The 1992 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 44th 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. Honda secured the constructor's title in all three categories.

Season summaries

500cc summary

Wayne Rainey Wayne Wesley Rainey (born October 23, 1960) is an American former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, he won the 500cc World Championship three times and the Daytona 200 once. He was characterized by his s ...

won the 1992

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

for the third consecutive year on a

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 ...

Marlboro Marlboro (, ) is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA (a branch of Altria) within the United States and by Philip Morris International (now separate from Altria) outside the US. The largest Mar ...

Yamaha, however he was largely outshone by a dominant

Michael 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 ...

on his Rothmans

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 ...

, and was only prevented from winning what would have been his first world title by injury. Doohan won the first four opening rounds, the first he nearly didn't qualify for, due to tricky conditions in Suzuka, but ended up winning as

Rainey Rainey is a name of British-Irish origin. People with the surname * Bobby Rainey (born 1987), American National Football League player * Chuck Rainey (born 1940), American bassist * David "Puck" Rainey (born 1968), American reality TV personalit ...

crashed out in the rain.

followed Doohan home in second in the following three races, still not fully fit due to a broken femur he had suffered at the end of the

1991 season File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, 1991 Russian presidential election, elected as Russia's first President of Russia, president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated ...

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 ...

was third at his home race in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, riding as a replacement for

Wayne Gardner Wayne Michael Gardner (born 11 October 1959) is an Australian former professional Grand Prix motorcycle and touring car racer. His most notable achievement was winning the 1987 500 cc Motorcycle World Championship, becoming the first Aus ...

, who injured himself in a crash in the opening round. There were also podiums for Crivillé on his

in the

third round Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...

and

Niall Mackenzie Niall Macfarlane Mackenzie (born 19 July 1961) is a Scottish former professional motorcycle road racer. Career Mackenzie, who hails from Fankerton, near Denny, Stirlingshire; won the British Superbike Championship three times from 1996 to ...

on his Team France Yamaha in the fourth round after Crivillé had crashed out of third from his home race at Jerez. The fifth round at

Mugello The Mugello is a historic region and valley in northern Tuscany, in Italy, corresponding to the course of the River Sieve. It is located to the north of the city of Florence and includes the northernmost portion of the Metropolitan City of ...

saw one of the only races of the season where the three best riders of the era - Rainey, Doohan and Kevin Schwantz were fully fit and able to battle it out. Schwantz had missed the

due to injury but was able to take the victory at

on his

Lucky Strike Lucky Strike is an American brand of cigarettes owned by the British American Tobacco group. Individual cigarettes of the brand are often referred to colloquially as "Luckies." Throughout their 150 year history, Lucky Strike has had fluctuating ...

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 ...

crashed out whilst battling for the lead.

did however win his first race of the season at

Catalunya Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...

in round six, passing Doohan for victory with two laps remaining. The

seventh round Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *"The Seventh", a second-season ep ...

of the season saw Doohan get back to winning ways, but

had to retire due to being unable to continue after riding in pain following a heavy practice fall. The eighth round at

Assen Assen () is a municipality and a city in the northeastern Netherlands, and is the capital (politics), capital of the province of Drenthe. It received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1809. Assen is known for TT Circuit Assen, the ...

proved to be crucial to the title race.

left the circuit during practice, still being unable to ride comfortably, all but conceding the title to Doohan. However Doohan was to have his own crash in practice, suffering a double-fracture of his right leg and ruling him out for five races. Gardner also injured himself in practice leaving the Rothmans

squad without a rider for the race. Schwantz was therefore favorite for the race, but was being heavily challenged by Cagiva's four time world champion and veteran

Eddie Lawson Eddie Lawson (born March 11, 1958) is an American former four-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champion. His record of not crashing and consistently finishing in the points earned him the nickname "Steady Eddie".Lawson Lawson may refer to: Places Australia * Lawson, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Lawson, New South Wales, a town in the Blue Mountains Canada * Lawson, Saskatchewan * Lawson Island, Nunavut United States * Lawson, Arkansas * ...

took both riders out of the race with a collision, which resulted in Schwantz suffering a broken arm. The series of events left a group of riders chasing a rare victory and it was Crivillé who took the win, the first of his career.

was back for the following round at the

Hungaroring The Hungaroring is a motorsport racetrack in Mogyoród, Pest County, Hungary where the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix is held. In 1986, it became the location of the first Formula One Grand Prix behind the Iron Curtain. Bernie Ecclestone w ...

, but changeable weather conditions allowed

Lawson Lawson may refer to: Places Australia * Lawson, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Lawson, New South Wales, a town in the Blue Mountains Canada * Lawson, Saskatchewan * Lawson Island, Nunavut United States * Lawson, Arkansas * ...

to take Cagiva's first ever 500cc victory, and Lawson's last in a glittering career.

got back to winning ways in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

for the tenth round, however Gardner took a popular win at the British round, with

in second. A patch of oil into the first turn catching out several riders including high flying Schwantz, and teammate

Doug Chandler John Douglas Chandler (born September 27, 1965) is an American former professional motorcycle racer. He earned a reputation as one of the most versatile racers of the 1980s and 1990s. Chandler is one of only four riders in AMA racing history to ...

. The penultimate round of the season saw the return of Doohan, however he was still not fully fit.

won the race, and whilst Doohan was running in the top ten for periods, he wasn't able to maintain the pace and finished twelfth. In the

final round A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

needed to a two-point swing to win the world championship, and although Doohan managed a sterling effort to finish sixth, Rainey's third place was enough to secure him his third and final world title.

John Kocinski John Kocinski (born March 20, 1968 in Little Rock, Arkansas) is a retired American Grand Prix motorcycle road racer whose successes include winning the 1990 250cc World Championship, and the 1997 Superbike World Championship title.Rainey's teammate took his only win of the season, in his last race for

Roberts Yamaha, and promoted him to third in the world championship table, ahead of Schwantz. Chandler impressed in his first season in the series finishing fifth, whilst Gardner's strong performances when fit saw him good enough for sixth.

Juan Garriga Joan Garriga Vilaresau (29 March 1963 – 27 August 2015) was a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was known for his aggressive riding style. Together with Sito Pons, he helped to forge the path for Spanish riders in the World Ch ...

was a strong seventh on a Yamaha, with Crivillé impressing in his debut season in eighth, ahead of

took ninth, ahead of Randy Mamola. At the end of 1992 several of the big names of the 80's retired - Lawson, Gardner, and Mamola all left the sport, for different reasons. The factory Honda riders debuted the "big bang" engine, with the

NSR500 Japanese Grand Prix 1993 ">1993 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix">Japanese Grand Prix 1993 The Honda NSR500 is a road racing motorcycle created by HRC (Honda Racing Corporation) and debuted in 1984 for the Grand Prix motorcycle racing's 500&nb ...

, where the firing order of the cylinders made the power come out in pulses. The benefit to this was in traction, allowing the tires to adhere between pulses, rather than spin because of the

two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of ...

500’s peaky powerband. Yamaha came up with their own version for the 9th round and Suzuki had it available by mid-season, though Schwantz didn't use it initially. The "big bang" concept is still used in today's

four-stroke A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either direct ...

MotoGP Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start ...

bikes.

250cc summary

Luca Cadalora Luca Cadalora (born 17 May 1963) is an Italian former professional motorcycle racer who is the 125 cc World Champion, and 250 cc World Champion and 8-time Premier Class race winner. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from 1 ...

claimed his second 250cc crown by a much larger margin than his previous title. He won five out of the first six races on his Rothmans

accumulating such a huge points lead that he could afford to be more conservative in the second half of the season. Fellow Italians

Loris Reggiani Loris Reggiani (born 7 October 1959 in Forlì) is an Italian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer who competed for the Aprilia factory racing team. His best years were in 1981, when he won two races in the 125 class, finishing the season in s ...

and

Pierfrancesco Chili Pierfrancesco 'Frankie' Chili, (born 20 June 1964 in Bologna, Italy) is a former motorcycle racer who competed in the Superbike World Championship and the 250 cc and 500 cc classes in Grand Prix. In September 2020 he confirmed he was su ...

provided Cadalora's strongest competition. Reggiani won two races on his factory

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 ...

, whilst Chili put in a number of strong performances winning three races, but failing to finish on a number of occasions, and suffered the embarrassment of thinking he had claimed a podium in the fourth round at Jerez, only to realise he had slowed down prematurely and had in fact been warming down on the final lap. Helmut Bradl had a more disappointing 1992 season, having run Cadalora close for the title in the previous year, the German on the HB

failed to win a race, and was often off the pace, back in fifth in the championship standings. 1992 saw the emergence of several future 250cc stars, with

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 ...

Chili's Chili's Grill & Bar is an American casual dining restaurant chain. The company was founded by Larry Lavine in Texas in 1975 and is currently owned and operated by Brinker International. History Chili's first location, a converted postal stati ...

teammate, winning several pole positions and winning the final round in his debut season and impressing more and more as the season progressed.

Loris Capirossi Loris Capirossi (born 4 April 1973) is an Italian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, currently serving as Safety Advisor to Dorna Sports, the commercial rights holder of Grand Prix motorcycle racing. He is a 9-time Premier Class race wi ...

made the step up from 125s to 250s for the 1992 season. He was largely off the pace at the start of the season as he wasn't given a full works

initially, but once provided with a

much closer to the performance of Cadalora's as he proved he had the speed to be a contender. Similarly,

Doriano Romboni Doriano Romboni (8 December 1968 in Lerici, Italy – 30 November 2013 in Latina, Italy) was an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. Career Romboni raced in 125cc and 250cc World Championship races on Hondas. In 1996 he rode for the ...

's performances improved in the final few races when his HB

was upgraded. Former 250 world champion

Carlos Lavado Carlos Alberto Lavado Jones (born May 25, 1956) is a Venezuelan former professional Grand Prix motorcycle racer. He competed in the FIM motorcycle Grand Prix world championships from 1978 to 1992. Lavado is notable for winning two 250cc road ra ...

retired at the end of the season having had a very low-key 1992, rarely appearing in the points.

125cc summary

Alessandro Gramigni Alessandro Gramigni (born 29 December 1968) is an Italian former professional motorcycle racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from 1990 to 1997 and in the Superbike World Championship from to . Gramigni is notable for winning the ...

won the first ever 125cc championship for

, in a tight championship. This was despite Gramigni suffering a broken leg in a road bike accident midway through the season and missing a couple of rounds. Former double 125 champion Fausto Gresini had been consistent throughout the season on his

, but only won one race, finishing second in the championship. Gresini was looking in serious contention for the championship, but had a critical crash when running in second place in the French round. Honda's Ralf Waldmann finished third in the championship, but had led the series for most of the year having won three of the first four races. His dip in form after that saw him rarely finish on the podium in the second half of the season. Ezio Gianola won the most races in the class - four, yet a number of crashes and low finishes meant he finished fourth in the championship on his

, this was a marked up-turn in fortune for Gianola who had considered retiring after a disappointing

. Aprilia's Bruno Casanova also had a much better 1992 than the previous season, finishing fifth in the championship. His only win coming in the closest race of the season at Hockenheim, where the super fast slipstreaming circuit provided a classic 125 race with the lead changing hands almost every lap. Up and coming Dirk Raudies ended the season well with a victory in the penultimate round in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, and 125 veteran Jorge Martinez became the seventh different winner of the season when he won the final round of the season in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

Rule changes and off track events

During 1992

created the International Motorcycle Racers’ Association (IMRA) to pressure track organizers for safety improvements. Michelin came back from a semi-withdrawal and supplied tires to the

and Yamaha teams. The points system was revised to award points to the top 10 finishers only, instead of the top 15. This system would last for only the 1992 season, a slightly modified version being brought in for

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

, that is still used today. The calendar was shortened to 13 rounds, with the United States, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Austria losing their races. The South African Grand Prix was added and the European Grand Prix continued for another year.

1992 Grand Prix season calendar

The official 1992 calendar was approved on 28 February 1992. The following Grands Prix were scheduled to take place in 1992:

Calendar changes

* The

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

San Marino San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...

and

Czechoslovakian motorcycle Grand Prix An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gene ...

races were taken off the calendar due to a demand from

Bernie Ecclestone Bernard Charles Ecclestone (born 28 October 1930) is an English business magnate. He is the former chief executive of the Formula One Group, which manages Formula One motor racing and controls the commercial rights to the sport, and part-owns D ...

which started to meddle more with motorcycle racing affairs, along with the IRTA. * The

Hungarian Grand Prix The Hungarian Grand Prix ( hu, Magyar Nagydíj) is a motor racing event held annually in Mogyoród. Since 1986, the race has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Championship. History Origins The first Hungarian Grand Prix was held on 2 ...

was added to the calendar after a one-year absence on demand of Bernie Ecclestone, who wanted to get more F1 tracks on the calendar. * The

Brazilian Grand Prix The Brazilian Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prêmio do Brasil), currently held under the name São Paulo Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prêmio de São Paulo), is a Formula One championship race which is currently held at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace ...

was added on the calendar after a two-year absence. On demand of Bernie Ecclestone, the chosen track became the Interlagos circuit, instead of the previously used

Goiânia Goiânia (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian federative units of Brazil, state of Goiás. With a population of 1,536,097, it is the second-largest city in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West Region and the 10th-largest ...

circuit. * The

French Grand Prix The French Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de France), formerly known as the Grand Prix de l'ACF (Automobile Club de France), is an auto race held as part of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One World Championsh ...

moved from the

Paul Ricard Paul Louis Marius Ricard (; July 9, 1909 – November 7, 1997) was a French industrialist and creator of an eponymous pastis brand which merged in 1975 with its competitor Pernod to create Pernod Ricard. Ricard was also an environmentalist and t ...

circuit to the

Magny-Cours Magny-Cours () is a commune in the Nièvre department in central France. It is the home of the ''Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours'', a famous motor racing circuit (whose name is often abbreviated to 'Magny-Cours'). It formerly hosted the Formula ...

circuit on demand of Bernie Ecclestone. * The

South African Grand Prix The South African Grand Prix was first run as a Grand Prix motor racing handicap race in 1934 at the Prince George Circuit at East London, Cape Province. It drew top drivers from Europe including Bernd Rosemeyer, Richard "Dick" Seaman, Ri ...

returned on the calendar after a six-year absence due to

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

policies in the country. The venue used was the new, redesigned Kyalami circuit. * The Vitesse du Mans Grand Prix was taken off the calendar. * The

European Grand Prix The European Grand Prix (also known as the Grand Prix of Europe) was a Formula One event that was introduced during the mid-1980s and was held every year from to , except in . During these years, the European Grand Prix was held in a count ...

moved from the

Jarama Jarama () is a river in central Spain. It flows north to south, and passes east of Madrid where the El Atazar Dam is built on a tributary, the Lozoya River. It flows into the river Tagus in Aranjuez. The Manzanares is a tributary of the Jaram ...

circuit to the newly built

circuit. * 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 ...

was moved forward, from 29 September to 19 April.

1992 Grand Prix season results

Grands Prix

Participants

500cc participants

250cc participants

125cc participants

Results and standings

500cc riders' standings

;Scoring system Points are awarded to the top ten finishers. A rider has to finish the race to earn points.

250cc standings

125cc standings

References

* Büla, Maurice & Schertenleib, Jean-Claude (2001). ''Continental Circus 1949-2000''. Chronosports S.A. * {{DEFAULTSORT:1992 Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing Season Grand Prix motorcycle racing seasons