Sports season
Daijiro Kato (pictured at Donington Park) became the 2001 250cc world champion The 2001 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 53rd F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
2001 was the end of the 500 cc era in Grand Prix motorcycle racing ; in 2002 the premier class would be renamed MotoGP and dominated by 4-stroke 990 cc machines. However, 2001 was the beginning of another era, that of Valentino Rossi 's run of championships in the top class. His learning year past him, he won 11 races in 2001, far outdistancing his nearest competitor, Max Biaggi . Rossi and Biaggi began the season with a controversial incident at Suzuka , where Biaggi seemed to have tried to push Rossi into the dirt at 150 mph and Rossi responded two laps later with an aggressive pass and an extended middle finger. Rossi would win that race and sew-up the championship with two rounds to go. It was the last season where an independent team rider won the rider championship title in the premier class, until 2024 , which was won by Jorge Martín , riding for Pramac Racing .
The 500 cc Rookie of the Year award went to Shinya Nakano .[ 1] At the 2001 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix , Katja Poensgen became the first female competitor to qualify for a 250cc Grand Prix race.[ 2]
As of 2023, it was the last year where a single constructor (Honda) won the championship in all three categories.
2001 Grand Prix season calendar [ edit ] In the weekend of 20 to 22 October 2000, the FIM confirmed the 2001 calendar.[ 3] The following sixteen Grands Prix were scheduled to take place:[ 4] [ 5]
†† = Saturday race 2001 Grand Prix seasons results [ edit ] †† = Saturday race
Key Regular Rider Wildcard Rider Replacement Rider
All entries used Michelin tyres. Team Constructor Motorcycle No. Rider Rounds MS Aprilia Racing Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 5 Marco Melandri All 31 Tetsuya Harada All 34 Marcellino Lucchi 3, 5 Valência Circuit - Aspar Team Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 6 Álex Debón All 10 Fonsi Nieto All Telefónica MoviStar Honda Honda Honda NSR250 7 Emilio Alzamora All 74 Daijiro Kato All Petronas Sprinta Yamaha TVK Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 8 Naoki Matsudo All 18 Shahrol Yuzy All Yamaha Kurz (rd 1-9) Dark Dog Yamaha Kurz (rd 10-16) Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 9 Sebastián Porto All 23 Cesar Barros All Aprilia Grand Prix Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 11 Riccardo Chiarello 1–2, 4–16 99 Jeremy McWilliams 1–5 / MS Aprilia Racing (Germany) Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 12 Klaus Nöhles 1–12 55 Diego Giugovaz 13–16 99 Jeremy McWilliams 6–16 By Queroseno Racing Team Honda Honda NSR250 13 David Tomás 1, 3–16 26 Iván Silva 2 85 Rafael Da Cunha 16 Shell Advance Honda Honda Honda NSR250 14 Katja Poensgen 11–16 MS Eros Ramazzotti Racing Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 15 Roberto Locatelli All 21 Franco Battaini All Antena 3 Yamaha d'Antin Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 19 Julien Allemand 1–4 22 José David de Gea All 36 Luis Costa 5–16 PR2 Metrored / PR2 - Damas Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 20 Jerónimo Vidal 1–15 Honda Honda NSR250 41 Damaso Nacher 3, 11–12, 16 QUB Team Optimum Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 24 Jason Vincent 10–16 Tecmas Racing Honda Honda NSR250 25 Vincent Philippe 9 Edo Racing Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 55 Diego Giugovaz 1–5, 7–9 27 Shaun Geronimi 15–16 46 Taro Sekiguchi 6, 10–14 80 Vladimir Častka 10 Campetella Racing Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 37 Luca Boscoscuro All 57 Lorenzo Lanzi All Kolmer Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 38 Álvaro Molina 3, 6, 12 BRT Ismael Bonilla Honda Honda NSR250 39 Ismael Bonilla 3 Team Fomma Honda Honda NSR250 42 David Checa All Construcciones CM Honda Honda NSR250 43 Isaac Martín 12 Safilo Oxydo Race Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 44 Roberto Rolfo All FCC-TSR Honda Honda NSR250 45 Stuart Edwards 2–11 TSR-Honda 1 47 Tekkyu Kayo 1 Fujitsu Siemens Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 45 Stuart Edwards 12–16 Club Ventis Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 46 Taro Sekiguchi 1 Team Kotake RSC Honda Honda NSR250 48 Shinichi Nakatomi 1 Hitman RC Koshien Yamaha Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 49 Choujun Kameya 1 Équipe de France - Scrab GP Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 50 Sylvain Guintoli All 81 Randy de Puniet All Privest Yamaha d'Antin Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 51 Jonathan Van Vuuren 2 Équipe de France Honda Honda NSR250 52 Guillaume Dietrich 4 64 Hugo Marchand 4 Ouvrard Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 53 Tom Ouvrard 4 Bentin Motorsport Honda Honda NSR250 54 Hervé Mora 4 Fouloi Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 56 David Fouloi 4 Right Track Racing Honda Honda NSR250 58 Shane Norval 8 Team Jackson Honda Honda NSR250 59 Gary Jackson 8 Car Centre Nijmegen Honda Honda NSR250 60 Gert Pieper 7 Performance Racing Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 61 Jarno Boesveld 7 Cruise America Grand Prix Racing Honda Honda NSR250 62 Jason Di Salvo 7–8, 10 M.R.T.T. Hugen Racing Honda Honda NSR250 63 Arnold Litjens 7 Dark Dog Racing Factory (rd 1-9) Racing Factory (rd 10-16) Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 66 Alex Hofmann All 98 Katja Poensgen 1–9 EPS Racing Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 67 Michael Herzberg 8 Monster Mob Honda Honda NSR250 68 Stuart Easton 8 TZM Sport Honda Honda NSR250 70 José Estrela 11 Team Motorsport Racing Honda Honda NSR250 71 Javier Díaz 11 PS Racing Aprilia Aprilia RSV 250 72 Michael García 11–12 Freundenberg Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 75 Dirk Heidolf 9 Kiefer Castrol Honda Racing Honda Honda NSR250 76 Christian Gemmel 9 77 Marcel Schneider 9 ADAC Sachsen Honda Honda NSR250 78 Max Neukirchner 9 MSC Schleizer Dreieck Honda Honda NSR250 79 Norman Rank 10 Road Racing Team Voit Honda Honda NSR250 82 Henrik Voit 10 Biro Racing Team Honda Honda NSR250 83 Gábor Rizmayer 10, 12 Vaz Yamaha d'Antin Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 84 Cristiano Vieira 16 Team Harc-Pro Honda Honda NSR250 87 Hiroshi Aoyama 1 92 13 SP Tadao Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 88 Nobuyuki Ohsaki 13 Motorex Daytona Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 89 Osamu Miyazaki 13 RT Endurance Honda Honda NSR250 90 Daisaku Sakai 13 Morino Kumasan Miztec. RT Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 91 Takayuki Onodera 13 Impact Racing Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 93 Earl Lynch 14 RGV Spares Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 94 Terry Carter 14 97 Josh Brookes 14 Allect Racing Honda Honda NSR250 95 Shane Smith 14 Turramurra Cyclery Racing Yamaha Yamaha YZR 250 96 Mark Rowling 14 Source:[ 7]
Key Regular Rider Wildcard Rider Replacement Rider
Key Regular Rider Wildcard Rider Replacement Rider
500cc riders' standings[ edit ] [ 9]
Scoring system Points 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
Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) 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 positionItalics – Fastest lap
250cc riders' standings[ edit ] [ 10]
Scoring system Points 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
Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) 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 positionItalics – Fastest lap
125cc riders' standings[ edit ] [ 11]
Scoring system Points 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
Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) 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 positionItalics – Fastest lap
500cc manufacturers' standings[ edit ] 250cc manufacturers' standings[ edit ]