The 2018 FIM
MotoGP World Championship was the premier class of the 70th
F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
Marc Márquez
Marc Márquez Alentà (born 17 February 1993) is a Spanish professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, who has raced for Honda's factory team since his MotoGP debut in 2013. Born in Cervera, Catalonia, Spain, he is nicknamed the 'Ant of Cer ...
entered the season as the reigning champion, with
Repsol Honda
Repsol Honda is the official factory team of the Honda Racing Corporation in the MotoGP class of Grand Prix motorcycle racing (World Championship road racing), backed by principal sponsor Repsol.
History 1990s
In the team entered a three r ...
being the reigning team champions 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 ...
the reigning constructors' champions.
Originally scheduled for 19 races, the season was reduced by one Grand Prix due to the cancellation of the 26 August
Silverstone event due to unsafe track conditions involving standing water after a rider vote.
Marc Márquez
Marc Márquez Alentà (born 17 February 1993) is a Spanish professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, who has raced for Honda's factory team since his MotoGP debut in 2013. Born in Cervera, Catalonia, Spain, he is nicknamed the 'Ant of Cer ...
clinched the championship trophy on 21 October 2018 after sixteen rounds, winning three consecutive races during spring, another three consecutive races during autumn and nine overall.
Andrea Dovizioso finished in second and
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 ...
ended up in third, the former with four wins, while Rossi did not record a race win.
Jorge Lorenzo
Jorge Lorenzo Guerrero (; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish former professional motorcycle racer. He is a five-time World Champion, with three MotoGP World Championships (, and ) and two 250cc World Championships ( and ).
After winning the 2006 a ...
with three wins and a win apiece for
Cal Crutchlow
Cal Crutchlow (born 29 October 1985) is an English professional motorcycle racer who retired from regular competition after the 2020 season. He is contracted as a test rider for Yamaha Motor Racing, which he is expected to continue in 2022 and ...
and
Maverick Viñales
Maverick Viñales Ruiz (; born 12 January 1995) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racer. Viñales is the 2013 Moto3 World Champion, currently riding in MotoGP for the Aprilia Racing team, after five seasons as a MotoGP factory rider with the ...
were the other race winners. Yamaha suffered their worst winless streak in their history with no wins for 25 races, which lasted from the
2017 German Grand Prix until Viñales won the
Australian Grand Prix.
KTM
KTM AG (Kraftfahrzeug Trunkenpolz Mattighofen, formerly KTM Sportmotorcycle AG) is an Austrian motorcycle, bicycle and sports car manufacturer owned by Pierer Mobility AG and the Indian manufacturer Bajaj Auto. It was formed in 1992 but traces ...
got their first podium finish at the
Valencian Grand Prix with
Pol Espargaro, finishing in third.
Teams and riders
All the bikes used series-specified
Michelin tyres.
Team changes
*
LCR Honda
LCR Team is a motorcycle racing team currently competing in the MotoGP World Championship under the name LCR Honda Castrol with rider Álex Márquez and LCR Honda Idemitsu with rider Takaaki Nakagami, as well as the MotoE World Cup under the n ...
expanded to enter a second bike for the first time since 2015.
* Aspar Racing Team raced under the name of "
Ángel Nieto Team" from 2018 in honor of the late
Ángel Nieto
Ángel Nieto Roldán (25 January 1947 – 3 August 2017) was a Spanish professional Grand Prix motorcycle racer. He was one of the most accomplished motorcycle racers in the history of the sport, winning 13 World Championships and 90 Grand Prix ...
.
Rider changes
*
Sam Lowes
Samuel Deane Lowes (born 14 September 1990) is a British motorcycle racer competing in the Moto2 World Championship aboard a Kalex since 2019, and is part of the ELF Marc VDS Racing Team.
Lowes' 2022 season ended early, being unable to race ...
was released from his contract with
Aprilia Racing Team Gresini one year before it expired. Lowes returned to the Moto2 category.
*
Thomas Lüthi
Thomas Lüthi (born 6 September 1986) is a Swiss sporting director at Prüstel GP, and former Grand Prix motorcycle racer. He spent 19 years in Grand Prix world championships, becoming one of only six riders to reach 300 race starts, spending m ...
moved up to MotoGP, making his début with
EG 0,0 Marc VDS after competing in the intermediate class for eleven seasons.
*
2017 Moto2 champion
Franco Morbidelli
Franco Morbidelli (born 4 December 1994) is an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle racer in MotoGP, riding for Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team. He became champion in the 2013 European Superstock 600 Championship, and the 2017 Moto2 World Champio ...
was promoted to MotoGP, making his début with
EG 0,0 Marc VDS.
*
Tito Rabat
Esteve "Tito" Rabat Bergada (born 25 May 1989) is a Spanish motorcycle racer. He is best known for winning the 2014 Moto2 World Championship.
Rabat then made the move to MotoGP in 2016 and spent five full-time seasons there, before moving to th ...
returned to
Reale Avintia Racing, after leaving
EG 0,0 Marc VDS. He was partnered by
Xavier Siméon
Xavier Siméon (born 31 August 1989) is a Grand Prix motorcycle racer from Belgium, competing in the MotoE World Cup. He is the winner of the 2009 FIM Superstock 1000 Championship and the 2006 European Superstock 600 Championship and the winne ...
who moved up to the premier class. Rabat previously competed with Avintia Racing under the name By Queroseno Racing (BQR) between the 2005 125cc and the 2011 Moto2 seasons.
*
Takaaki Nakagami
is a Japanese Grand Prix motorcycle racer, competing for LCR Honda Idemitsu in MotoGP. He won the Japanese Road Race Championship 125cc class in 2006 and J-GP2 class in 2011.
Career Early career
Born in Chiba, Nakagami joined the Japanese ...
moved up to MotoGP with Team LCR.
*
Scott Redding
Scott Christopher Redding (born 4 January 1993) is a British motorcycle racer. For 2022 he is contracted to ride in Superbike World Championship with BMW Motorrad WorldSBK team after the 2020 and 2021 seasons with Ducati factory WSBK team ridi ...
left
Pramac Racing
Pramac Racing is a motorcycle racing team competing in the MotoGP and MotoE World Championships. The team was created in 2002 by Italian company Pramac. In 2005 Pramac Racing joined forces with Spanish d'Antin MotoGP to form "Pramac d'Antin" and ...
at the end of the 2017 season to join
Aprilia Racing Team Gresini.
His place was taken by
Jack Miller Jack Miller may refer to:
Military
* Jack Miller (USMC officer) (1920–1942), American marine soldier
* Jack Duppa-Miller (1903–1994), British recipient of the George Cross in World War II, originally called Jack Miller
* USS ''Jack Miller'', ...
.
*
Loris Baz
Loris Baz (born 1 February 1993) is a French motorcycle racer. He is competing for satellite BMW team Bonovo in the 2022 Superbike World Championship, together with Eugene Laverty.
Baz has previously competed in World Superbikes for Ten Kate Rac ...
left MotoGP and returned to
Superbike World Championship
Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette-class road racing series based on heavily modified production motorcycles, also known as superbike racing.
The championship was founded i ...
. During Mid-season, Baz replaced injured
Pol Espargaró
Pol Espargaró Villà (born 10 June 1991) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racer who for 2023 will ride in the MotoGP class for the newly named GasGas Factory Racing team, a development of Tech3. He previously spent two years with Repsol H ...
at
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing is the factory team of KTM active in the MotoGP World Championship supported by sponsor, drinks manufacturer Red Bull.
History Development of the RC16
KTM have a well established presence amongst off-road motorcycle ...
for
British GP.
*
Héctor Barberá
Héctor Barberá Vall (born November 2, 1986) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He competes in MotoAmerica aboard a BMW S1000RR.
Career
Born in Dos Aguas, Valencia Province, Barberá began his World Championship career at the ...
returned to the intermediate class, Moto2, after leaving
Reale Avintia Racing. Barberá has completed eight seasons in the premier class.
*
Jonas Folger
Jonas Folger (born 13 August 1993) is a German professional motorcycle racer who most recently competed in the 2021 Superbike World Championship. He is best known for his stint in MotoGP with Monster Yamaha Tech 3 getting a podium in Germany be ...
, who was on the provisional entry list, withdrew from the 2018 season to focus on recovery from illness.
Hafizh Syahrin
Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah (born 5 May 1994) is a Malaysian motorcycle racer, set to race in WorldSBK in 2022 With MIE Honda. In 2018, he became the first ever Southeast Asian to race in the MotoGP category.
Career Early career
Hafizh was born ...
moved up to MotoGP to fill his spot in
Monster Yamaha Tech 3. He is the first Malaysian rider to compete in the sport's premier class.
Mid-season changes
*
Randy de Puniet
Randy de Puniet (born 14 February 1981) is a road racer of motorcycles from France. He competed in Grands Prix racing between 1998 and 2014, where he achieved five wins in the 250cc class. He also competed in the Superbike World Championship d ...
returned to MotoGP as the KTM test rider, replacing
Mika Kallio
Mika Kallio (born 8 November 1982) is a Finnish Grand Prix motorcycle racer, currently serving as the lead test and development rider for the Red Bull KTM team in MotoGP. He debuted in the 125cc World Championship with the Finnish rookie team ...
who suffered a knee injury during
German Grand Prix
The German Grand Prix (german: Großer Preis von Deutschland) was a motor race that took place most years since 1926, with 75 races having been held. The race has been held at only three venues throughout its history; the Nürburgring in Rh ...
for the remainder of the season.
*
Tito Rabat
Esteve "Tito" Rabat Bergada (born 25 May 1989) is a Spanish motorcycle racer. He is best known for winning the 2014 Moto2 World Championship.
Rabat then made the move to MotoGP in 2016 and spent five full-time seasons there, before moving to th ...
got injured after 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 Ch ...
, so he was replaced by
Christophe Ponsson for the
San Marino Grand Prix
The San Marino Grand Prix () was a Formula One championship race which was run at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in the town of Imola, near the Apennine mountains in Italy, between 1981 and 2006. It was named after nearby S ...
.
Jordi Torres
Jordi Torres Fernández (born August 27, 1987) is a Spanish motorcycle racer. He is a two-time MotoE World Cup winner, having won in and .
He is a two-time winner of the Spanish Moto2 championship, and has previously competed in his native Su ...
also replacing him since
Aragon Grand Prix onwards.
*
Álvaro Bautista
Álvaro Bautista Arce (born 21 November 1984) is a Spanish motorcycle road racer. He won the 2022 Superbike World Championship, with Ducati factory team.
After the 2019 World Superbike season with the factory Ducati team, for 2020 and 2021 h ...
replaced
Jorge Lorenzo
Jorge Lorenzo Guerrero (; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish former professional motorcycle racer. He is a five-time World Champion, with three MotoGP World Championships (, and ) and two 250cc World Championships ( and ).
After winning the 2006 a ...
at the
Australian Grand Prix due to injuries sustained at the
Thai Grand Prix, with
Mike Jones to take Bautista's place.
Calendar
The following Grands Prix took place in 2018:
: ‡ = Night race
Calendar changes
* 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 Ch ...
was scheduled to move from
Silverstone to the new
Circuit of Wales
Circuit of Wales ( cy, Cylchffordd Cymru) is a failed motor racing circuit and technology park development proposal in Blaenau Gwent on the outskirts of Ebbw Vale, Wales, adjacent to the Neath to Abergavenny Trunk Road (A465). The intention wa ...
, but construction on the new track has not commenced.
The two circuits reached a deal that will see Silverstone with an option to host the 2018 race.
In the end, the British Grand Prix saw all three races being cancelled due to dangerous track conditions on race day, and was not re-arranged.
*The
Thailand Grand Prix is a new addition to the calendar, with the race scheduled for 7 October.
*The
Catalan Grand Prix used a new configuration of the
Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, wherein the previous set of corners of turns 13, 14 and 15 were combined into a sweeping right corner. The new layout was previously used in
Formula 1 from
2004 to
2006.
Results and standings
Grands Prix
Riders' standings
;Scoring system
Points were awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider had to finish the race to earn points.
Constructors' standings
;Scoring system
Points were awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider had to finish the race to earn points.
* Each constructor got the same number of points as their best placed rider in each race.
Teams' standings
The teams' standings were based on results obtained by regular and substitute riders; wild-card entries were ineligible.
Notes
References
{{World championships in 2018
MotoGP
Grand Prix motorcycle racing seasons