Sports season
The 2006 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 58th Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) Road racing World Championship season. The season consisted out of 17 races for the MotoGP class and 16 for the 125cc and 250cc classes, beginning with the Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix on 26 March 2006 and ending with the Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix on 29 October.
Season summary [ edit ] The 2006 MotoGP season was one of the closest battles in recent years, in which Honda 's Nicky Hayden did not claim the championship from Valentino Rossi until the final race of the year. The victory was Hayden's first and only World Championship . Seven different riders claimed Grand Prix victories including first time winners Dani Pedrosa , Toni Elías and Troy Bayliss . Yamaha 's Valentino Rossi fought back from a 51-point deficit to lead the championship going into the final rounds. Hayden's fortunes took a dip when he was taken out by his teammate Pedrosa at the penultimate round in Portugal , but he bounced back to win the crown when Rossi crashed in the final race at Valencia . Hayden only won two races to Rossi's five, but the Yamaha suffered a number of mechanical issues that led to more retirements, which allowed Hayden to score more podiums. In addition, the surprise win of Elias in Portugal, with a margin of just 0.002 second over Rossi, proved to be a major decider in the championship. Rossi had given up five points in that round, the same amount by which he was behind Hayden in the final standings. Had there been a tie, Rossi would have been crowned World Champion due to more race victories than Hayden.
In the 250cc class, Aprilia 's Jorge Lorenzo won his first championship taking 8 victories. Another Aprilia rider took the 125cc crown with Álvaro Bautista also taking 8 wins.
2006 Grand Prix season calendar [ edit ] The following Grands Prix were scheduled to take place in 2006:[1] [2]
† = MotoGP class only †† = Saturday race Calendar changes [ edit ] Regulation changes [ edit ] The following changes are made to the regulation for the 2006 season:[3] [4] [5] [6]
Sporting regulations [ edit ] The rule regarding the interruption of a race via a red flag has been reformed. From the moment the red flag is shown, riders who are not competing actively in the race will not be classified. Once five minutes have passed since the showing of the red flag, all riders who have not reached the pits on board their motorcycles will not be classified. Rules for licenses have been updated. All Chief Medial Officers (CMO) and Deputy Chief Medical Officers must now be in possession of a license. The license will be valid for a span of three years and be handed out by the FIM. Criteria and procedure for the obtainment of a CMO license has been updates. Potential candidates should apply via a letter through their FMN to the FIM including their professional and motorsport CV, as well as evidence that the following criteria has been fulfilled: Be a fully registered and qualified medical practitioner. Be experienced in the supply of Emergency Medical Care. Be experienced at motorcycle events and must have been to at least five national events as CMO or Deputy CMO with a confirmation by their FMN. Have attended and successfully completed a FIM CMO seminar and have taken part in at least one FIM event within the previous two years. In the 125cc and 250cc classes, rookie riders will now be allowed to compete in other held at circuit in Europe during a season. These rules were additionally added on 27 June 2006:
Practice restrictions have been put in place for the 125cc and 250cc classes. Contracted teams who profit from a Participation Agreement to participate in the 125cc and 250cc class championships are forbidden to practice with their bikes at any circuit between the 1st of December of one year and the 20th of January of the next year, both dates being inclusive. Technical regulations [ edit ] A change has been made regarding fuel tank regulations. In all classes, fuel tanks made out of non-metallic composite materials must be fitted with a fuel cell bladder or have otherwise passed the appropriate FIM test standards. 2006 Grand Prix season results [ edit ] † = MotoGP class only †† = Saturday Race Participants [ edit ] MotoGP participants [ edit ] Key Regular rider Wildcard rider Replacement rider
250cc participants [ edit ] According to the official website: www.motogp.com
Team Constructor Motorcycle Rider Rounds Red Bull KTM GP 250 KTM KTM 250 FRR 4 Hiroshi Aoyama 1–10, 12–17 54 Manuel Poggiali 1–10, 12–17 Master - MVA Aspar Team Aprilia Aprilia RSW 250 7 Alex de Angelis 1–10, 12–17 Kiefer-Bos-Racing Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 14 Anthony West 1–10, 12–17 17 Franz Aschenbrenner 6–9 28 Dirk Heidolf 1–5, 10, 12–17 Team Toth Aprilia Aprilia RSW 250 LE 15 Roberto Locatelli 1–10, 12–17 Equipe GP De France-Scrab Aprilia Aprilia RSW 250 LE 16 Jules Cluzel 1–10, 12–17 50 Sylvain Guintoli 1–10, 12–17 Repsol Honda Honda Honda RS250RW 19 Sebastián Porto 1–6 36 Martín Cárdenas 8, 10, 12–14 52 José David de Gea 15–17 73 Shuhei Aoyama 1–10, 12–17 Arie Molenaar Racing Honda Honda RS250R 21 Arnaud Vincent 1–8, 10, 12–15 57 Chaz Davies 9 65 Alessandro Brannetti 16–17 Nocable Angaia Racing Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 22 Luca Morelli 1–10, 12–17 Wurth Honda BQR Honda Honda RS250R 23 Arturo Tizón 1–10, 12–17 36 Martín Cárdenas 1–7 40 Sinan Sofuoğlu 1, 3 42 Aleix Espargaró 8–10, 12–17 Stop and Go Racing Team Honda Honda RS250R 24 Jordi Carchano 1–3 37 Fabricio Perrén 6–10, 12–17 Matteoni Racing Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 25 Alex Baldolini 1–10, 12–17 85 Alessio Palumbo 1–8, 10, 12–17 Humangest Racing Team Honda Honda RS250RW 34 Andrea Dovizioso 1–10, 12–17 55 Yuki Takahashi 1–10, 13–17 WTR Blauer USA Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 41 Michele Danese 1–3 24 Jordi Carchano 5–10, 12–17 TicinoHosting Campetella Racing Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 44 Taro Sekiguchi 1, 12–17 57 Chaz Davies 1–5 8 Andrea Ballerini 2–10, 12–17 9 Franco Battaini 6–10 Fortuna Aprilia Aprilia Aprilia RSW 250 48 Jorge Lorenzo 1–10, 12–17 80 Héctor Barberá 1–6, 9–10, 12–17 6 Alex Debón 7–8 Aprilia Racing 6 Alex Debón 1, 6, 12, 17 Squadra Corse Metis Gilera Gilera Gilera RSW 250 LE 58 Marco Simoncelli 1–10, 12–17 Cardion AB Motoracing Aprilia Aprilia RSW 250 LE 96 Jakub Smrž 1–10, 12–17 Castrol GP 250 Racing Honda Honda RS250R 17 Franz Aschenbrenner 10 Burning Blood Honda Honda RS250R 20 Takumi Takahashi 15 Andalucia Team Mas Andalucia-GFC-Mas Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 31 Álvaro Molina 1, 5, 17 China Zongshen Team Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 32 Joao Fernandes 16 56 Rong Zai Su 13, 16 59 Ho Chi Fung 4, 13, 16 Teng Tools Winona Racing Winona Racing Honda Honda RS250R 45 Dan Linfoot 5–7, 9–10, 12, 16–17 Asmv Scaccia Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 47 Marc-Antoine Scaccia 5 Extremadura Junior Honda Honda RS250R 53 Santiago Barragán 17 Grillini Racing Honda Honda RS250R 57 Chaz Davies 17 65 Alessandro Brannetti 6 Benelli QJ Team of China Aprilia [7] Aprilia RSV 250 60 Wang Zhu 4 61 Li Zheng Peng 4 Yamaha Tianjian Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha TZ 250 62 Huang Shi Zhao 4 63 Xiao Jin 4 VFT Racing Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 64 Omar Menghi 6 Jaap Kingma Racing Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 66 Hans Smees 1 Agesta Racing Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 67 Nicklas Cajback 6, 9–10 DE Arend - Filart Racing Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 68 Randy Gevers 8 Racing Team Twello Jaap Kingma Honda Honda RS250R 69 Bram Appelo 8 Amici Racing Honda Honda RS250R 70 Raymond Schouten 8 Roelofs Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha TZ 250 71 Jan Roelofs 8 DRT Mototech Road Racing Honda Honda RS250R 72 David Drieghe 8 BM Groundworks Yamaha Yamaha TZ 250 75 Luke Lawrence 9, 12, 16 Dennis Trollope Racing Yamaha Yamaha TZ 250 76 Alex Kenchington 9 Danx MotorSport Yamaha Yamaha TZ 250 77 Ian Gardner 9 IMT Racing Honda Honda RS250R 78 Meik Kevin Minnerop 10 Ewes Racing Team Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 79 Andreas Mårtensson 10 Sramek Racing Promotion Yamaha Yamaha TZ 250 82 Michal Filla 12 Klub Racing Team Mayer Honda Honda RS250R 83 Jiří Mayer 12 Danish Road Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha TZ 250 84 Kenni Aggerholm 12 RT Morinokumasan Sendai Yamaha Yamaha TZ 250 86 Ryuji Yokoe 15 Thai Honda Castrol Endurance Honda Honda RS250R 87 Ratthapark Wilairot 15 Pro-Tec & Weave Yamaha Yamaha TZ 250 88 Youichi Ui 15 Will Access With Plus Myu Yamaha Yamaha TZ 250 89 Seijin Oikawa 15 Dydo Miu Racing Honda Honda RS250R 93 Kouki Takahashi 15
Key Regular rider Wildcard rider Replacement rider
125cc participants [ edit ] According to the official website: www.motogp.com
Team Constructor Motorcycle Rider Rounds Elit - Caffé Latte Honda Honda RS125R 1 Thomas Lüthi 1–10, 12–17 11 Sandro Cortese 1–10, 12–17 SSM Racing Aprilia Aprilia RS 125 R 6 Joan Olivé 1–10, 12–17 12 Federico Sandi 1–10, 12–17 Malaguti Ajo Corse Malaguti Malaguti 125 7 Alexis Masbou 1–8, 10, 12–13 40 Nico Vivarelli 17 71 Tomoyoshi Koyama 1–7, 10, 12–17 73 Kazuya Otani 15–16 90 Hiroaki Kuzuhara 8–9 95 Georg Fröhlich 9 Skilled I.S.P.A. Racing Team Aprilia Aprilia RS 125 R 8 Lorenzo Zanetti 1–10, 12–17 Red Bull KTM Junior Team KTM KTM 125 FRR 9 Michael Ranseder 1–9, 12–17 17 Stefan Bradl 1–10, 12–13 67 Blake Leigh-Smith 14–17 Red Bull KTM GP 125 36 Mika Kallio 1–10, 12–17 54 Randy Krummenacher 9–10 60 Julián Simón 1–7, 12–17 3C Racing Aprilia Aprilia RS 125 R 10 Ángel Rodríguez 1–10, 12 13 Dino Lombardi 3–10, 12–17 38 Roberto Lacalendola 13–17 Humangest Racing Team Honda Honda RS125R 14 Gábor Talmácsi 1–10, 12–17 15 Michele Pirro 13–14 23 Lorenzo Baroni 1–10 49 Kazuma Watanabe 15–17 56 Stefano Musco 12 WTR Blauer USA Aprilia Aprilia RS 125 R 15 Michele Pirro 2–10, 12 29 Andrea Iannone 13 79 Enrique Jerez 1 90 Hiroaki Kuzuhara 14–17 Valsir Seedorf Racing Honda Honda RS125R 16 Michele Conti 1–10, 12–17 32 Fabrizio Lai 1–10, 12–17 Derbi Racing Derbi Derbi RS 125 R 18 Nicolás Terol 1–10, 12–17 52 Lukáš Pešek 1–10, 12–17 Master - MVA Aspar Aprilia Aprilia RSA 125 19 Álvaro Bautista 16–17 Aprilia RS 125 R 1–10, 12–15 21 Mateo Túnez 1–5, 7–10, 12, 16–17 33 Sergio Gadea 1–10, 12–17 55 Héctor Faubel 1–10, 12–17 75 Mattia Pasini 1–10, 12–17 Matteoni Racing Aprilia Aprilia RS 125 R 20 Roberto Tamburini 1–10, 12–17 Multimedia Racing Aprilia Aprilia RS 125 R 22 Pablo Nieto 1–10, 12–14, 16–17 25 Dominique Aegerter 16–17 26 Vincent Braillard 1–10, 12–15 35 Raffaele De Rosa 1–10, 12–17 Squadra Corse Metis Gilera Gilera Gilera RS 125 R 24 Simone Corsi 1–10, 12–17 TicinoHosting Campetella Junior Team Campetella Racing Junior Aprilia Aprilia RS 125 R 29 Andrea Iannone 1–10 53 Simone Grotzkyj 1–10, 12–17 Derbi Derbi RS 125 R 42 Pol Espargaró 12–17 Honda BQR Würth Honda BQR Honda Honda RS125R 34 Esteve Rabat 8–10, 12–17 41 Aleix Espargaró 1–7 80 Esteve Rabat 1, 7 Arie Molenaar Racing Honda Honda RS125R 37 Joey Litjens 1–10, 12–17 Repsol Honda Honda Honda RS125R 38 Bradley Smith 1–10, 12, 14–17 39 Danny Webb 7 Nocable Angaia Racing Honda Honda RS125R 43 Manuel Hernández 1 Aprilia Aprilia RS 125 R 2–10, 12–17 Cardion AB Motoracing Aprilia Aprilia RS 125 R 44 Karel Abraham 1–10, 12–17 Team Tóth Aprilia Aprilia RS 125 R 45 Imre Tóth 1–10, 12–17 81 Robert Mureșan 12 FFM Honda Grand Prix 125 Honda Honda RS125R 63 Mike Di Meglio 1–9, 12–16 83 Clément Dunikowski 10, 17 RACC Derbi Derbi Derbi RS 125 R 30 Pere Tutusaus 17 92 Pol Espargaró 7 FRS Honda Honda RS125R 47 Shoya Tomizawa 15 S-way Honda Honda RS125R 48 Toshihisa Kuzuhara 15 Plus One Honda Honda RS125R 50 Hiroomi Iwata 15 Honda Suzuka Racing Honda Honda RS125R 51 Iori Namihira 15 Red Bull ADAC TM Junior KTM KTM 125 FRR 54 Randy Krummenacher 16–17 61 Robin Lässer 10 Tom Hatton Racing Honda Honda RS125R 57 Tom Hatton 14 Tassie WindsScreens Honda Honda RS125R 58 Brett Symonds 14 Rhys Moller Racing Honda Honda RS125R 59 Rhys Moller 14 Angelo's Aluminium Racing Honda Honda RS125R 62 Brent Rigoli 14 Double Vision Racing Honda Honda RS125R 64 Alex Lowes 9 www.sp125racing.com Honda Honda RS125R 65 Kyle Kentish 9 KRP KRP/dancoopers96.com Honda Honda RS125R 66 Anthony Rogers 9 67 Blake Leigh-Smith 9 96 Daniel Cooper 9 Mayer-Racing Passau Aprilia Aprilia RS 125 R 68 Thomas Mayer 12 Kuja Racing Honda Honda RS125R 69 Michal Šembera 12, 16 Roha'c & Fejta Honda Honda RS125R 70 Michal Prášek 12 Sachsenring-Motorrad Unger Aprilia Aprilia RS 125 R 72 Eric Hübsch 10 Lambea TMM Racing Honda Honda RS125R 76 Iván Maestro 1, 7 Quinto Almoradi Aprilia Aprilia RS 125 R 77 Daniel Sáez 1, 17 Varenhof Racing Team Aprilia Aprilia RS 125 R 78 Hugo van den Berg 1, 5, 7–8, 12, 17 Yamaha Indonesia Yamaha Yamaha TZ125 80 Doni Tata Pradita 13 Las Vegas Team Romania Aprilia Aprilia RS 125 R 81 Robert Mureșan 3, 8 Villiers Team Competition Honda Honda RS125R 82 Matthieu Lussiana 5 Équipe de France FFM Honda Honda RS125R 83 Clément Dunikowski 5 FP Motorsport Honda Honda RS125R 84 Mathieu Olagnon 5 TVX Racing-CTR Distribution Honda Honda RS125R 85 Yannick Deschamps 5 China Zongshein Team Honda Honda RS125R 86 Ho Wan Chow 4 TicinoHosting-MTR Honda Honda RS125R 87 Roberto Lacalendola 6 88 Daniele Rossi 6 Racing Service Honda Honda RS125R 89 Nico Vivarelli 6 Grillini Racing Honda Honda RS125R 90 Hiroaki Kuzuhara 6 RCGM Team Aprilia Aprilia RS 125 R 91 Luca Verdini 6 Jan Bakker Auto's Racing Honda Honda RS125R 93 Gert-Jan Kok 8 Lemstra Racing Honda Honda RS125R 94 Patrick van de Waarsenburg 8 Abbink Bos Racing Honda Honda RS125R 95 Georg Fröhlich 8, 10, 16 RZT Racing Aprilia Aprilia RS 125 R 97 Joshua Sommer 10 Honda Schumann Reisen Honda Honda RS125R 98 Toni Wirsing 10
Key Regular rider Wildcard rider Replacement rider
Standings [ edit ] MotoGP standings [ edit ] Scoring system Points were awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider had 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 [ edit ] Rounds marked with a light blue background were under wet race conditions or stopped by rain. Riders marked with light blue background were eligible for Rookie of the Year awards. Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third 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 practice (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX)
Bold – Pole positionItalics – Fastest lap
Constructors' standings [ edit ] Each constructor got the same number of points as their best placed rider in each race. Rounds marked with a light blue background were under wet race conditions or stopped by rain. Teams' standings [ edit ] Each team got the total points scored by their two riders, including replacement riders. In one rider team, only the points scored by that rider was counted. Wildcard riders did not score points. Rounds marked with a light blue background were under wet race conditions or stopped by rain. 250cc standings [ edit ] Scoring system Points were awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider had 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 [ edit ] Rounds marked with a light blue background were under wet race conditions or stopped by rain. Riders marked with light blue background were eligible for Rookie of the Year awards. Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third 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 practice (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX)
Bold – Pole positionItalics – Fastest lap
Constructors' standings [ edit ] Each constructor got the same number of points as their best placed rider in each race. Rounds marked with a light blue background were under wet race conditions or stopped by rain.