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The 1997 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 49th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
Season summary
A fourth world championship in a row for Honda's Mick Doohan with another dominating performance. He broke Giacomo Agostini's record for victories in one season with 12 wins.[1] It was also dominating year for Honda with eight of the top ten riders aboard Hondas.[1] The Yamaha and Suzuki teams were in disarray.[1] Kenny Roberts left Yamaha to start his own venture with a lightweight, three-cylinder Modenas.[1] Wayne Rainey's team was left with the inconsistent Norifumi Abe and Sete Gibernau, a rookie.[1] Daryl Beattie wasn't able to come back from head injuries and retired at the end of the year while Anthony Gobert failed a drug test and was dismissed by the Suzuki team.[1] The Elf team soldiered on with their Swiss-Auto V4 but Aprilia decided to pull their V twin from the 500 class at the end of the year.[1]
Max Biaggi had a harder time defending his title from Tetsuya Harada and Ralf Waldmann, not clinching the title until the last race of the year.[1] A new star emerged from the 125 class with Valentino Rossi winning 11 races for a commanding win on an Aprilia.[1]
1997 Grand Prix season calendar
The following Grands Prix were scheduled to take place in 1997:[2][3]
| Round | Date | Grand Prix | Circuit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 April |  Marlboro Malaysian Grand Prix
|
Shah Alam Circuit |
| 2 | 20 April |  Marlboro Grand Prix of Japan
|
Suzuka Circuit |
| 3 | 4 May |  Gran Premio Lucky Strike de España
|
Circuito Permanente de Jerez |
| 4 | 18 May |  Gran Premio d'Italia Polini
|
Mugello Circuit |
| 5 | 1 June |  Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich
|
A1-Ring |
| 6 | 8 June |  Grand Prix de France
|
Circuit Paul Ricard |
| 7 | 28 June †† |  Lucky Strike Dutch Grand Prix
|
TT Circuit Assen |
| 8 | 6 July |  Gran Premio Cirio Città di Imola
|
Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari |
| 9 | 20 July |  ADAC Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland
|
Nürburgring |
| 10 | 3 August |  Lucky Strike Rio Grand Prix
|
Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet |
| 11 | 17 August |  Sun British Grand Prix
|
Donington Park |
| 12 | 31 August |  Grand Prix České republiky
|
Brno Circuit |
| 13 | 14 September |  Gran Premi Marlboro de Catalunya
|
Circuit de Catalunya |
| 14 | 28 September |  Marlboro Indonesian Grand Prix
|
Sentul International Circuit |
| 15 | 5 October |  Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix
|
Phillip Island |
†† = Saturday race
Calendar changes
- The Malaysian Grand Prix replaced the Japanese Grand Prix with hosting the opening round Grand Prix.
- The Indonesian Grand Prix was moved back from 7 April to 28 September.
- The Austrian Grand Prix was moved forward from 4 August to 1 June.
- The Australian Grand Prix moved from the Eastern Creek Raceway to the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.
1997 Grand Prix season results
†† = Saturday race
