2016 MotoGP season

The 2016 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 68th Road Racing World Championship season. Jorge Lorenzo was the defending world champion, having secured his third MotoGP title and fifth overall Championship title at the 2015 Valencian Community Grand Prix.

The riders' championship title was won for the third time by Marc Márquez, after his fifth victory of the season at the Japanese Grand Prix gave him an unassailable lead over his title rivals Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi – who both crashed out at Motegi – with three races remaining. Márquez's title marked a return to the top step for Honda after a difficult 2015 campaign for its factory team. Márquez ultimately won the championship by 49 points.

Reigning champion Lorenzo won three of the first six races to lead the title race, but very poor wet weather form during wet races in mid-season curtailed his title bid along with no wins in the dry until the season-ending race in Valencia. Rossi was the most consistent title challenger, yet he crashed out of three races up until Márquez's decisive victory in Japan. The Yamaha team suffered a severe win drought from June onwards, going eight races without a win before Márquez clinched the title. The drought reached ten races before Lorenzo's Valencian triumph, in his final race for the manufacturer before his move to Ducati in 2017. Rossi clinched the runner-up position by 16 points from Lorenzo, while their performances earned Yamaha the teams' championship, although Honda won the manufacturers' championship. Interenstingly, the rookie in this season was only Tito Rabat – who clinched a rookie of the year award. LCR Honda rider, Cal Crutchlow, achieved the top independent rider award; which he won at Brno and Phillip Island and finished in 7th place in the championship with 141 points.

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