Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start of the twentieth century and large national events were often given the title Grand Prix. The foundation of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme as the international governing body for motorcycle sport in 1949 provided the opportunity to coordinate rules and regulations in order that selected events could count towards official World Championships. It is the oldest established motorsport world championship.
Daijiro Kato was a Japanese Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, the 2001 250cc world champion, and the 2000 and 2002 Suzuka 8 Hours winner. He died as a result of injuries sustained after a crash during the 2003 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit, Japan.
The Suzuka International Racing Course, more famously known as the Suzuka Circuit, is a 5.807 km (3.608 mi) long motorsport race track located in Ino, Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan and operated by Honda Mobilityland, a subsidiary of Honda Motor Co, Ltd. It has a capacity of 155,000.
John "Hopper" Hopkins is a former motorcycle road racer based in the United States. During 2017 he raced in the British Superbike Championship aboard a Ducati 1199 Panigale for Moto Rapido Racing, but suffered injuries from a crash at the season-finale race meeting in October, meaning he could not participate during 2018. He has not made a full recovery, which has so far precluded hopes of a comeback, but he has become involved in rider coaching.
Ryuichi Kiyonari (清成龍一) is a professional motorcycle road racer.
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.
James Desmond Ellison is an English motorcycle racer. After two seasons on a Yamaha R1, Ellison expected to retire at the end of 2018, but in 2019 again competed in the British Superbike Championship series aboard a BMW S1000RR, before parting company with his team half-way through the season in August. He then joined another British Superbike team for the remainder of the 2019 season, starting from the September event at Oulton Park, on the ex-Danny Kent machine, previously an ex-Leon Camier 2016 MV Agusta F4.
Eugene Laverty is a former professional motorcycle road racer from Northern Ireland, the brother of Michael and John.
The 1999 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 51st F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
The 2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 60th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season. The season consisted out of 18 races for the MotoGP class and 17 for the 125cc and 250cc classes, beginning with the Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix on 9 March 2008 and ending with the Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix on 26 October.
Derek Minter was an English Grand Prix motorcycle and short-circuit road racer. Born in Ickham, Kent, with education starting in nearby Littlebourne, he was versatile rider who rode a variety of machinery between 1955 and 1967 at increasing levels of expertise and in varying capacities and classes.
The 2009 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 61st F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season. The season consisted out of 17 races for the MotoGP class and 16 for the 125cc and 250cc classes, beginning with the Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix on 12 April 2009 and ending with the Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix on 8 November.
Marc Márquez Alentà is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer who has raced for Honda's factory team since his MotoGP debut in 2013. Born in Cervera, Catalonia, Spain, he is nicknamed the 'Ant of Cervera' worldwide, and 'el tro de Cervera' in his hometown, meaning the 'Thunder of Cervera'. He is one of four riders to have won world championship titles in three different categories, after Mike Hailwood, Phil Read and Valentino Rossi, and is one of the most successful motorcycle racers of all time, with eight Grand Prix World Championships to his name, six of which are in the premier class. Márquez became the third Spaniard after Àlex Crivillé and Jorge Lorenzo to win the premier class title, and is the most successful Spanish rider in MotoGP to date, with 59 wins. In 2013 he became the first rider since Kenny Roberts in 1978 to win the premier class title in his first season, and the youngest to win the title overall, at 20 years and 266 days of age.
The 2010 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 62nd F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season. The season consisted out of 18 races for the MotoGP class and 17 for the 125cc and Moto2 classes, beginning with the Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix on 11 April 2010 and ending with the Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix on 7 November. It was the first season for the new Moto2 class.
The 2010 Italian motorcycle Grand Prix was the fourth round of the 2010 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 4–6 June 2010 at the Mugello Circuit. Seven-time MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi suffered a displaced compound fracture of his right tibia in free practice, after losing control of his Yamaha in one of the circuit's fast corners. The injury saw him lose any hope of retaining his 2008 and 2009 crowns.
Jack Peter Miller is an Australian Grand Prix motorcycle racer who rides for the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing in MotoGP. He was the German 2011 IDM 125cc International Champion. Miller has won four races in the premier class, his first at the 2016 Dutch TT on a Marc VDS Honda, his second and third in consecutive weekends of May 2021, at Jerez, Spain, and Le Mans, France on a Ducati, Motegi Japan in 2022 and has finished as the championship runner-up in the 2014 Moto3 World Championship.
The 2014 FIM MotoGP World Championship was the premier class of the 66th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season. Marc Márquez started the season as the defending riders' champion in the MotoGP category, with Honda the defending manufacturers' champions.
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.
The 2015 FIM Moto3 World Championship was a part of the 67th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season. Álex Márquez was the reigning series champion but he did not defend his title as he joined the series' intermediate class, Moto2. Danny Kent became Great Britain's first Grand Prix motorcycle world champion since Barry Sheene in 1977, by winning the championship at the final race of the season in Valencia. Leopard Racing rider Kent started the season with wins at three of the first four races and his lowest finish in the first half of the season was fourth, leading the championship by 66 points at the mid-season break. He only visited the podium once in the second half of the season – a victory at Silverstone – as Enea Bastianini and latterly, Miguel Oliveira started to cut into his advantage. Oliveira trailed Kent by 110 points with 6 races remaining, but finished with 4 wins and 2 seconds in those races, and took the championship race to the final event as he became the closest challenger to Kent. Ultimately, Kent's ninth-place finish in Valencia gave him the championship by six points over Oliveira; both riders finished with six wins each, as Oliveira became Portugal's first motorcycle Grand Prix race-winner. Bastianini finished third in the championship, fifty-three points behind Kent; he won one race during the season, at Misano.
The Transatlantic Trophy was an annual series of motorcycle races between the United Kingdom and America held from 1971 to 1988 and again in 1991. They were mostly held over the Easter weekend at Brands Hatch, Mallory Park and Oulton Park, although some races were held at Donington Park and Snetterton. Three different specifications of motorcycles were used in the series at various times: AMA/F750, Superbike and GP.
