The 2017 FIM MotoGP World Championship was the premier class of the 69th Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) Road Racing World Championship season, the highest level of competition in motorcycle road racing.
The 2017 season saw the debut of the KTM RC16, which was previously used by Red Bull KTM Factory Racing at the 2016 Valencian Grand Prix ahead of a full season debut.
Season summary Marc Márquez started the season as defending World Champion, having secured his fifth overall title at the 2016 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix with three races remaining.
Whilst Yamaha's new rider Maverick Viñales started the season off with two consecutive victories, the following spring season proved to be unpredictable with four different winners in as many races, following the trend from 2016. Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso then took his first dry-track MotoGP win at Mugello before repeating the feat the following week in Barcelona. With Viñales not finishing the race at Assen, this allowed Dovizioso to lead the championship by four points after eight races, becoming the first Ducati rider to lead the championship since Casey Stoner in . Márquez took the championship lead after winning the German Grand Prix. He held the championship lead until the British Grand Prix, where Dovizioso regained the lead after Márquez's engine blew up late in the race. Márquez bounced back immediately to take consecutive victories in the next two rounds to reestablish himself as championship leader. Over the following three races, Dovizioso claimed two more wins to Márquez's one, but a poor result in Australia for the Ducati rider meant that Márquez's points lead remained intact.
Going into the final round in Valencia Márquez topped the standings, 21 points ahead of Dovizioso, with both riders winning six races apiece. Viñales was third, 56 points behind Márquez. Therefore, Márquez needed to finish 11th or higher to guarantee a championship, whereas Dovizioso was forced under all circumstances to win in Valencia.
Márquez was on pole in Valencia, and Dovizioso started 9th. After Márquez saved a high-speed potential crash into turn 1, he dropped back behind Dovizioso. The title chances of Dovizioso ended when he crashed with five laps of the race remaining, losing the hope in taking the championship. Meanwhile, Márquez finished third behind Dani Pedrosa and the season's top rookie and independent rider Johann Zarco. Márquez won his sixth title and fourth MotoGP title overall.
Calendar The following Grands Prix took place in 2017: Round Date Grand Prix Circuit 1 26 March ‡ Grand Prix of Qatar Losail International Circuit, Lusail 2 9 April Gran Premio Motul de la República Argentina 3 23 April Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas Circuit of the Americas, Austin 4 7 May Gran Premio Red Bull de España Circuito de Jerez, Jerez de la Frontera 5 21 May HJC Helmets Grand Prix de France Bugatti Circuit, Le Mans 6 4 June Gran Premio d'Italia Oakley Mugello Circuit, Scarperia e San Piero 7 11 June Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló 8 25 June Motul TT Assen TT Circuit Assen, Assen 9 2 July GoPro Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland Sachsenring, Hohenstein-Ernstthal 10 6 August Monster Energy Grand Prix České republiky Brno Circuit, Brno 11 13 August NeroGiardini Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich Red Bull Ring, Spielberg 12 27 August Octo British Grand Prix Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone 13 Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, Misano Adriatico 14 24 September Gran Premio Movistar de Aragón MotorLand Aragón, Alcañiz 15 15 October Motul Grand Prix of Japan Twin Ring Motegi, Motegi 16 22 October Michelin Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Phillip Island 17 29 October Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix Sepang International Circuit, Sepang 18 12 November Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Valencia
‡ = Night race
Calendar changes The Austrian and Czech Republic Grand Prix swapped places, with the Czech Republic hosting the tenth round, while Austria hosts the eleventh round. The British Grand Prix was scheduled to move from Silverstone to the new Circuit of Wales, but construction on the new track had not commenced. The two circuits reached a deal which would see Silverstone continue to host the British Grand Prix in 2017, with an option to host the 2018 race.
Teams and riders TeamConstructorMotorcycleRiderRounds Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia RS-GP 22 Sam Lowes All 41 Aleix Espargaró 1–16, 18 Ducati Team Ducati 04 Andrea Dovizioso All 99 Jorge Lorenzo All 51 Michele Pirro 6, 13, 18 Octo Pramac Racing 9 Danilo Petrucci All Desmosedici GP16 45 Scott Redding All Reale Avintia Racing 8 Héctor Barberá All Desmosedici GP15 76 Loris Baz All Pull&Bear Aspar Team Desmosedici GP16 19 Álvaro Bautista All Desmosedici GP15 17 Karel Abraham All Repsol Honda Team Honda RC213V 26 Dani Pedrosa All 93 Marc Márquez All LCR Honda 35 Cal Crutchlow All EG 0,0 Marc VDS 43 Jack Miller 7 Hiroshi Aoyama 15 53 Tito Rabat All Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM RC16 38 Bradley Smith All 44 Pol Espargaró All 36 Mika Kallio 9, 11, 14, 18 Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki GSX-RR 29 Andrea Iannone All 42 Álex Rins 1–3, 8–18 12 Takuya Tsuda 4 50 Sylvain Guintoli 5–7 Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha YZR-M1 25 Maverick Viñales All 46 Valentino Rossi 1–12, 14–18 21 Katsuyuki Nakasuga 15 Monster Yamaha Tech 3 5 Johann Zarco All 94 Jonas Folger 1–14 31 Kohta Nozane 15 23 Broc Parkes 16 60 17–18Key Regular rider Wildcard rider
All the bikes used Michelin tyres.
Team changes Austrian manufacturer KTM joined the series with a factory-supported team for the first time.
Rider changes Jorge Lorenzo joined Ducati, after leaving Movistar Yamaha MotoGP. Lorenzo's move to Ducati ended his nine-year relationship with Yamaha. Maverick Viñales joined Yamaha, after leaving Team Suzuki Ecstar. Andrea Iannone joined Team Suzuki Ecstar, after leaving Ducati. He was partnered by Álex Rins who moved up to the premier class. Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaró left Tech 3 Yamaha to join the newly formed Red Bull KTM factory team for the 2017 season. Aleix Espargaró joined Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, after leaving Team Suzuki Ecstar. He was partnered by Sam Lowes who moved up to the premier class. Jonas Folger and Johann Zarco, the 2015 and 2016 Moto2 World Champion, moved up to the premier class, débuting with Monster Yamaha Tech 3. Stefan Bradl and Eugene Laverty left MotoGP for the Superbike World Championship. Álvaro Bautista left Aprilia Racing Team Gresini to return to Pull&Bear Aspar Team. Bautista previously competed with Aspar Team between the 2006 125cc and the 2009 250cc seasons. Karel Abraham returned to MotoGP with Aspar Team after previously competing in the Superbike World Championship in the 2016 season. Yonny Hernández returned to Moto2, after being left without a ride in MotoGP.
Regulation changes
Technical regulations Winglets, additional aerodynamic aids first introduced in 1999, will be banned from 2017 following repeated concerns about their safety.
Sporting regulations A rider may be assisted by no more than four mechanics while changing bikes during a pit stop, all of whom must wear approved helmets. A mechanic may hold in the bike's clutch lever, but only the rider is allowed to select a gear.
Results and standings Grands Prix Round Grand Prix Pole position Fastest lap Winning rider Winning team 1 Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix Johann Zarco Maverick Viñales Yamaha Report 2 Argentine Republic motorcycle Grand Prix Marc Márquez Maverick Viñales Maverick Viñales Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha Report 3 Motorcycle Grand Prix of the Americas Marc Márquez Marc Márquez Marc Márquez Repsol Honda Team Honda Report 4 Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix Dani Pedrosa Dani Pedrosa Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team Honda Report 5 French motorcycle Grand Prix Maverick Viñales Maverick Viñales Maverick Viñales Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha Report 6 Italian motorcycle Grand Prix Maverick Viñales Maverick Viñales Ducati Team Ducati Report 7 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix Dani Pedrosa Jonas Folger Andrea Dovizioso Ducati Team Ducati Report 8 Dutch TT Johann Zarco Scott Redding Valentino Rossi Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha Report 9 German motorcycle Grand Prix Marc Márquez Jonas Folger Marc Márquez Repsol Honda Team Honda Report 10 Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix Marc Márquez Maverick Viñales Marc Márquez Repsol Honda Team Honda Report 11 Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix Marc Márquez Johann Zarco Andrea Dovizioso Ducati Team Ducati Report 12 British motorcycle Grand Prix Marc Márquez Marc Márquez Andrea Dovizioso Ducati Team Ducati Report 13 Maverick Viñales Marc Márquez Marc Márquez Repsol Honda Team Honda Report 14 Aragon motorcycle Grand Prix Maverick Viñales Dani Pedrosa Marc Márquez Repsol Honda Team Honda Report 15 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix Johann Zarco Andrea Dovizioso Ducati Team Ducati Report 16 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix Marc Márquez Johann Zarco Marc Márquez Repsol Honda Team Honda Report 17 Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix Dani Pedrosa Andrea Dovizioso Andrea Dovizioso Ducati Team Ducati Report 18 Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix Marc Márquez Johann Zarco Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team Honda Report
Riders' standings 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 Points252016131110987654321