2016 Moto3 World Championship

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.^[1] Binder, who finished each of the first seven races on the podium, took the championship lead after the second race in Argentina,^[2] and took his first Grand Prix victory at the Spanish Grand Prix – starting from 35th on the grid.^[3] 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,^[4] after Kork Ballington and Jon Ekerold.^[1] 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.^[5] 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,^[4]^[6] with Bagnaia doing so at Assen and Malaysia, the first wins for Mahindra at Grand Prix level.^[7]^[8] 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.^[9] Mir won the Austrian Grand Prix,^[10] 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,^[11] becoming the first rider from Malaysia to win at World Championship level.^[12] Single race wins went to Romano Fenati in Austin,^[13] before a mid-season dismissal from Valentino Rossi's team,^[14] Niccolò Antonelli won the season-opening race in a photo-finish in Qatar,^[15] while John McPhee took his, and Peugeot's, first Grand Prix win in wet conditions at Brno.^[16] 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.^[17]

Calendar

The following Grands Prix took place in 2016.^[18]

More information Round, Date ...

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	Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo, Termas de Río Hondo
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	Gran Premio TIM di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini	Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, Misano Adriatico
14	25 September	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

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‡ = 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.^[18]
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.^[18]
Having been on the calendar since 2008, the Indianapolis Grand Prix was taken off the calendar.^[19]

Teams and riders

A provisional entry list was announced on 7 November 2015.^[20] All teams used Dunlop tyres.

More information Team, Constructor ...

Team	Constructor	Motorcycle	No.	Rider	Rounds
CIP-Unicom Starker	Mahindra	Mahindra MGP3O	3	Fabio Spiranelli^[21]	1–17
			24	Tatsuki Suzuki^[21]	All
			99	Enzo Boulom^[22]	18
Gresini Racing Moto3	Honda	Honda NSF250RW	4	Fabio Di Giannantonio^[20]	All
			33	Enea Bastianini^[20]	1–4, 6–16, 18
			71	Ayumu Sasaki^[23]	17
Sky Racing Team VR46	KTM	KTM RC250GP	5	Romano Fenati^[24]	1–10
			8	Nicolò Bulega^[24]	All
			16	Andrea Migno^[24]	All
			48	Lorenzo Dalla Porta^[14]	12–18
MH6 Laglisse MH6 Team	KTM	KTM RC250GP	6	María Herrera^[25]	1–17
MH6 Laglisse MH6 Team	KTM	KTM RC250GP	31	Raúl Fernández^[22]	18
Drive M7 SIC Racing Team	Honda^[26]	Honda NSF250RW	7	Adam Norrodin^[27]	All
Drive M7 SIC Racing Team	Honda^[26]	Honda NSF250RW	84	Jakub Kornfeil^[27]	All
Estrella Galicia 0,0	Honda	Honda NSF250RW	09	Jorge Navarro^[28]	1–7, 9–18
			44	Arón Canet^[28]	All
			48	Lorenzo Dalla Porta^[29]	8
Peugeot MC Saxoprint KRM-RZT	Peugeot^[30]	Peugeot MGP3O	10	Alexis Masbou^[31]	1–9
			12	Albert Arenas^[32]	10–18
			17	John McPhee^[33]	1–16
			38	Hafiq Azmi^[34]	17
			63	Vicente Pérez^[22]	18
	KTM	KTM RC250GP	97	Maximilian Kappler^[35]	9
RW Racing GP	Honda	Honda NSF250RW	11	Livio Loi^[20]	All
MRW Mahindra Aspar Team	Mahindra	Mahindra MGP3O	12	Albert Arenas^[36]	4, 7
Aspar Mahindra Team Moto3 Pull & Bear Aspar Mahindra Team	Mahindra	Mahindra MGP3O	12	Albert Arenas^[37]	8^[a]
			21	Francesco Bagnaia^[38]	All
			88	Jorge Martín^[39]	All^[a]
UQ & Teluru Kohara RT	Honda	TSR3 Honda	13	Shizuka Okazaki^[40]	15
Suus Honda	FTR Honda	FTR M316	14	Matt Barton^[41]	16
41 Planning IodaRacing Japan	Honda	TSR3 Honda	15	Rei Sato^[40]	15
Motomex Team Worldwide Race Platinum Bay Real Estate	Mahindra	Mahindra MGP3O	18	Gabriel Martínez^[42]	14
			22	Danny Webb^[43]	8–9
			40	Darryn Binder^[20]	All
			42	Marcos Ramírez^[44]	10–18
			98	Karel Hanika^[20]	1–7
RBA Racing Team	KTM	KTM RC250GP	19	Gabriel Rodrigo^[45]	All
RBA Racing Team	KTM	KTM RC250GP	58	Juan Francisco Guevara^[45]	All
Leopard Racing	KTM^[46]	KTM RC250GP	20	Fabio Quartararo^[47]	All
			36	Joan Mir^[48]	All
			55	Andrea Locatelli^[49]	All
Ongetta–Rivacold	Honda	Honda NSF250RW	23	Niccolò Antonelli^[50]	All
Ongetta–Rivacold	Honda	Honda NSF250RW	95	Jules Danilo^[20]	All
GA Competition	KTM	KTM RC250GP	26	Daniel Sáez^[22]	18
Freudenberg Racing Team	KTM	KTM RC250GP	27	Tim Georgi^[35]	9
Freudenberg Racing Team	KTM	KTM RC250GP	98	Karel Hanika^[51]	11, 18
Procercasa - 42 Motorsport	KTM	KTM RC250GP	37	Davide Pizzoli^[36]	4–7
Procercasa - 42 Motorsport	KTM	KTM RC250GP	99	Enzo Boulom^[36]	4–5
Red Bull KTM Ajo	KTM	KTM RC250GP	41	Brad Binder^[52]	All
Red Bull KTM Ajo	KTM	KTM RC250GP	64	Bo Bendsneyder^[53]	All
3570 Team Italia	Mahindra	Mahindra MGP3O	43	Stefano Valtulini^[20]	All
3570 Team Italia	Mahindra	Mahindra MGP3O	77	Lorenzo Petrarca^[54]	All
Schedl GP Racing	KTM	KTM RC250GP	48	Lorenzo Dalla Porta^[55]	6
Schedl GP Racing	KTM	KTM RC250GP	65	Philipp Öttl^[20]	1–5, 7–18
Mahindra Racing	Mahindra	Mahindra MGP3O	53	Marco Bezzecchi^[56]	10, 12
Mahindra Racing	Mahindra	Mahindra MGP3O	62	Stefano Manzi^[56]	10, 12–13
Minimoto Portomaggiore	Mahindra	Mahindra MGP3O	71	Alex Fabbri^[57]	13
Honda Team Asia	Honda	Honda NSF250RW	76	Hiroki Ono^[20]	1–7, 9–18
Honda Team Asia	Honda	Honda NSF250RW	89	Khairul Idham Pawi^[20]	All

Key
Regular rider
Wildcard rider
Replacement rider

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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

[a]
Jorge Martín competed in Friday practice sessions at Assen, before being replaced by Albert Arenas.

Results and standings

Grands Prix

More information Round, Grand Prix ...

Round	Grand Prix	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning rider	Winning team	Winning constructor	Report
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	Khairul Idham Pawi	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	Juan Francisco Guevara	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	Francesco Bagnaia	Nicolò Bulega	Brad Binder	Red Bull KTM Ajo	KTM	Report
13	San Marino and Rimini Riviera motorcycle Grand Prix	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^{[N 1]}	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	Pull & Bear Aspar Mahindra Team	Mahindra	Report
18	Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix	Arón Canet	Brad Binder	Brad Binder	Red Bull KTM Ajo	KTM	Report

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Riders' standings

Scoring system

Points were awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider had to finish the race to earn points.

More information Position, 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

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More information Pos, Rider ...

Pos	Rider	Bike	QAT	ARG	AME	SPA	FRA	ITA	CAT	NED	GER	AUT	CZE	GBR	RSM	ARA	JPN	AUS	MAL	VAL	Pts
1	Brad Binder	KTM	2	3	3	1	1	1	2	12	8	2	Ret	1	1	2	2	1	17	1	319
2	Enea Bastianini	Honda	5	17	6	8		12	3	Ret	3	3	4	7	2	3	1	Ret		4	177
3	Jorge Navarro	Honda	7	2	2	4	3	Ret	1		7	Ret	10	Ret	Ret	1	Ret	Ret	Ret	9	150
4	Francesco Bagnaia	Mahindra	3	23	14	3	12	3	Ret	1	10	11	Ret	2	21	16	6	Ret	1	Ret	145
5	Joan Mir	KTM	12	5	Ret	6	25	7	8	8	Ret	1	8	9	3	5	9	Ret	Ret	2	144
6	Fabio Di Giannantonio	Honda	26	25	17	Ret	17	2	9	2	5	8	3	6	10	4	5	Ret	15	5	134
7	Nicolò Bulega	KTM	6	18	10	2	5	8	5	7	Ret	9	9	5	4	Ret	3	Ret	Ret	17	129
8	Jakub Kornfeil	Honda	10	9	11	5	9	17	10	13	4	19	6	15	5	Ret	13	Ret	2	7	112
9	Andrea Locatelli	KTM	21	4	5	Ret	10	Ret	19	Ret	2	13	Ret	14	6	17	Ret	2	5	20	96
10	Romano Fenati	KTM	4	20	1	7	2	Ret	4	4	18	DNS									93
11	Niccolò Antonelli	Honda	1	10	Ret	Ret	8	4	20	5	DNS	18	5	DSQ	11	14	10	Ret	12	16	91
12	Philipp Öttl	KTM	9	15	4	10	Ret		17	11	17	5	15	12	8	10	4	14	Ret	8	85
13	Fabio Quartararo	KTM	13	13	13	Ret	6	5	7	Ret	23	4	21	Ret	18	12	8	12	4	14	83
14	Bo Bendsneyder	KTM	14	22	22	21	16	18	11	9	12	7	7	3	Ret	15	18	10	3	13	78
15	Arón Canet	Honda	15	Ret	7	Ret	4	Ret	6	Ret	15	21	Ret	8	7	7	Ret	3	Ret	19	76
16	Jorge Martín	Mahindra	Ret	8	Ret	Ret	18	14	Ret	DNS	Ret	6	2	10	DNS	6	Ret	6	Ret	10	72
17	Andrea Migno	KTM	17	29	15	11	7	10	18	3	Ret	25	12	29	15	11	24	Ret	Ret	3	63
18	Livio Loi	Honda	8	16	8	17	11	16	16	15	14	10	14	20	13	18	7	5	9	15	63
19	Khairul Idham Pawi	Honda	22	1	20	14	14	Ret	Ret	Ret	1	27	Ret	22	22	22	19	Ret	8	25	62
20	Jules Danilo	Honda	11	26	9	9	Ret	11	Ret	6	9	16	11	13	14	19	16	9	Ret	26	58
21	Juan Francisco Guevara	KTM	25	12	12	12	13	9	13	Ret	Ret	12	23	16	12	9	25	Ret	Ret	6	50
22	John McPhee	Peugeot	27	7	21	Ret	20	23	15	16	6	24	1	17	20	13	Ret	Ret			48
23	Hiroki Ono	Honda	18	6	25	Ret	Ret	6	Ret		Ret	15	20	19	9	20	DSQ	8	DNS	21	36
24	Gabriel Rodrigo	KTM	19	19	18	13	Ret	13	Ret	Ret	13	Ret	17	11	Ret	8	Ret	Ret	7	Ret	31
25	Darryn Binder	Mahindra	23	30	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	12	17	Ret	17	Ret	21	Ret	26	22	4	10	12	27
26	Marcos Ramírez	Mahindra										26	18	Ret	Ret	27	17	7	6	Ret	19
27	Tatsuki Suzuki	Mahindra	28	27	19	15	15	19	14	Ret	11	Ret	13	25	Ret	21	15	13	Ret	18	16
28	Adam Norrodin	Honda	20	11	Ret	16	Ret	22	Ret	19	Ret	23	Ret	23	23	23	12	11	Ret	27	14
29	Stefano Manzi	Mahindra										20		4	16						13
30	Lorenzo Dalla Porta	KTM						15						18	17	25	11	19	16	Ret	12
30	Lorenzo Dalla Porta	Honda								10											12
31	María Herrera	KTM	16	14	23	19	21	21	Ret	14	DNS	14	19	26	Ret	28	23	15	NC		7
32	Raúl Fernández	KTM																		11	5
33	Hafiq Azmi	Peugeot																	11		5
34	Stefano Valtulini	Mahindra	29	28	Ret	DNS	22	24	Ret	18	20	28	Ret	Ret	26	Ret	Ret	Ret	13	31	3
35	Albert Arenas	Mahindra				18			Ret	Ret											2
35	Albert Arenas	Peugeot										22	Ret	Ret	19	24	14	16	Ret	24	2
36	Lorenzo Petrarca	Mahindra	31	31	24	Ret	24	25	22	20	Ret	30	24	28	24	29	21	17	14	28	2
37	Alexis Masbou	Peugeot	24	21	16	Ret	19	Ret	Ret	Ret	16										0
38	Karel Hanika	Mahindra	30	24	Ret	Ret	Ret	20	Ret												0
38	Karel Hanika	KTM											16							22	0
39	Fabio Spiranelli	Mahindra	32	32	26	23	23	Ret	21	21	DNS	29	22	27	25	Ret	20	18	DNS		0
40	Maximilian Kappler	KTM									19										0
41	Matt Barton	FTR Honda																20			0
42	Davide Pizzoli	KTM				20	DNS	DNS	Ret												0
43	Tim Georgi	KTM									21										0
44	Danny Webb	Mahindra								22	22										0
45	Enzo Boulom	KTM				22	Ret														0
45	Enzo Boulom	Mahindra																		30	0
46	Vicente Pérez	Peugeot																		23	0
47	Marco Bezzecchi	Mahindra										Ret		24							0
48	Shizuka Okazaki	Honda															26				0
49	Daniel Sáez	KTM																		29	0
50	Gabriel Martínez	Mahindra														30					0
	Ayumu Sasaki	Honda																	Ret		0
	Alex Fabbri	Mahindra													Ret						0
	Rei Sato	Honda															DNS				0
Pos	Rider	Bike	QAT	ARG	AME	SPA	FRA	ITA	CAT	NED	GER	AUT	CZE	GBR	RSM	ARA	JPN	AUS	MAL	VAL	Pts

Colour	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	Second place
Bronze	Third place
Green	Points classification
Blue	Non-points classification
Blue	Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple	Retired, not classified (Ret)
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Red	Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black	Disqualified (DSQ)
White	Did not start (DNS)
	Withdrew (WD)
	Race cancelled (C)
Blank	Did not practice (DNP)
	Did not arrive (DNA)
	Excluded (EX)

Bold – Pole
Italics – Fastest Lap
Light blue – Rookie

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Constructors' standings

Each constructor received the same number of points as their best placed rider in each race.

More information Pos, Manufacturer ...

Pos	Manufacturer	QAT	ARG	AME	SPA	FRA	ITA	CAT	NED	GER	AUT	CZE	GBR	RSM	ARA	JPN	AUS	MAL	VAL	Pts
1	KTM	2	3	1	1	1	1	2	3	2	1	7	1	1	2	2	1	3	1	382
2	Honda	1	1	2	4	3	2	1	2	1	3	3	6	2	1	1	3	2	4	350
3	Mahindra	3	8	14	3	12	3	12	1	10	6	2	2	16	6	6	4	1	10	211
4	Peugeot	24	7	16	Ret	19	23	15	16	6	22	1	17	19	13	14	16	11	23	55
	FTR Honda																20			0
Pos	Manufacturer	QAT	ARG	AME	SPA	FRA	ITA	CAT	NED	GER	AUT	CZE	GBR	RSM	ARA	JPN	AUS	MAL	VAL	Pts

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Notes

[1]
Hiroki Ono, who set the fastest time in qualifying, was given a 3-place grid penalty for a riding infringement during free practice. Andrea Migno started the race from pole position, although Ono was still credited with pole position.^[58]

2016 Moto3 World Championship

Changes for 2016

Calendar

Calendar changes

Teams and riders

Rider changes

Results and standings

Grands Prix

Riders' standings

Constructors' standings

Notes

References

External links

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