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MotoGP
This is what 70 years of MotoGP looks like
As the sport formerly known as Grand Prix motorcycle racing enters its eighth decade, we take a look at how MotoGP has evolved into the superstar-spawning blockbuster it is today.
Motorcycles, like cars, have been raced by thrill-seekers ever since the first bike was sold way back in 1894. The first organised Isle of Man TT event took place a few years later, in 1906. Between then and the end of World War II, motorcycles were raced on roads, fields, and dirt tracks right across Europe. Then, in 1949, it all became official (kind of), and the sport we know and love today began to take shape.
Before the new MotoGP season gets under way in Qatar on March 10, we take a look at how the sport of motorcycle racing evolved into the superstar-laden discipline of 2019.
1949: The (unofficial) birth of MotoGP
In 1949, the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM)was founded. It arranged what would be the first proper championships for 125cc, 250cc, 350cc, and 500cc bikes (oh, and 600cc sidecars), with the first race held on the already famous Isle of Man TT course.
British rider and former Lancaster Bomber pilot, Leslie Graham, won the first ever 500cc title on a British-built AJS machine. His compatriot, Freddie Frith, won the inaugural 350cc title on a Velocette.
1950–1975: Italian dominance
In the first 26 years of the 500cc class of Grand Prix motorcycle racing, Italian manufacturers won the title 24 times. MV Agusta and Gilera carried Giacomo Agostini, John Surtees,and Mike Hailwood to multiple world championship wins.
In the other classes, competition was much fiercer however, and manufacturers such as Honda, Suzuki, Norton, and NSU managed to win their own titles.
1961: Two-stroke intrigue and the rise of Japanese teams
In the 1950s, the East German manufacturer MZ started developing a revolutionary two-stroke engine that produced a massive 200bhp. The team enjoyed some famous wins against bigger teams in the 50cc, 125cc and 250cc championships with superstar rider Ernst Degner.
However, in 1961, Degner was offered a contract with the Japanese manufacturer Suzuki. The truth is still shrouded in mystery, but Degner managed to defect from the socialist German Democratic Republic with the knowledge of MZ's two-stroke technology. He then helped the Japanese team develop what would become the modern two-stroke motorcycle engine.
Late 1960s: Cost and power cutting
The 1960s saw Giacomo Agostini win four of his eight 500cc world titles, and two of his eight 350cc championships. Italian bikes were still quickest in the premier class, but in 1966 Honda became the first Japanese manufacturer to win a 500cc Grand Prix. Yamaha and Suzuki were also beginning to win races and titles in the other classes.
Despite the close competition, in 1967 the FIM decided that the rising costs of manufacturing bikes needed to be curbed. This move angered the Japanese works teams, and Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha left Grand Prix motorcycle racing, leaving MV Agusta to dominate the 500cc class.
1975: Japanese dominance
By the early '70s, Yamaha, Honda and Suzuki were all winning races and titles in the 125cc and 250cc categories. However, it wasn't until 1975, when Agostini won his final 500cc title on a Yamaha, that a Japanese manufacturer managed to reach the summit of the motorcycle racing world.
Agostini's title win opened the floodgates. The following year, Barry Sheene won the 500cc crown on a Suzuki, starting a period of dominance that saw Japanese manufacturers win every title between 1975 and 2007. The spell was broken – briefly – by Casey Stoner's MotoGP title win on a Ducati.
1979: Honda returns with four-stroke technology
After bowing out of the sport in 1967, Honda returned to premier class Grand Prix motorcycle racing in 1979. In an attempt to do things differently, it went against the grain by opting for a four-stroke engine, instead of the now popular two-stroke.
The result? Not great. Honda's four-stroke didn't make an appearance until the 1979 British Grand Prix – the 11th race of the season – where both Honda bikes promptly retired.
1980s: American and Australian stars on Japanese bikes
The 1980s were a glamorous decade for Grand Prix motorcycle racing, and delivered some of the greatest battles ever seen on two wheels.
Wayne Rainey, Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson, and Wayne Gardner fought a series of intense spectacles on Yamaha and Honda bikes, helping to boost the sport's global audience. For many motorcycle racing fans across the world, these colourful characters represent the golden days of the sport.
2000s: The official birth of MotoGP
Following Honda's dominance of 500cc Grand Prix racing in the 1990s, the new millennium saw massive changes to the sport. Valentino Rossi won his first premier class 500cc title in 2001, and then the following year, the sport was officially rebranded MotoGP.
The rebrand saw sweeping changes and new technical regulations. Four-stroke engines were reintroduced, and the size of premier class MotoGP bikes increased to 990cc. Rossi went on to win the newly badged MotoGP title for four years in a row between 2001 and 2005.
In 2007, MotoGP's technical regulations were tweaked again, lowering engine capacity to 800cc. Australia's Casey Stoner took full advantage, winning the title with Italian manufacturer Ducati and breaking the three-decade dominance of Japanese-built machines.
2012 and 2016: Technical changes
For the 2012 season, MotoGP machines were cranked up to 1,000cc, ushering in a new era of domination by Spanish riders, and a new rivalry between Jorge Lorenzo and Marc Márquez.
In 2016, Michelin replaced Bridgestone as the sole tyre supplier, and changes to the bikes' on-board hardware and software packages helped level the playing field. That year, there were a record nine different grand prix winners.
Before his younger rival took control, Jorge Lorenzo won the 2012 and 2015 titles with Yamaha. Marc Márquez became the youngest ever MotoGP champion in 2013, though, and heads into the 2019 season as the reigning champion, with five titles to his name.
With Lorenzo joining Márquez at Honda, 2019 promises a thrilling new chapter in the evolution of MotoGP.
