MotoGP in 1949: Qualifying and the grid

The premier class of motorcycle Grand Prix racing: 1,000cc prototypes, 360 km/h straights and 64-degree lean angles, decided by tenths of a second. 1949, the FIM Grand Prix World Championship 1,000cc four-cylinder prototype, 157 kg minimum 22 rounds, plus a Sprint at every event Giacomo Agostini, 15 (8 in the premier class)

MotoGP is the premier class of the FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix, the series that has crowned a world champion every year since 1949. It is a prototype formula: no bike on the grid can be bought, and none is derived from a road model. Current machines run 1,000cc four-cylinder engines capped at an 81mm bore, weigh a minimum of 157 kilograms, make well over 300 horsepower and exceed 360 km/h. Riders lean past 60 degrees, brake from those speeds on carbon discs that only work above roughly 250 degrees Celsius, and race for around 40 minutes without stopping. Twenty-two rounds make up the 2026 calendar.

A Grand Prix weekend now produces two scoring races. Since 2023 every round has included a Saturday Sprint over roughly half distance, paying 12 points to the winner down to one for ninth, alongside the Sunday Grand Prix that pays 25 down to one for fifteenth. Grid position comes from a two-part qualifying session, with the ten fastest riders from Friday's hour-long Practice going straight through to Q2. There are no scheduled pit stops. Tyres come from a single supplier, Michelin since 2016 and Pirelli from 2027, and the rider who best manages a rear tyre over the closing laps usually decides the race.