The move was made to try to improve safety by reducing cornering speeds, and in a marginal way for cost reasons; the winner was decided by bid.
[1] Michelin, one of the two tyre suppliers in 2008, decided not to bid for the supply,[2] effectively declaring Bridgestone the winner, which was confirmed on 18 October 2008.
Other cost-cutting manoeuvers were made during the winter prior to the season, to try to contain the rising costs of the sport, especially during a period of economic downturn.
The Friday morning free practice session was eliminated, limiting the Friday practice time to a single 45-minute session (later brought to a 1-hour session from the French GP onwards[5]); a limit of 5 engines was imposed for the last 7 races, with a 10-point penalty for each additional engine used;[6] ceramic composite materials for brakes were banned; electronic assistance was reduced with the ban of electronic controlled suspensions and launch control systems; Monday tests will be cancelled except for Catalunya and Brno, where only test riders will be allowed to take part.
[7] With a somewhat unexpected announcement, Kawasaki made public its intention to withdraw from MotoGP immediately on 9 January 2009, citing the global economic downturn as the main cause of the decision.
[8] Initial negotiations between Dorna and Kawasaki aimed to run the two bikes with the private Aspar team,[9] but after further talks, on 26 February 2009 Kawasaki announced its decision to remain in the category, running a single bike team with Marco Melandri, effectively leaving John Hopkins without a contract.
The season was marked by the dominance of Yamaha duo Rossi and Lorenzo, with occasional wins for Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner.
In the final 250cc championship (it was replaced by the Moto2 class in 2010), Hiroshi Aoyama became the third Japanese rider to win that title, after Tetsuya Harada and Daijiro Kato.
[14] A Hungarian round was originally scheduled for 20 September 2009[15] but the organizers asked Dorna to postpone the event to 2010 due to delays in the construction of the Balatonring circuit.
There is an exception to this rule however and it is forbidden to test during the season and the breaks at a circuit included on the calendar before the race there has happened.
Bold – Pole positionItalics – Fastest lap † Half-points awarded in Qatar, as the riders did not complete the sufficient distance for full points.