List of 250cc/Moto2 World Riders' Champions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A man in a jacket standing in front of a stall
Phil Read, who, along with Max Biaggi, holds the most 250cc championships, with four.

Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier championship of motorcycle road racing, which has been divided into three classes since 1990: 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP. Former classes that have been discontinued include 350cc, 50cc/80cc and Sidecar.[1] 250cc is the intermediate category; the 250cc refers to the size of the engines of the motorcycles that race in that class. The engines have twin cylinders, as opposed to the four cylinders used in MotoGP.[2] The Grand Prix Road-Racing World Championship was established in 1949 by the sport's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), and is the oldest motorsport World Championship.[2] The 250cc class was replaced in 2010 by a new class called Moto2. The 250cc engines were replaced by 600cc engines, which were supplied by Honda to all teams.[3]

Each season consists of 12 to 18 Grands Prix contested on closed circuits, as opposed to public roads. Points earned in these events count toward the riders' and constructors' world championships. The rider's and constructor's championship are separate championships, but are based on the same point system. The number of points awarded at the end of each race to the top 15 qualifying riders depends on their placement. Points received by each finisher, from first 1st place to 15th place: 25, 20, 16, 13, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Historically, there have been several points systems.[4] Results from all current Grands Prix count towards the championships; in the past, only a certain number of results were counted.[5]

Phil Read and Max Biaggi have won the most championships, with four each. Dani Pedrosa is the youngest to win the championship; he was 19 years and 18 days old when he won the championship in 2004.[6] Italian riders have won the most championships; 13 riders have won a total of 22 championships. Riders from Great Britain have won the second most; four riders have won a total of nine championships. Germans have won the third most, as four riders have won a total of seven championships. Bruno Ruffo won the inaugural championship in 1949. Hiroshi Aoyama was the last rider to win the 250cc championship in 2009. Toni Elías was the first champion of the Moto2 category.[7] Augusto Fernández is the current champion; he won the 2022 Moto2 World Championship.

Champions[edit]

Key
* Champion also won 500cc Championship in that season
Champion also won 350cc Championship in that season
Champion also won 125cc Championship in that season
Indicates information is not available
  • The "Season" column refers to the season the competition was held, and wikilinks to the article about that season.
  • The "Margin" column refers to the margin of points by which the winner defeated the runner-up.

By season[edit]

250cc/Moto2 Motorcycle World Champions
Season Country Rider Constructor Grands Prix Poles Wins Podiums Fastest laps Points Margin
1949  Italy Bruno Ruffo Moto Guzzi 4 1 2 0 24 5
1950  Italy Dario Ambrosini Benelli 4 3 4 3 24 10
1951  Italy Bruno Ruffo Moto Guzzi 5 2 4 3 22 4
1952  Italy Enrico Lorenzetti Moto Guzzi 6 2 5 2 28 4
1953  West Germany Werner Haas NSU 7 2 5 2 28 5
1954  West Germany Werner Haas NSU 7 5 5 3 32 6
1955  West Germany Hermann Paul Müller NSU 5 1 3 1 16 2
1956  Italy Carlo Ubbiali MV Agusta 6 5 5 4 32 6
1957  United Kingdom Cecil Sandford Mondial 6 2 5 0 26 10
1958  Italy Tarquinio Provini MV Agusta 6 4 4 5 32 16
1959  Italy Carlo Ubbiali MV Agusta 7 2 5 2 28 12
1960  Italy Carlo Ubbiali MV Agusta 6 4 6 4 32 4
1961  United Kingdom Mike Hailwood Honda 11 4 8 3 44 6
1962  Rhodesia and Nyasaland Jim Redman Honda 10 6 9 2 48 16
1963  Rhodesia and Nyasaland Jim Redman Honda 12 4 9 2 44 2
1964  United Kingdom Phil Read Yamaha 11 5 7 4 46 4
1965  United Kingdom Phil Read Yamaha 12 7 9 6 56 14
1966  United Kingdom Mike Hailwood Honda 12 10 10 8 56 22
1967  United Kingdom Mike Hailwood Honda 13 5 8 7 50 0
1968  United Kingdom Phil Read Yamaha 10 5 7 5 46 0
1969  Australia Kel Carruthers Benelli 12 3 7 3 89 5
1970  United Kingdom Rodney Gould Yamaha 12 6 9 3 102 18
1971  United Kingdom Phil Read Yamaha 12 3 5 3 73 5
1972  Finland Jarno Saarinen Yamaha 13 4 9 6 94 1
1973  West Germany Dieter Braun Yamaha 11 4 5 2 80 16
1974  Italy Walter Villa Harley-Davidson 10 1 4 5 3 77 19
1975  Italy Walter Villa Harley-Davidson 11 5 5 6 4 85 9
1976  Italy Walter Villa Harley-Davidson 11 7 7 8 7 90 17
1977  Italy Mario Lega Morbidelli 12 0 1 5 1 85 13
1978  South Africa Kork Ballington Kawasaki 12 5 4 8 4 124 6
1979  South Africa Kork Ballington Kawasaki 12 3 7 9 7 141 60
1980  West Germany Anton Mang Kawasaki 10 9 4 10 4 128 41
1981  West Germany Anton Mang Kawasaki 12 10 10 11 9 160 65
1982  France Jean-Louis Tournadre Yamaha 12 0 1 8 2 118 1
1983  Venezuela Carlos Lavado Yamaha 11 1 4 6 2 100 27
1984  France Christian Sarron Yamaha 12 3 3 8 1 109 9
1985  United States Freddie Spencer * Honda 12 6 7 8 6 127 3
1986  Venezuela Carlos Lavado Yamaha 11 7 6 8 3 114 6
1987  West Germany Anton Mang Honda 15 1 8 8 1 136 28
1988  Spain Sito Pons Honda 15 1 4 11 2 231 10
1989  Spain Sito Pons Honda 15 3 7 12 7 262 72
1990  United States John Kocinski Yamaha 15 8 7 12 8 223 15
1991  Italy Luca Cadalora Honda 15 4 8 12 8 237 17
1992  Italy Luca Cadalora Honda 13 2 7 9 3 203 64
1993  Japan Tetsuya Harada Yamaha 14 2 4 7 3 197 4
1994  Italy Max Biaggi Aprilia 14 7 5 10 8 234 20
1995  Italy Max Biaggi Aprilia 13 9 8 12 7 283 63
1996  Italy Max Biaggi Aprilia 15 8 9 11 9 274 6
1997  Italy Max Biaggi Honda 15 3 5 10 2 250 2
1998  Italy Loris Capirossi Aprilia 14 8 2 9 3 204 3
1999  Italy Valentino Rossi Aprilia 16 5 9 12 8 309 48
2000  France Olivier Jacque Yamaha 16 5 3 11 4 279 7
2001  Japan Daijiro Kato Honda 16 6 11 13 9 322 49
2002  Italy Marco Melandri Aprilia 16 2 9 12 4 298 57
2003  San Marino Manuel Poggiali Aprilia 16 3 4 10 6 249 14
2004  Spain Dani Pedrosa Honda 16 4 7 13 8 317 61
2005  Spain Dani Pedrosa Honda 16 5 8 11 7 309 55
2006  Spain Jorge Lorenzo Aprilia 16 10 8 11 1 289 17
2007  Spain Jorge Lorenzo Aprilia 17 9 9 12 3 312 52
2008  Italy Marco Simoncelli Gilera 16 7 6 12 4 281 37
2009  Japan Hiroshi Aoyama Honda 16 2 4 7 4 261 22
2010  Spain Toni Elías Moriwaki 17 3 7 8 2 271 70
2011  Germany Stefan Bradl Kalex 17 7 4 11 3 274 23
2012  Spain Marc Márquez Suter 17 7 9 14 5 328 59
2013  Spain Pol Espargaró Kalex 17 6 6 10 4 265 40
2014  Spain Tito Rabat Kalex 18 11 7 14 5 346 57
2015  France Johann Zarco Kalex 18 7 8 14 1 352 118
2016  France Johann Zarco Kalex 18 7 7 10 4 276 42
2017  Italy Franco Morbidelli Kalex 18 6 8 12 8 308 65
2018  Italy Francesco Bagnaia Kalex 18 6 8 12 3 306 9
2019  Spain Álex Márquez Kalex 19 6 5 10 5 262 3
2020  Italy Enea Bastianini Kalex 15 0 3 7 2 205 9
2021  Australia Remy Gardner Kalex 18 3 5 12 3 311 4
2022  Spain Augusto Fernández Kalex 20 2 4 9 5 271.5 29.5
2023  Spain Pedro Acosta Kalex 20 3 7 14 8 332.5 83

Multiple champions[edit]

250cc/Moto2 Motorcycle multiple champions
Rider Total Seasons
United Kingdom Phil Read 4 1964, 1965, 1968, 1971
Italy Max Biaggi 4 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997
Italy Carlo Ubbiali 3 1956, 1959, 1960
United Kingdom Mike Hailwood 3 1961, 1966, 1967
Italy Walter Villa 3 1974, 1975, 1976
Germany Anton Mang 3 1980, 1981, 1987
Italy Bruno Ruffo 2 1949, 1951
Germany Werner Haas 2 1953, 1954
Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland Jim Redman 2 1962, 1963
South Africa Kork Ballington 2 1978, 1979
Venezuela Carlos Lavado 2 1983, 1986
Spain Sito Pons 2 1988, 1989
Italy Luca Cadalora 2 1991, 1992
Spain Dani Pedrosa 2 2004, 2005
Spain Jorge Lorenzo 2 2006, 2007
France Johann Zarco 2 2015, 2016

By constructor[edit]

250cc/Moto2 Motorcycle world champions by constructor
Constructor Total
Japan Honda 16
Japan Yamaha 14
Germany Kalex 12
Italy Aprilia 9
Italy MV Agusta 4
Japan Kawasaki 4
Germany NSU 3
United States Harley-Davidson 3
Italy Moto Guzzi 3
Italy Benelli 2
Italy Mondial 1
Italy Morbidelli 1
Italy Gilera 1
Japan Moriwaki 1
Switzerland Suter 1

By nationality[edit]

250cc/Moto2 Motorcycle world champions by nationality
Nationality Riders Total
 Italy 16 25
 Spain 9 12
 United Kingdom 4 9
 Germany 5 8
 France 4 5
 Japan 3 3
 United States 2 2
 Australia 2 2
 Rhodesia 1 2
 South Africa 1 2
 Venezuela 1 2
 Finland 1 1
 San Marino 1 1

References[edit]

Bibliography

  • Marshall, Anne (1997). Guinness Book of Knowledge. Guinness Publishing. ISBN 0-85112-046-6.

Specific

  1. ^ Marshall 1997, p. 289
  2. ^ a b "Basics". MotoGP. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  3. ^ "2010 Moto2 class to be powered by Honda". MotoGP. 2 May 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
  4. ^ "FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix Regulations 2009" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme. 31 January 2009. p. 44. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 March 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
  5. ^ "Key Rules". MotoGP. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  6. ^ "Dani Pedrosa". Laureus. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  7. ^ "Elías makes history as first Moto2 World Champion". Dorna Sports. 10 October 2010.