The motorcycle industry is big business both here in the UK and beyond. As you might expect, it’s also a competitive industry.
There are plenty of motorcycle racing competitions that one can watch or take part in.
One of the most famous ones is the MotoGP. At the time of writing, there are three classes of Grand Prix motorcycle racing. The first is MotoGP, and the other two are Moto2 and Moto3. The latter two classes are for motorcycles with smaller engines.
As you might expect, the main attraction for motorcycling enthusiasts is the main MotoGP class. If you enjoy motorcycle racing but don’t know much about the MotoGP, it’s a good thing that you are reading this blog post!
That’s because today you will learn all there is to know about the MotoGP. By the end of this blog post, you will have a better understanding of this motorcycle championship.
What is the MotoGP?
The MotoGP is a world motorcycle championship. It consists of 18 races spread across 13 countries and four continents. There are over ten nationalities of skilled motorcycle riders racing. And they use the latest and greatest motorcycles.
The latest cutting-edge technology is available to the riders from three main manufacturers. They are Ducati, Honda and Yamaha. As mentioned earlier there are three race categories:
•The first class is the main MotoGP, where motorcycle engines must be no greater than 1,000cc and are four-stroke. Riders must be at least 18 years old to compete in the MotoGP;
•The second class is Moto2 with a restriction of 600cc four-stroke engines. Honda supplies the engines while Dunlop supplies the tyres for motorcycles in this class. The engines produce around 140 brake horsepower. While the chassis must follow all FIA regulations;
•The third class is Moto3 with a restriction of single-cylinder, four-stroke 250cc engines. Riders in this class can be no older at 28 years of age and have to be at least 16 years old to enter.
The MotoGP first started back in 1949 and has a rich and colourful history. It’s a championship that is quite popular, with over 2.4 million people visiting the circuits back in 2013!
During a Grand Prix weekend, there is a race in each of the three classes. The Grand Prix weekend takes place over three days. Only the last day is the actual race day; the first two days are for practice and qualifying.
How riders qualify
To begin with there are three lots of 45-minute free practice sessions. During the race weekend, they are usually held on a Friday morning and afternoon, and on Saturday morning.
The times that each rider sets in each session now count towards qualifying, believe it or not! When the results get combined, they will determine whether a rider will take part in Q1 or Q2:
•Q1 is where the riders’ times put them in 11th place or below, and is a 15-minute session;
•Q2 comprises of the 12 fastest riders from Q1, and again is a 15-minute session;
•There is also a free practice session that riders can take part in before Q1 and Q2. However, that session will not count towards qualification.
Race day
When race day approaches, all riders take part in warm-up sessions before taking to the track. The first riders to race are those in the Moto3 class, followed by Moto2 and then MotoGP.
The races themselves vary in length. Some can be as short as 95 kilometers (59 miles) to as long as 130 kilometers (81 miles). Each race usually lasts around 45 minutes and must conform to a set number of laps. The amount of laps differs at each track.
As with car racing, motorcycle riders are all allowed pit stops although it is rare for riders to do this. You will usually see riders making pit stops in the MotoGP races where weather conditions changes. They do this so that they can change to different tyres.
Tracks
According to Jim from Carole Nash Bike Insurance, there are 18 different track locations for the next MotoGP. They are as follows:
1.Losail Circuit, Qatar (29th March 2015);
2.Circuit Of The Americas, United States (12th April 2015);
3.Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo, Argentina (19th April 2015);
4.Jerez, Spain (3rd May 2015);
5.Le Mans, France (17th May 2015);
6.Mugello, Italy (31st May 2015);
7.Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain (14th June 2015);
8.Assen, Netherlands (27th June 2015);
9.Sachsenring, Germany (12th July 2015);
10.Indianapolis Motor Speedway, United States (9th August 2015);
11.Automotodrom Brno, Czech Republic (16th August 2015);
12.Silverstone, United Kingdom (30th August 2015);
13.Misano World Circuit, Italy (13th September 2015);
14.MotorLand Aragón, Spain (27th September 2015);
15.Motegi, Japan (11th October 2015);
16.Phillip Island, Australia (18th October 2015);
17.Sepang Circuit, Malaysia (25th October 2015);
18.Comunitat Valenciana, Spain (8th November 2015).
Buying tickets
A lot of motorcycle enthusiasts will watch the MotoGP from the comfort of their homes. But many will make the pilgrimage out to the track of their choice. As you can imagine, fraud is rife when it comes to buying tickets to specific tracks.
To avoid any problems, it’s always best to get your tickets direct from Official MotoGP Ticket Store. There is a limited amount of tickets you can buy for each track. So to make the selling process fair, the tickets are only sold over a staggered number of days.
The tickets usually go on sale around a week before each day and get sold over a period of four days. I don’t recommend buying tickets elsewhere as you’re likely to get scammed by an unscrupulous seller.
Getting to the heart of the action
There are times where race enthusiasts want to get closer to the action. It’s possible to get VIP passes in the exclusive VIP village areas of each race track. The only downside is cost and availability.
Still, if you’re determined enough, you’re bound to get your hands on a VIP pass at your chosen MotoGP race track!
I hope you have enjoyed reading today’s article on the MotoGP. Thanks for reading!
