The 2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 60th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
Season review
MotoGP
The MotoGP class opened with the historic Qatar Grand Prix, the first night race held in the World Championship history. The race was won by Ducati's Casey Stoner ahead of rookie Jorge Lorenzo, who started on pole in the first race in the top class, and Dani Pedrosa.
In Spain Pedrosa won his first race of the year, ahead of Rossi and Lorenzo, while Stoner struggled with technical problems on his bike and finished 11th after twice going out on the gravel. At the Portugal GP, Lorenzo started on pole and won his first MotoGP race, ahead of Pedrosa and Rossi.
In China Rossi took his first win of the season and the first of three consecutive first places, after a weekend dominated by rain and cold temperatures; he then won in France and in front of his home crowd in Italy.
Stoner won the three consecutive races in Britain, the Netherlands and Germany, also obtaining pole position and the fastest lap in all three.
The United States race at Laguna Seca was the biggest turning point of the season. Before the race Stoner trailed Rossi on the standings by only 20 points. The Australian took pole position and started the race in first position. However, Rossi passed Stoner in the middle on the first lap, and Stoner could never make a decisive pass, and he stayed behind until the 24th lap, where he fell at the last corner. He re-mounted, but finished in second place while Rossi caught the first of five consecutive wins. In the next two races, Czech Republic and San Marino, Stoner fell off while leading from Rossi, who then won both times.
The race at Indianapolis was a particularly difficult due to track conditions: the arrival of Hurricane Ike over Indiana meant cold temperatures, heavy winds and rain for the whole race duration; the race was a battle between Rossi and former World Champion Nicky Hayden, who eventually took his first podium of the season. As Rossi began to pull a gap, heavy winds began to blow and the race was ended early with Rossi leading.
Two weeks later, in Japan, Rossi clinched his sixth premier class title with three races to go, by winning the race ahead of Stoner. The Australian then won his home race and in Valencia, while Rossi won in Malaysia.
250cc class
The first four races of the season showed the early form of KTM and Mika Kallio, with two wins and two other third places, with strong showings by Marco Simoncelli, Alvaro Bautista and Mattia Pasini, who won the season opener in Qatar, his first race in the class. After the initial problems, though, Simoncelli had a run of 7 consecutive races on the podium, from China to Czech Republic. He started the season on a semi-works Aprilia LE (Gilera is a subsidiary of Aprilia, so Gilera racing bikes are rebranded Aprilia bikes), but his performances led Aprilia to give him a works Aprilia RSA, making him a de facto works rider.
After his strong start, Kallio couldn't keep the pace of Simoncelli, his KTM not being able to challenge the more powerful Aprilias in most tracks. Bautista got into shape well into the season, after a series of bad races and retirements due to problems with his bike and rider errors. After that, however, he also began a streak of podiums which lasted from Catalunya to Malaysia, but Simoncelli was too far ahead of him on the standings, and he won his first World Championship with one race to go.
125cc class
Reigning champion Gábor Talmácsi stayed in the class, unlike other top names from last year who moved into 250cc category. Among the pre-season favourites were also Bradley Smith, Simone Corsi and Mike di Meglio. Talmácsi had dismal start to the season, with reliability problems on his new bike. Corsi won three of first six races and despite few bad results, looked good in the championship. However, Mike di Meglio won also multiple races, and having escaped without retirement until Misano, built up strong lead. He clinched the championship two races before the end. Corsi took second ahead of Talmácsi and Bradl who failed to finish the final race.
The season saw eight riders winning races: Talmácsi, Corsi, di Meglio, Sergio Gadea and four first-time winners: Andrea Iannone, Stefan Bradl, Nicolas Terol and Scott Redding, who became the youngest ever winner in the class. The season was completely dominated by the Piaggio bikes, (Aprilia, Derbi and Gilera), as Spanish Marc Márquez was only other rider to achieve podium place with his 3rd place in Donington.
2008 Grand Prix season calendar
The 2008 race schedule was released on July 2007.[1] The schedule was later revised, with Japan held before Australia, because of the original Australian date had a conflict with the AFL Grand Final. Two other changes were made. Portugal was moved from 20 April to 13 April and the Grand Finale in Valencia was on 26 October instead of 2 November.[2]
- ‡ = Night race[3]
- The US MotoGP race at IMS run for two-thirds distance, 20 laps, before being called off because of the remnants of Hurricane Ike hitting the track during raceday.
- 250cc race in Indianapolis was initially postponed to after the MotoGP race, then cancelled for the same reason
Final standings
Scoring system
Points are awarded to the top fifteen finishers. Rider has to finish the race to earn points.
Position |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
5th |
6th |
7th |
8th |
9th |
10th |
11th |
12th |
13th |
14th |
15th |
Points |
25 |
20 |
16 |
13 |
11 |
10 |
9 |
8 |
7 |
6 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
Riders' standings
- Riders marked with light blue background were eligible for Rookie of the Year awards.
MotoGP
|
Colour | Result |
Gold | Winner |
Silver | 2nd place |
Bronze | 3rd place |
Green | Points finish |
Blue | Non-points finish |
Non-classified finish (NC) |
Purple | Retired (Ret) |
Red | Did not qualify (DNQ) |
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) |
Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
White | Did not start (DNS) |
Withdrew (WD) |
Race cancelled (C) |
Blank |
Did not participate (DNP) |
Excluded (EX) |
Bold – Pole position Italics – Fastest lap |
250cc
|
Colour | Result |
Gold | Winner |
Silver | 2nd place |
Bronze | 3rd place |
Green | Points finish |
Blue | Non-points finish |
Non-classified finish (NC) |
Purple | Retired (Ret) |
Red | Did not qualify (DNQ) |
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) |
Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
White | Did not start (DNS) |
Withdrew (WD) |
Race cancelled (C) |
Blank |
Did not participate (DNP) |
Excluded (EX) |
Bold – Pole position Italics – Fastest lap |
125cc
|
Colour | Result |
Gold | Winner |
Silver | 2nd place |
Bronze | 3rd place |
Green | Points finish |
Blue | Non-points finish |
Non-classified finish (NC) |
Purple | Retired (Ret) |
Red | Did not qualify (DNQ) |
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) |
Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
White | Did not start (DNS) |
Withdrew (WD) |
Race cancelled (C) |
Blank |
Did not participate (DNP) |
Excluded (EX) |
Bold – Pole position Italics – Fastest lap |
Manufacturers' standings
- Each manufacturer got the same amount of points as their best placed rider in each Grand Prix.
MotoGP
250cc
125cc
Participants
MotoGP participants
|
Key |
Regular Rider |
Wildcard Rider |
Replacement Rider |
|
- † = Switched from Michelin to Bridgestone tyres after the 13th round, the San Marino Grand Prix.
250cc participants
No |
Rider |
Team |
Motorcycle |
Rounds |
Tyre |
4 |
Hiroshi Aoyama |
Red Bull KTM 250 |
KTM |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
6 |
Alex Debón [21] |
Lotus Aprilia |
Aprilia |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
7 |
Russell Gómez |
Blusens Aprilia |
Aprilia |
3-10, 12, 18 |
D |
10 |
Imre Tóth |
Team Toth Aprilia |
Aprilia |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
12 |
Thomas Lüthi |
Emmi - Caffe Latte |
Aprilia |
1-10, 12-14, 17-18 |
D |
14 |
Ratthapark Wilairot |
Thai Honda PTT SAG |
Honda |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
15 |
Roberto Locatelli |
Metis Gilera |
Gilera |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
17 |
Karel Abraham |
Cardion AB Motoracing |
Aprilia |
1-10, 12-14, 16-18 |
D |
19 |
Álvaro Bautista |
Mapfre Aspar Team |
Aprilia |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
21 |
Héctor Barberá |
Team Toth Aprilia |
Aprilia |
1-10, 12-14 |
D |
25 |
Alex Baldolini |
Matteoni Racing |
Aprilia |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
27 |
Stefano Bianco |
Campetella Racing |
Gilera |
14 |
D |
Team Toth Aprilia |
Aprilia |
16 |
D |
29 |
Barrett Long |
Longevity Racing |
Yamaha |
14 |
D |
32 |
Fabrizio Lai |
Campetella Racing |
Gilera |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
35 |
Simone Grotzkyj |
Campetella Racing |
Gilera |
13-18 |
D |
36 |
Mika Kallio |
Red Bull KTM 250 |
KTM |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
38 |
Kyle Ferris |
Team Infinity Replicast |
Yamaha |
14 |
D |
41 |
Aleix Espargaró |
Lotus Aprilia |
Aprilia |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
43 |
Manuel Hernández |
Blusens Aprilia |
Aprilia |
1-2, 13-18 |
D |
45 |
Doni Tata Pradita |
Yamaha Pertamina Indonesia |
Yamaha |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
50 |
Eugene Laverty |
Blusens Aprilia |
Aprilia |
1-10, 12-14 |
D |
52 |
Lukáš Pešek |
Auto Kelly CP |
Aprilia |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
54 |
Manuel Poggiali |
Campetella Racing |
Gilera |
1-10, 12 |
D |
55 |
Héctor Faubel |
Mapfre Aspar Team |
Aprilia |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
58 |
Marco Simoncelli |
Metis Gilera |
Gilera |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
60 |
Julián Simón |
Repsol KTM 250cc |
KTM |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
63 |
Toby Markham |
BM Groundworks |
Yamaha |
8 |
D |
64 |
Frederik Watz |
Jaap Kingma Racing |
Aprilia |
9 |
D |
65 |
Takumi Takahashi |
Burning Blood Racing Team |
Honda |
15 |
D |
66 |
Shoya Tomizawa |
Project U FRS |
Honda |
15 |
D |
67 |
Kazuki Watanabe |
RT Morinokumasan-Satohjuku |
Yamaha |
15 |
B |
68 |
Yuuki Ito |
Dog Fight Racing |
Yamaha |
15 |
D |
69 |
Takumi Endoh |
Ser.Spruce/Pro-Tec |
Yamaha |
15 |
D |
72 |
Yuki Takahashi |
JiR Team Scot 250cc |
Honda |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
75 |
Mattia Pasini |
Polaris World |
Aprilia |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
89 |
Ho Wan Chow |
Zongshen Team of China |
Aprilia |
3, 5, 10, 16 |
D |
90 |
Federico Sandi |
Zongshen Team of China |
Aprilia |
3, 5, 10 |
D |
Matteoni Racing |
Aprilia |
12, 13 |
D |
Zongshen AOS Racing |
Aprilia |
16, 18 |
D |
91 |
Sérgio Batista |
Paddock Competições |
Honda |
3 |
D |
92 |
Daniel Arcas |
Team Honda Merson |
Honda |
7 |
D |
Blusens Aprilia |
Aprilia |
15-18 |
D |
93 |
Alen Győrfi |
Motorcycle Competition Service |
Honda |
10, 13 |
D |
Team Toth Aprilia |
Aprilia |
18 |
D |
94 |
Toni Wirsing |
Racing Team Germany |
Honda |
10, 12-13, 18 |
D |
|
Key |
Regular Rider |
Wildcard Rider |
Replacement Rider |
|
125cc participants
No |
Rider |
Team |
Motorcycle |
Rounds |
Tyre |
1 |
Gábor Talmácsi |
Bancaja Aspar Team |
Aprilia |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
5 |
Alexis Masbou |
Loncin Racing |
Loncin |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
6 |
Joan Olivé |
Belson Derbi |
Derbi |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
7 |
Efrén Vázquez |
Blusens Aprilia Junior |
Aprilia |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
8 |
Lorenzo Zanetti |
ISPA KTM Aran |
KTM |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
11 |
Sandro Cortese |
Emmi - Caffe Latte |
Aprilia |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
12 |
Esteve Rabat |
Repsol KTM 125 |
KTM |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
13 |
Dino Lombardi |
BQR Blusens |
Aprilia |
1, 3 |
D |
14 |
Axel Pons |
Jack & Jones WRB |
Aprilia |
2, 3, 7 |
D |
16 |
Jules Cluzel |
Loncin Racing |
Loncin |
1-4, 6-10, 12-18 |
D |
17 |
Stefan Bradl |
Grizzly Gas Kiefer Racing |
Aprilia |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
18 |
Nicolás Terol |
Jack & Jones WRB |
Aprilia |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
19 |
Roberto Lacalendola |
Matteoni Racing |
Aprilia |
1-9 |
D |
21 |
Robin Lässer |
Grizzly Gas Kiefer Racing |
Aprilia |
1-2, 4-10, 12-18 |
D |
22 |
Pablo Nieto |
Onde 2000 KTM |
KTM |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
23 |
Julián Miralles |
Bancaja Mir CEV |
Aprilia |
18 |
D |
24 |
Simone Corsi |
Jack & Jones WRB |
Aprilia |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
25 |
Cristian Trabalón |
Alpo Atlético de Madrid |
Aprilia |
18 |
D |
26 |
Adrián Martín |
Bancaja Aspar Team |
Aprilia |
13, 15-18 |
D |
27 |
Stefano Bianco |
S3+ WTR San Marino Team |
Aprilia |
1-6, 8-9 |
D |
28 |
Enrique Jerez |
ISPA KTM Aran |
KTM |
16-18 |
D |
29 |
Andrea Iannone |
I.C. Team |
Aprilia |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
30 |
Pere Tutusaus |
Bancaja Aspar Team |
Aprilia |
1-10, 12 |
D |
Alpo Atlético de Madrid |
Aprilia |
18 |
D |
31 |
Jordi Dalmau |
SAG Castrol |
Honda |
7 |
D |
32 |
Blake Leigh-Smith |
Leigh-Smith Racing |
Honda |
16 |
D |
33 |
Sergio Gadea |
Bancaja Aspar Team |
Aprilia |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
34 |
Randy Krummenacher |
Red Bull KTM 125 |
KTM |
1-2, 4-10, 12-13, 16-18 |
D |
35 |
Raffaele De Rosa |
Onde 2000 KTM |
KTM |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
36 |
Cyril Carrillo |
FFM Honda GP 125 |
Honda |
3, 5, 14-17 |
D |
37 |
Karel Pešek |
Czech Road Racing JNR. |
Aprilia |
3, 12 |
D |
38 |
Bradley Smith |
Polaris World |
Aprilia |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
39 |
Ferruccio Lamborghini |
Junior GP Racing Dream |
Aprilia |
6 |
D |
40 |
Lorenzo Savadori |
RCGM |
Aprilia |
6, 13 |
D |
I.C. Team |
Aprilia |
18 |
D |
41 |
Tobias Siegert |
ADAC Nordbayern e.V. |
Aprilia |
5, 10 |
D |
42 |
Luca Vitali |
RCGM |
Aprilia |
6 |
D |
Grizzly Gas Kiefer Racing |
Aprilia |
13 |
D |
43 |
Gabriele Ferro |
Metasystem RS |
Honda |
6, 14 |
D |
44 |
Pol Espargaró |
Belson Derbi |
Derbi |
1-7, 10, 12-18 |
D |
45 |
Scott Redding |
Blusens Aprilia Junior |
Aprilia |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
46 |
Brad Gross |
Gross Racing |
Yamaha |
16 |
D |
47 |
Riccardo Moretti |
CRP Racing |
Honda |
6, 13 |
D |
48 |
Bastien Chesaux |
S3+ WTR San Marino Team |
Aprilia |
10, 12-18 |
D |
49 |
Gennaro Sabatino |
Junior GP Racing Dream |
Aprilia |
13 |
D |
50 |
Hiroomi Iwata |
DYDO Miu Racing |
Honda |
15 |
B |
51 |
Stevie Bonsey |
Degraaf Grand Prix |
Aprilia |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
52 |
Steven Le Coquen |
Villiers Team Competition |
Honda |
5 |
D |
53 |
Valentin Debise |
Racing Motoclub Circuit D'Albi |
KTM |
5 |
D |
54 |
PJ Jacobsen |
Bancaja Aspar Team |
Aprilia |
14 |
D |
56 |
Hugo van den Berg |
Degraaf Grand Prix |
Aprilia |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
57 |
Iori Namihira |
Honda Suzuka Racing |
Honda |
15 |
B |
58 |
Yuuichi Yanagisawa |
18 Garage Racing |
Honda |
15 |
D |
59 |
Hiroki Ono |
Battle Factory |
Honda |
15 |
D |
60 |
Michael Ranseder |
I.C. Team |
Aprilia |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
61 |
Gioele Pellino |
Loncin Racing |
Loncin |
5 |
D |
62 |
Kazuma Watanabe |
Team Plus One |
Honda |
15 |
B |
63 |
Mike Di Meglio |
Ajo Motorsport |
Derbi |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
64 |
Matthew Hoyle |
SP 125 Racing/Mackrory Demolition |
Honda |
8 |
D |
65 |
Luke Hinton |
Buildbase/Knotts |
Honda |
8 |
D |
66 |
Connor Behan |
Connor Behan Racing |
Honda |
8 |
D |
67 |
Lee Costello |
Vent-Axia |
Honda |
8 |
D |
68 |
Paul Jordan |
KRP |
Honda |
8 |
D |
69 |
Louis Rossi |
FFM Honda GP 125 |
Honda |
1-2, 4-10, 12-13, 18 |
D |
70 |
Rhys Moller |
Rhys Moller Racing |
Honda |
16 |
D |
71 |
Tomoyoshi Koyama |
ISPA KTM Aran |
KTM |
1-10, 12-15 |
D |
Red Bull KTM 125 |
KTM |
17-18 |
D |
72 |
Marco Ravaioli |
Matteoni Racing |
Aprilia |
10, 12-18 |
D |
73 |
Takaaki Nakagami |
I.C. Team |
Aprilia |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
74 |
Davide Stirpe |
ISPA KTM Aran |
KTM |
14 |
D |
75 |
Ricard Cardús |
Andalucía Derbi |
Derbi |
7, 18 |
D |
76 |
Iván Maestro |
Alpo Atlético de Madrid |
Honda |
2 |
D |
Hune Matteoni |
Aprilia |
3, 7 |
D |
77 |
Dominique Aegerter |
Ajo Motorsport |
Derbi |
1-10, 12-18 |
D |
78 |
Daniel Sáez |
Gaviota Prosolia Racing |
Aprilia |
2, 7, 18 |
D |
79 |
Alberto Moncayo |
Andalucía Derbi |
Derbi |
2 |
D |
80 |
Joey Litjens |
Abbink Bos Racing |
Seel |
9 |
D |
81 |
Jasper Iwema |
Abbink Bos Racing |
Seel |
9 |
D |
82 |
Michael van der Mark |
Dutch Racing Team |
Honda |
9 |
D |
83 |
Jerry van de Bunt |
Degraaf Grand Prix |
Aprilia |
9 |
D |
84 |
Robert Gull |
Ajo Motorsports Jnr. Project |
Derbi |
9 |
D |
85 |
Marvin Fritz |
Kiefer Bos Sotin Jnr. Team |
Seel |
10 |
D |
86 |
Eric Hübsch |
Team Sachsenring |
Aprilia |
10 |
D |
87 |
Marcel Schrötter |
Toni Mang Team |
Honda |
10 |
D |
88 |
Sebastian Kreuziger |
RZT-Racing |
Honda |
10 |
D |
89 |
Ernst Dubbink |
RV Racing Team |
Honda |
9 |
D |
90 |
Kristian Lee Turner |
Veloce Racing |
Aprilia |
14 |
D |
91 |
Jed Metcher |
Angelo's Aluminium Racing |
Honda |
16 |
D |
92 |
Jake Horne |
Team Anchor Yamaha |
Honda |
16 |
D |
93 |
Marc Márquez |
Repsol KTM 125cc |
KTM |
2-10, 12-17 |
D |
94 |
Jonas Folger |
Red Bull MotoGP Academy |
KTM |
12-13, 17 |
D |
Red Bull KTM 125 |
KTM |
14-15, 18 |
D |
95 |
Robert Mureșan |
Grizzly Gas Kiefer Racing |
Aprilia |
1-10, 12, 14-18 |
D |
96 |
Lukáš Šembera |
Matteoni Racing |
Aprilia |
12 |
D |
97 |
Michal Prášek |
Roha'c & Fetja Motoracing |
Aprilia |
12 |
D |
98 |
Andrea Toušková |
Eurowag Junior Racing |
Honda |
12 |
D |
99 |
Danny Webb |
Degraaf Grand Prix |
Aprilia |
1-8, 10, 12-18 |
D |
|
Key |
Regular Rider |
Wildcard Rider |
Replacement Rider |
|
References