List of Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Riders' Champions

Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier championship of motorcycle road racing, which has been divided into four classes since the 2023: MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3, and MotoE. Classes that have been discontinued include 350cc, 250cc, 125cc, and 50cc/80cc.[1] 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]

A man wearing a white leather top with writing on it. His arms are crossed and there is a man standing in front to his left.
Giacomo Agostini, who won 15 motorcycle world championships

There were four classes when the championship started in 1949; 500cc, 350cc, 250cc and 125cc. The 50cc class was introduced in the 1962 season. Due to escalating costs that resulted in a number of manufacturers leaving the championship, the FIM limited the 50cc bikes to a single cylinder, the 125cc and 250cc bikes were limited to two cylinders and the 350cc and 500cc bikes were limited to four cylinders. The 350cc class was discontinued in 1982; two years later the 50cc class was replaced with an 80cc class, which was discontinued in 1989. In 2002, 990cc bikes replaced the 500cc bikes and the class was renamed as MotoGP.[3] 600cc bikes replaced the 250cc bikes in the 2010 season, with the class re-branded as Moto2.[4] In 2012, 250cc bikes replaced the 125cc bikes, with the class re-branded as Moto3, retiring the two-stroke bikes from Grand Prix motorcycle racing.[5] MotoE was introduced in 2019 as a "World Cup" until 2022 and thus statistics from that time span is not included here.[6] MotoE gained World Championship status in 2023.

Giacomo Agostini, with 15 victories, has won the most world championships. Ángel Nieto is second with 13 world championships and Valentino Rossi, Mike Hailwood and Carlo Ubbiali are third with 9 world championships.[7] Agostini holds the record for the most victories in the 500cc/MotoGP and 350cc classes with eight and seven world championships respectively. Phil Read and Max Biaggi have won the most 250cc/Moto2 championships, with four victories each. Nieto won the most championships in the 125cc and 50cc/80cc classes with seven and six victories respectively.[8]

Champions edit

By rider edit

Grand Prix motorcycle racing World champions
Rank Rider Country Winning span MotoGP/500cc 350cc Moto2/250cc Moto3/125cc 80cc/50cc MotoE Total
1 Giacomo Agostini   Italy 1966–1975 8 7 0 0 0 0 15
2 Ángel Nieto   Spain 1969–1984 0 0 0 7 6 0 13
3 Valentino Rossi   Italy 1997–2009 7 0 1 1 0 0 9
4 Mike Hailwood   United Kingdom 1961–1967 4 2 3 0 0 0 9
5 Carlo Ubbiali   Italy 1951–1960 0 0 3 6 0 0 9
6 Marc Márquez   Spain 2010–2019 6 0 1 1 0 0 8
7 John Surtees   United Kingdom 1956–1960 4 3 0 0 0 0 7
8 Phil Read   United Kingdom 1964–1974 2 0 4 1 0 0 7
9 Geoff Duke   United Kingdom 1951–1955 4 2 0 0 0 0 6
10 Jim Redman   Rhodesia 1962–1965 0 4 2 0 0 0 6
11 Mick Doohan   Australia 1994–1998 5 0 0 0 0 0 5
12 Jorge Lorenzo   Spain 2006–2015 3 0 2 0 0 0 5
13 Anton Mang   Germany 1980–1987 0 2 3 0 0 0 5
14 Eddie Lawson   United States 1984–1989 4 0 0 0 0 0 4
15 Kork Ballington   South Africa 1978–1979 0 2 2 0 0 0 4
16 Walter Villa   Italy 1974–1976 0 1 3 0 0 0 4
17 Max Biaggi   Italy 1994–1997 0 0 4 0 0 0 4
18 Hugh Anderson   New Zealand 1963–1965 0 0 0 2 2 0 4
19 Jorge Martínez   Spain 1986–1988 0 0 0 1 3 0 4
20 Stefan Dörflinger   Switzerland 1982–1985 0 0 0 0 4 0 4
21 Kenny Roberts   United States 1978–1980 3 0 0 0 0 0 3
21 Wayne Rainey   United States 1990–1992 3 0 0 0 0 0 3
23 Freddie Spencer   United States 1983–1985 2 0 1 0 0 0 3
23 Francesco Bagnaia   Italy 2018–2023 2 0 1 0 0 0 3
25 Bruno Ruffo   Italy 1949–1951 0 0 2 1 0 0 3
25 Werner Haas   Germany 1953–1954 0 0 2 1 0 0 3
25 Luca Cadalora   Italy 1986–1992 0 0 2 1 0 0 3
25 Dani Pedrosa   Spain 2003–2005 0 0 2 1 0 0 3
29 Loris Capirossi   Italy 1990–1998 0 0 1 2 0 0 3
30 Luigi Taveri   Switzerland 1962–1966 0 0 0 3 0 0 3
30 Pier Paolo Bianchi   Italy 1976–1980 0 0 0 3 0 0 3
32 Hans-Georg Anscheidt   Germany 1966–1968 0 0 0 0 3 0 3
33 Eugenio Lazzarini   Italy 1978–1980 0 0 0 1 2 0 3
34 Umberto Masetti   Italy 1950–1952 2 0 0 0 0 0 2
34 Barry Sheene   United Kingdom 1976–1977 2 0 0 0 0 0 2
34 Casey Stoner   Australia 2007–2011 2 0 0 0 0 0 2
37 Gary Hocking   Rhodesia and Nyasaland 1961 1 1 0 0 0 0 2
38 Àlex Crivillé   Spain 1989–1999 1 0 0 1 0 0 2
38 Joan Mir   Spain 2017–2020 1 0 0 1 0 0 2
40 Bill Lomas   United Kingdom 1955–1956 0 2 0 0 0 0 2
40 Fergus Anderson   United Kingdom 1953–1954 0 2 0 0 0 0 2
42 Carlos Lavado   Venezuela 1983–1986 0 0 2 0 0 0 2
42 Sito Pons   Spain 1988–1989 0 0 2 0 0 0 2
42 Johann Zarco   France 2015–2016 0 0 2 0 0 0 2
45 Cecil Sandford   United Kingdom 1952–1957 0 0 1 1 0 0 2
45 Tarquinio Provini   Italy 1957–1958 0 0 1 1 0 0 2
45 Dieter Braun   Germany 1970–1973 0 0 1 1 0 0 2
45 Manuel Poggiali   San Marino 2001–2003 0 0 1 1 0 0 2
45 Álex Márquez   Spain 2014–2019 0 0 1 1 0 0 2
45 Pedro Acosta   Spain 2021–2023 0 0 1 1 0 0 2
51 Kent Andersson   Sweden 1973–1974 0 0 0 2 0 0 2
51 Fausto Gresini   Italy 1985–1987 0 0 0 2 0 0 2
51 Kazuto Sakata   Japan 1994–1998 0 0 0 2 0 0 2
51 Haruchika Aoki   Japan 1995–1996 0 0 0 2 0 0 2
55 Jan de Vries   Netherlands 1971–1973 0 0 0 0 2 0 2
55 Ricardo Tormo   Spain 1978–1981 0 0 0 0 2 0 2
57 Leslie Graham   United Kingdom 1949 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
57 Libero Liberati   Italy 1957 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
57 Marco Lucchinelli   Italy 1981 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
57 Franco Uncini   Italy 1982 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
57 Wayne Gardner   Australia 1987 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
57 Kevin Schwantz   United States 1993 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
57 Kenny Roberts Jr.   United States 2000 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
57 Nicky Hayden   United States 2006 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
57 Fabio Quartararo   France 2021 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
66 Freddie Frith   United Kingdom 1949 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
66 Bob Foster   United Kingdom 1950 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
66 Keith Campbell   Australia 1957 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
66 Johnny Cecotto   Venezuela 1975 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
66 Takazumi Katayama   Japan 1977 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
66 Jon Ekerold   South Africa 1980 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
72 Dario Ambrosini   Italy 1950 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
72 Enrico Lorenzetti   Italy 1952 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
72 Hermann Paul Müller   Germany 1955 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
72 Rodney Gould   United Kingdom 1970 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
72 Kel Carruthers   Australia 1969 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
72 Jarno Saarinen   Finland 1972 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
72 Mario Lega   Italy 1977 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
72 Jean-Louis Tournadre   France 1982 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
72 Christian Sarron   France 1984 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
72 John Kocinski   United States 1990 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
72 Tetsuya Harada   Japan 1993 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
72 Olivier Jacque   France 2000 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
72 Daijiro Kato   Japan 2001 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
72 Marco Melandri   Italy 2002 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
72 Marco Simoncelli   Italy 2008 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
72 Hiroshi Aoyama   Japan 2009 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
72 Toni Elías   Spain 2010 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
72 Stefan Bradl   Germany 2011 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
72 Pol Espargaró   Spain 2013 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
72 Tito Rabat   Spain 2014 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
72 Franco Morbidelli   Italy 2017 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
72 Enea Bastianini   Italy 2020 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
72 Remy Gardner   Australia 2021 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
72 Augusto Fernández   Spain 2022 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
96 Nello Pagani   Italy 1949 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
96 Rupert Hollaus   Austria 1954 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
96 Tom Phillis   Australia 1961 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
96 Bill Ivy   United Kingdom 1967 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
96 Dave Simmonds   United Kingdom 1969 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
96 Paolo Pileri   Italy 1975 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
96 Alessandro Gramigni   Italy 1992 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
96 Dirk Raudies   Germany 1993 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
96 Emilio Alzamora   Spain 1999 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
96 Roberto Locatelli   Italy 2000 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
96 Arnaud Vincent   France 2002 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
96 Andrea Dovizioso   Italy 2004 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
96 Thomas Lüthi   Switzerland 2005 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
96 Álvaro Bautista   Spain 2006 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
96 Gábor Talmácsi   Hungary 2007 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
96 Mike Di Meglio   France 2008 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
96 Julián Simón   Spain 2009 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
96 Nicolás Terol   Spain 2011 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
96 Sandro Cortese   Germany 2012 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
96 Maverick Viñales   Spain 2013 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
96 Danny Kent   United Kingdom 2015 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
96 Brad Binder   South Africa 2016 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
96 Jorge Martín   Spain 2018 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
96 Lorenzo Dalla Porta   Italy 2019 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
96 Albert Arenas   Spain 2020 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
96 Izan Guevara   Spain 2022 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
96 Jaume Masià   Spain 2023 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
123 Ernst Degner   Germany 1962 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
123 Ralph Bryans   United Kingdom 1965 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
123 Henk van Kessel   Netherlands 1974 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
123 Manuel Herreros   Spain 1989 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
127 Mattia Casadei   Italy 2023 0 0 0 0 0 1 1

By country edit

Grand Prix motorcycle racing World champions by country
Country MotoGP/500cc 350cc Moto2/250cc Moto3/125cc 80cc/50cc MotoE Total
  Italy 22 8 25 24 2 1 82
  Spain 11 0 13 23 12 0 59
  United Kingdom 17 13 9 5 1 0 45
  Germany 0 2 8 4 4 0 18
  United States 15 0 2 0 0 0 17
  Australia 8 1 2 1 0 0 12
  Switzerland 0 0 0 4 4 0 8
  Rhodesia 1 5 2 0 0 0 8
  France 1 0 5 2 0 0 8
  Japan 0 1 3 4 0 0 8
  South Africa 0 3 2 1 0 0 6
  New Zealand 0 0 0 2 2 0 4
  Venezuela 0 1 2 0 0 0 3
  Netherlands 0 0 0 0 3 0 3
  San Marino 0 0 1 1 0 0 2
  Sweden 0 0 0 2 0 0 2
  Finland 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
  Austria 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
  Hungary 0 0 0 1 0 0 1

See also edit

References edit

Bibliography

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

General

Specific

  1. ^ Marshall 1997, p. 289
  2. ^ "Basics". MotoGP. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  3. ^ "History". MotoGP. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
  4. ^ "2010 Moto2 class to be powered by Honda". MotoGP. 2 May 2009. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
  5. ^ Birt, Matthew (29 June 2010). "Moto3 to replace 125GP class in 2012". Motor Cycle News. Bauer Media Group. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  6. ^ "STAT ATTACK: 1000 GPs special!". MotoGP.com. Dorna Sports. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  7. ^ "Rossi's ninth title win: the statistics". MotoGP. 26 October 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  8. ^ "Winners". MotoGP. Retrieved 13 November 2011.

External links edit