The British motorcycle Grand Prix is a motorcycling event that is part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing season.

History

Before 1977, the only British round was the

Isle of Man TT The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May/June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907. The event is often called one of the most dangerous racing events in the world ...

, which was part of the FIM championship from its inauguration in 1949 until 1976. The Isle of Man TT was the most prestigious event on the Grand Prix motorcycling calendar from 1949 to 1972. After the 1972 event, multiple world champion Giacomo Agostini dropped a bombshell on the motorsports world by stating he would never race at the Isle of Man TT again, saying the 37-mile (62 km) circuit was too dangerous for international competition. His friend Gilberto Parlotti was killed during the event. Many riders followed Agostini's boycotting of the next four events, and after the 1976 season, the Isle of Man TT was scratched from the FIM calendar. The inaugural British motorcycle Grand Prix, the first motorcycle Grand Prix to be held on the British mainland, took place at the Silverstone Circuit. The event was moved to Donington Park in 1987 before returning to Silverstone in 2010. Donington circuit

Dorna Sports, the commercial rights holder of what is now known as MotoGP, revealed that they had signed a deal for the British Grand Prix to be moved to the yet-to-be constructed

Circuit of Wales Circuit of Wales ( cy, Cylchffordd Cymru) is a failed motor racing circuit and technology park development proposal in Blaenau Gwent on the outskirts of Ebbw Vale, Wales, adjacent to the Neath to Abergavenny Trunk Road (A465). The intention wa ...

from 2015. However, when the developer indicated that the circuit would only be ready in 2016, the British motorcycle Grand Prix was slated to return to Donington Park for 2015 only but pulled out of hosting the event on 10 February 2015, citing financial difficulties. The following day, it was announced that Silverstone would host the British Grand Prix in 2015 and 2016. In September 2016, following further delays to the construction of the Circuit of Wales, Silverstone reached an agreement to continue hosting the event in 2017 with a further option for 2018. In early November 2017, Silverstone announced a three-year deal to host the races in 2018, 2019 and 2020. There was no race in 2018 due to weather conditions; it resumed in 2019. The 2019 British motorcycle Grand Prix saw one of the closest finishes in MotoGP history, when

Álex Rins Álex Rins Navarro (born 8 December 1995) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racer for the LCR Honda Castrol in the MotoGP class. He was the 2011 CEV Buckler 125 Junior GP Champion, and made his Grand Prix motorcycle racing debut in the Moto3 ...

won the race ahead of

Marc Márquez Marc Márquez Alentà (born 17 February 1993) is a Spanish professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, who has raced for Honda's factory team since his MotoGP debut in 2013. Born in Cervera, Catalonia, Spain, he is nicknamed the 'Ant of Cer ...

by 0.014 seconds. The 2020 race was cancelled due to the outbreak of

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Official names

*1977–1978:

John Player John Player & Sons, most often known simply as Player's, was a tobacco and cigarette manufacturer based in Nottingham, England. In 1901, the company merged with other companies to form The Imperial Tobacco Company to face competition from US ma ...

British Grand Prix *1979–1985:

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British Grand Prix *1986–1988: Shell Oils British Motorcycle Grand Prix *1989–1991:

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British Motorcycle Grand Prix *1992: Rothmans British Grand Prix *1993, 1995–1996, 1998–1999, 2009: British Grand Prix (no official sponsor) *1994: British Motorcycle Grand Prix (no official sponsor) *1997:

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British Grand Prix *2000–2004:

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British Grand Prix *2005: betandwin.com British Grand Prix *2006:

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British Grand Prix *2007: Nickel&Dime British Grand Prix *2008:

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British Grand Prix *2010–2011:

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British Grand Prix *2012, 2014:

Hertz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that o ...

British Grand Prix *2013:

HERTZ The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that o ...

British Grand Prix *2015–2017: Octo British Grand Prix *2018–2019: GoPro British Grand Prix (cancelled in 2018) *2021–present: Monster Energy British Grand Prix

Winners

Multiple winners (riders)

Multiple winners (manufacturers)

By year

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:British Motorcycle Grand Prix Recurring sporting events established in 1977 1977 establishments in England