started as a manufacturer of bicycles and moved on to manufacture scooters and small-capacity motorcycles. ...
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.
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.
took the win with Capirossi recovering to finish in second and claiming the title.
Afterwards, Aprilia would release Capirossi from his contract.
Kazuto Sakata would win his second 125 title for Aprilia after a tight battle with Tomomi Manako and
Marco Melandri.
1998 Grand Prix season calendar
The following Grands Prix were scheduled to take place in 1998:
†† = 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
The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around the village a ...
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
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
was added as an extra, one-off Grand Prix.
1998 Grand Prix season results
†† = Saturday race
Participants
500cc participants
Standings
Riders' standings
500cc
;Scoring system
Points were awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider had to finish the race to earn points.
* Riders marked with light blue background were eligible for Rookie of the Year award.
250cc
;Scoring system
Points were awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider had to finish the race to earn points.
* Riders marked with light blue background were eligible for Rookie of the Year award.
125cc
;Scoring system
Points were awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider had to finish the race to earn points.
* Riders marked with light blue background were eligible for Rookie of the Year award.
Manufacturers' standings
500cc
250cc
125cc
References
* Büla, Maurice & Schertenleib, Jean-Claude (2001). ''Continental Circus 1949-2000''. Chronosports S.A.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:1998 Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing Season
Grand Prix motorcycle racing seasons
Grand Prix motorcycle racing season