Grand Prix motorcycle racing
The official MotoGP Logo
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| Category | Motorcycle sport |
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| Region | International |
| Inaugural season | 1949 |
| Official website | www |
| MotoGP World Championship | |
| Constructors | Aprilia, Ducati, Honda, KTM, Suzuki, Yamaha |
| Tyre suppliers | Michelin |
| Riders' champion | 2016  Marc Márquez
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| Constructors' champion | Honda |
 Current season
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| Moto2 World Championship | |
| Constructors | Kalex, Suter, Speed Up, Tech 3 |
| Tyre suppliers | Dunlop |
| Riders' champion | 2016  Johann Zarco
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| Constructors' champion | Kalex |
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Current season
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| Moto3 World Championship | |
| Constructors | KTM, Mahindra, Honda, Peugeot |
| Tyre suppliers | Dunlop |
| Riders' champion | 2016  Brad Binder
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| Constructors' champion | KTM |
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Current season
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The FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix is the premier class of motorcycle road racing, held since 1949.
Grand Prix motorcycles are purpose-built racing machines that are neither available for purchase by the general public nor able to be ridden legally on public roads. This contrasts with the various production-based categories of racing, such as the Superbike World Championship and the Isle of Man TT Races that feature modified versions of road-going motorcycles available to the public.
The championship is currently divided into three classes: MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3. All three classes use four-stroke engines. In 2010 the 250cc class was replaced by the new Moto2 600 cc four-stroke class. In 2012 the 125cc class was replaced by the Moto3 250cc four-stroke class with a weight limit of 65 kg with fuel, and the engine capacity for MotoGP increased from 800 cc to 1,000 cc.
Previously, the championship featured a 50cc class from 1962 to 1983; an 80cc class from 1984 to 1989; a 350cc class from 1949 to 1982; and a 750 cc class from 1977 to 1979.
Unlike races such as the TT Formulae, or Moto-Cross where two and four strokes had different engine size limits in the same class, GP racing set the upper limit the same for both types of engines in all its classes, until 2002 when MotoGP gave the Four-strokes a 490cc advantage over the Two-strokes - doubling their size and effectively killing the Strokers off - much as pollution laws etc. had done with their road bound contemporaries and probably to reflect what was available in the showrooms at home. Moto2 and 3 are Four-stroke only.
A FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix was first organized by the in 1949. The commercial rights are now owned by Dorna Sports, with the FIM remaining as the sport sanctioning body. Teams are represented by the International Road Racing Teams Association (IRTA) and manufacturers by the Motorcycle Sport Manufacturers Association (MSMA). Rules and changes to regulations are decided between the four entities, with Dorna casting a tie-breaking vote. In cases of technical modifications, the MSMA can unilaterally enact or veto changes by unanimous vote among its members. These four entities compose the Grand Prix Commission.
There have traditionally been several races at each event for various classes of motorcycles, based on engine size, and one class for sidecars. Classes for 50 cc, 80 cc, 125 cc, 250 cc, 350 cc, and 500 cc solo machines have existed at some time, and 350 cc and 500 cc sidecars. Up through the 1950s and most of the 1960s, four-stroke engines dominated all classes. In part this was due to rules, which allowed a multiplicity of cylinders (meaning smaller pistons, producing higher revs) and a multiplicity of gears (giving narrower power bands, affording higher states of tune). In the 1960s, two-stroke engines began to take root in the smaller classes.
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Wikipedia