MotoGP

Welcome to GPblog's MotoGP News page. Follow the latest news from the best series on two wheels here!

Welcome to GPblog’s MotoGP page. Here you will find the latest news from the premier class of motorcycle racing every day. From race weekends and practice sessions to transfers, contract news and technical developments: GPblog keeps you fully up to date with everything happening in MotoGP.

The premier class of motorcycle racing dates back to 1949, making it the oldest world championship in the entire history of car and motorcycle motorsport.

Originally, the class was called the Grand Prix Racing Motorcycle World Championship. In the early years, two-stroke and four-stroke machines competed alongside each other, until the categories were later refined and clearly separated.

The early years were dominated by the British trio Geoff Duke, John Surtees and Mike Hailwood, but it was Italian rider Giacomo Agostini who made history in the 1960s and 1970s with eight world titles.

Like all forms of motorsport, motorcycle racing has not been without tragedy. The death of Jarno Saarinen in 1973 at Monza led to major safety changes, yet MotoGP inevitably remains one of the most dangerous forms of motorsport in the world.

Champions such as Barry Sheene, Wayne Rainey and Mick Doohan played an important role in modernising riding style and brought a clear athletic element into the sport. Corners were taken more aggressively, with extreme lean angles and pronounced body positioning.

In the early 2000s, Valentino Rossi made his MotoGP debut, alongside the introduction of the 500cc MotoGP era. Rossi dominated this period with a total of seven premier-class titles between 2001 and 2009.

In 2013, Marc Marquez debuted in MotoGP. The Spaniard grew into one of the greatest riders of all time and has since won seven premier-class titles, the most recent in 2025.

MotoGP weekends differ from the Formula 1 format because riders get less practice time and instead compete in more competitive sessions.

Each race weekend follows the same fixed structure and does not change from circuit to circuit.

Friday consists of one free practice session (FP), followed by a timed practice. That session determines which riders go directly into Q2 and who must compete in Q1.

Qualifying is structured so that riders who finish outside the top ten in timed practice still have a chance to reach Q2 via Q1. The two fastest riders from Q1 advance to Q2, where the grid for both the sprint race and the main race is decided.

On Saturday, the sprint race takes place after qualifying. Extra championship points can be earned there, although only half the number of points of a full Grand Prix are awarded.

Sunday’s race awards full points and is twice as long as the sprint race in terms of laps.

In MotoGP, points can be scored in both sprint races and main races.

In sprint races, the top nine riders score points according to a 12-1 system: the winner receives 12 points, second place 9 and third place 7. Riders finishing fourth to ninth receive 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point respectively.

For the Grand Prix on Sunday, the winner receives 25 points, followed by 20 for second place and 16 for third. Fourth place earns 13 points, after which the remaining riders in the top fifteen score between 11 and 1 point.

No bonus points are awarded in MotoGP for fastest lap or pole position.

The most successful riders in the sport’s history are Giacomo Agostini with eight world titles, Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez with seven each, and Mick Doohan with five premier-class championships.

The 2025 MotoGP season marked the return of a legend at his absolute peak level. Marc Marquez dominated the season from the opening race and ultimately claimed eleven victories and fourteen sprint wins.

Defending champion Jorge Martín spent most of the year sidelined with injuries, resulting in a nightmare season at Aprilia. On the other side of the garage, Marco Bezzecchi seized his opportunity, taking three race wins for the Italian manufacturer.

Alex Marquez enjoyed his best premier-class season ever, taking three victories and finishing second in the championship, directly behind his brother.

Elsewhere on the grid, Pedro Acosta moved to KTM’s factory team, where he outperformed experienced teammates Brad Binder, Maverick Viñales and Enea Bastianini on equal machinery.