The Rules Of Racing
There’s an old axiom in motorcycle racing that says that you can’t win the race in the first corner. Of course, being a truth universally acknowledged means that at every race, somebody tries to disprove the rule by launching themselves off the starting line in a fit of abandon, hoping that if […]

No Sleep Till Breukelen
Barely had the engines cooled and the dust been washed off the bikes after the race at Donington before the entire MotoGP circus was busy packing and loading up to head on over to the northern reaches of the Netherlands, and the TT Circuit at Assen. In the toughest part of the […]

Expect The Expected

Interviewed on the grid at Valencia, before the start of the final race of 2006, where the championship seemed to have slipped out of his hands, Nicky Hayden said "This is MotoGP, anything can happen. That’s why we line up."  Every race weekend, countless factors can influence the possible outcome of a race: […]

The Sound And The Fury
Racetracks are remarkable things. At their heart lies a deep paradox. For devotees of motor racing, they are mighty temples, places where they congregate to worship at the high altar of speed. For them, the smell of hot oil and fuel burnt and unburnt, and the deafening howl of engines pushed […]

Leading From The Front
Ask a dozen riders what their favorite race was, and you’ll get a dozen different answers. But as different as those answers may be, in the end, they divide out into two camps. On the one hand, there are the Racers, the riders who love nothing more than to battle with their […]

Repeat Performance
There is a distinct element of deja vu to Sunday’s Catalunya Grand Prix at Barcelona. Just last week, the MotoGP circus was in a bike-mad country, at a circuit sure to attract some 100,000 fans on race day, all clamoring for their local heroes. Once again, the local boys will be unable to take […]

Great Expectations
Expectations are a double-edged sword. Expectations, the expectations you have of yourself, and the expectations that others have of you, can inspire you to remarkable achievements. But wanting to live up to those expectations can also place an incredible burden upon you, knowing that you if you fall short, you disappoint not only yourself, […]

Physical Poetry
Over the next few days, it is going to be impossible for any MotoGP fan worth their salt to avoid hearing the phrase “nestling in the Tuscan hills.” For the MotoGP circus returns once again to Mugello, one of the most beautifully situated race tracks in the world. The Italian track seems to bring […]

Battle Of Nerves
The three painted lines marking the spot where MotoGP line up on the grid cram a lot of tension into a tiny space. After rolling out of the pits, and round the track for the sighting lap, the riders are in their element doing something they know and understand, riding a powerful motorcycle […]

The Shadow Of History
The MotoGP series, especially in the shape of Dorna, the marketing body behind MotoGP, loves to compare itself with Formula One and other four-wheeled racing series, the comparisons always coming out in MotoGP’s favor. And it is true that there is usually more passing in a single MotoGP race than there is […]