MotoGP Basics

• MotoGP is governed by FIM, or Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme. A race season consists of 18 races taking place in 14 countries. Each Grand Prix event lasts three days, with two practice and qualification days, usually on Friday and Saturday. The actual race takes place on Sunday. As of the 2011 season, MotoGP had three categories of bikes: 125 cc, Moto2 (formerly 250 cc) and MotoGP, or the premier class. Through the years, MotoGP has recognized a number of different classifications, including 50 cc, 80 cc, 350 cc, as well as a 600-cc sidecar class. The motorcycles used in MotoGP are strictly regulated and must be racing prototypes, unavailable for purchase by the general public and not street legal.
  
  

Early Honda MotoGP Experience

• Honda entered one MotoGP event in 1959, in the Isle of Man TT. The Japanese company was represented in the 125-cc division, with four motorcycles. All four of Honda's bikes finished the race, placing sixth, seventh, eighth and 11th. The company also won the Manufacturers' Team Award.
  
  Honda began to compete in all the MotoGP events for both the 125-cc and 250-cc classes in 1960. The manufacturer recorded its first win in the opening event of the 1961 season, taking first place in the 125-cc class at the Spanish Grand Prix. The next race took place in Germany, and Honda rider Kunimitsu Takahashi became the first Japanese racer to win a MotoGP event, taking first in the 250-cc division, riding the first Japanese motorcycle to win in that class. Honda ended the 1961 season by taking the World Championship in both the 125-cc and 250-cc classes.
  
  The following season, 1962, saw Honda dominate the season's opening race at the Isle of Man TT, taking the top five slots in both the 125-cc and 250-cc classes. The manufacturer's dominance continued through the season, as Honda won the World Championship in the 350-cc, 250-cc and 125-cc divisions.
  
  

Honda MotoGP Dominance

• Honda continued to dominate the sport through the mid-1960s. The company took no less than two world championships each year from 1963 through 1965, including the 350-cc class each of those years. In 1966, Honda entered the 500-cc class for the first time, finishing second. Honda took first that year in the 350-cc, 250-cc and 125-cc classes and placed second in the 50-cc division. The only class Honda did not compete in was the sidecar division. In the next season, 1967, Honda again took the World Championship in the 250-cc and 350-cc classes and second place in the 500-cc class. During that run, Honda was the World Champion in the 350-cc class six years in a row.
  
  

Honda Leaves MotoGP

• Following the 1967 season, Honda stopped competing in MotoGP, and was followed within the next two years by Suzuki and Kawasaki, leaving Yamaha as the only Japanese manufacturer in the sport. Sources are divided regarding the reasons for the withdrawal. According to MotoGP.com, it was the rising costs of competition that caused the Japanese to leave the sport. The Honda website's account hints that the dominance of the Japanese motorcycles with six-cylinder engines and transmissions with between seven and 10 speeds caused FIM to revise the sports' guidelines to narrow the gap between the Japanese and European manufacturers. Honda rejoined MotoGP for the 1977 season.