The 2009 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 61st F.I.M. 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 Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix on 12 April 2009 and ending with the Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix on 8 November.
Preseason
Cost-cutting measures As announced during 2008, MotoGP class switched to a single-tyre manufacturer ending a previous Tyre war between Dunlop, Bridgestone, and Michelin that started in the 2002 season (though Dunlop left as a tyre manufacturer in 2007). The move was made to try to improve safety by reducing cornering speeds, and in a marginal way for cost reasons; the winner was decided by bid. Michelin, one of the two tyre suppliers in 2008, decided not to bid for the supply, effectively declaring Bridgestone the winner, which was confirmed on 18 October 2008. Bridgestone will be the sole tyre supplier from 2009 to 2011. Only race spec tyres will be provided to the teams, eliminating qualifying tyres, in use until 2008.
Other cost-cutting manoeuvers were made during the winter prior to the season, to try to contain the rising costs of the sport, especially during the 2008 financial crisis. FIM was especially concerned, fearing that defections among private and factory teams could leave the grid with 14 bikes only.
After negotiations between FIM, Dorna and MSMA (the manufacturers' association), new measures were adopted. The Friday morning free practice session was eliminated, limiting the Friday practice time to a single 45-minute session (later brought to a 1-hour session from the French GP onwards); a limit of 5 engines was imposed for the last 7 races, with a 10-point penalty for each additional engine used; ceramic composite materials for brakes were banned; electronic assistance was reduced with the ban of electronic controlled suspensions and launch control systems; Monday tests will be cancelled except for Catalunya and Brno, where only test riders will be allowed to take part.
Kawasaki withdrawal and return With a somewhat unexpected announcement, Kawasaki made public its intention to withdraw from MotoGP immediately on 9 January 2009, citing the global economic downturn as the main cause of the decision. Initial negotiations between Dorna and Kawasaki aimed to run the two bikes with the private Aspar team, but after further talks, on 26 February 2009 Kawasaki announced its decision to remain in the category, running a single bike team with Marco Melandri, effectively leaving John Hopkins without a contract. The team ran under the Hayate Racing banner, as announced on 1 March 2009.
Season review
MotoGP Valentino Rossi won his sixth MotoGP title, seventh in the top class and ninth title in total after getting the better of teammate Jorge Lorenzo in a season-long battle. The season was marked by the dominance of Yamaha duo Rossi and Lorenzo, with occasional wins for Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner. Riding the factory Ducati, 2007 champion Stoner won the opener in Qatar as well as a rain-hit race in Italy to open up a championship lead after six rounds. Inconsistent handling from the Ducati as well as health problems for Stoner causing fatigue saw him drop out of the title fight by mid-season, whereas Pedrosa and Lorenzo crashed more often than Rossi who built up a sizeable lead to win the title.
250cc class
In the final 250cc championship (it was replaced by the Moto2 class in 2010), Hiroshi Aoyama became the third Japanese rider to win that title, after Tetsuya Harada and Daijiro Kato.
125cc class
In the 125cc class, Julián Simón won the title after taking seven victories during the season.
2009 Grand Prix season calendar The following Grands Prix were scheduled to take place in 2009:
The 2009 revised race schedule was released on 24 October 2008. A Hungarian round was originally scheduled for 20 September 2009 but the organizers asked Dorna to postpone the event to 2010 due to delays in the construction of the Balatonring circuit.
Due to adverse weather conditions, the Qatar MotoGP race was postponed until 13 April. RoundDateGrand PrixCircuit 1 Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar Losail International Circuit 2 26 April Polini Grand Prix of Japan Twin Ring Motegi 3 3 May Gran Premio bwin.com de España Circuito de Jerez 4 17 May Grand Prix de France Bugatti Circuit 5 31 May Gran Premio d'Italia Alice Mugello Circuit 6 14 June Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya Circuit de Catalunya 7 27 June †† Alice TT Assen TT Circuit Assen 8 5 July † Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca 9 19 July Alice Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland Sachsenring 10 26 July British Grand Prix Donington Park 11 16 August Cardion ab Grand Prix České republiky Brno Circuit 12 30 August Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix Indianapolis Motor Speedway 13 6 September Misano World Circuit 14 4 October bwin.com Grande Prémio de Portugal Autódromo do Estoril 15 18 October Iveco Australian Grand Prix 16 25 October Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix Sepang International Circuit 17 8 November GP Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana Circuit Ricardo Tormo
‡ = Night race, MotoGP race held on Monday because of rainfall on Sunday. † = MotoGP class only †† = Saturday race
Calendar changes The Japanese Grand Prix was moved forward, from 28 September to 26 April. The Portuguese Grand Prix was moved back, from 13 April to 4 October. The Chinese Grand Prix was taken off the calendar due to a dire spectator attendance, poor promotion and an overall lack of commercial interest in the venue. The British Grand Prix was moved back, from 22 June to 26 July. Only the MotoGP class raced during the United States Grand Prix because of a Californian law on air pollution, preventing the 125 and 250cc classes from racing.
Regulation changes The following changes are made to the regulation for the 2009 season:
Sporting regulations
A big overhaul has been made to the standard time schedule for all days. The Friday morning Free Practice session will be cancelled for all three classes and the three MotoGP Practice Sessions, as well as Saturday Qualifying, will be shortened from one hour to 45 minutes. Warm-Up times and Race distances are not altered.
For the Free Practice one sessions on Friday, the times are now as follows: FP1 from 13:05 to 13:45 for the 125cc class. FP1 from 14:05 to 14:50 for the MotoGP class. FP1 from 15:05 to 15:50 for the 250cc class.
For the Free Practice two and Qualifying Practice sessions on Saturday, the times are now as follows: FP2 from 09:05 to 09:45 for the 125cc class. FP2 from 10:05 to 10:50 for the MotoGP class. FP2 from 11:05 to 11:50 for the 250cc class. QP from 13:05 to 13:45 for the 125cc class. QP from 14:05 to 14:50 for the MotoGP class. QP from 15:05 to 15:50 for the 250cc class.
For the Warm-Up and Race sessions on Sunday, the times are now as follows: WUP from 08:40 to 09:00 for the 125cc class. WUP from 09:10 to 09:30 for the MotoGP class. WUP from 09:40 to 10:00 for the 250cc class. Race from 11:00 to 12:00 for the 125cc class. Race from 12:15 to 13:15 for the 250cc class. Race from 14:00 to 15:00 for the MotoGP class.
Only two post-race tests are now allowed. The circuits chosen are the Catalan and Czech ones and the tests are only allowed if they are for development purposes and if test riders are used.
These rules were additionally added on the 25th of July 2009:
The rules for practice restrictions have been updated. For the purpose of practice restrictions, the year is split into two parts: the season itself and the winter. The season is defined as 'the period starting fourteen days before the first race of the year and ending two days after the last race of the year, both dates being inclusive'. The winter is defined as 'the rest of the year, starting four days after the last race of the season and ending fifteen days before the first race of the next season, both dates being inclusive.' Using riders under contract to practice with MotoGP bikes is not allowed during the season as well as the breaks at any track included on the current year's calendar. The following exceptions to this rule apply if: The practice is added to the event schedule. The practice happens during the day(s) immediately after the race at three circuits, at the circuit where the race has occurred. The final race of the season will always be held at one of the three circuits and will be the only two-day test which is allowed. The others will only consist out of one test day. The other two circuits must be nominated by the Grand Prix Commission by 31 January of that year. The activity has been specifically approved by the Race Direction.
The same goes for the winter period. It is forbidden to use contracted riders to practice with MotoGP at any circuit. The following exceptions apply to this rule if:
There's a maximum of six days where Dorna/IRTA organise official tests at tracks which were added to the calendars of the previous or next year. No testing is allowed during the period between 1 December of one year and 31 January of the next year, both dates being inclusive. The winter test schedule must be approved the Grand Prix Commission. The activity has been specifically approved by the Race Direction.
Rules for the practice by non-contracted riders have been changed. The practice by non-contracted or test riders is permitted at any circuit at all times, but is limited specifically by the use of a maximum of 240 tyres per manufacturer, per calendar year, which is solely supplied by the MotoGP tyre supplier. There is an exception to this rule however and it is forbidden to test during the season and the breaks at a circuit included on the calendar before the race there has happened. Nonetheless, manufacturers can designate and inform the Race Direction of the two circuits where they can test before 31 January of each year, but not within fourteen days of the scheduled event at the circuits. Said schedule of these tests and any following amendments must have to be told to the Race Direction at least seven days ahead of time.
The definition of a 'contracted rider' and a 'rookie rider' have been clarified. A contracted rider is a rider who has ridden in nine or more events during a single season. A rookie is a rider who is submitted by a participating team for participation in the full season but is not a contracted rider as is defined in the same class in any past season. For the purpose of this section, the old 500cc and MotoGP class are considered to be the same as well as the current 250cc, which will be renamed to the Moto2 class in 2010.
This rule was additionally added on the 24th of August 2009:
All the MotoGP Practice and Qualifying sessions are going to be extended again, from 45 minutes to one hour as of the French Grand Prix onwards.
Technical regulations
In September 2008, it was decided that from 2009 onwards there will only be a single tyre manufacturer for the MotoGP class. Proposals could be sent in to the FIM and Dorna until 3 October 2008 after which the eventual winner were to be announced by the Grand Prix Commission on 18 October 2008. Bridgestone sent in a bid whilst supplying rival Michelin, did not. The eventual proposal was studied and on 18 October, it was announced that Bridgestone were to become the sole tyre supplier for a three-year period. From the Czech Republic GP onwards, a maximum of five engines will only be allowed for use in the final eight races of the season. Changing parts is not allowed, with the exception of daily maintenance. Composite materials made out of ceramic is now forbidden to use on the brake discs or pads. A launch control system is now prohibited. A suspension which is controlled by electronics is now prohibited as well.
These rules were additionally added on the 25th of July 2009: