Johann Zarco (pictured in 2015) was the 2016 Moto2 Champion.
The2016 FIM Moto2 World Championship was a part of the 68thF.I.M.Road Racing World Championship season. The season was marred by the death ofLuis Salom during a free practice session, at theCatalan Grand Prix.[1]
Johann Zarco started the season as the defending World Champion, having secured his first championship title at the2015 Japanese Grand Prix.[2] With victory at theMalaysian Grand Prix – his sixth of the 2016 season – Zarco was able to retain his title,[3] amassing an unassailable points lead ahead of the final round inValencia. As a result, Zarco became the first French rider to win multiple world motorcycle racing titles,[4] as well as becoming the first rider in the Moto2 era to defend the world championship, and the first to do so in the intermediate class sinceJorge Lorenzo in2006 and2007.[5] Zarco completed the season with victory in Valencia,[6] as he won the championship by an eventual margin of 42 points.
The runner-up position remained up for grabs in Valencia, as four-time winnerThomas Lüthi, double winnerÁlex Rins andFranco Morbidelli all had a mathematical chance of finishing there. Ultimately with a second-place finish,[6] Lüthi finished clear of Rins by 20 points; Lüthi's last-lap pass on Morbidelli also cost the latter third place in the championship by a point, as Rins had finished the race in fifth place.[6] Morbidelli took a total of eight podium finishes, including each of the last five races, but was unable to take a victory. Four other riders won races;Sam Lowes took two race victories atJerez andAragon,[7][8]Jonas Folger won atBrno,[9] while first Grand Prix victories went toTakaaki Nakagami atAssen,[10] andLorenzo Baldassarri inMisano.[11] The constructors' championship went toKalex with a maximum score of 450 points, with a 34-race winning streak at the conclusion of the season – a run stretching back to aSpeed Up victory for Lowes at the2015 Motorcycle Grand Prix of the Americas.
French oil and gas giants companyTotal was selected to become official fuel supplier of Moto2 and Moto3 beginning from 2016 onwards, replacingEni after five seasons as a fuel supplier of Moto2 and Moto3.[12]
A provisional entry list was announced on 7 November 2015.[15] AllMoto2 competitors raced with an identical CBR600RRinline-four engine developed byHonda. Teams competed with tyres supplied byDunlop.
JiR Moto2 announced that they would withdraw from the championship at the end of the 2015 season.[43]
Dynavolt Intact GP expanded to enter a second bike, while Italtrans Racing downgraded to a single entry in 2016.
Leopard Racing returned to the Moto2 class after previously competing as Kiefer Racing from 2010 to 2012. The team competed onKalex bikes, withDanny Kent andMiguel Oliveira as their riders.
AGP Racing, who were listed on the provisional entry list, withdrew from the championship due to financial problems, leavingFederico Fuligni andRemy Gardner without rides.[44]
After theGrand Prix of the Americas,Efrén Vázquez left the JPMoto Malaysia team. He was replaced byDanny Eslick in the 5th race and byRicard Cardús in the 6th race. Before the 7th race, the JPMoto Malaysia team went bankrupt, so the team retired from the rest of the season.
Luis Salom was killed after an accident during Friday practice at the Catalan Grand Prix. His teammateJesko Raffin withdrew from the weekend.[46] Before theDutch TT, the SAG Racing Team announced that they will complete the season with Raffin as the team's sole rider, with Salom's spot on the team left vacated for the rest of the season.[47]
Dominique Aegerter got injured after theCzech Republic Grand Prix, so he was replaced byIker Lecuona for the 12th and the 13th races. Aegerter returned for the 14th race. However, upon signing a 2017 contract withLeopard Racing, he was fired from Interwetten, bringing Lecuona back for the remaining 4 races.
^"Top10 for Pons in the first day at Motorland".AGR Team. Argiñano & Ginés Racing Team. 23 September 2016. Archived fromthe original on 2016-09-24. Retrieved23 September 2016.The Argiñano & Ginés Racing Team brought 3 riders this time to Alcañiz; the two official riders, Marcel Schrötter and Áxel Pons, and our European Champion Steven Odendaal as a wild card.
^"Xavier Siméon: 2016. Kallio in QMMF team" [Xavier Siméon: Replaces Mika Kallio in QMMF Team for 2016].Speedweek.com (in German). Speedweek. 24 October 2015. Retrieved24 October 2015.
^"Meet the Wildcards: A mixing pot".MotoGP.com.Dorna Sports. 30 May 2016. Retrieved5 June 2016.Ramdan Rosli (Petronas AHM Malaysia) will join the Moto2 World Championship for the weekend, the Malaysian also making the step over from the FIM CEV Repsol series.
^"Moto2-WM 2016: Startfeld schrumpft weiter" [Moto2 World Championship 2016: Starting field continues to shrink].Speedweek.com (in German). Speedweek. 23 December 2015. Retrieved27 December 2015.