Grand Prix motorcycle racing celebrates its 64th birthday this year. Since its introduction in 1949 many facets of the sport have changed except for the constant ability of one man to dominate his competitors. There have been, in fact, only 25 premier class champions in motorcycle Grand Prix’s 64 years of existence.
Before getting to our Top 10 rider picks, however, here’s some other interesting stats from the last 64 years of GP motorcycle racing.
Rider World Championship Winners by Country
Great Britain hasn’t had a premier class champion since Barry Sheene in 1977. However, with the previous multi-time champions including Sheene, Phil Read, Mike Hailwood, John Surtees and Geoff Duke, England remains in second place owning 17 World Championship rider titles. With the current crop of Spanish riders including Jorge Lorenzo, Mark Marquez and Dani Pedrosa, expect Spain to soon pass Australia for fourth on this list.
Country
Rider World Championships
Italy
20
Great Britain
17
United States
15
Australia
8
Spain
3
Rhodesia
1
Constructor World Championship Winners
Only these five manufacturers have scored multiple premier class manufacturer’s titles. Like the British riders who haven’t had a championship in 36 years, MV Agusta hasn’t won a manufacturer’s title since 1973 but remains the OEM with the most titles. Honda and/or Yamaha will soon surpass this long-standing record.
Manufacturer
Constructor World Championships
MV Agusta
18 (17 consecutive)
Yamaha
16
Honda
15
Suzuki, Gilera
8