MotoGP Features

In a year that saw the championship lead change almost as many times as there were races, it is clear to see why the 125cc class is heralded the most open in the MotoGP series. After sixteen races of close fought battles, San Marino's Manuel Poggiali claimed the title.

The 2001 season saw the continuation of Italian dominance in the 500cc World Championship. Valentino Rossi stormed his way to the title, showing little compassion for his competitors and allowing no-one to doubt his supremacy.

John Hopkins was destined to have a motorcycle-racing career when, barely out of nappies and before his third birthday, he found himself, off-road riding with his father.

All the facts and stats about the Motegi circuit in Japan, which is to hold the next MotoGP.

For the third time in the space of five short months the MotoGP teams cross the Spanish border on Sunday to compete in the last European race of the season, just outside the delightful city of Valencia. So what is it with Spain and MotoGP?

In 1937, a Scotsman was killed while plying his dangerous trade a long way from home on a stretch of road deep in the heart of a German forest near the border with Czechoslovakia - the people of Stollberg and the surrounding villages have never forgotten that Scotsman.

'There is life in the old dog yet' and 'Every dog has his day' were the expressions being bounded around the paddock after the three Dutch TT races at Assen - particularly as the 250 race had been won by Belfast's Jeremy McWilliams.

It was certainly fast and extremely dangerous on that main straight at Mugello.

When Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone visited a MotoGP paddock around ten years ago he was alleged to have commented it looked more like the site of a car boot sale than an international motorsport event.

Motorcycle racing at the top level got just what it needed in France, with some fresh faces on the podium at either end of the spectrum. Daijiro Katoh, though, continues to be immovable!

In March last year Alex Barros was just about hanging onto his grand prix status.

Yamaha's YZR-M1 broke cover in Europe last week when riders Max Biaggi, John Kocinski, Norihiko Fujiwara and Kyoji Namba spent three days at the Italian circuit of Mugello, running side-by-side tests with the factory's current Marlboro Yamaha Team YZR500 GP bikes.

I'm hardly the strongest bloke in the world, but my power-to-weight ratio is actually pretty good as living in the country and moving great lumps of timber around the place for winter's logs - usually during the height of the summer - keeps me pretty well