MotoGP Basics Part II

History

Boasting 60 years of history, MotoGP is the oldest of all motorsports World Championships - its first annual competition having been held in 1949.

From the early 1900s motorcycle Grands Prix were held in various countries and in 1938 the predecessor to the current FIM, the FICM (Fédération Internationale des Clubs Motocyclistes), announced a European Championship. However, the start of the Second World War interrupted the competition and it then took some time after the war for fuel to become available, before a truly international series could be created.

EARLY DAYS

When the first formal World Championship was held in 1949 Grand Prix racing comprised four solo classes, with the inaugural ‘premier class’ 500cc title being won by British rider Leslie Graham on AJS machinery. Another Brit, Freddie Frith (Velocette) took the first ever 350cc World title, while Italians Bruno Ruffo (Moto Guzzi) and Nello Pagani (Mondial) were the first 250cc and 125cc World Champions respectively.

A 600cc sidecar championship in the same season was won by Britons Eric Oliver and Denis Jenkinson with Norton machinery, though the sidecar category became a 500cc competition in 1951.

The Italian manufacturers such as the aforementioned Mondial and Moto Guzzi firms, along with companies such as Gilera and MV Agusta, dominated the World Championships during the 1950s, reflecting the strength of the country’s motorcycle industry at the time. MV Agusta were particularly prolific late in the decade, taking a clean sweep of World titles across all four categories for three seasons from 1958 to 1960 – while their dominance in the 500cc class was unbroken for 17 years from 1958 until 1974.

THE SWINGING SIXTIES

MotoGP: During the ‘60s the Japanese motorbike industry began to boom and during that decade many of the manufacturers that participate in modern day MotoGP racing, such as Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha, arrived to pick up their first World Championship title wins across the 125, 250 and 500 categories, as they announced themselves in Grand Prix racing. Suzuki in particular enjoyed great success in a new 50cc class which was introduced in 1962.

The late ‘60s brought the start of the glory days for MotoGP Legend Giacomo Agostini – the most successful rider in the history of World Championship competition. Up until the modern era riders regularly competed in two or three classes simultaneously and Agostini took 10 of his 15 titles in five successive seasons as double champion in 350cc and 500cc - in a golden period commencing in 1968, riding for MV Agusta.

At this time the escalating costs associated with Grand Prix racing had reached such a level that several Japanese firms withdrew from competition - with only Yamaha left at the end of the ‘60s. In response the FIM introduced rules which limited the bikes to single cylinder engines in the 50cc class, two cylinders in 125cc and 250cc, and four cylinders in 350cc and 500cc.

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD

In the period that followed the level playing field saw title wins for firms from Europe (Bultaco, Kreidler, Morbidelli, MV Agusta), Japan (Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha) and North America (Harley Davidson) – with the Japanese firms finally breaking MV Agusta’s stranglehold on the premier class by the mid 1970s.

After a break of almost 12 years from racing, Honda rejoined the World Championships in the late 1970s and by 1983 they had changed their philosophy from using 4-stroke machinery to build the V3 500 2-stroke, known as the NS500, on which Freddie Spencer took the 500cc World title – his first championship win and the first for Honda since their return to Grand Prix.

The previous season racing in the 350cc class had been brought to a conclusion after 34 years of competition, leaving four classes in the World Championship - 50cc, 125cc, 250cc and 500cc – with 50cc subsequently replaced by an 80cc category in 1984. A short lived affair, the 80cc World Championship was contested for just six seasons, yielding four titles for Derbi, three courtesy of Spanish rider Jorge Martinez. Source: www.MotoGP.com
Posted By: MotoGP