Motorsport Matters: 35 Years in Waiting

Cal Crutchlow's win at Brno was the first by a Brit in 35 years and it got me wondering exactly what has been happening in the intervening years. I can't recall precisely when I first started watching MotoGP but it was some time in the mid to late 80s. My favourite non-UK riders back then were the Americans Kevin Schwantz, Wayne Rainey and Randy Mamola as the US dominated the series despite the best efforts of British riders like Ron Haslam, Rob McElnea and Niall MacKenzie. There was also the talented Australian Wayne Gardner who won the title in 1987 and another American Eddie Lawson who won four titles in the 80s but I never warmed to him. Then came Gardner's compatriot Mick Doohan who would dominate the 90s with Repsol Honda with five consecutive titles from 1994 to 1998. When Valentino Rossi burst onto the scene I rediscovered my love of the sport I'd lost under Doohan's dominance for some reason and ever since then I've never missed a race. With Rossi came Italians like Max Biaggi and Loris Capirossi and Spanish rivals like Sete Gibernau, Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa. The only English speaking riders to win were American Nicky Hayden and Australian Casey Stoner. The Brits were nowhere near until now.

I'm not certain when I really started I'm going to go back to 1982 as that is the first year after a Brit last won a race. How have our boys been doing in those 35 years? I've only included riders who scored points in each season apart from once as there we no points scoring Brits in 2007. Even worse than that was 2010 as there were no Brits in the championship at all. If you look at the records for the 1980s though the championship was totally different as many riders had numerous wildcard rides and there was a particular influx of home-grown talent at the British GP each year.

The report I compiled below has some interesting facts. Although we obviously weren't winning races we seemed to do alright until 1993 largely thanks to Sheene, Ron Haslam, Rob McElnea and Niall Mackenzie. Once Mackenzie went so did the podiums and soon Jeremy McWilliams became our only quality MotoGP rider while the bulk of British riders focussed on Superbike racing (where Carl Fogarty, Neil Hodgson and James Toseland all became world champions). McWilliams hit two podiums in 2000 but it would not be until 2012 when we had a Brit on the steps again, Crutchlow aptly doing this at Brno of all places.

1982

World Champion – Franco Uncini (Italy) – Suzuki – 103 points

Runner-up – Graeme Crosby (New Zealand) – Yamaha – 76

Third – Freddie Spencer (USA) – Honda 72

The Brits:

5th – Barry Sheene – Yamaha – 68

18th – Steve Parrish – Yamaha – 11

25th – Chris Guy – Suzuki – 4

Best Result by a British Rider = 2nd, Barry Sheene in Argentina, Austria, Spain and Belgium

1983

World Champion – Freddie Spencer (USA) – Honda – 144

Runner-up – Kenny Roberts (USA) – Yamaha – 142

Third – Randy Mamola (USA) – Suzuki – 89

The Brits:

8th – Ron Haslam – Honda – 31

14th – Barry Sheene – Suzuki – 9

15th – Keith Huewen – Suzuki – 7

20th – Mark Salle – Suzuki – 1

Best Result by a British Rider = 3rd, Ron Haslam in South Africa and France

1984

World Champion – Eddie Lawson (USA) – Yamaha – 142

Runner-up – Randy Mamola (USA) – Honda – 111

Third – Raymond Roche (France) – Honda – 99

The Brits:

5th – Ron Haslam – Honda – 77

6th – Barry Sheene – Suzuki – 34

11th – Rob McElnea – Suzuki – 21

19th – Keith Huewen – Honda – 6

24th – Roger Marshall – Honda – 2

24th – Chris Guy – Yamaha – 2

Best Result by a British Rider = 3rd, Ron Haslam in Great Britain and San Marino, Barry Sheene in South Africa

1985

World Champion – Freddie Spencer (USA) – Honda – 141

Runner-up – Eddie Lawson (USA) – Yamaha – 133

Third – Christian Sarron (France) – Yamaha – 80

The Brits:

5th – Ron Haslam – Honda – 73

9th – Rob McElnea – Suzuki – 20

19th – Roger Burnett – Honda – 3

23rd – Neil Robinson – Suzuki – 2

Best Result by a British Rider = 2nd, Ron Haslam in Netherlands

1986

World Champion – Eddie Lawson (USA) – Yamaha – 139

Runner-up – Wayne Gardner (Australia) – Honda – 117

Third – Randy Mamola (USA) – Yamaha – 105

The Brits: 5th – Rob McElnea – Yamaha – 60

9th – Ron Haslam – Honda – 18

11th – Niall Mackenzie – Suzuki – 11

20th – Kenny Irons – Yamaha – 3

20th – Roger Burnett – Honda – 3

Best Result by a British Rider = 4th, Rob McElnea in Germany, Yugoslavia, Netherlands, Great Britain and Sweden

1987

World Champion – Wayne Gardner (Australia) – Honda – 178

Runner-up – Randy Mamola (USA) – Yamaha – 158

Third – Eddie Lawson (USA) – Yamaha – 157

The Brits:

4th – Ron Haslam – Honda – 72

5th – Niall Mackenzie – Honda – 61

10th – Rob McElnea – Yamaha – 39

11th – Roger Burnett – Honda – 25

14th – Kenny Irons – Suzuki – 12

Best Result by a British Rider = 3rd, Ron Haslam in Spain, Germany and Niall Mackenzie in Austria

1988

World Champion – Eddie Lawson (USA) – Yamaha – 252

Runner-up – Wayne Gardner (Australia) – Honda – 229

Third – Wayne Rainey (USA) – Yamaha – 189

The Brits:

6th – Niall Mackenzie – Honda – 125

10th – Rob McElnea – Suzuki – 83

11th – Ron Haslam – Honda – 68

18th – Roger Burnett – Honda – 15

23rd – Donnie McLeod – Honda – 9

28th – Steve Manley – Suzuki – 4

Best Result by a British Rider = 3rd, Niall Mackenzie in USA

1989

World Champion – Eddie Lawson (USA) – Honda – 228

Runner-up – Wayne Rainey (USA) – Yamaha – 210.5

Third – Christian Sarron (France) – Yamaha – 165.5

The Brits:

7th – Niall Mackenzie – Yamaha – 103

8th – Ron Haslam – Suzuki – 86

11th – Rob McElnea – Honda – 52.5

12th – Simon Buckmaster – Honda – 43.5

39th – Roger Burnett – Honda – 4

Best Result by a British Rider = 3rd, Niall Mackenzie in Spain

1990

World Champion – Wayne Rainey (USA) – Yamaha – 255

Runner-up – Kevin Schwantz (USA) – Suuzki – 188

Third – Mick Doohan (Australia) – Honda – 179

The Brits:

4th – Niall Mackenzie – Suzuki – 140

15th – Ron Haslam – Cagiva – 46

18th – Carl Fogarty – Honda – 24

Best Result by a British Rider = 3rd, Niall Mackenzie in Germany and Yugoslavia

1991

World Champion – Wayne Rainey (USA) – Yamaha – 233

Runner-up – Mick Doohan (Australia) – Honda – 224

Third – Kevin Schwantz (USA) – Suzuki – 204

The Brits:

17th – Niall Mackenzie – Yamaha – 34

22nd – Simon Buckmaster – Suzuki – 6

30th – Steve Spray – Norton – 1

Best Result by a British Rider = 5th, Niall Mackenzie in San Marino

1992

World Champion – Wayne Rainey (USA) – Yamaha – 140

Runner-up – Mick Doohan (Australia) – Honda – 136

Third – John Kocinski (USA) – Yamaha – 102

The Brits:

11th – Niall Mackenzie – Yamaha – 37

18th – Terry Rymer – Yamaha – 6

23rd – Jamie Whitham – Yamaha – 2

27th – Kevin Mitchell – Yamaha – 1

Best Result by a British Rider = 3rd, Niall Mackenzie in Spain

1993

World Champion – Kevin Schwantz (USA) – Suzuki – 248

Runner-up – Wayne Rainey (USA) – Yamaha – 214 Third – Daryl Beattie (Australia) – Honda – 176

The Brits: 9th – Niall Mackenzie – Yamaha – 103

15th – John Reynolds – Yamaha – 42

19th – Sean Emmett – Yamaha – 19

22nd – Jeremy McWilliams – Yamaha – 17

23rd – Carl Fogarty – Cagiva – 13

32nd – James Haydon – Yamaha – 5

35th – Kevin Mitchell – Yamaha – 3

39th – Ron Haslam – Yamaha – 2

Best Result by a British Rider = 3rd, Niall Mackenzie in Great Britain

1994

World Champion – Mick Doohan (Australia) – Honda – 317

Runner-up – Luca Cadalora (Italy) – Yamaha – 174

Third – John Kocinski (USA) – Cagiva – 172

The Brits:

10th – Niall Mackenzie – Yamaha – 69

12th – Jeremy McWilliams – Yamaha – 49

14th – John Reynolds – Yamaha – 43

15th – Sean Emmett – Yamaha – 34

32nd – Neil Hodgson – Yamaha – 1

Best Result by a British Rider = 8th, Niall Mackenzie in Spain, Germany, Great Britain, Europe (Barcelona) and Jeremy McWilliams in France

1995

World Champion – Mick Doohan (Australia) – Honda – 248

Runner-up – Daryl Beattie (Australia) – Suzuki – 215

Third – Luca Cadalora (Italy) – Yamaha – 176

The Brits:

11th – Neil Hodgson – Yamaha – 54

19th – Jeremy McWilliams – Yamaha – 20

22nd – Sean Emmett – Yamaha – 17

24th – James Haydon – Yamaha – 11

30th – Eugene McManus – Yamaha – 4

33rd – Chris Walker – Yamaha – 1

Best Result by a British Rider = 7th, Neil Hodgson in Great Britain and Jeremy McWilliams in France

1996

World Champion – Mick Doohan (Australia) – Honda – 309

Runner-up – Alex Criville (Spain) – Honda – 245

Third – Luca Cadalora (Italy) – Honda – 168

The Brits: 16th – Jeremy McWilliams – Yamaha – 26

20th – Terry Rymer – Suzuki – 16

20th – James Haydon – Yamaha – 16

22nd – Sean Emmett – Yamaha – 9

24th – Eugene McManus – Yamaha – 6

31st – Chris Walker – ELF – 2

Best Result by a British Rider = 7th, Terry Rymer in Netherlands

1997

World Champion – Mick Doohan (Australia) – Honda – 340

Runner-up – Tadayuki Okada (Japan) – Honda – 197

Third – Nobuatsu Aoki (Japan) – Honda – 179

The Brits:

28th – Jason Vincent – Honda – 2 Best Result by a British Rider = 14th, Jason Vincent in Great Britain

1998

World Champion – Mick Doohan (Australia) – Honda – 260

Runner-up – Max Biaggi (Italy) – Honda – 208

Third – Alex Criville (Spain) – Honda – 198

The Brits:

21st – Scott Smart – Honda – 14

29th – John McGuinness – Honda – 4

Best Result by a British Rider = 10th, Scott Smart in Great Britain

1999

World Champion – Alex Criville (Spain) – Honda – 267

Runner-up – Kenny Roberts jnr (USA) – Suzuki – 220

Third – Tadayuki Okada (Japan) – Honda – 211

The Brits:

27th – Michael Rutter – Honda – 5

32nd – James Whitham – Modenas KR3 - 2

Best Result by a British Rider = 11th, Michael Rutter in Great Britain

2000

World Champion – Kenny Roberts jnr (USA) – Suzuki - 258

Runner-up – Valentino Rossi (Italy) – Honda - 209

Third – Max Biaggi (Italy) – Yamaha - 170

The Brits:

14th – Jeremy McWilliams – Aprilia – 76

24th – John McGuinness – Honda – 3

29th – Phil Giles – Honda - 1

Best Result by a British Rider = 3rd, Jeremy McWilliams in Italy and Great Britain

2001

World Champion – Valentino Rossi (Italy) – Honda - 325

Runner-up – Max Biaggi (Italy) – Yamaha - 219

Third – Loris Capirossi (Italy) – Honda - 210

The Brits:

19th – Leon Haslam – Honda – 13

20th – Chris Walker – Honda – 9

26th – Jason Vincent – Yamaha - 3

Best Result by a British Rider = 11th, Leon Haslam in Brazil

2002

World Champion – Valentino Rossi (Italy) – Honda - 355

Runner-up – Max Biaggi (Italy) – Yamaha - 215

Third – Tohru Ukawa (Japan) – Honda - 209

The Brits:

14th – Jeremy McWilliams – Proton KR – 59

Best Result by a British Rider = 7th, Jeremy McWilliams in Germany and Czech Republic

2003

World Champion – Valentino Rossi (Italy) – Honda - 357

Runner-up – Sete Gibernau (Spain) – Honda - 277

Third – Max Biaggi (Italy) – Honda - 228

The Brits:

18th – Jeremy McWilliams – Proton KR - 27

Best Result by a British Rider = 6th, Jeremy McWilliams in France

2004

World Champion – Valentina Rossi (Italy) – Yamaha - 304

Runner-up – Sete Gibernau (Spain) – Honda - 257

Third – Max Biaggi (Italy) – Honda - 217

The Brits:

17th – Neil Hodgson – Ducati – 38

19th – Jeremy McWilliams – Aprilia – 26

20th – Shane Byrne – Aprilia – 18

25th – James Haydon – Proton KR – 4

26th – James Ellison – Harris WCM - 3

Best Result by a British Rider = 10th, Neil Hodgson in Netherlands and Great Britain and Shane Byrne in Italy

2005

World Champion – Valentino Rossi (Italy) – Yamaha - 367

Runner-up – Marco Melandri (Italy) – Honda - 220

Third – Nicky Hayden (USA) – Honda - 206

The Brits:

23rd – James Ellison – Blata – 7

24th – Shane Byrne – Proton KR/Honda - 6

Best Result by a British Rider =13th, James Ellison in China

2006

World Champion – Nicky Hayden (USA) – Honda - 252

Runner-up – Valentino Rossi (Italy) – Yamaha - 247

Third – Loris Capirossi (Italy) – Ducati - 229

The Brits:

18th – James Ellison – Yamaha - 26

Best Result by a British Rider = 9th, James Ellison in Catalunya (Barcelona, Spain)

2007

World Champion – Casey Stoner (Australia) – Ducati - 367

Runner-up – Dani Pedrosa (Spain) – Honda - 242

Third – Valentino Rossi (Italy) – Yamaha - 241

The Brits:

None in the points although Chaz Davies did three races on a Ducati

Best Result by a British Rider = 16th, Chaz Davies in USA

2008

World Champion – Valentino Rossi (Italy) – Yamaha - 373

Runner-up – Casey Stoner (Australia) – Ducati - 280

Third – Dani Pedrosa (Spain) – Honda - 249

The Brits:

11th – James Toseland – Yamaha - 105

Best Result by a British Rider = 6th, James Toseland in Qatar, Spain, Italy, Catalunya, San Marino and Australia

2009

World Champion – Valentino Rossi (Italy) – Yamaha - 306

Runner-up – Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) – Yamaha - 261

Third – Dani Pedrosa (Spain) – Honda - 234

The Brits:

14th – James Toseland – Yamaha - 92

Best Result by a British Rider = 6th, James Toseland in Netherlands, Great Britain and USA

2010

World Champion – Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) – Yamaha - 383

Runner-up – Dani Pedrosa (Spain) – Honda - 245

Third – Valentino Rossi (Italy) – Yamaha - 233

The Brits:

None

Best Result by a British Rider = None

2011

World Champion – Casey Stoner (Australia) – Honda - 350

Runner-up – Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) – Yamaha - 260

Third – Andrea Dovizioso (Italy) – Honda - 228

The Brits:

12th – Cal Crutchlow – Yamaha - 70

Best Result by a British Rider = 4th, Cal Crutchlow in Valencia

2012

World Champion – Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) – Yamaha - 350

Runner-up – Dani Pedrosa (Spain) – Honda - 332

Third – Casey Stoner (Australia) – Honda - 254

The Brits:

7th – Cal Crutchlow – Yamaha – 151

16th – James Ellison – ART – 35

21st – Jonathan Rea – Honda – 17 (2 races)

Best Result by a British Rider = 3rd, Cal Crutchlow in Czech Republic and Australia

2013

World Champion – Marc Marquez (Spain) – Honda - 334

Runner-up – Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) – Yamaha - 330

Third – Dani Pedrosa (Spain) – Honda - 300

The Brits:

5th – Cal Crutchlow – Yamaha – 188

10th – Bradley Smith – Yamaha – 116

25th – Michael Laverty – PBM/ART - 3

Best Result by a British Rider = 2nd, Cal Crutchlow in France and Germany

2014

World Champion – Marc Marquez (Spain) – Honda - 362

Runner-up – Valentino Rossi (Italy) – Yamaha - 295

Third – Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) – Yamaha - 263

The Brits:

8th – Bradley Smith – Yamaha – 121

12th – Scott Redding – Honda – 81

13th – Cal Crutchlow – Ducati – 74

24th – Michael Laverty – PBM – 9

27th – Leon Camier – Honda – 1 (4 races)

Best Result by a British Rider = 3rd, Bradley Smith in Australia

2015

World Champion – Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) – Yamaha - 330

Runner-up – Valentino Rossi (Italy) – Yamaha - 325

Third – Marc Marquez (Spain) – Honda - 242

The Brits:

6th – Bradley Smith – Yamaha – 181

8th – Cal Crutchlow – Honda – 125

13th – Scott Redding – Honda - 84

Best Result by a British Rider = 2nd, Bradley Smith in San Marino