X-Nico

19 unusual facts about Grand Prix motorcycle racing


1983 Formula One season

Debutante Venezuelan ex-Grand Prix motorcycle World Champion Johnny Cecotto was joined by Roberto Guerrero, a refugee from the defunct Ensign outfit.

1984 Formula One season

Toleman, who were an up and coming team in Formula One, lost Warwick to Renault and released Bruno Giacomelli, but signed former Grand Prix motorcycle World Champion in the 350 and 750 classes, Venezuelan Johnny Cecotto (only the second Venezuelan driver in F1 history), as well as a rookie from Brazil by the name of Ayrton Senna, the reigning British Formula 3 Champion.

Anthony Beltoise

He is the son of former Grand Prix motorcycle racer and Formula One driver Jean-Pierre Beltoise.

Charade Circuit

The French Grand Prix motorcycle racing events were held at Charade from 1959 to 1967, and 1972 to 1974.

Circuit Bremgarten

The Bremgarten Circuit was one of the original rounds of the Grand Prix motorcycle World Championship during the inaugural season of 1949 and from 1951 to 1954.

Circuit de la Sarthe

The circuit also hosts the 24 Hours of Le Mans motorcycle race, and a round of the MotoGP Championship.

Circuit of the Americas

In April 2011, plans were unveiled by Tavo Hellmund of Full Throttle Productions and Kevin Schwantz of 3fourTexas for the circuit to host a round of the 2013 MotoGP World Championship, with the race to be known as the Texas Grand Prix.

Clinton Grybas

He continued to cover many different sports included the Australian Open, boxing and both the Formula One and MotoGP Grand Prix events.

Dieter König

They were used in Grand Prix motorcycle racing powering Kim Newcombe to second place in the 500cc class of the 1973 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, as well powering Rolf Steinhausen/Josef Huber to win two World Sidecar Championships.

Dirk Raudies

His greatest success on the racetrack was winning the 125cc Grand Prix world championship in 1993 on a Honda RS125R.

Grand Prix of Indianapolis

The race will be contested on a new, modified layout of the circuit previously used for the Formula One United States Grand Prix as well as the Moto GP motorcycle event.

Hungaroring

The first race was held on March 24, 1986, in memory of János Drapál, the first Hungarian who won motorcycle Grand Prix races.

Jean Stead

She became known for her international correspondence covering the motorcycle Grand Prix in Europe.

LAT Photographic

Established in the 1960s as London Art Technical, the company covers major motorsport competitions such as the Formula One, World Rally Championship, 24 Hours of Le Mans, British Touring Car Championship, NASCAR Cup Series, IndyCar Series and Grand Prix motorcycle racing, and provides pictures for magazines like Autosport, Autocar, F1 Racing and Motorsport.

Motosacoche

It was not until 1928 that they made a name in the Grand Prix, with the Motosacoche 350 M 35 ohc racing bike, built by Dougal Marchant, of England, ridden to two European championship titles, 350 and 500, by Wal Handley.

Parade lap

Any car which fails to leave the grid before the last qualifier has moved away is required to start from either the pit lane or the back of the grid, but in MotoGP and the Superbike World Championship, it is known as the warm-up lap.

Roda-Roda

Besides of motorcycle news and test ride reviews of the latest motorcycle models available in Malaysia as well as motorcycle racing reviews such as MotoGP and Malaysian Cub Prix, Roda-Roda alsu features test ride reviews and news related to motorcycles in other countries through its two journalists overseas, consisting Alan Cathcart (European region) and Clement Salvadori (American region).

Satellite team

In MotoGP, factory teams are given the most up-to-date motorcycles and parts, while satellite teams may use the previous season's motorcycle and are given equipment updates only after the factory team has had them.

Toleman

Warwick's performances were rewarded when he signed a contract with the factory Renault team, and his place was taken by the reigning British Formula 3 Champion and Formula One rookie (and future triple World Champion) Ayrton Senna, while Giacomelli's drive was taken by Venezuelan F2 driver and former dual Grand Prix Motorcycle World Champion Johnny Cecotto.


Anton Mang

Anton ("Toni") Mang (born 29 September 1949 in Inning (Starnberg) at the Ammersee) is a former five-time world champion in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from Germany.

Armando Pontone

Armando Pontone (born 3 July 1992 in Pontecorvo) is an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle racer.

Arnaud Vincent

Arnaud Vincent (born on November 30, 1974 in Laxou, Meurthe-et-Moselle) is a French former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer.

August Auinger

August "Gustl" Auinger (born on 3 May 1955 in Lambach) is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from Austria.

British Superbike Championship Support Series

In 2010 the Superstock 1000 and Superstock 600 categories also supported the British rounds of the Superbike World Championship and the Moto GP both at Silverstone.

Florian Alt

Florian Alt (born 30 April 1996 in Gummersbach) is a German Grand Prix motorcycle racer.

Gilberto Parlotti

Gilberto Parlotti (17 September 1940 – 9 June 1972) was born in Zero Branco, Treviso, Italy and was an Italian motorcycle racer competing in the FIM World Championship between 1969 and 1972 racing with Benelli, Derbi, Morbidelli and Tomos motorcycles.

Jakub Jantulík

Jakub Jantulík (born 3 September 1994 in Čadca) is a Grand Prix motorcycle racer from Slovakia.

JiR

Japan Italy Racing, more commonly known as JiR, is a Monte Carlo based motorcycle racing team which competed in the MotoGP series from 2005 to 2008 and is currently competing in the Moto2 class.

Kevin Hanus

Kevin Hanus (born 6 September 1993 in Nuremberg) is a German Grand Prix motorcycle racer.

Lorenzo Baldassarri

Lorenzo Baldassarri (born 6 November 1996 in San Severino Marche) is a Italian Grand Prix motorcycle racer.

Louis Rossi

Louis Rossi (born 23 June 1989 in Le Mans) is a French Grand Prix motorcycle racer, best known for winning the 2012 French Grand Prix in the Moto3 class.

Manuel Tatasciore

Manuel Tatasciore (born 17 April 1994 in Lanciano) is an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle racer.

Minarelli

Minarelli successfully competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing with Spanish rider Ángel Nieto winning 125cc world championships in 1979 and 1981.

Motobécane

For a time in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the company competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing claiming several victories in the 125cc class and finishing second in the 1980 125cc road racing world championship.

MotoGP 2

MotoGP 2 (also known as MotoGP 2: Ultimate Racing Technology) is a Grand Prix motorcycle racing video game developed by Climax Brighton for the Xbox and personal computer.

Speed Up

The company was founded in 2010 by the former Grand Prix motorcyclist Luca Boscoscuro and entered the newly formed Moto2 class of the world championship.

Speedway World Championship

Gradually, it became apparent that the single-night event was getting obsolete, and a Grand Prix series similar to that used in Formula One and MotoGP was implemented in 1995 - while the system with qualifiers and a final was now used to qualify riders for the next Grand Prix series.

Wal Handley

In 1928 Motosacoche made a name in the Grand Prix, with the 350 M 35 OHC racing bike, built by Dougal Marchant, of England, ridden to two European championship titles, 350 and 500, by Walter Handley.