Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier 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.
The Suzuki GSX-R is a series of sport bikes made by Japanese manufacturer Suzuki. Current models are the GSX-R125 and GSX-R150 since 2017; GSX-R600 which was manufactured from 1992 to 1993, and then since 1997; the GSX-R750 since 1985; and the GSX-R1000 since 2001.
AMA Superbike Championship is an American motorcycle racing series that has been run every year beginning in 1976. For most of its existence it has been considered the premier motorcycle road racing series in the United States. It is sanctioned by the AMA American Motorcyclist Association since its inception, and the promotion of the series has been licensed to several organizations over the years. Since 2015 the series has been run and promoted by MotoAmerica, who also manage several other AMA professional road racing championships, including the popular 600cc Supersport class.
The Honda RC211V is a 990 cc four-stroke race motorcycle from HRC developed in 2001 to replace the two-stroke Honda NSR500.
The Honda VFR750F is a motorcycle manufactured by Japanese automobile manufacturer Honda from 1986 to 1997.
The Honda CBR600RR is a 599 cc (36.6 cu in) sport bike made by Honda since 2003, part of the CBR series. The CBR600RR was marketed as Honda's top-of-the-line middleweight sport bike, succeeding the 2002 Supersport World Champion 2001–2006 CBR600F4i, which was then repositioned as the tamer, more street-oriented sport bike behind the technically more advanced and uncompromising race-replica CBR600RR. It carried the Supersport World Championship winning streak into 2003, and on through 2008, and won in 2010 and 2014.
The Honda CBR1000RR, marketed in some countries as the "Fireblade", is a 999 cc (61.0 cu in) liquid-cooled inline four-cylinder superbike, introduced by Honda in 2004 as the 7th generation of the CBR series of motorcycles that began with the CBR900RR in 1990.
The Honda RVF750R RC45 was a fully faired racing motorcycle created for homologation purposes for the Superbike World Championship by Honda Racing Corporation. The RVF750R was the successor to the VFR750R RC30. Like its predecessor, the RVF750R featured a DOHC liquid-cooled V4 4-stroke engine with gear driven cams and a single-sided swingarm, but unlike the RC30 it utilized electronic fuel injection, in a setup very similar to the production 1992 NR750. The US spec engine had a 749.2cc capacity and was rated at 101 horsepower; the European version was rated at 118 horsepower. A simple rewire modification to the PGM-FI box increased power in the US engine up to the 118 hp. It was manufactured from 1994 until 1995 and sold in limited numbers, followed by the VTR1000R SP-1 RC51 in 2000. Unlike the VFR750R RC30 and VFR750F from which the engine was originally derived the gear drive for the cams was moved from the centre of the engine in between the cylinders to the one side allowing a slightly narrower engine.
Makoto Tamada (玉田誠) is a former Japanese professional motorcycle racer currently working as a rider instructor in Suzuka Racing School. He is one of the few riders to win races in both MotoGP and Superbike World Championship.
Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) is a division of the Honda Motor Company formed in 1982. The company combines participation in motorcycle races throughout the world with the development of racing machines. Its racing activities are an important source for the creation of technologies used in the development of Honda motorcycles. HRC activities include sales of production racing motorcycles, support for satellite teams, and rider education programs.
The Honda RC212V is a Japanese motorcycle created for road racing in the 800 cc (49 cu in) MotoGP series. Officially introduced on 30 October 2006 as the RC211V replacement in the MotoGP series, it was developed by Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) throughout 2006 and began officially racing in the 2007 season.
The 2004 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 56th F.I.M. Road racing World Championship season. The season consisted of 16 races, beginning with the South African motorcycle Grand Prix on 18 April 2004 and ending with the Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix on 31 October.
LCR Team is a motorcycle racing team currently competing in the MotoGP World Championship under the name LCR Honda Castrol with rider Álex Márquez and LCR Honda Idemitsu with rider Takaaki Nakagami, as well as the MotoE World Cup under the name LCR E-Team. The team was founded in 1996 by Italian rider Lucio Cecchinello.
Karel Abraham is a retired motorcycle racer from the Czech Republic. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from 2005 to 2019, riding in the 125cc, 250cc, Moto2 and MotoGP classes, with the exception of 2016, when he raced in the Superbike World Championship. In 2010 he won the Moto2 Valencian Grand Prix and finished third at Twin Ring Motegi in the same class. His father, also called Karel Abraham, has owned Brno Circuit since December 2005.
The Honda RC213V is a Japanese motorcycle developed for road racing by Honda Racing Corporation to compete in the MotoGP series from the 2012 season and onwards. Rules for 2012 allowed motorcycles up to 1,000 cc (61 cu in) in capacity, with a limit of 4 cylinders and a maximum 81mm cylinder bore.
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.
MotoAmerica is the organization that promotes the AMA Superbike Series since 2015. Sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), it features six classes of road racing: Superbike, Stock 1000, Supersport, Twins Cup, Junior Cup, and Mini Cup.
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.
The RC250GP is a Grand Prix racing motorcycle designed and built by KTM for the Moto3 class, introduced in 2012. It is also used in the Moto3 Junior World Championship. The RC250GP is raced by KTM's factory racing program as well as supplied to numerous customer teams. The motorcycle is one of the most successful machines of the Moto3 era to date, having taken five constructors' championships, including a clean sweep in 2013 winning every one of the 17 races.
