
The1982 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 34thF.I.M.Road Racing World Championship season.
ItalianFranco Uncini on theRoberto Gallina backedSuzuki took a well-earned championship forRoberto Gallina's Italian Suzuki team in the 500cc class.[1]
Yamaha introduced a new motorcycle with aV4 engine forKenny Roberts but, suffered from having to develop a new bike during the season.[1] Roberts was also now using Dunlop tires after Goodyear withdrew from motorcycle racing.
Honda abandoned itsNR500four-stroke in favor of a V3two-strokeNS500 piloted by American newcomer,Freddie Spencer, defending championMarco Lucchinelli and veteranTakazumi Katayama.[1] Spencer would give Honda its first 500cc win since the1967 season and its first with a two-stroke.[1]
Kawasaki would continue to campaign itsKR500 with riderKork Ballington but developing a new motorcycle proved to be difficult, and after three years in the 500cc class without being able to recreate the same success they had experienced in the smaller classes, they made the decision to withdraw from world championship competition after the 1982 season leaving Ballington without a job.[2]
Roberts injured a finger and a knee at the British Grand Prix and would miss the remainder of the season.[1]Barry Sheene was lying third in the championship, tied on points with Roberts after eight rounds however, his season was brought to a premature end while testing the new Yamaha V4. He hit the obscured fallen machine of Frenchman Patrick Igoa during practice at Silverstone and badly broke both legs and an arm.[1] Most of the factory sponsored riders boycotted the French round at Nogaro in protest of the unsafe track conditions.[1]
Anton Mang successfully defended his 350 title for Kawasaki despite winning only one race.[1] He would be the final 350 world champion as the class would be discontinued after 1982.[1] Mang lost his 250 crown toJean-Louis Tournadre by one point despite winning five races.[1] Tournadre's only victory would be at the boycotted French round.[1] The Frenchman would become France's firstworld champion.[1]Angel Nieto clinched his eleventh title in the 125 class on aGarelli.[1] In the 50cc class,Eugenio Lazzarini andStefan Dörflinger traded wins, each rider winning three races, but Dörflinger took the title because of his three second-place finishes.[3]
The following Grands Prix were scheduled to take place in 1982:[4][5]
Points are awarded to the top ten finishers. A rider has to finish the race to earn points.
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Place | Rider | Team | Machine | ARG | AUT | FRA | ESP | NAT | NED | BEL | YUG | GBR | SWE | SMR | GER | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gallina-Suzuki | RG500 | 4 | 1 | WD | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 103 | |
| 2 | MarlboroAgostini-Yamaha | YZR500 | Ret | 4 | WD | 4 | 3 | 4 | Ret | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | Ret | 76 | |
| 3 | HRC-Honda | NS500 | 3 | Ret | WD | Ret | 2 | Ret | 1 | 4 | 2 | Ret | 1 | Ret | 72 | |
| 4 | Yamaha International | YZR500 | 1 | 3 | WD | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 | Ret | Ret | 68 | ||||
| 5 | JPS-Yamaha | YZR500 | 2 | 2 | WD | 2 | Ret | 3 | 2 | 3 | DNS | 68 | ||||
| 6 | HB-Suzuki | RG500 | Ret | 7 | WD | Ret | Ret | 5 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 65 | |
| 7 | HRC-Honda | NS500 | 6 | 9 | WD | 6 | 7 | 8 | Ret | 5 | Ret | 1 | Ret | 4 | 48 | |
| 8 | HRC-Honda | NS500 | 5 | Ret | WD | 5 | 5 | Ret | 6 | 8 | 17 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 43 | |
| 9 | TeamKawasaki | KR500 | 8 | Ret | WD | 9 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 7 | Ret | 31 | |
| 10 | SonautoGauloises-Yamaha | YZR500 | 7 | Ret | WD | 7 | 9 | 9 | 10 | Ret | 8 | 4 | Ret | 6 | 29 | |
| 11 | HB-Suzuki | RG500 | Ret | 17 | Ret | 16 | 6 | Ret | 4 | 2 | 25 | |||||
| 12 | Hordo Racing | YZR500 | 11 | 5 | WD | DNS | 6 | 7 | 11 | DNS | 7 | Ret | 7 | 23 | ||
| 13 | Gallina-Suzuki | RG500 | 10 | 21 | WD | DNS | 18 | 17 | 9 | 4 | Ret | Ret | 3 | 21 | ||
| 14 | Sanvenero | Sanvenero 500 | 16 | 1 | Ret | Ret | 19 | 9 | Ret | 12 | Ret | 11 | 17 | |||
| 15 | RG500 | 17 | Ret | 4 | Ret | Ret | 11 | Ret | 23 | Ret | 9 | 9 | 8 | 15 | ||
| 16 | Ergon Suzuki Racing | RG500 | 9 | Ret | WD | Ret | Ret | Ret | 6 | 5 | Ret | 13 | ||||
| 17 | RG500 | 2 | 16 | 13 | Ret | 17 | Ret | Ret | 12 | |||||||
| 18 | Mitsui-Yamaha | YZR500 | 16 | 3 | 13 | 14 | Ret | 22 | 18 | 10 | Ret | 11 | ||||
| 19 | RG500 | 8 | WD | 8 | 27 | 18 | 21 | 9 | 8 | Ret | 11 | |||||
| 20 | Team MDS Belgarda | YZR500 | 11 | 6 | 10 | Ret | Ret | 18 | 26 | Ret | 10 | 12 | 7 | |||
| 21 | Guan Hoe Suzuki | RG500 | Ret | 5 | 15 | 12 | 21 | Ret | 6 | |||||||
| 22 | Coulon MarlboroTissot | RG500 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 12 | 12 | Ret | 15 | 14 | 20 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 6 | |
| 23 | RG500 | Ret | 6 | Ret | Ret | 17 | 13 | 15 | Ret | 11 | Ret | Ret | 5 | |||
| 24 | RG500 | 7 | DNQ | DNQ | Ret | 19 | 16 | 4 | ||||||||
| 25 | Sid Griffiths Racing | RG500 | Ret | 8 | 25 | 21 | Ret | 10 | 15 | Ret | 4 | |||||
| 26 | RG500 | Ret | 8 | 18 | 21 | Ret | DNS | Ret | Ret | 3 | ||||||
| 27 | YZR500 | 10 | 9 | Ret | 16 | DNQ | 11 | 14 | 14 | Ret | 3 | |||||
| 28 | RG500 | 13 | 14 | 10 | 26 | Ret | 19 | Ret | 16 | 17 | 13 | 1 | ||||
| 29 | RG500 | 18 | 12 | 18 | Ret | 16 | Ret | 13 | Ret | 10 | 1 | |||||
| 30 | RG500 | WD | 11 | 10 | Ret | 1 | ||||||||||
| RG500 | DNQ | 12 | 11 | 15 | Ret | DNQ | 12 | 0 | ||||||||
| Honda Britain | NR500 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 0 | |||||||||||
| Marlboro Agostini Yamaha | YZR500 | 13 | 14 | Ret | Ret | 13 | Ret | 28 | Ret | Ret | 11 | 0 | ||||
| RG500 | 11 | Ret | 26 | 13 | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||
| HB-Suzuki | RG500 | 20 | 23 | Ret | 12 | 0 | ||||||||||
| GPATotal | RG500 | 12 | Ret | WD | Ret | DNQ | 0 | |||||||||
| Rogersons of Wigan | RG500 | 12 | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Wolfgang Kucera | FKN | 15 | Ret | 20 | 13 | 18 | 0 | |||||||||
| Sanvenero | Sanvenero 500 | 19 | DNQ | Ret | Ret | 22 | 14 | Ret | Ret | 0 | ||||||
| RG500 | 19 | 14 | 0 | |||||||||||||
| RG500 | 14 | 20 | 20 | 27 | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||
| RG500 | 14 | 24 | 0 | |||||||||||||
| RG500 | 14 | DNQ | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||||
| RG500 | 14 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| RG500 | Ret | DNQ | 15 | 15 | 0 | |||||||||||
| Morbidelli | Morbidelli 500 | Ret | Ret | 15 | 19 | DNQ | DNQ | 20 | 24 | 0 | ||||||
| RG500 | 15 | 24 | DNS | Ret | 0 | |||||||||||
| RG500 | Ret | 16 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||
| RG500 | Ret | 16 | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||||
| RG500 | 16 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| RG500 | 16 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Claude Fior | RG500 | Ret | 17 | Ret | Ret | 17 | 0 | |||||||||
| RG500 | 20 | 17 | 19 | 0 | ||||||||||||
| YZR500 | 17 | Ret | 0 | |||||||||||||
| RG500 | 17 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| RG500 | 18 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| RG500 | 18 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| RG500 | 18 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| RG500 | 18 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Fowler's of Bristol/DTR | RG500 | 23 | DNQ | 19 | 0 | |||||||||||
| RG500 | 19 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Harold Coppack Racing | RG500 | 19 | 0 | |||||||||||||
| RG500 | 19 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Henk de Vries Motoren | RG500 | 24 | 20 | 0 | ||||||||||||
| YZR500 | 20 | 29 | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||||
| RG500 | 20 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| YZR500 | Ret | 21 | 0 | |||||||||||||
| RG500 | 21 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Dr Egel Banden | RG500 | Ret | 28 | DNQ | 25 | Ret | Ret | 22 | 0 | |||||||
| Hector Neill Racing | RG500 | 22 | 0 | |||||||||||||
| RG500 | 22 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| RG500 | 23 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| RG500 | 23 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| RG500 | 24 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Dennis Pratt Racing | RG500 | 25 | 0 | |||||||||||||
| RG500 | 25 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| YZR500 | 27 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| RG500 | 28 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| RG500 | 29 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Krauser MDS Racing Team | RG500 | Ret | DNS | Ret | 0 | |||||||||||
| Heron-Suzuki | RG500 | Ret | DNQ | DNQ | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||
| RG500 | Ret | DNQ | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Padgetts of Batley | RG500 | DNQ | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||||
| RG500 | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Venemotos Yamaha | YZR500 | Ret | 0 | |||||||||||||
| YZR500 | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| YZR500 | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| RG500 | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| RG500 | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| RG500 | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Honda-HRC | NS500 | Ret | 0 | |||||||||||||
| RG500 | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Fowler's of Bristol/DTR | YZR500 | Ret | 0 | |||||||||||||
| RG500 | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Heron Suzuki | RG500 | Ret | 0 | |||||||||||||
| FJ Gallen | RG500 | Ret | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Millar Racing | YZR500 | Ret | 0 | |||||||||||||
| RG500 | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| YZR500 | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| RG500 | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| YZR500 | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| YZR500 | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| RG500 | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| LMC | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| RG500 | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Sebe | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| RG500 | DNQ | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| RG500 | DNQ | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Kortedala MK | RG500 | DNQ | 0 |