1986 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

A second world championship for the consistent Eddie Lawson. After a dominating 1985 season, the future looked bright for Honda's Freddie Spencer. However, once the season started, he began to suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome. The talented American would never win another Grand Prix after his spectacular 1985 season. Australian Wayne Gardner stepped up to become Honda's lead rider. Randy Mamola, riding for the newly formed Kenny Roberts-Yamaha team continued to post good results and finished third in the points chase.

Venezuelan Carlos Lavado earned his second world championship for Yamaha with a strong performance. Garelli teammates Fausto Gresini and Luca Cadalora battled it out for the 125 title, each taking four wins with Cadalora coming out on top. Spain's Jorge Martinez ended Stefan Dörflinger's streak of title wins at four. Angel Nieto announced he was retiring after twenty-three years in Grand Prix racing. He continued to be competitive up to the end with a second-place finish in the Italian 125 race and a second in Spain in the 80cc class. His 90 Grand Prix victories at the time ranked him second only to Giacomo Agostini.

For 125cc and 80cc, an additional post-season event on the Hockenheimring (located in the German state of Baden-Württemberg) was designated as the Baden-Württemberg Grand Prix and counted towards the championships in these classes.

The following Grands Prix were scheduled to take place in 1986:^[1][2]

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Circuit
1	4 May	Gran Premio de España	Circuito Permanente Del Jarama
2	18 May	Gran Premio delle Nazioni	Autodromo Nazionale Monza
3	25 May	Großer Preis von Deutschland	Nürburgring
4	8 June	Großer Preis von Österreich	Salzburgring
5	15 June	Yu Grand Prix	Automotodrom Rijeka
6	28 June	Dutch TT	TT Circuit Assen
7	6 July	GP of Belgium	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
8	20 July	Grand Prix de France	Circuit Paul Ricard
9	3 August	Shell Oils British Motorcycle Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit
10	9 August	Swedish TT	Scandinavian Raceway
11	24 August	Grand Prix San Marino	Circuito Internazionale Santa Monica
12	28 September	Baden-Württemberg Grand Prix	Hockenheimring

• The South African Grand Prix was boycotted due to the Apartheid policies in the country.
• The German Grand Prix moved from the Hockenheimring to the Nürburgring.
• The French Grand Prix moved from the Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans to the Paul Ricard circuit.
• The Baden-Württemberg motorcycle Grand Prix was added as a one-off race to replace the South African Grand Prix. Only the 80cc and 125cc participated in this race.

Team Constructor Motorcycle No. Rider Rounds Rothmans Honda/HRC Honda Honda NSR500 1   Freddie Spencer 1, 4 4   Wayne Gardner All Yamaha Marlboro Team Agostini SRL Yamaha Yamaha YZR500 2   Eddie Lawson All 9   Rob McElnea All Team Gauloises Blondes Yamaha Yamaha Yamaha YZR500 3   Christian Sarron 1–9, 11 Team Elf-ROC Elf-Honda Elf 3 5   Ron Haslam All 52   Christian le Liard 8–11 Team Lucky Strike Roberts Yamaha Yamaha YZR500 6   Randy Mamola All 11   Mike Baldwin All Racing Team Katayama Honda Honda RS500 Honda NSR500 7   Raymond Roche All Rollstar Honda Racing Team Chevallier-Honda Honda RS500 8   Didier de Radiguès 2–3, 6–11 PDM Chrome Tapes Honda Honda RS500 10   Boet van Dulmen All 39   Henk van der Mark 1–5, 9–10 ?? Honda Honda RS500 18   Marco Papa 2, 5–6 Ecurie Fior Fior-Honda Fior RS500 20   Marco Gentile 1–6, 8–11 Team Italia Honda Honda RS500 23   Fabio Biliotti 1–6, 9–11 HB Suzuki Suzuki Suzuki RG500 XR70 26   Dave Petersen 1–6, 8, 11 28 30 31 46 56   Pierfrancesco Chili 1–5, 7-8 Skoal Bandit Heron Suzuki Suzuki Suzuki RG500 TSR6 (XR70) 33   Paul Lewis 1–8, 11 47 33 59   Niall Mackenzie 9–11 57   Paul Iddon ?? Rizla Heron Suzuki Heron-Suzuki Suzuki RG500 TSR6 (XR70) 34   Kevin Schwantz 6–8, 11 Rothmans Honda Britain Honda Honda RS500 Honda NS500 31 30   Roger Burnett 2, 6–7, 9 Honda NS500 43   Roger Marshall 9 Duckhams Oil Honda Honda RS500 31   Simon Buckmaster 1–4, 6–11 Hein Gericke Racing HG-Honda Honda RS500 35 31 71 36   Manfred Fischer 1–7, 9–11 Stichting Netherlands Racing Team Honda Honda RS500 35   Mile Pajic 3–11 ?? Honda Honda RS500 37   Andy Leuthe 1–3, 5–7, 11 Loctite Suzuki Suzuki Suzuki RGB500 41   Kenny Irons 6, 8–9 Cagiva Cagiva Cagiva C10 44 16   Joan Garriga 1–9, 11 58   Marco Lucchinelli 2 HRC Grieskirched Honda Honda RS500 44   Sepp Doppler ?? ?? Honda Honda RS500 45   Dietmar Mayer 8 HDJ Sportswear Suzuki Suzuki RG500 XR45 48   Maarten Duyzers 3, 5–10 Frankonia-Suzuki Schweiz Suzuki Suzuki RG500 Bakker (XR45) 51 29   Wolfgang von Muralt All HRC-Moriwaki Honda Honda NSR500 54   Shunji Yatsushiro 4–6, 8–11 Ciesse Piumini Suzuki Suzuki RGB500 55   Leandro Becheroni 1–2, 4–8, 11 Walter Wolf Suzuki Suzuki RG500 XR70 56 63   Masaru Mizutani 6–7 RS Rallye Sport Motorsport Handels Honda Honda RS500 56   Helmut Schütz 3–5, 9–10 Honda Deutschland Honda Honda RS500 Bakker 14   Gustav Reiner 1, 3–4, 6, 8 ?? Honda Honda RS500 Bakker ??   Peter Sköld ?? Source:[3]

Key Regular Rider Wildcard Rider Replacement Rider

Team Constructor Motorcycle No. Rider Rounds Rothmans Honda Honda Honda NSR250 2   Anton Mang 1–3, 5–7, 9–11 42 55 46 40 38 31 56   Dominique Sarron All HB-Venemotos Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 3   Carlos Lavado All Yamaha TZ 250 26 28   Luis Lavado All Yamaha Marlboro Team Agostini SRL Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 4   Martin Wimmer All 57 37 44 36 33 31   Tadahiko Taira 2–11 MC Bielle Roventi Honda Italy Honda Honda NSR250 5   Fausto Ricci 1–5, 7–11 Team Aprilia Aprilia-Rotax ?? 6   Loris Reggiani 1–2, 6, 8–10 36 43 45   Stefano Caracchi 1–3, 8–11 Braun Cobas JJ Cobas-Rotax ?? 7   Alan Carter All HB-Aprilia Team 250 Aprilia-Rotax ?? 8   Manfred Herweh 1–8 HB-Römer Racing Team Honda Honda RS250R 9   Reinhold Roth All 25   Harald Eckl 1–6, 8–11 Team Parisienne-Elf Honda Honda RS250R 10   Jacques Cornu All Parisienne ?? 11   Pierre Bolle 1–9, 11 Parisienne Honda ?? Honda RS250R 54 67   Sergio Pellandini 4 Parisienne ?? 59   Guy Bertin 6–7, 10 Campsa-Honda Honda Honda RS250R 12   Carlos Cardús All Honda NSR250 19   Sito Pons All Team Mattioli Yamaha Yamaha TZ 250 14   Jean-Michel Mattioli 1–3, 5–11 Silverstone-Armstrong Armstrong-Rotax Armstrong CF250 15   Donnie Mcleod All 35 38 41   Niall Mackenzie 6–11 52   Ian Newton 1–3 Racing Team Katayama Honda Honda NSR250 17   Jean-François Baldé All 70 44 34 51 52   Virginio Ferrari 3-11 Nuovo Moto Club Honda Honda RS250R 20   Massimo Matteoni 2, 4–5, 8, 10–11 Team Italia Garelli Garelli Garelli 250 GP 21   Andrea Brasini ?? 42 39 45 34 43 32   Maurizio Vitali 1, 3–11 Motor Team Development Honda Honda RS250R 22   Bruno Bonhuil 2–3, 5, 7–8 Honda Racing Team Honda Honda RS250R 23   Siegfried Minich 2–7, 9–10 Johnson Team Total Yamaha Yamaha TZ 250 35 50 32 33   Stéphane Mertens 2–11 Dieter Braun PVM Levior Team Yamaha Yamaha TZ 250 39 33   Hans Becker 4–7, 9–10 Hostettler-Yamaha Yamaha Yamaha TZ 250 41 43 47   Roland Freymond 1, 3, 5, 7–11 ?? Chevallier-Yamaha Yamaha TZ 250 42 31 62   Jean Foray All Werberger Konservenfabrik Koch KG Yamaha Yamaha TZ 250 45   Herbert Besendörfer 4–5, 9–10 Ehrlich Automotive EMC-Rotax ?? 46 36 51   Gary Noel 6–7, 11 RK Morena-Rotax ?? 49 41   Rene Deláby 1–5, 9 Wintershall Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha TZ 250 53 57   Urs Lüzi 1, 6, 11 Atomic Road Racing Team Bakker-Rotax ?? 54 30 41   Hans Lindner 2–8 MIG MIG-Rotax ?? 55 32   Jean-Louis Guignabodet 1–2, 4, 6–11 ?? Yamaha Yamaha TZ 250 63 18 52   Jean-Louis Tournadre 1–5, 9–11 Source:[4]

Key Regular Rider Wildcard Rider Replacement Rider

^[5][6]

Scoring system

Points are awarded to the top ten finishers. A rider has to finish the race to earn points.

Pos	Rider	Team	Machine	ESP	NAT	GER	AUT	YUG	NED	BEL	FRA	GBR	SWE	SMR	Pts
1	Eddie Lawson	Marlboro Yamaha-Agostini	YZR500	2	1	1	1	1	Ret	2	1	3	1	1	139
2	Wayne Gardner	Rothmans Honda-HRC	NSR500	1	16	2	2	3	1	4	5	1	2	2	117
3	Randy Mamola	Lucky Strike Yamaha-Roberts	YZR500	4	2	6	3	2	2	1	2	5	8	3	105
4	Mike Baldwin	Lucky Strike Yamaha-Roberts	YZR500	3	3	3	5	5	3	Ret	4	18	3	4	78
5	Rob McElnea	Marlboro Yamaha-Agostini	YZR500	7	Ret	4	6	4	4	5	6	4	4		60
6	Christian Sarron	Sonauto Gauloises-Yamaha	YZR500	5	4	Ret	4	6	5	3	3	Ret		6	58
7	Didier de Radiguès	Rollstar Honda Racing Team	Chevallier-NS500		5	5			9	7	8	2	6	7	42
8	Raymond Roche	Racing Team Katayama	NS500/NSR500	6	Ret	7	Ret	7	6	Ret	Ret	6	5	5	35
9	Ron Haslam	Team Elf-ROC	Elf3-RS500	10	Ret	8	Ret	Ret	7	Ret	7	9	9	9	18
10	Pierfrancesco Chili	HB-Suzuki	RG500	14	7	16	9	DNS		6	Ret	DNS			18
11	Niall Mackenzie	Skoal Bandit Heron Suzuki	RG500									7	7	8	11
12	Boet Van Dulmen	PDM Chrome Tapes	RS500	15	6	13	10	13	12	9	14	12	13	18	8
13	Shunji Yatsushiro	HRC Moriwaki	RS500				7	8	Ret			Ret	14	11	7
14	Gustav Reiner	Honda Deutschland	RS500	Ret		9	8		Ret		DNS				5
15	Fabio Biliotti	Team Italia	RS500	9	8	14	11	Ret		Ret	Ret	Ret			5
16	Dave Petersen	HB Suzuki	RG500	12	11	10	12	9	Ret		9	DNS			5
17	Juan Garriga	Cagiva	GP500	8	Ret	DNS	Ret	12	10	20	20	Ret		NC	4
18	Paul Lewis	Skoal Bandit Heron Suzuki	RG500	11	9	12	14	10	Ret	Ret	10	DNS			4
19	Mile Pajic	Stichting Netherlands Racing Team	RS500			Ret	18	18	16	8	16	Ret	21	Ret	3
20	Kenny Irons	Loctite Yamaha	YZR500						Ret			8			3
21	Roger Burnett	Rothmans Honda Britain	RS500/NS500		Ret				8	DNS		11			3
22	Kevin Schwantz	Rizla Heron Suzuki	RG500							10				10	2
23	Wolfgang Von Muralt	Frankonia Suzuki	Bakker-RG500	Ret	Ret	17	15	11	13	11	11	10	10	Ret	2
24	Marco Papa		RS500		10			16							1
	Manfred Fischer	Team Hein Gericke	HG-RS500	18	14	11	13	Ret	16	Ret		19	16	Ret	0
	Marco Gentile	Ecurie Fior	Fior-RS500	19	Ret	Ret	Ret	15	11		12	Ret	11		0
	Henk van der Mark	PDM Chrome Tapes	RS500	14	13	15	17	Ret				15	17		0
	Masaru Mizutani	Walter Wolf Racing	RG500						14	13					0
	Eero Hyvarinen		RS500			Ret	21	14	Ret	DNS			19	Ret	0
	Simon Buckmaster	Duckhams Oil	RS500	17	Ret	18	19		15		17	Ret	18		0
	Karl Truchsess		RS500		15				Ret		Ret			Ret	0
	Christian Le Liard	Team Elf-ROC	Elf3-RS500								15	Ret	NC	Ret	0
	Freddie Spencer	Rothmans Honda-HRC	NSR500	Ret			16								0
	Peter Linden		RS500	Ret	17		Ret		DNS		Ret		12		0
	Fabio Barchitta		RS500					17						Ret	0
	Rob Punt		RS500		18	20									0
	Alessandro Valesi		RS500		Ret				Ret		18				0
	Gerold Fisher		RS500			19									0
	Dietmar Mayer		RS500								19				0
	Andy Leuthe		RS500	20	Ret	24		20	Ret	Ret				Ret	0
	Leandro Becheroni		RG500	Ret	Ret		20	24	Ret	Ret	Ret			Ret	0
	Esko Kuparinen		RS500								21		23		0
	Steve Manley		RG500									21			0
	Maarten Duyzers	HDJ Sportswear	RS500			22		23	Ret	Ret	Ret		22		0
	Helmut Schutz	Rallye Sport	RS500			28	Ret	Ret				23			0
	Josef Doppler	HRC Grieskirched	RS500		Ret	27	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret					0
	Philippe Robinet		RS500			29				Ret	Ret				0
	Armando Errico		RG500		Ret			Ret							0
	Marco Lucchinelli	Cagiva	GP500		Ret										0
	Bohumil Stasa		RS500			Ret									0
Pos	Rider	Team	Machine	ESP	NAT	GER	AUT	YUG	NED	BEL	FRA	GBR	SWE	SMR	Pts

Place	Rider	Number	Team	Machine	Points	Wins	P.Pos.	F.Laps
1	Carlos Lavado	3	HB Venemotos-Yamaha	YZR250	114	6	7	3
2	Sito Pons	19	Campsa-Honda	NSR250	108	2		2
3	Dominique Sarron	42	Rothmans-Honda	NSR250	72	1		1
4	Anton Mang	2	Rothmans-Honda	NSR250	65	1		1
5	Jean-François Baldé	17	Katayama-Honda	NSR250	63
6	Martin Wimmer	4	Marlboro-Yamaha	YZR250	56		4	3
7	Jacques Cornu	10	Parisienne-Elf-Honda	RS250	32
8	Fausto Ricci	5	MC Bielle Roventi-Honda	NSR250	30
9	Tadahiko Taira	57	Marlboro-Yamaha	YZR250	28	1
10	Donnie McLeod	15	Silverstone-Armstrong	CF250	27
11	Pierre Bolle				21
12	Carlos Cardús	12	Campsa-Honda		17
13	Stéphane Mertens				14
14	Virginio Ferrari	34	Total-Honda		14
15	Maurizio Vitali				12
16	Reinhold Roth	9	HB-Honda		10
17	Alan Carter	7			9
18	Jean Michel Mattioli				9
19	Manfred Herweh	8	Aprilia-Rotax		7
20	Jean Foray				7
21	Niall Mackenzie		Armstrong-Rotax	CF250	4
22	Siegfried Minich				4
23	Massimo Matteoni				2
24	Hans Lindner				1

^[7][8]

Place	Rider	Number	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Luca Cadalora	22	Garelli	122	4
2	Fausto Gresini	1	Garelli	114	4
3	Domenico Brigaglia	6	MBA	80	1
4	August Auinger	3	Bartol	60	2
5	Ezio Gianola	4	MBA	57	0
6	Bruno Kneubühler	5	LCR	54	0
7	Lucio Pietroniro	9	MBA	37	0
8	Pier Paolo Bianchi	2	Seel	34	0
9	Johnny Wickström	11	Tunturi	33	0
10	Willy Perez	14	Zanella	26	0
11	Olivier Liégeois	10		21
12	Thierry Feuz	17		19
13	Ángel Nieto			15
14	Paolo Casoli			14
15	Gastone Grassetti			9
16	Jussi Hautaniemi	8		8
17	Adi Stadler			6
18	Alfred Waibel			5
19	Hakan Olsson			5
20	Andres Sanchez			3
21	Mike Leitner			2
22	Esa Kytölä			2

Place	Rider	Number	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Jorge Martínez	2	Derbi	94	4
2	Manuel Herreros	4	Derbi	85	1
3	Stefan Dörflinger	1	Krauser	82	1
4	Hans Spaan		Huvo	57	0
5	Gerhard Waibel	5	Real	51	1
6	Ian McConnachie	6	Krauser	50	1
7	Ángel Nieto	9	Derbi	45	0
8	Pier Paolo Bianchi		Seel	44	1
9	Josef Fischer		Krauser	13	0
10	Gerd Kafka		Krauser	9	0
11	Wilco Zeelenberg		Casal	8
12	Hubert Abold			8
13	Theo Timmer			6
14	Joan Bolart			6
15	Rudolf Kunz			6
16	Alex Barros		Rieju, Autisa	6
17	Henk Van Kessel			5
18	Domingo Gil			5
19	Rainer Scheidhauer			4
20	Alfred Waibel			3
21	Felix Rodriguez			3
22	Luis Miguel Reyes			2
23	Herri Torrontegui			1
24	Salvatore Milano			1

• Büla, Maurice & Schertenleib, Jean-Claude (2001). Continental Circus 1949-2000. Chronosports S.A. ISBN 2-940125-32-5

• "The Official MotoGP website". Retrieved 2010-07-06.