Motogp teams
At an unseasonably cold British round, Quartararo took a dominant win while his nearest rivals faltered, extending his championship lead to 65 points with six rounds remaining.
At the Austrian Grand Prix, KTM rider Brad Binder took his second career victory in a flag-to-flag race in the rain, after electing to stay out on slicks with three laps remaining, while the other five riders of the lead group entered the pits to switch to wet tyres. During the pre-event press conference, Valentino Rossi announced his retirement after 26 years on the Grand Prix circuit, effective at the end of the season. Returning from the summer pause in Styria, rookie Jorge Martín translated his second career pole position into his maiden race win in just his sixth MotoGP race start, and claimed the first victory for Pramac Racing since their entry to the class in 2002. At the Dutch TT, Quartararo claimed his fourth win of the season, extending his lead in the riders' championship heading into the summer break, with a 34-point-advantage over his nearest rival and compatriot Johann Zarco. With his victory, Márquez ended Honda's longest win drought since their full-time return to the pinnacle of Grand Prix racing in 1982 at 581 days. At the German Grand Prix, Marc Márquez made his first return to the podium since the 2019 Valencian Grand Prix with a win, extending his unbroken streak of victories at the Sachsenring to 11 in a row, dating back to 2010 in the 125cc class. Miguel Oliveira won the Catalan round during a three-race podium streak. īy the sixth round in Italy, Quartararo became the first clear title favourite of the season after four consecutive pole positions and achieving his third win of the season, extending his championship lead to 24 points.
MOTOGP TEAMS SERIES
Perennial title favourite Marc Márquez made his return to the series at the third round in Portugal, after missing nearly the entirety of the 2020 season as well as the first two rounds in Qatar due to recovering from an injury. Ducati and Yamaha became early season favourites after winning all of the first five races of the season (rounds 1-3 for Yamaha riders Maverick Viñales and Fabio Quartararo, rounds 4-5 for Ducati rider Jack Miller) and locking out all but one of the 15 podium positions between them. Joan Mir and Team Suzuki Ecstar began the season as defending riders' and teams' champions, respectively, while Ducati started as defending constructors' champion. 3.2.1 Calendar changes as a reaction to COVID-19 pandemic.
It was also the final season of seven-time MotoGP title winner Valentino Rossi after 22 seasons in the premier class, as well as the final season in which a 500cc-era debutant participated in the premier class. Having initially struggled with the injury, the former champion won three races from summer onwards. Six-time MotoGP champion Marc Márquez returned at the third race of the year after his arm and shoulder injury which had sidelined him from the 2020 season. In total, eight different riders won Grands Prix during the season. Ducati secured the constructors' championship for the second consecutive season and the teams' championship for the first time since 2007. In the overall standings, Bagnaia secured second place and reigning champion Joan Mir secured third place, while Martín was named rookie of the year. The season also saw Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martín win their first premier class races.
Quartararo became the first ever Frenchman to win the premier class title, which was also the first title for a non-Spanish rider since Australian Casey Stoner in 2011. Fabio Quartararo won his first world title, with five race wins ahead of securing the title in the third last race of the season. The 2021 FIM MotoGP World Championship was the premier class of the 73rd F.I.M.