An Introduction To... MotoGP

What Is MotoGP?

MotoGP is the top level of motorbike racing in the world, rightly, level with Formula One at the top of the pyramid of its sport. It features the best riders, bikes with the peak of technology and aerodynamics, and incredible action in the races. As a bike is much narrower than a car, there are many more opportunities to pass on the circuit and in areas where cars wouldn’t even dream of making a move.

The current MotoGP season is the sort of championship battle that any organiser would dream of having, with race wins split between many riders and no runaway championship leader. In the 8 races so far in the 2020 season, there have been 6 different race winners and only 2 riders have been on the podium more than twice. This unpredictable season has partly come about due to an arm injury for last year’s champion, Marc Márquez, at the opening race of the season, which has forced him out for the remainder of the year. This is likely to ensure a new name on the MotoGP Champions trophy at the end of the season with veteran Valentino Rossi, the only remaining champion in the field, currently outside the top 10 in the standings.

With 6 Grands Prix remaining in the 2020 season and a total of 150 points remaining, literally any rider can mathematically still win the title. In reality, it will likely be one of the current top 5 or 6 riders in the championship, split between 3 different bike manufacturers, but that still represents an incredibly open title race for a top level series in any sport.

Photo: Marc Márquez (93) leads the field. ©Ian Gilby 2016

When compared with cars, motorbike racing features a lot of overtaking and riders are able to use many different lines on the circuit due to the reduced width of the machines. It is also much easier to understand the different styles of the riders as there is no car body, roll-cage or halo in the way of the cameras. This means you can see the riders physically moving about on the bikes, shifting their weight to help their speed and grip on the corners. Some riders will get incredibly low and scrape their knee, arm and elbow pads on the ground in some corners, even at well over 100mph! Obviously this also comes at quite a high risk to the riders themselves, who have airbags installed in their race suits to help reduce injuries if they fall off.

A more detailed look at the circuit, the bikes, and riders is below.

Weekend Timetable

Friday 9th October

Free Practice 1 & 2

Saturday 10th October

Free Practice 3 & 4 followed by Qualifying at 14:10 EST (13:10 BST) (Live on BT Sport 2)

Sunday 11th October

Moto3 Race 11:20 EST (10:20 BST) (Live on BT Sport 2)

MotoGP Race 13:00 EST (12:00 BST) (Live on BT Sport 2)

Moto2 Race 14:30 EST (13:30 BST) (Live on BT Sport 2)

How to watch

In the UK, the action on the Saturday and Sunday of each event is shown live on BT Sport. The race coverage includes extensive pre and post-race shows similar to the Sky Sports Formula 1 coverage. This gives a good background to the race weekend and a greater understanding of the riders to look out for on track. This also includes action from the support races including Moto2, Moto3, and the MotoE championship which features electric motorbikes.

For further access to the championship you can join the MotoGP Videopass which is a subscription-based service with every practice, qualifying session and race shown live or on demand. This includes the ability to watch races back from previous seasons.

https://secure.motogp.com/en/subscribe

Where Do They Race?

The MotoGP calendar features a number of circuits that are also on the Formula 1 schedule, as well as some others that are more unique to bike racing. For the 2020 season, a number of the usual events have had to be changed due to travel restrictions, with a number of double header events being held to bring the calendar to 14 races. Popular events missing for 2020 include the Italian GP at Mugello, which recently held an F1 race, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and the Dutch TT at Assen. All in all 9 venues are expected to hold races in 2020 with 5 of those holding double-headers on consecutive weekends. The remaining events are as follows:

11th October – Le Mans Bugatti Circuit, France

The French Grand Prix is held at its traditional venue in Northern France, on the permanent layout in Le Mans, known as the Bugatti Circuit. This is a shorter layout than the one used for the Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race and features none of the sections of public road used for that event. The first section of the lap including the Dunlop Chicane and Bridge are used though, with the rest of the lap made up of some slower corners and some very fast esses. The double right-hander to finish the lap has been the scene of some desperate last lap passing attempts in the past.

18th October & 25th October - Motorland Aragón, Spain

The Aragón circuit is a relatively new addition to the MotoGP calendar, having only been completed in 2009, but is now settling into being one of 4 Spanish venues used in the season. While being relatively unknown to 4-wheeled racing fans, the circuit has proved successful for motorbike racing. The circuit features a large amount of elevation change across the lap which adds to the challenge of the corners. Aragón is the fourth circuit to hold 2 events on consecutive weekends in the 2020 season.

8th November & 15th November - Circuit de Valencia (Ricardo Tormo), Spain

The championship returns to Valencia for another double-header at the circuit which traditionally holds the MotoGP season finale. For this season though the pair of events will form the run up towards the final event. The first corner, Aspar, is very fast for a corner that is nearly 90 degrees and mistakes here might see a rider get overtaken into the next corner, Doohan. The downhill braking zone for the final corner, Campos, can also see a lot of drama in the races.

22nd November – Algarve International Circuit (Portimão), Portugal

Originally not part of the calendar, the circumstances of 2020 have allowed the Algarve Circuit to hold its first ever MotoGP race (as well as a F1 Grand Prix). This circuit has held a number of international level motorbike races for the World Superbike Championship, and is known for being a challenging layout with a huge amount of elevation and some tough braking zones. There are some tighter corners mixed with flowing sections reminiscent of the Interlagos Circuit in Brazil. With so many riders on the grid being new to this track, this should make for an unpredictable series finale.

What are the bikes like and who are the riders?

MotoGP features the highest level of technology seen on racing motorbikes on the world, with each machine being specifically design for racing rather than being based on a road-going machine. The bikes feature cutting edge electronics to stop the bikes from wheely-ing under acceleration and even some aerodynamic appendages to provide additional downforce. There are six different manufacturers that enter teams in this championship, with most of them also supporting ‘satellite’ teams running current or year old machinery. Most people will have heard of the ‘big three’ brands of Yamaha, Ducati and Honda, who are well established in MotoGP but both Suzuki and KTM have also won races this season. Aprilia completes the grid but have a reduced presence in the category compared with the other 5 brands.

Three of the current top 5 in the championship are Yamaha riders. Monster Energy Yamaha riders Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi have been challenged hard by satellite riders and relative youngsters Franco Morbidelli and 21-year-old Fabio Quartararo. Quartararo is the current championship leader with 3 wins in just his second season at the top level and is seeing far more success than he had in the junior Moto2 and Moto3 levels. Both Viñales and Morbidelli have won a race this season and are very much in the hunt for the title if they can have a consistent run of results. Veteran racer Rossi is one of the biggest names in the sport and is very much still capable of good results but so far has just a single podium finish this season.

Photo: The Monster Energy Yamaha of Valentino Rossi. ©Ian Gilby 2016

Honda have dominated the championship 6 of the last 7 season with Marc Márquez riding their distinctive Repsol liveried factory machines. This seasons injury to Marc at the opening round has forced him out for the remainder of the year and showed that the bike is a very difficult machine to handle, with many of their riders experiencing arm-pump issues over a race distance. With only a single Honda rider, Takaaki Nakagami, in the top 10 of the championship and no podiums amongst their 4 bikes, it has been a challenging season for the marque that is likely to prompt a redesign for next season.

Ducati has the largest contingent with 3 teams and 6 bikes on the grid. Factory Ducati riders Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci have seen changing fortunes this season, with Dovizioso the only Ducati winner so far in 2020. The satellite bike of Jack Miller is 6th in the standings after a couple of podiums and second-season rider Francesco Bagnaia saw his chances of a first MotoGP win disappear after crashing late in the second Misano race. Dovizioso is likely to be best chance for Ducati to win their first title since 2007.

The Suzuki team have been in MotoGP for a number of years but with a much quieter presence than the other big names in the sport, with just a handful of wins in the last ten years. This season they are yet to win but their pair of bikes have both been amongst the podiums. 23-year-old Spaniard Joan Mir could be a shock champion after one of the most consistent finishing records on the grid. Mir is the only rider to have achieved 4 podium finishes in the 8 races so far, including 3 second places. He is only 8 points behind championship leader Fabio Quartararo with almost half the season remaining.

Dutch manufacturer KTM are relative newcomers in the MotoGP class having only joined at the end of 2017 but have spent a number of years running bikes and supporting riders in the junior Moto2 and Moto3 categories. This affinity with young riders has worked well for them this season, with huge increase in results including wins for rookie rider Brad Binder – who was runner-up in Moto2 last year – and Portuguese rider Miguel Oliveira. While they are unlikely to challenge the other manufacturers for the title, more podiums and potentially wins for these riders represents a great result for the manufacturer.

Things to look out for

The injury to Marc Márquez has made predictions very difficult for this season, as has the wildly varying podium finishers at each race. This makes for excitement and intrigue at every event to see if any of the championship contenders can break into a more consistent run of results. Suzuki’s Joan Mir has 3 podiums in the last 3 races but is still hoping for that breakthrough first win.

Photo: The differing cornering styles of riders is clear on bikes. ©Ian Gilby 2016

Last year’s French Grand Prix was won by the Honda of Márquez but he was pushed close by 3 Ducatis at the finish, so the Italian machines may be the favourites coming into this weekend. That would be a huge boost to the hopes of the Ducati team, who have only won 1 race so far this season and would help to thrust Andrea Dovizioso into contention for the championship.

Fan favourite Valentino Rossi has recently announced he will be continuing for at least another season at this level with the option of a second year before his likely retirement. Now 41 years of age, the Italian still has plenty to give and any podium or victory would likely be celebrated like a championship in his flamboyant style.

Seeing the factory supported satellite teams at the sharp end of races has also been fantastic this season, especially with Fabio Quartararo winning 3 races and holding a narrow lead in the championship. Unsurprisingly, Fabio is swapping seats with Valentino Rossi for next year but it would be Petronas Yamaha SRT team lift the title in only their second season at this level.

Have a go yourself!

While it can take a bit of getting used to motorbike racing as a usual fan of the 4-wheeled kind, MotoGP features a huge amount of action and interesting riders amongst its grid. The races are under an hour in length which means they never feel like they go on for too long. This season has seen a number of last gasp passes for the win, including the Styrian GP that was only decided at the final corner.

While the injury to Marc Márquez is unfortunate, it really has turned this into a classic season, with so many riders fighting for the title. This is only likely to intensify as the season works towards its finale in the Algarve, a track which is new to most of the riders in the field. It also brings intrigue to next season, how will Márquez fare on his return on the difficult-to-handle Honda against any of the breakout starts of this season?

I can’t talk about MotoGP without also mentioning the supporting Moto3 category. This is the motorbike equivalent of the Ginetta Juniors that I mentioned a few weeks ago in my BTCC article. The smaller, less-powered machines are very evenly matched, leading to races that turn into slipstream battles with riders tucking in behind others and getting a huge slingshot down the straights. This championship has also featured 7 different winners in 9 races, with current Moto3 championship leader, Japanese rider Ai Ogura, yet to win a race.

If you are looking for short races with plenty of action back on four wheels, side-by-side racing, door banging and even some drifting, look out for next week’s An Introduction To… World Rallycross Championship.