The 1997 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 49th 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 publ ...

World Championship season.

Season summary

A fourth world championship in a row for Honda's

Mick Doohan Michael Sydney Doohan (born 4 June 1965) is an Australian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racing World Champion, who won five consecutive 500 cc World Championships. Biography Originally from the Gold Coast, Queensland, Doohan attended ...

with another dominating performance. He broke

Giacomo Agostini Giacomo Agostini (; born 16 June 1942) is an Italian multi-time world champion Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. Nicknamed Ago, he amassed 122 Grand Prix wins and 15 World Championship titles. Of these, 68 wins and 8 titles came in the 500 ...

's record for victories in one season with 12 wins. It was also dominating year for Honda with eight of the top ten riders aboard Hondas. The Yamaha and

Suzuki is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan. Suzuki manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a variety of other small internal co ...

teams were in disarray.

Kenny Roberts Kenneth Leroy Roberts (born December 31, 1951, in Modesto, California) is an American former professional motorcycle racer and racing team owner. In 1978, he became the first American to win a Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championship. H ...

left Yamaha to start his own venture with a lightweight, three-cylinder

Modenas ''Syarikat Motosikal dan Enjin Nasional Sdn. Bhd'' (National Motorcycle and Engine Company), or known as Modenas for short is a Malaysian national motorcycle company producing various small motorcycle models below 400cc targeted for local market ...

. Wayne Rainey's team was left with the inconsistent

Norifumi Abe , or was a Japanese professional motorcycle road racer who was previously a 500 cc/MotoGP rider. He died in a road traffic crash in October 2007. Career Abe was born to , a paved flat track rider, in Tokyo. When he was eleven, Abe began ra ...

and Sete Gibernau, a rookie.

Daryl Beattie Daryl Beattie (born 26 September 1970 in Charleville, Queensland, Australia) is a former Grand Prix solo motorcycle road racer. Motorsport career Beattie posted several good results at the beginning of the 1992 500cc Grand Prix season then t ...

wasn't able to come back from head injuries and retired at the end of the year while

Anthony Gobert Anthony Gobert (born 5 March 1975 in Greenacre, New South Wales, Australia) is a former professional motorcycle road racer, nicknamed The Go Show. He was a rider of immense promise and talent who had his career derailed by a personal struggl ...

failed a drug test and was dismissed by the Suzuki team. The Elf team soldiered on with their Swiss-Auto V4 but

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 ...

decided to pull their V twin from the 500 class at the end of the year.

Max Biaggi Massimiliano "Max" Biaggi (; born 26 June 1971) is an Italian former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer who achieved six World Championships. With four 250 cc road race titles and two in World Superbikes, he is one of only two r ...

had a harder time defending his title from

Tetsuya Harada is a Japanese former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was the 1993 FIM 250cc World Champion. Early years Born in Chiba, Japan, Harada won the Japanese 125cc Junior championship in 1988, and was runner-up to Tadayuki Okada in the Al ...

and Ralf Waldmann, not clinching the title until the last race of the year. A new star emerged from the 125 class with

Valentino Rossi Valentino Rossi (; ; born 16 February 1979) is an Italian former professional motorcycle road racer and nine-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champion. Nicknamed ''The Doctor'', he is widely considered to be one of the greatest motorcyc ...

winning 11 races for a commanding win on an Aprilia.

1997 Grand Prix season calendar

The following Grands Prix were scheduled to take place in 1997: †† = Saturday race

Calendar changes

* The

Malaysian Grand Prix The Malaysian Grand Prix (officially the Malaysia Grand Prix from 1963–1965 and 2011–2017 and Malayan Grand Prix in 1962) was an annual auto race held in Malaysia. It was part of the Formula One World Championship from 1999 to 2017 and it ...

replaced the Japanese Grand Prix with hosting the opening round Grand Prix. * The

Indonesian Grand Prix The Indonesian Grand Prix was an open-wheel racing car motor race, held intermittently as motorsport ambitions varied in Indonesia. History Held originally at the Jaya Ancol Circuit near Jakarta in 1976 as part of the burgeoning Rothmans Intern ...

was moved back from 7 April to 28 September. * The

Austrian Grand Prix The Austrian Grand Prix (german: Großer Preis von Österreich) is a Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile sanctioned motor racing event that was held in , –, –, and then returned to the Formula One calendar in . History The A ...

was moved forward from 4 August to 1 June. * The

Australian Grand Prix The Australian Grand Prix is an annual motor racing event which is under contract to host Formula One until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Grand Prix has moved frequently with 23 different venu ...

moved from the

Eastern Creek Raceway Sydney Motorsport Park (known until May 2012 as Eastern Creek International Raceway) is a motorsport circuit located on Brabham Drive, Eastern Creek (40-kilometres west of the Sydney CBD), New South Wales, Australia, adjacent to the Western Sy ...

to the

Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit The Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit is a motor racing circuit located near Ventnor, on Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia. The current circuit was first used in 1956. History Road circuit Motor racing on Phillip Island began in 1928 with t ...

1997 Grand Prix season results

†† = Saturday race

Participants

500 cc 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.

250cc

;Scoring system Points were awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider had to finish the race to earn points.

125cc

;Scoring system Points were awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider had to finish the race to earn points.

Manufacturers' standings

500cc

250cc

125cc

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:1997 Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing Season Grand Prix motorcycle racing seasons Grand Prix motorcycle racing season