[1] Casey Stoner was crowned as MotoGP World Champion for the second time, following his ninth victory of the season at the Australian Grand Prix.
[2] Stoner, who was champion previously in 2007, finished 16 of the 17 races to be held in the top three placings – equalling a premier class record held by both Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo – including ten wins to become the final 800cc champion before the premier class reverted to 1000cc engines in 2012.
Stefan Bradl became Germany's first motorcycle World Champion since Dirk Raudies won the 1993 125cc World Championship title after Marc Márquez, the only rider that could deny Bradl of the championship, was ruled out of the race due to injuries suffered during free practice at the Malaysian Grand Prix.
[8] The Japanese Grand Prix, originally scheduled for 24 April, was moved to 2 October due to the effects of the Tōhoku earthquake and the Fukushima I nuclear accidents.
[39] On 31 October 2010, a list of 22 teams was accepted by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, Dorna Sports and IRTA to compete in the 2011 championship.