Grand Prix motorcycle racing

Moto GP logo

Grand Prix motorcycle racing refers to the premier category of motorcycle road racing, currently divided into three engine displacement classes: 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP (up to 990cc). MotoGP motorcycles are purpose-built racing machines that are not available for general purchase (road-going versions of the 125 and 250cc machines are available); this contrasts with the various production categories of racing, such as World Superbike, that feature modified versions of motorcycles available to the public. In 2007, the MotoGP class will have its maximum engine displacement capacity reduced to 800cc.

Overview

Grand Prix racing motorcycle (Finnish rider Mika Kallio's 125cc KTM machine.)

A World Championship for motorcycle racing was first organized by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) in 1949. The commercial rights are owned by Dorna Sports

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 50cc, 80cc, 125cc, 250cc, 350cc, and 500cc single seaters have existed over time, and 350cc and 500cc sidecars. Up through the 1950s and most of the 1960s, four-stroke engines dominated all classes. In the 1960s, two-stroke engines began to take root in the smaller classes. By the 1970s, two-strokes completely eclipsed the four-strokes. In 1979, Honda made an attempt to return the four-stroke to the top class with the NR500, but this project failed, and in 1983, even Honda was winning with a two-stroke 500. The 50cc class was replaced by an 80cc class, then the class was dropped entirely in the 1990s, after being dominated primarily by Spanish and Italian makes. The 350cc class vanished in the 1980s. Sidecars were dropped from World Championship events in the 1990s( see superside),reducing the field to 125s, 250s, and 500s.

MotoGP, the premier class of GP motorcycle racing, has changed dramatically in recent years. From the mid-1970s until 2002 the top class of GP racing was restricted to four cylinders and 500cc, regardless of whether the engine was a two-stroke or four-stroke. Consequently, all machines were two-strokes, due to the greater power output for a given engine capacity. Some twin-cylinder two-stroke 500s were seen, but though they typically attained higher corner speed and could qualify well, they lacked the power of the four-cylinder machines. In 2002 manufacturers were first permitted to enlarge the total capacity of four stroke machines to a maximum of 990cc, and to employ their choice of three to six cylinders. By 2003 no two-stroke machines remained in the MotoGP field. The 125cc and 250cc classes still consist exclusively of two-stroke machines.

The current racing calendar consists of 16 rounds in 14 different countries (Spain which hosts 3 rounds, Qatar, Turkey, China, France, Italy, Netherlands, Great Britain, Germany, Czech Republic, Malaysia, Australia, Japan and Portugal). Only for MotoGp class there is also an USA round at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. The grid is composed of 3 columns and contains about 20 riders. Grid positions are decided in descending order of qualifying speed, the fastest on the 'pole' or first position. Races are about 45 minutes long, and as a result, it is a sprint without pitting for fuel or tires.

Tire selection is critical, usually done by the individual rider based on bike 'feel' during practice, qualifying and the pre-race warmup laps on the morning of the race, and the predicted weather. The typical compromise is between grip and longevity--the softer and 'grippier' the tire, the more quickly it wears out; the harder and less grippy, the more likely the tire is to last the entire race. Tire choice often determines the winner. Special 'Q' or qualifying tires of extreme softness and grip are typically used by riders during grid qualifying, but they last typically no longer than one lap, though they may deliver higher qualifying speed, up to one second per lap. For wet conditions, special tires ('wets') with full treads are used, but they suffer extreme wear if the track dries out.

In 2005, a flag-to-flag rule for MotoGP was introduced. Previously, if a race started dry and rain appeared, riders or officials could red-flag (stop) the race and begin again on wet tires. Now, if it begins to rain there is no red flag, though riders can pit to change their tires at their discretion (and if a white flag is waved by officials).

When a rider crashes, track marshalls wave a yellow flag, prohibiting passing in that area; one corner back, a stationary yellow flag is shown and passing is prohibited; if a fallen rider cannot be safely evacuated from the track, the race is red-flagged. Motorcycle crashes are usually of two types: lowsides and highsides. A lowside is when the motorcycle falls onto the side closest to the ground; a highside is when a motorcycle flips in the opposite direction of the turn and often sends the rider up into the air.

According to a recent estimate, leasing a top-level motorcycle for a rider is about 3 to 3.5 million dollars.IDIOT'S GUIDE TO MOTOGP: How to increase costs and decrease speed (Part II) SpeedTV.com Moto GP News 3 January 2006. "The move to four strokes meant that Japanese R & D departments could finally get back to blue sky engineering, building racing prototypes for the sole purpose of racing. It meant that costs of leased machines increased exponentially too. When the new rules were first adopted teams were told to expect modest increases in lease costs of 25% to 33%. Add a zero and you have the real increase…the days of the $800,000 to 1.2 million dollar lease have given way to a price tag of somewhere between 3 and 3.5 million (depending upon the level of machine and the amount of spares and maintenance included) for a couple of RC211V for a single rider. "

Specifications

Cockpit of a GP-racing motorcycle

The following shows the key specifcations issues for each class. It was also introduced for the 2005 year, that under rule 2.10.5: 'No fuel on the motorcycle may be more than fifteen degrees C (15â-C) below ambient temperature. The use of any device on the motorcycle to artificially decrease the temperature of the fuel below ambient temperature is forbidden.no motorcyle may include a device.' This stops an artificial "boost" gained by increasing fuel density by cooling it.

125cc and 250cc Classes

125cc machines are restricted to a single cylinder and a minimum weight of 80 kilograms and the 250cc machines to two cylinders and a minimum of 100 kilograms. From 2005 onwards, all riders in the 125cc class could not be older than 28years, or 25years for new contracted riders participating for the first time and wild-cards.

MotoGP Class

New specifications for each racing class are formed as FIM sees fit. At the beginning of the new MotoGP era in 2002, 500cc two-stroke or 990cc four-stroke bikes were specified to race. The enormous power advantage of the four-stroke engine over the two-stroke eliminated all two-strokes from competition; the following season no two-stroke bikes were racing.

MotoGP bikes are permitted to have engines with 3 to 6 cylinders, and have variable weight limits depending on the number of cylinders. This is because an engine with more cylinders for a given capacity means the engine can produce more power, and the weight limit is increased as a form of handicap. In 2004 motorcycles were entered with three-, four- and five-cylinder configurations.

From 2005 onwards, rule 1.20.2 stated that: 'A race will not be interrupted for climatic reasons and riders who wish to change tires or make adjustments must enter the pits and do so during the actual race.' Previously races were stopped in the case of rain, unless the race was declared "wet" from the start.

The FIM has become concerned, much as the FIA in formula one, at the advances in design and engineering that result in higher speeds all around the race track since 2002. The current MotoGP speed record of 347.4km/h (215.864mph) was set by Loris Capirossi on Ducati Desmosedici GP4 at IRTA Tests in Catalunya in 2004. By way of comparison, the current Formula One speed record of 369.9 km/h (229.8 mph) was set by Antonio Pizzonia of the BMW Williams F1 team, at Monza in 2004. To ensure safety, they have agreed upon a set of regulation changes to reduce motorcycle speeds. These include changes in weight, fuel capacity and eventually from 2007 a reduction in engine capacity:

Minimum Weight - MotoGP Class

Cylinders	2004 Min	2007 Min	Change
2Cylinder	135Kg	137Kg	+2Kg
3Cylinder	135Kg	140.5Kg	+5.5Kg
4Cylinder	145Kg	148Kg	+3Kg
5Cylinder	145Kg	155.5Kg	+10.5Kg
6Cylinder	155Kg	163Kg	+8Kg

* In 2005, fuel tank capacity was reduced by 2 litres to 24 litres
* In 2006, fuel tank capacity was reduced by a further 2 litres to 22 litres
* From 2007 onwards and for a minimum period of five years, FIM has regulated in MotoGP class that two-stroke bikes will no longer be allowed, and engines will be limited to 800cc four-strokes. The maximum fuel capacity will be 21 litres.

The specific choice of a reduction to 800cc (as opposed to other power reduction methods, such as decreasing the number of transmission gears permitted) is very favourable to Honda, who currently run a five cylinder machine, and need only remove a cylinder to modify their engine. Other manufacturers may need to entirely redesign their engines, though in mid 2006 Ducati tested versions of its 800cc machine employing the same vee-four engine layout.[http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp? ID=207419&FS=|Changes are in the wind in MotoGP] Motorsport.com News 28 December 2005. "With the 2007 MotoGP regulations reducing maximum engine capacity from 990 to 800 cc, the balance of power in MotoGP may shift in favor of Honda, which is rumored to be able to develop a new engine by simply lopping off one of the current powerplant's five cylinders. "

Challenges for the Designer

Like Formula One cars, GP motorcycles are made not only to be raced but to demonstrate the technical and design prowess of the manufacturer. As a result, MotoGP machines are generally made of lightweight and expensive materials such as titanium and carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic. They regularly feature technology not available to the general public.

Examples of this include sophisticated electronics, including telemetry, engine management systems and traction control, carbon disk brakes, and advanced engine technology such as Honda's V5 engine configuration and 2004 Aprilia's RS3. The latter employs the Cosworth-designed pneumatic valve actuation system, used in Formula One cars.

While MotoGP motorcycles are only raced at World Championship level, slightly less powerful 125cc and 250cc bikes are available at relatively reasonable cost. A 125cc bike costs about the same as a small car. These bikes are raced in national championships around the world.

One of the main challenges that confronts a MotoGP motorcycle rider and designer is how to translate the machine's enormous power - over 240 horsepower (179 kW), through a single tyre-contact patch roughly the size of a human hand. For comparison, Formula 1 cars produce up to 750 bhp (560 kW) from their 2.4 litre engines but have 10 times the tyre contact surface. Because of this difficulty, MotoGP is perhaps unique in modern motor sport in that teams will often deliberately detune their engines to allow their riders a chance to control them, with most not making more than the 180 to 190 bhp (135 to 140 kW) of the front-running two-stroke bikes.

Video Games

Several MotoGP video games have been released on several different home gaming consoles. The Xbox 360 and PS2 versions are the most notable.
* MotoGP 2006: Ultimate Racing Technology for Xbox 360, released by THQ on June 12, 2006 (US)
* MotoGP 4 for PS2, released by Namco on September 15, 2005 (JP) and June 20, 2006 (US)

Notes

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