2015 MotoGP season
The 2015 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 67th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season. Marc Márquez started the season as the defending riders' champion, having won his second consecutive title in 2014.
Valentino Rossi led the championship for almost the entire season as he chased a tenth world title, but ultimately, the honours went to his Yamaha Motor Racing teammate Jorge Lorenzo, who took his third MotoGP title and a fifth world title overall. Lorenzo started the season quietly with three finishes off the podium, whereas Rossi took wins in Qatar and Argentina. Thereafter, Lorenzo took four successive wins for the first time in his career to bring himself back into the championship race, before Rossi won at Assen. Lorenzo did not win again until Brno, taking the championship lead on countback, but ceded it back to Rossi, when he won at Silverstone. Lorenzo crashed out at Misano, while Rossi finished fifth – ending a 16-race streak of podium finishes – after both Yamaha riders were caught out by wet weather. In the final five races, Rossi finished ahead of Lorenzo once, as Lorenzo continued to close the points gap; at a maximum of 23 after Misano, Lorenzo pulled it back to 7 going into Valencia. At the final race, Lorenzo took his seventh win of the season, while Rossi could only finish fourth – after a back-of-the-grid start – to give him the title by five points. Rossi had lost the title under controversial circumstances, following a coming together on track with reigning champion Márquez amid accusations of unsportsmanlike conduct. The only time of the season where Lorenzo had more points on the board than Rossi was after the final race of the season.
Third place in the final riders' championship standings went to Márquez, who won five races during the season, but six retirements during the campaign stopped him from challenging the Yamaha pair in the championship run-in. The only other rider to win a race during the season was Márquez's Repsol Honda teammate, Dani Pedrosa. Pedrosa missed three races at the start of the season, after electing to undergo surgery to alleviate issues with arm-pump. Upon his return, he did not podium until Catalunya, and ultimately, took two wins in the closing four races at Motegi, and Sepang.
2015 was the final season that Bridgestone was the sole tyre supplier for MotoGP, as Michelin became the sole tyre supplier for the 2016 season.
The 2015 season also saw the début of the Suzuki GSX-RR and Aprilia RS-GP. The GSX-RR previously made an appearance at the 2014 Valencian Grand Prix ahead of a full-season return for Suzuki as a factory team for the first time since 2011 and the RS-GP was used by Gresini Racing after the team split from Honda at the end of last season.
Season summary
Other championship standings
In the other championships, the eleven wins for Rossi and Lorenzo were enough for Yamaha to take the teams' title by over 200 points ahead of Repsol Honda, and the manufacturers' title by 52 points ahead of Honda. Amongst the class of rookies, Suzuki rider Maverick Viñales took the IRTA Cup, finishing in twelfth place overall, while Héctor Barberá of Avintia Racing was the best-placed Open class rider, in fifteenth.Collisions between contenders
The 2015 season also saw several moments of controversy between the main championship contenders. In Argentina, Rossi chased Márquez down for the lead before the two riders collided on the penultimate lap. Rossi stayed upright but Márquez was unable to rejoin; Rossi later spoke of Márquez as an "all or nothing" rider. Rossi and Márquez again collided at Assen on the final lap; Rossi rejoined the circuit through the gravel and went on to win the race, while race direction deemed the incident as a racing incident. At Misano, Rossi was given a penalty point on his licence, for impeding Lorenzo in qualifying. Rossi accused Márquez of helping Lorenzo in his title aspirations at Phillip Island, in the pre-event press conference at Sepang, a claim that Márquez refuted.The most significant of the clashes came during the Sepang race; Rossi and Márquez collided for a third time in 2015 on the seventh lap of the race. After a series of 18 overtakes and exchanges of positions between the two, Rossi made a move on Márquez at Turn 14, pushing Márquez to the outside of the circuit. The two riders made contact and Márquez fell from his bike. He remounted and returned to the pits but had to retire from the race. Rossi maintained the third place that the pair had been battling over until the end of the race. After the race, race direction reviewed the incident and deemed Rossi at fault for the collision, and three penalty points were added to his licence. With this, it meant that Rossi would have to start the final race in Valencia from the back of the grid. On the podium, Lorenzo made a gesture showing his disapproval at the move and deemed the penalty as "inadequate". Rossi appealed the penalty to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but the penalty was ultimately upheld; Lorenzo submitted a statement towards the appeal and later apologised for his actions on the podium before the Valencia weekend. Rossi voiced his regret at his move on Márquez, while Márquez stood his ground on his riding style in Malaysia. Following the fallout from Sepang, FIM president Vito Ippolito deemed the events – which included Márquez's family being insulted and physically attacked at their home by Italian television reporters, – as having a "damaging effect on the staging of our competitions and poisoned the atmosphere around the sport", with Ippolito and Dorna Sports boss Carmelo Ezpeleta calling a private meeting – cancelling the pre-event press conference – for all riders and crew chiefs in Valencia.
2015 Grand Prix season calendar
The following Grands Prix were scheduled to take place in 2015:The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme released an 18-race official calendar on 26 September 2014.
| Round | Date | Grand Prix | Circuit |
| 1 | 29 March ‡ |  Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar | Losail International Circuit |
| 2 | 12 April |  Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas | Circuit of the Americas |
| 3 | 19 April |  Gran Premio Red Bull de la República Argentina | Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo |
| 4 | 3 May |  Gran Premio bwin de España | Circuito de Jerez |
| 5 | 17 May |  Monster Energy Grand Prix de France | Bugatti Circuit |
| 6 | 31 May |  Gran Premio d'Italia TIM | Mugello Circuit |
| 7 | 14 June |  Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya | Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya |
| 8 | 27 June †† |  Motul TT Assen | TT Circuit Assen |
| 9 | 12 July |  GoPro Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland | Sachsenring |
| 10 | 9 August | Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix | Indianapolis Motor Speedway |
| 11 | 16 August |  bwin Grand Prix České republiky | Brno Circuit |
| 12 | 30 August |  Octo British Grand Prix | Silverstone Circuit |
| 13 | 13 September |  Gran Premio TIM di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini | Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli |
| 14 | 27 September |  Gran Premio Movistar de Aragón | Motorland Aragón |
| 15 | 11 October |  Motul Grand Prix of Japan | Twin Ring Motegi |
| 16 | 18 October |  Pramac Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix | Phillip Island Circuit |
| 17 | 25 October |  Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix | Sepang International Circuit |
| 18 | 8 November |  Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana | Circuit Ricardo Tormo |
Calendar changes
- The British Grand Prix had been scheduled to return to Donington Park for the first time since 2009, ahead of a planned move to the brand-new Circuit of Wales in 2016. However, Donington Park pulled out of hosting the event on 10 February 2015, citing financial delays. The following day, it was announced that Silverstone would host the British Grand Prix in 2015 and.
Teams and riders
A provisional entry list was released by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme on 23 October 2014. An updated entry list was released on 2 February 2015.
Team changes
- Suzuki returned to MotoGP as a constructor after a four-year hiatus.
- Aprilia made an official return to the championship entering two factory-supported bikes with Gresini Racing. The Italian team ended its long partnership with Honda, having raced their bikes since 1997.
- Marc VDS Racing expanded its operations to enter a Honda bike in the MotoGP category, having taken on the Factory class bike previously run by Gresini.
- LCR Honda entered a second bike in the Open category.
- Avintia Racing left its Kawasaki-based machinery to switch to Ducati bikes.
- Paul Bird Motorsport left MotoGP at the end of the 2014 season to concentrate on their British Superbike Championship campaign.
Rider changes
- Stefan Bradl left the LCR Honda team and moved to Forward Racing. After the German Grand Prix, Bradl moved to Gresini Racing.
- Cal Crutchlow left the Ducati Team to take Bradl's place at LCR Honda.
- Andrea Iannone filled the seat vacated by Crutchlow with the Ducati factory team.
- Scott Redding left Gresini Racing and returned to Marc VDS Racing for their MotoGP campaign.
- Moto3 rider Jack Miller moved directly into MotoGP, with LCR Honda.
- Colin Edwards retired from racing at the end of the 2014 season and became a Yamaha test rider.
- Loris Baz made his MotoGP debut with Forward Racing.
- After competing in the final half of the 2014 season with Forward Racing, Alex de Angelis replaced Danilo Petrucci at the IodaRacing Project.
- Danilo Petrucci moved from the IodaRacing Project to join Pramac Racing.
- Aleix Espargaró moved from Forward Racing to join the factory Suzuki team, with Maverick Viñales making the move from Moto2 to partner him.
- Eugene Laverty returned to the championship – having last competed in 2008 in the 250cc class – racing with the Aspar Racing Team.
- Marco Melandri returned to MotoGP with Gresini Racing, the same team he competed with during his last appearance in the category in. Before the German Grand Prix, Melandri left Aprilia, and was replaced by Michael Laverty. Bradl replaced Laverty afterwards.
- Hiroshi Aoyama moved from the Aspar Racing Team to become a test rider for HRC. Aoyama returned to the series on two occasions during the 2015 season, to replace injured riders.
In-season changes
- Hiroshi Aoyama replaced Dani Pedrosa for the races in Austin, Texas and Argentina, as Pedrosa elected to undergo surgery to alleviate issues with arm-pump. This was extended to include the Spanish Grand Prix, as Pedrosa's recovery took longer than expected. Aoyama also replaced Karel Abraham at the Sachsenring with AB Motoracing.
- Claudio Corti replaced Stefan Bradl for the German Grand Prix, after Bradl fractured his right scaphoid at Assen. Corti was replaced by Toni Elías prior to the Aragon Grand Prix.
- Forward Racing did not compete at the Indianapolis Grand Prix following the arrest of team boss Giovanni Cuzari. Bradl terminated his contract with the team, and joined Gresini Racing, to replace Michael Laverty.
- Toni Elías replaced Karel Abraham at the Indianapolis Grand Prix, as Abraham recovered from injuries sustained at the Catalan Grand Prix. Elías later replaced Claudio Corti at Forward Racing, prior to the Aragon Grand Prix.
- Alex de Angelis suffered serious injuries in a crash during free practice at the Japanese Grand Prix. He was replaced by Damian Cudlin for the Australian and Malaysian races, and Broc Parkes in Valencia.
- In order to aid his recovery from injuries sustained at the Catalan Grand Prix, Karel Abraham stepped down from his AB Motoracing ride. He was replaced by Kousuke Akiyoshi in Japan, and Anthony West for the remainder of the season.
2015 Grand Prix season results
| Round | Date | Grand Prix | Circuit | Pole position | Fastest lap | Winning rider | Winning constructor | Report |
| 1 | 29 March ‡ | Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix | Losail | Andrea Dovizioso | Valentino Rossi | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | Report |
| 2 | 12 April | Motorcycle Grand Prix of the Americas | Circuit of the Americas | Marc Márquez | Andrea Iannone | Marc Márquez | Honda | Report |
| 3 | 19 April | Argentine motorcycle Grand Prix | Termas de Río Hondo | Marc Márquez | Valentino Rossi | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | Report |
| 4 | 3 May | Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix | Jerez | Jorge Lorenzo | Jorge Lorenzo | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | Report |
| 5 | 17 May | French motorcycle Grand Prix | Le Mans | Marc Márquez | Valentino Rossi | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | Report |
| 6 | 31 May | Italian motorcycle Grand Prix | Mugello | Andrea Iannone | Marc Márquez | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | Report |
| 7 | 14 June | Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix | Catalunya | Aleix Espargaró | Marc Márquez | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | Report |
| 8 | 27 June †† |  Dutch TT | Assen | Valentino Rossi | Marc Márquez | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | Report |
| 9 | 12 July |  German motorcycle Grand Prix | Sachsenring | Marc Márquez | Marc Márquez | Marc Márquez | Honda | Report |
| 10 | 9 August | Indianapolis motorcycle Grand Prix | Indianapolis | Marc Márquez | Marc Márquez | Marc Márquez | Honda | Report |
| 11 | 16 August | Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix | Brno Circuit | Jorge Lorenzo | Marc Márquez | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | Report |
| 12 | 30 August | British motorcycle Grand Prix | Silverstone | Marc Márquez | Valentino Rossi | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | Report |
| 13 | 13 September | San Marino and Rimini's Coast motorcycle Grand Prix | Misano | Jorge Lorenzo | Jorge Lorenzo | Marc Márquez | Honda | Report |
| 14 | 27 September | Aragon motorcycle Grand Prix | Motorland Aragón | Marc Márquez | Jorge Lorenzo | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | Report |
| 15 | 11 October | Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix | Motegi | Jorge Lorenzo | Jorge Lorenzo | Dani Pedrosa | Honda | Report |
| 16 | 18 October | Australian motorcycle Grand Prix | Philip Island Circuit | Marc Márquez | Marc Márquez | Marc Márquez | Honda | Report |
| 17 | 25 October | Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix | Sepang | Dani Pedrosa | Jorge Lorenzo | Dani Pedrosa | Honda | Report |
| 18 | 8 November | Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix | Valencia | Jorge Lorenzo | Jorge Lorenzo | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | Report |
Riders' standings
;Scoring systemPoints 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 |
Constructors' standings;Scoring systemPoints are awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider has to finish the race to earn points.
Teams' standings |
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