Jorge Lorenzo (pictured in 2013) won his third MotoGP world title, and fifth world title overall, by winning the final race of the season inValencia.
The2015 FIM MotoGP World Championship was the premier class of the 67thF.I.M.Road Racing World Championship season. The championship was won by Spanish rider Jorge Lorenzo, racing forMovistar Yamaha MotoGP. It was his third and final world title in the MotoGP category, his fifth overall inGrand Prix motorcycle racing. The season had 18 races, beginning inQatar and finishing inValencia, which determined who would be world champion betweenMovistar Yamaha teammates Lorenzo and runner-upValentino Rossi. It was first time since2013 that the world title was decided on the final race of the season. Lorenzo also had the most pole positions, fastest laps and race wins throughout the season; while Rossi had the most finishes, completing every race throughout the season, while Lorenzo had one race retirement inSan Marino.
2015 was the final season thatBridgestone was the sole tyre supplier for MotoGP, asMichelin became the sole tyre supplier for the 2016 season.
The 2015 season also saw the début of theSuzuki GSX-RR andAprilia RS-GP. The GSX-RR previously made an appearance at the2014 Valencian Grand Prix ahead of a full-season return forSuzuki as a factory team for the first time since2011 and the RS-GP was used byGresini Racing after the team split from Honda at the end of last season.
This season is well known for theSepang clash, which involved a collision between two-time defending championMarc Márquez and then-championship leader, Rossi. The clash remains one of the most memorable and controversial moments in the sport's history, with Rossi's penalty (a grid demotion in Valencia) for the incident helping Lorenzo win the race in Valencia and clinch his third MotoGP world title.
Marc Márquez started the season as the defending riders' champion, having won his second consecutive title in 2014. He had been undefeated in championships throughout his MotoGP career and won a record breaking 13 wins in a season.
Valentino Rossi led the championship for almost the entire season as he chased a tenth world title, but ultimately, the honours went to hisYamaha teammateJorge Lorenzo,[1] who took his third MotoGP title and a fifth world title overall.[2] Lorenzo started the season quietly with three finishes off the podium,[2] Rossi took wins inQatar and an eventful win inArgentina, with Rossi chasing Márquez down for the lead before the two riders collided on the penultimate lap.[3][4] Rossi stayed upright but Márquez was unable to rejoin the race, with Rossi calling Márquez voicing his displeasure in the press conference after the race, beginning an estrangement between the two riders that would impact the season and Lorenzo's eventual championship.[5][6]
Thereafter, Lorenzo took four successive wins for the first time in his career to bring himself back into the championship race, before Rossi won atAssen.[7] Lorenzo did not win again untilBrno, taking the championship lead on countback,[8] but ceded it back to Rossi, when he won atSilverstone.[9] Lorenzo crashed out atMisano,[2] while Rossi finished fifth ending a 16-race streak of podium finishes after both Yamaha riders were caught out by wet weather.[10]
Rossi and Márquez again collided at Assen on the final lap; Rossi rejoined the circuit through the gravel and went on to win the race, while race direction deemed the incident as a racing incident.[7]
At San Marino, Rossi was given a penalty point on his licence for impeding Lorenzo in qualifying, an incident that would cause implications later on in the season.[11]
TheAustralian Grand Prix was won by Márquez, with Lorenzo second, Ducati'sAndrea Iannone finishing third and Rossi fourth, in a race considered to be one of the greatest in MotoGP's history.[12] There were more than 50 overtakes made between these four riders throughout the race, with 13 lead changes and Márquez setting the fastest lap on the final lap to ensure victory.[13] Despite the incredible response from fans, Rossi was unhappy with how the race unfolded and, in the following pre-event press conference atMalaysia one week later, accused Marquez of helping Lorenzo in his title aspirations (a claim which Márquez refuted). This led leading up to one of the most infamous races in the sport's history one week later.[14][15]
TheMalaysian race was originally at risk of cancellation due to smoke from fires in Indonesia impacting the track, but ultimately went ahead. After a series of 18 overtakes and exchanges of positions between Rossi and Marquez while battling for third place, the two riders came together for their third collision of the season during lap seven. Rossi made a move on Márquez at Turn 14, pushing him to the outside of the circuit. The riders made contact and Márquez fell from his bike. Although he was able to remount his bike, Marquez was forced to pit and retire from the race. Rossi was able to maintain his position and finished the race in third place, with Márquez'sRepsol Honda teammateDani Pedrosa taking the win and Lorenzo finishing second.[16] However, the incident divided fans, pundits and the riders on the grid, and Lorenzo was booed from the podium after giving Rossi a thumbs down gesture.
Race direction's subsequent review of the incident found Rossi to be at fault for the collision and three penalty points were added to his licence.[17] Despite Rossi appealing the penalty to theCourt of Arbitration for Sport, the penalty was upheld and he was forced to start the final race of the season, inValencia, from the back of the grid. Although Rossi voiced his regret at the move on Márquez, he did not apologise for the incident occurring.[18] Race winner Pedrosa criticised Rossi's reaction to the incident, calling his response contradictory to previous comments made by Rossi on racing incidents, and Lorenzo made statements deeming the penalty "inadequate".[15][19] Lorenzo submitted a statement against Rossi's appeal of the penalty but later apologised for his actions on the podium.[20] Márquez defended his riding style in Malaysia, stating his disappointment towards both his rival's actions on the track and subsequent comments made to race direction.[15]
The fallout from the Malaysian race included a clash between the Márquez family and Italian television reporters who invaded the family property in Barcelona, wrongful accusations of Lorenzo storming race direction to demand a penalty for Rossi, and hostile reactions by some fans in response to Rossi's appeal of the penalty being unsuccessful.FIM president Vito Ippolito deemed the events as having a "damaging effect on the staging of our competitions" and "[poisoning] the atmosphere around the sport". Ippolito andDorna Sports boss Carmelo Ezpeleta called for a private meeting of all riders and crew chiefs in Valencia and cancelled the pre-event press conference. Separate meetings were also held with Lorenzo, Márquez and Rossi in the lead up to the race weekend.[18][21][22][23][24]
In the four races leading up to the final round in Valencia, Rossi had finished ahead of Lorenzo only once, with the points gap between the two teammates closing from 23 afterSan Marino to just seven going into the final round. It was the first time in nine years that the championship would be determined in the final round, followingNicky Hayden's victory over Rossi in2006.[25]
At the final race, Rossi recovered from the back of the grid to finish fourth, while Lorenzo took his seventh win of the season to secure the world title by five points; the first time that Lorenzo had held a points lead all season.[1][26][27] Rossi finished second place in the championship with a total of five wins and 15 podiums over the season, 83 points ahead of Marquez who had matched Rossi on wins but suffered six retirements. The only other rider to win a race during the season was Márquez's teammate Pedrosa, who took two wins in the closing four races, atMotegi andSepang, after missing three races at the start of the season to undergo arm-pump surgery.[16][28]
The combined eleven wins and 27 podiums by Rossi and Lorenzo were enough to secure both the team's title for Movistar Yamaha, more than 200 points ahead of runner up Repsol Honda,[29] and the manufacturers' title for Yamaha, 52 points ahead of Honda.[30] Amongst the class of rookies,Suzuki riderMaverick Viñales took the IRTA Cup, finishing in twelfth place overall,[31][32] whileHéctor Barberá ofAvintia Racing was the best-placed Open class rider, in fifteenth.[31][32]
TheBritish Grand Prix had been scheduled to return toDonington Park for the first time since 2009, ahead of a planned move to the brand-newCircuit of Wales in 2016.[36] However, Donington Park pulled out of hosting the event on 10 February 2015, citing financial delays.[37] The following day, it was announced thatSilverstone would host the British Grand Prix in 2015 and2016.[38]
As in2014, the MotoGP class was divided into two categories: Factory and Open. Manufacturers who had not won a dry race since the start of the 2013 season or were new to the class could enter the Factory category with all the Open concessions.
Suzuki returned to MotoGP as a constructor after a four-year hiatus.
Aprilia made an official return to the championship entering two factory-supported bikes withGresini Racing. The Italian team ended its long partnership with Honda, having raced their bikes since 1997.
Marc VDS Racing expanded its operations to enter a Honda bike in the MotoGP category, having taken on the Factory class bike previously run by Gresini.
LCR Honda entered a second bike in the Open category.
Avintia Racing left its Kawasaki-based machinery to switch to Ducati bikes.
Eugene Laverty returned to the championship – having last competed in 2008 in the 250cc class – racing with theAspar Team.
Marco Melandri returned to MotoGP with Gresini Racing, the same team he competed with during his last appearance in the category in2010. Before the German Grand Prix, Melandri left Aprilia, and was replaced byMichael Laverty.[44] Bradl replaced Laverty afterwards.
Hiroshi Aoyama moved from theAspar Team to become a test rider forHRC. Aoyama returned to the series on two occasions during the 2015 season, to replace injured riders.
^"Intervista a Paolo Ciabatti".Motograndprix.motorionline.com/ (in Italian). Motorionline. 30 August 2014. Archived fromthe original on 29 June 2018. Retrieved4 September 2014.