Season Summary
1992 was a year marked by injuries to several riders, most notably Mick Doohan. The Rothmans Honda rider had won five of the first seven races and seemed ready to win his first championship when he suffered a severely broken leg during practice at Assen. Wayne Rainey began the season struggling with fitness because of the broken femur suffered at the end of the 1991 season. He missed the Assen round from a heavy crash suffered at the previous round in Germany. Suzuki's Kevin Schwantz suffered through another injury-riddled year but managed to win in Italy. Wayne Gardner missed the first 6 rounds from a broken leg at Suzuka and another crash in Italy. Eddie Lawson gave Cagiva their first Grand Prix victory with a win in Hungary. Rookie Àlex Crivillé won his first 500 cc race at Assen. In the end, Yamaha's Rainey persevered for his third consecutive World Championship.
During 1992 Rainey created the International Motorcycle Racers’ Association (IMRA) to pressure track organizers for safety improvements. Michelin came back from a semi-withdrawal and supplied tires to the Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha teams. The points system was revised to award points to the top 10 finishers only, instead of the top 15.
The factory Honda riders debuted the "big bang" engine, with the NSR500, where the firing order of the cylinders made the power come out in pulses. The benefit to this was in traction, allowing the tires to adhere between pulses, rather than spin because of the two-stroke 500’s peaky powerband. Yamaha came up with their own version for the 9th round and Suzuki had it available by mid-season, though Schwantz didn't use it initially. The "big bang" concept is still used in today's four-stroke MotoGP bikes.
In the 250 class, Honda's Luca Cadalora won his second consecutive title, fending off a challenge from Aprilia riders Loris Reggiani and Pier-Francesco Chili. Newcomer Max Biaggi would win his first Grand Prix in South Africa. Aprilia would win their first world championship in the 125 class with Alessandro Gramigni defeating Honda's Fausto Gresini.
The calendar was shortened to 13 rounds, with the United States, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Austria losing their races. The South African Grand Prix was added and the European Grand Prix continued for another year. Notable retirements in 1992 included former 250 champion, Carlos Lavado, former 500 champion Wayne Gardner and four-time champion Eddie Lawson.
Read more about this topic: 1992 Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing Season
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