Valentino Rossi is an Italian racing driver, former professional motorcycle road racer and nine-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champion. Of Rossi's nine Grand Prix World Championships, seven were in the premier 500cc/MotoGP class. He holds the record for most premier class victories and podiums, with 89 victories and 199 podiums to his name. He won premier class World Championships with both Honda and Yamaha. He is also the only road racer to have competed in 400 or more Grands Prix. He rode with the number 46 for his entire career.
Colin Edwards II, nicknamed the "Texas Tornado", is an American former professional motorcycle racer who retired half-way through the 2014 season. He is a two-time World Superbike champion and competed in the MotoGP class from 2003 to 2014.
The Ducati Desmosedici is a four-stroke V4 engine racing motorcycle made by Ducati for MotoGP racing. The series nomenclature is GP with the two-digit year appended, such as Desmosedici GP10 for 2010. In 2006 Ducati made a short production run of 1,500 street-legal variants, the Desmosedici RR.
Yamaha MotoGP Racing or Yamaha Factory Racing is the official Italian-Japanese factory team of Yamaha in MotoGP.
Casey Joel Stoner is an Australian retired professional motorcycle racer, and a two-time MotoGP World Champion, in 2007 and 2011. During his MotoGP career, Stoner raced for the factory teams of Ducati and Honda, winning a title for each team.
The Yamaha YZR-M1 is an inline-four motorcycle specifically developed by Yamaha Motor Company to race in the current MotoGP series. It succeeded the 500 cc (31 cu in) YZR500 by the 2002 season and was originally developed with a 990 cc (60 cu in) engine. Since then, the YZR-M1 has been continuously developed into several iterations through the 990cc, 800cc and 1000cc eras of Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing.
Jorge Lorenzo Guerrero is a Spanish former professional motorcycle racer. He is a five-time World Champion, with three MotoGP World Championships and two 250cc World Championships.
Ben Spies, is an American team principal for a MotoAmerica Supersport (600cc) professional motorcycle road racing team who previously was a racer himself. He was sometimes nicknamed "Elbows" due to his riding style, in which his elbows protruded outward. Spies won the AMA Superbike Championship for Yoshimura Suzuki in 2006, and successfully defended it in 2007 and 2008.
Andrea Dovizioso is an Italian former professional motorcycle racer. He raced with WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team for the 2022 season but announced his intended-retirement after the Misano round in September. Dovizioso was the 2004 125cc World Champion, but is best known for his time with the Ducati Team in the MotoGP class, finishing championship runner-up to Marc Márquez for three consecutive seasons in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Marco Simoncelli, nicknamed Sic, was an Italian professional motorcycle racer. He competed in the MotoGP World Championship for 10 years from 2002 to 2011. He started in the 125cc class before moving up to the 250cc class in 2006. He won the 2008 250cc World Championship with Gilera. After four years in the intermediate class, he stepped up to the top MotoGP class in 2010, racing with the Honda Gresini Team. He died in an accident at the 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang.
The 2009 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix was the fifteenth round of the 2009 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 16–18 October 2009 at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit. Ducati rider Casey Stoner won the grand prix, in his home race. Championship leader Valentino Rossi finished second, further increasing his championship lead over rival Jorge Lorenzo, who crashed out and failed to score any points. This also marked the final Grand Prix win in the career of Marco Simoncelli before his death 2 years later on 23 October 2011 at the 2011 Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix after suffering a fatal crash in Race.
The 2011 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 63rd F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season. The 2011 season was also the final season for 800cc engines in MotoGP, and also for 125cc machinery, as both MotoGP switched back to 1000cc engines and a new four-stroke Moto3 class was also introduced in 2012. Casey Stoner was crowned as MotoGP World Champion for the second time, following his ninth victory of the season at the Australian Grand Prix. Stoner, who was champion previously in 2007, finished 16 of the 17 races to be held in the top three placings – equalling a premier class record held by both Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo – including ten wins to become the final 800cc champion before the premier class reverted to 1000cc engines in 2012. As of 2022, this was the last time the premier class was won by a non-European rider, and also the only season in the 2010s decade that the premier class was won by a rider other than Marc Márquez or Jorge Lorenzo. The Moto2 title was decided before the final race of the season at the Valencian Grand Prix. Stefan Bradl became Germany's first motorcycle World Champion since Dirk Raudies won the 1993 125cc World Championship title after Marc Márquez, the only rider that could deny Bradl of the championship, was ruled out of the race due to injuries suffered during free practice at the Malaysian Grand Prix. The final 125cc world championship title went to Spain's Nicolás Terol, after he finished second in the final race of the season in Valencia, and his only title rival Johann Zarco crashed out during the early stages of the race. Terol, who finished third in the class in 2009 and second to Márquez in 2010, ended the season 40 points clear of Zarco, with Maverick Viñales 14 points further behind, after winning the final two races of the season. The season was marred by the death of Marco Simoncelli at the Malaysian Grand Prix.
The 2012 FIM MotoGP World Championship was the premier class of the 64th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season. Casey Stoner started the season as the defending World Champion, while Honda was the defending Manufacturers' Champion.
The 2011 Dutch TT was the seventh round of the 2011 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 23–25 June 2011 at the TT Circuit Assen.
The 2011 Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix was the seventeenth round of the 2011 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 21–23 October 2011 at the Sepang International Circuit, but the MotoGP race was red-flagged and subsequently cancelled after two laps due to a serious accident involving Marco Simoncelli. Simoncelli fell while running fourth, his bike and body veering across the path of Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi. Simoncelli was fatally struck in the head and chest by the two bikes. He was taken straight to the circuit's medical centre, but died of his injuries shortly thereafter.
The 2011 Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix was the last round of the 2011 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 4–6 November 2011 at the Circuito Ricardo Tormo. It was the first race after the death of Marco Simoncelli in Sepang. It was the final race for the current formula in the premier (MotoGP) and lightweight classes. In the premier class, the 800cc engines would be replaced by 1000cc engines. Honda also would change motorcycles at the end of the season, as the Honda RC212V that débuted at the 2007 Qatar Grand Prix would be replaced by the RC213V for the following season. In the lightweight class, the 125cc two-stroke motorcycle formula would be replaced by 250cc four-strokes for 2012. This was also the final race for Suzuki as a factory team until their return in 2015.
The 2013 FIM MotoGP World Championship was the premier class of the 65th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
The 2012 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix was the fifth round of the 2012 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season and the 17th Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix. It took place on the weekend of 1–3 June 2012 at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló, Barcelona, Spain. The three classes of motorcycle racing which took place during the weekend were MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3.
The 2015 FIM MotoGP World Championship was the premier class of the 67th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season. The championship was won by Spanish rider Jorge Lorenzo, racing for Movistar Yamaha MotoGP. It was his third and final world title in the MotoGP category, his fifth overall in Grand Prix motorcycle racing. The season had 18 races, beginning in Qatar and finishing in Valencia, which determined who would be world champion between Movistar Yamaha teammates Lorenzo and runner-up Valentino Rossi. It was first time since 2013 that the world title was decided on the final race of the season. Lorenzo also had the most pole positions, fastest laps and race wins throughout the season; while Rossi had the most finishes, completing every race throughout the season, while Lorenzo had one race retirement in San Marino.
Grand Prix motorcycle racing sponsorship liveries have been used since the late 1960s, replacing the previously used national colours. With sponsors becoming more important with the rising costs in the motorcycle CC classes, many teams wanted to be able to display the logos of their sponsors as clearly as possible.
