The 2016 FIM Moto3 World Championship was the lightweight class of the 68th Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) Road Racing World Championship season. Danny Kent was the reigning series champion but did not defend his title as he joined the series' intermediate class, Moto2.
The riders' championship title was won by Ajo Motorsport rider Brad Binder, after a second-place finish at the Aragon Grand Prix gave him an unassailable lead over his title rivals with four races remaining. Binder, who finished each of the first seven races on the podium, took the championship lead after the second race in Argentina, and took his first Grand Prix victory at the Spanish Grand Prix – starting from 35th on the grid. With four additional wins prior to Aragon, Binder was never headed in the championship thereafter to become South Africa's third world motorcycle racing champion, after Kork Ballington and Jon Ekerold. Binder took two further victories before the end of the season, in Australia and Valencia, en route to an eventual championship winning margin of 142 points over his next closest competitor. Compared to Binder's seven wins, no other rider was able to take more than two, with eight fellow riders taking at least one win during the 2016 season.
A fourth-place finish in Valencia sealed the runner-up position for Gresini Racing's Enea Bastianini. Despite missing two races through injury and a slow start to the season, Bastianini then achieved six podium finishes in nine races, including his only win of the season in Japan. Five riders were also in position to take third place at the finale; top Mahindra rider Francesco Bagnaia, Jorge Navarro and a trio of rookie riders also battling for Rookie of the Year honours, Nicolò Bulega, Joan Mir and Fabio Di Giannantonio. Bagnaia was taken out of the race by Gabriel Rodrigo, with a ninth-place finish for Navarro allowing him to take third position by five points. Both riders took two victories during the season; Navarro winning in Catalonia and Aragon, with Bagnaia doing so at Assen and Malaysia, the first wins for Mahindra at Grand Prix level. Mir and Di Giannantonio battled on-track in Valencia for the top rookie position, which ultimately went to Mir, as he finished second to Di Giannatonio's fifth position. Mir won the Austrian Grand Prix, one of two rookies to win during 2016.
Four other riders won races during the season; the other rookie winner Khairul Idham Pawi took two wet-weather victories in Argentina and Germany, becoming the first rider from Malaysia to win at World Championship level. Single race wins went to Romano Fenati in Austin, before a mid-season dismissal from Valentino Rossi's team, Niccolò Antonelli won the season-opening race in a photo-finish in Qatar, while John McPhee took his, and Peugeot's, first Grand Prix win in wet conditions at Brno. With nine wins during the campaign, KTM won their fourth Moto3 constructors' title in five years, finishing 32 points clear of Honda, with six wins. All four full-season manufacturers took at least one win.
Changes for 2016 French oil and gas giants company Total was selected to become official fuel supplier of Moto2 and Moto3 beginning from 2016 onwards, replacing Eni after five seasons as a fuel supplier of Moto2 and Moto3.
Calendar The following Grands Prix took place in 2016.
Round Date Grand Prix Circuit 1 20 March ‡ Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar Losail International Circuit, Lusail 2 3 April Gran Premio Motul de la República Argentina 3 10 April Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas Circuit of the Americas, Austin 4 24 April Gran Premio Red Bull de España Circuito de Jerez, Jerez de la Frontera 5 8 May Monster Energy Grand Prix de France Bugatti Circuit, Le Mans 6 22 May Gran Premio d'Italia TIM Mugello Circuit, Scarperia e San Piero 7 5 June Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló 8 26 June Motul TT Assen TT Circuit Assen, Assen 9 17 July GoPro Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland Sachsenring, Hohenstein-Ernstthal 10 14 August NeroGiardini Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich Red Bull Ring, Spielberg 11 21 August HJC Helmets Grand Prix České republiky Brno Circuit, Brno 12 4 September Octo British Grand Prix Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone 13 11 September Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, Misano Adriatico 14 Gran Premio Movistar de Aragón MotorLand Aragón, Alcañiz 15 16 October Motul Grand Prix of Japan Twin Ring Motegi, Motegi 16 23 October Michelin Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Phillip Island 17 30 October Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix Sepang International Circuit, Sepang 18 13 November Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Valencia
‡ = Night race
Calendar changes The Grand Prix of the Americas and the Argentine Grand Prix have swapped places, with Argentina hosting the second round, while the Grand Prix of the Americas hosts the third round. For the first time in the history of the Dutch TT, the races were held on a Sunday. The 2016 season had seen the return of the Austrian Grand Prix to the series' schedule after 19 years of absence. The last race, which had been the 1997 Austrian Grand Prix, was held at the A1-Ring, now called the Red Bull Ring. Having been on the calendar since 2008, the Indianapolis Grand Prix was taken off the calendar.
Teams and riders A provisional entry list was announced on 7 November 2015. All teams used Dunlop tyres.
TeamConstructorMotorcycleRiderRounds CIP-Unicom Starker Mahindra Mahindra MGP3O 3 Fabio Spiranelli 1–17 24 Tatsuki Suzuki All 99 Enzo Boulom 18 Gresini Racing Moto3 Honda 4 Fabio Di Giannantonio All 33 Enea Bastianini 71 Ayumu Sasaki 17 Sky Racing Team VR46 KTM KTM RC250GP 5 Romano Fenati 1–10 8 Nicolò Bulega All 16 Andrea Migno All 48 Lorenzo Dalla Porta 12–18 MH6 Laglisse MH6 Team KTM KTM RC250GP 6 María Herrera 1–17 31 Raúl Fernández 18 Drive M7 SIC Racing Team Honda Honda NSF250RW 7 Adam Norrodin All 84 Jakub Kornfeil All Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda Honda NSF250RW 09 Jorge Navarro 1–7, 9–18 44 Arón Canet All 48 Lorenzo Dalla Porta 8 Peugeot MC Saxoprint KRM-RZT Peugeot Peugeot MGP3O 10 Alexis Masbou 1–9 12 Albert Arenas 10–18 17 John McPhee 1–16 38 Hafiq Azmi 17 63 Vicente Pérez 18 KTM KTM RC250GP 97 Maximilian Kappler 9 RW Racing GP Honda Honda NSF250RW 11 Livio Loi All MRW Mahindra Aspar Team Mahindra Mahindra MGP3O 12 Albert Arenas 4, 7 Aspar Mahindra Team Moto3 Mahindra Mahindra MGP3O 12 Albert Arenas 8 21 Francesco Bagnaia All 88 Jorge Martín All UQ & Teluru Kohara RT Honda TSR3 Honda 13 Shizuka Okazaki 15 Suus Honda FTR Honda FTR M316 14 Matt Barton 16 41 Planning IodaRacing Japan Honda TSR3 Honda 15 Rei Sato 15 Motomex Team Worldwide Race Platinum Bay Real Estate Mahindra Mahindra MGP3O 18 14 22 Danny Webb 8–9 40 Darryn Binder All 42 Marcos Ramírez 10–18 98 Karel Hanika 1–7 RBA Racing Team KTM KTM RC250GP 19 Gabriel Rodrigo All 58 Juan Francisco Guevara All Leopard Racing KTM KTM RC250GP 20 Fabio Quartararo All 36 Joan Mir All 55 Andrea Locatelli All Ongetta–Rivacold Honda Honda NSF250RW 23 Niccolò Antonelli All 95 Jules Danilo All GA Competition KTM KTM RC250GP 26 Daniel Sáez 18 Freudenberg Racing Team KTM KTM RC250GP 27 Tim Georgi 9 98 Karel Hanika 11, 18 Procercasa - 42 Motorsport KTM KTM RC250GP 37 Davide Pizzoli 4–7 99 Enzo Boulom 4–5 Red Bull KTM Ajo KTM KTM RC250GP 41 Brad Binder All 64 Bo Bendsneyder All 3570 Team Italia Mahindra Mahindra MGP3O 43 Stefano Valtulini All 77 Lorenzo Petrarca All Schedl GP Racing KTM KTM RC250GP 48 Lorenzo Dalla Porta 6 65 Philipp Öttl 1–5, 7–18 Mahindra Racing Mahindra Mahindra MGP3O 53 Marco Bezzecchi 10, 12 62 Stefano Manzi 10, 12–13 Minimoto Portomaggiore Mahindra Mahindra MGP3O 71 Alex Fabbri 13 Honda Team Asia Honda Honda NSF250RW 76 Hiroki Ono 1–7, 9–18 89 Khairul Idham Pawi AllKey Regular rider Wildcard rider
Rider changes Joan Mir, Andrea Locatelli, and Fabio Quartararo joined Leopard Racing, filling seat vacated by Danny Kent and Efrén Vázquez who moved up to Moto2 and Hiroki Ono joining Honda Team Asia. 2015 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Champion, Bo Bendsneyder made his Moto3 debut with Red Bull KTM Ajo, filling the seat vacated by Miguel Oliveira who moved up to Moto2. Karel Hanika rode for Platinum Bay Real Estate, replacing Alessandro Tonucci moves to Moto2. After Catalan GP, Hanika left and replaced by Danny Webb for 2 rounds. Later, replaced by Marcos Ramírez for the rest of season. Fabio Spiranelli made his Moto3 debut, joining CIP. Replacing Remy Gardner who moved up to Moto2. Fabio Di Giannantonio made his Moto3 debut, joining Gresini Racing after riding for them as a replacement for Andrea Locatelli in the 2015 Valencia GP. After 2015 season as wildcard in Valencia, Nicolò Bulega made his Moto3 debut, joining Sky Racing Team VR46. Adam Norrodin rode for SIC Racing Team, replacing Zulfahmi Khairuddin. Arón Canet made his Moto3 debut, joining Estrella Galicia 0,0. Juan Francisco Guevara joined RBA Racing Team, replacing both Isaac Viñales moved to Moto2 and Ana Carrasco left the team. Khairul Idham Pawi made his Moto3 debut, joining Honda Team Asia. Both Stefano Valtulini and Lorenzo Petrarca rode for 3570 Team Italia, filling seat vacated by both Stefano Manzi and Manuel Pagliani.
Notes
Results and standings Grands Prix Round Grand Prix Pole position Fastest lap Winning rider Winning team 1 Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix Romano Fenati Livio Loi Niccolò Antonelli Ongetta–Rivacold Honda Report 2 Argentine Republic motorcycle Grand Prix Brad Binder Joan Mir Honda Team Asia Honda Report 3 Motorcycle Grand Prix of the Americas Philipp Öttl Romano Fenati Romano Fenati Sky Racing Team VR46 KTM Report 4 Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix Nicolò Bulega Brad Binder Brad Binder Red Bull KTM Ajo KTM Report 5 French motorcycle Grand Prix Niccolò Antonelli Arón Canet Brad Binder Red Bull KTM Ajo KTM Report 6 Italian motorcycle Grand Prix Romano Fenati Brad Binder Red Bull KTM Ajo KTM Report 7 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix Brad Binder Romano Fenati Jorge Navarro Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda Report 8 Dutch TT Enea Bastianini Arón Canet Francesco Bagnaia Aspar Mahindra Team Moto3 Mahindra Report 9 German motorcycle Grand Prix Enea Bastianini Khairul Idham Pawi Khairul Idham Pawi Honda Team Asia Honda Report 10 Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix Joan Mir Philipp Öttl Joan Mir Leopard Racing KTM Report 11 Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix Brad Binder Brad Binder John McPhee Peugeot MC Saxoprint Peugeot Report 12 British motorcycle Grand Prix Nicolò Bulega Brad Binder Red Bull KTM Ajo KTM Report 13 Brad Binder Andrea Locatelli Brad Binder Red Bull KTM Ajo KTM Report 14 Aragon motorcycle Grand Prix Enea Bastianini Juan Francisco Guevara Jorge Navarro Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda Report 15 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix Hiroki Ono Nicolò Bulega Enea Bastianini Gresini Racing Moto3 Honda Report 16 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix Brad Binder Andrea Locatelli Brad Binder Red Bull KTM Ajo KTM Report 17 Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix Brad Binder Joan Mir Francesco Bagnaia Mahindra Report 18 Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix Arón Canet Brad Binder Brad Binder Red Bull KTM Ajo KTM 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 Points 25 20 16 13 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1