2010 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 2010 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 62nd F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season. It was the first season for the new Moto2 class.
Jorge Lorenzo was crowned MotoGP World Champion for the first time, after he finished third in the Malaysian Grand Prix on 10 October. Finishing on the podium in 16 of the 18 races – including nine victories – to be held during the season, Lorenzo amassed a record points total for the premier class, achieving a total of 383 points, ten more than the previous best score achieved by Valentino Rossi in. Second in the championship was Dani Pedrosa, 138 points behind Lorenzo, recording four race victories over the course of the season. He and third-placed Rossi both missed at least three races due to injuries suffered during race weekends; Pedrosa suffered a fractured collarbone at Motegi, while Rossi suffered a broken leg at Mugello, resulting in the first missed races of his entire Grand Prix career. The only other rider to win races during the season was Casey Stoner, who finished fourth in the championship. Stoner won three races in the latter half of the season, winning the inaugural race in Aragón, as well as the races at Motegi and his home race at Phillip Island.
Nine different riders won races in the secondary Moto2 championship, and former MotoGP rider Toni Elías claimed the inaugural championship title, with three events to spare as his seven victories had taken him out of reach of his rivals. Second place went to Julián Simón, who despite not winning a race, finished on the podium eight times. Third place in the championship went to Andrea Iannone, who achieved three victories but lost out on runner-up in the championship to Simón by just two points. The season was also tinged with tragedy as the inaugural race winner in the class, Shoya Tomizawa, died of injuries suffered in an accident at Misano; the first on-track fatality at Grand Prix level since Daijiro Kato was killed in the senior class at Suzuka in. Other riders to win races were Jules Cluzel, Yuki Takahashi, Roberto Rolfo, Alex de Angelis, Stefan Bradl and Karel Abraham.
Spanish riders once again dominated the 125cc championship, with a 26-race winning streak for Spanish riders only being broken by Bradley Smith at the final race of the season in Valencia. The top three championship placings went to Spanish riders as Marc Márquez won the championship ahead of Nicolás Terol and Pol Espargaró. With ten victories, Márquez became the second youngest World Champion ever at the age of, with only Loris Capirossi's triumph coming at a younger age.
Rule changes
- A number of rule changes were enacted for the 2010 season. They included reductions to test mileage, the introduction of engines with prolonged life, the use of cast iron brakes instead of carbon brakes, the use of only one spare bike, and the cancellation of one of the Friday practice sessions. Despite this, two Friday practice sessions were held in Aragón and the final two races.
- From 2010 on, rookies in the MotoGP class are permitted to sign only with privately owned teams. Suzuki are exempt from this rule, as they only run one factory team and have no satellite teams.
Moto2 introduction
2010 Grand Prix season calendar
The following Grands Prix were scheduled to take place in 2010:The provisional calendar was announced on 10 November 2009. In case a circuit was not able to hold a scheduled Grand Prix, a reserve race would take place on the same day at the Motorland Aragón circuit. This was updated six days later, with a date change for the Czech round, moving one week forward. It was announced on 18 March 2010 that Aragón would be included on the calendar, at the expense of the Balatonring, due to the fact that construction work on the latter circuit could not be completed on time. On 19 April 2010, it was announced that the Japanese Grand Prix would be moved from 25 April to 3 October, due to the disruption to air travel after the second eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland.
| Round | Date | Grand Prix | Circuit |
| 1 | 11 April ‡ |  Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar | Losail International Circuit |
| 2 | 2 May |  Gran Premio bwin de España | Circuito de Jerez |
| 3 | 23 May |  Monster Energy Grand Prix de France | Bugatti Circuit |
| 4 | 6 June |  Gran Premio d'Italia TIM | Mugello Circuit |
| 5 | 20 June |  AirAsia British Grand Prix | Silverstone Circuit |
| 6 | 26 June †† |  TIM TT Assen | TT Circuit Assen |
| 7 | 4 July |  Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya | Circuit de Catalunya |
| 8 | 18 July |  eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland | Sachsenring |
| 9 | 25 July † |  Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix | Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca |
| 10 | 15 August |  Cardion ab Grand Prix České republiky | Brno Circuit |
| 11 | 29 August | Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix | Indianapolis Motor Speedway |
| 12 | 5 September |  Gran Premio Aperol di San Marino e Della Riviera di Rimini | Misano World Circuit |
| 13 | 19 September |  Gran Premio A-Style de Aragón | Motorland Aragón |
| 14 | 3 October |  Grand Prix of Japan | Twin Ring Motegi |
| 15 | 10 October |  Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix | Sepang International Circuit |
| 16 | 17 October |  Iveco Australian Grand Prix | Phillip Island Circuit |
| 17 | 31 October |  bwin Grande Prémio de Portugal | Autódromo do Estoril |
| 18 | 7 November |  Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana | Circuit Ricardo Tormo |
Calendar changes
- The Japanese Grand Prix was moved back, from 26 April to 3 October, due to the second eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland.
- The British Grand Prix moved from Donington Park to the Silverstone Circuit, after a bid by the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone to host Formula 1 from the 2010 season onwards.
- Only the MotoGP class raced during the United States Grand Prix because of a Californian law on air pollution, preventing the 125cc and Moto2 classes from racing.
- The Aragon Grand Prix was added to the calendar as a replacement, after it was announced that construction of the Balatonring was not finished.
- The Portuguese Grand Prix was moved back, from 4 to 31 October.
2010 Grand Prix season results
Participants
MotoGP participants
- The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme released 17 bikes entry list on 27 January 2010.
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