The 2018 FIM MotoGP World Championship was the premier class of the 70th Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) Road Racing World Championship season, the highest level of competition in motorcycle road racing. Marc Márquez entered the season as the reigning champion, with Repsol Honda Team being the reigning team champions and Honda the reigning constructors' champions.
Originally scheduled for 19 races, the season was reduced by one Grand Prix due to the cancellation of the 26 August Silverstone event due to unsafe track conditions involving standing water after a rider vote.
Marc Márquez clinched the championship trophy on 21 October 2018 after sixteen rounds, winning three consecutive races during spring, another three consecutive races during autumn and nine overall. Andrea Dovizioso finished in second and Valentino Rossi ended up in third, the former with four wins, while Rossi did not record a race win. Jorge Lorenzo with three wins and a win apiece for Cal Crutchlow and Maverick Viñales were the other race winners. Yamaha suffered their worst winless streak in their history with no wins for 25 races, which lasted from the 2017 German Grand Prix until Viñales won the Australian Grand Prix. KTM got their first podium finish at the Valencian Grand Prix with Pol Espargaró, finishing in third.
Teams and riders TeamConstructorMotorcycleRiderRounds Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia RS-GP 41 Aleix Espargaró All 45 Scott Redding All Ducati Team Ducati 04 Andrea Dovizioso All 99 Jorge Lorenzo 19 Álvaro Bautista 17 51 Michele Pirro 18 51 Michele Pirro 6, 13, 19 Alma Pramac Racing 9 Danilo Petrucci All Desmosedici GP17 43 Jack Miller All Ángel Nieto Team 19 Álvaro Bautista 1–16, 18–19 17 Karel Abraham 17 Desmosedici GP16 1–16, 18–19 7 Mike Jones 17 Reale Avintia Racing Desmosedici GP17 53 Tito Rabat 1–12 10 Xavier Siméon 13–19 Desmosedici GP16 1–12 23 13 81 Jordi Torres 14–19 EG 0,0 Marc VDS Honda RC213V 12 Thomas Lüthi All 21 Franco Morbidelli All 6 Stefan Bradl 9 LCR Honda Idemitsu LCR Honda Castrol 30 Takaaki Nakagami All 35 Cal Crutchlow 1–17 6 Stefan Bradl 18–19 Repsol Honda Team 26 Dani Pedrosa All 93 Marc Márquez All HRC Honda Team 6 Stefan Bradl 10, 13 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM RC16 38 Bradley Smith All 44 Pol Espargaró 1–10, 13–19 76 Loris Baz 12 36 Mika Kallio 4, 7, 9 Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki GSX-RR 29 Andrea Iannone All 42 Álex Rins All 50 Sylvain Guintoli 7, 10, 16 Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha YZR-M1 5 Johann Zarco All 55 Hafizh Syahrin All Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 25 Maverick Viñales All 46 Valentino Rossi All 89 Katsuyuki Nakasuga 16KeyRegular riderWildcard rider
All teams used series-specified Michelin tyres.
Team changes LCR Honda expanded to enter a second bike for the first time since 2015. Aspar Team raced under the name of "Ángel Nieto Team" from 2018 in honor of the late Ángel Nieto.
Rider changes Sam Lowes was released from his contract with Aprilia Racing Team Gresini one year before it expired. Lowes returned to the Moto2 category. Thomas Lüthi moved up to MotoGP, making his début with EG 0,0 Marc VDS after competing in the intermediate class for eleven seasons. 2017 Moto2 champion Franco Morbidelli was promoted to MotoGP, making his début with EG 0,0 Marc VDS. Tito Rabat returned to Reale Avintia Racing, after leaving EG 0,0 Marc VDS. He was partnered by Xavier Siméon who moved up to the premier class. Rabat previously competed with Avintia Racing under the name By Queroseno Racing (BQR) between the 2005 125cc and the 2011 Moto2 seasons. Takaaki Nakagami moved up to MotoGP with LCR Honda. Scott Redding left Pramac Racing at the end of the 2017 season to join Aprilia Racing Team Gresini. His place was taken by Jack Miller. Loris Baz left MotoGP and returned to Superbike World Championship. During mid-season, Baz replaced injured Pol Espargaró at Red Bull KTM Factory Racing for British GP. Héctor Barberá returned to the intermediate class, Moto2, after leaving Reale Avintia Racing. Barberá has completed eight seasons in the premier class. Jonas Folger, who was on the provisional entry list, withdrew from the 2018 season to focus on recovery from illness. Hafizh Syahrin moved up to MotoGP to fill his spot in Monster Yamaha Tech 3. He became the first Malaysian rider to compete in the sport's premier class.
Mid-season changes Randy de Puniet returned to MotoGP as the KTM test rider, replacing Mika Kallio who suffered a knee injury during German Grand Prix for the remainder of the season. Tito Rabat got injured after the British Grand Prix, so he was replaced by Christophe Ponsson for the San Marino Grand Prix. Jordi Torres also replacing him since Aragon Grand Prix onwards. Álvaro Bautista replaced Jorge Lorenzo at the Australian Grand Prix due to injuries sustained at the Thailand Grand Prix, with Mike Jones to take Bautista's place.
Calendar The following Grands Prix took place in 2018:
RoundDateGrand PrixCircuit1 18 March Grand Prix of Qatar Losail International Circuit, Lusail2 8 April Gran Premio Motul de la República Argentina 3 22 April Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas Circuit of the Americas, Austin4 6 May Gran Premio Red Bull de España Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto, Jerez de la Frontera5 20 May HJC Helmets Grand Prix de France Bugatti Circuit, Le Mans6 3 June Gran Premio d'Italia Oakley Mugello Circuit, Scarperia e San Piero7 17 June Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló8 1 July Motul TT Assen TT Circuit Assen, Assen9 15 July Pramac Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland Sachsenring, Hohenstein-Ernstthal10 5 August Monster Energy Grand Prix České republiky Brno Circuit, Brno11 12 August Eyetime Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich Red Bull Ring, Spielberg12 26 August GoPro British Grand Prix Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone13 9 September Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, Misano Adriatico14 Gran Premio Movistar de Aragón MotorLand Aragón, Alcañiz15 7 October PTT Thailand Grand Prix Chang International Circuit, Buriram16 21 October Motul Grand Prix of Japan Twin Ring Motegi, Motegi17 28 October Michelin Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Phillip Island18 4 November Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix Sepang International Circuit, Sepang19 18 November Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Valencia
Calendar changes
The British Grand Prix was scheduled to move from Silverstone to the new Circuit of Wales, but construction on the new track has not commenced. The two circuits reached a deal that will see Silverstone with an option to host the 2018 race. In the end, the British Grand Prix saw all three races being cancelled due to dangerous track conditions on race day, and was not re-arranged. The Thailand Grand Prix is a new addition to the calendar, with the race scheduled for 7 October. The Catalan Grand Prix used a new configuration of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, wherein the previous set of corners of turns 13, 14 and 15 were combined into a sweeping right corner. The new layout was previously used in Formula 1 from 2004 to 2006.
Results and standings Grands Prix Round Grand Prix Pole position Fastest lap Winning rider Winning team 1 Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix Johann Zarco Ducati Team Ducati Report 2 Argentine Republic motorcycle Grand Prix Jack Miller Marc Márquez Cal Crutchlow LCR Honda Castrol Honda Report 3 Motorcycle Grand Prix of the Americas Marc Márquez Marc Márquez Repsol Honda Team Honda Report 4 Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix Cal Crutchlow Marc Márquez Marc Márquez Repsol Honda Team Honda Report 5 French motorcycle Grand Prix Johann Zarco Marc Márquez Marc Márquez Repsol Honda Team Honda Report 6 Italian motorcycle Grand Prix Valentino Rossi Danilo Petrucci Jorge Lorenzo Ducati Team Ducati Report 7 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix Jorge Lorenzo Jorge Lorenzo Jorge Lorenzo Ducati Team Ducati Report 8 Dutch TT Marc Márquez Maverick Viñales Marc Márquez Repsol Honda Team Honda Report 9 German motorcycle Grand Prix Marc Márquez Marc Márquez Marc Márquez Repsol Honda Team Honda Report 10 Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix Andrea Dovizioso Jorge Lorenzo Andrea Dovizioso Ducati Team Ducati Report 11 Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix Marc Márquez Andrea Dovizioso Jorge Lorenzo Ducati Team Ducati Report 12 British motorcycle Grand Prix Jorge Lorenzo Race cancelled Report 13 Jorge Lorenzo Andrea Dovizioso Andrea Dovizioso Ducati Team Ducati Report 14 Aragon motorcycle Grand Prix Jorge Lorenzo Andrea Dovizioso Marc Márquez Repsol Honda Team Honda Report 15 Thailand motorcycle Grand Prix Marc Márquez Marc Márquez Marc Márquez Repsol Honda Team Honda Report 16 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix Andrea Dovizioso Marc Márquez Marc Márquez Repsol Honda Team Honda Report 17 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix Marc Márquez Maverick Viñales Maverick Viñales Yamaha Report 18 Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix Marc Márquez Álex Rins Marc Márquez Repsol Honda Team Honda Report 19 Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix Maverick Viñales Andrea Dovizioso Andrea Dovizioso Ducati Team Ducati 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