The Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix was a motorcycling event that was part of the

Grand Prix motorcycle racing Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on Road racing, road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held sin ...

season from

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

History

The first official Belgian Grand Prix was held in 1949, but non-championship races were held as far back as 1921. Every Belgian GP was held at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, with the exception of the 1980 season when the round moved to the

Zolder The Circuit Zolder, also known as Circuit Terlamen, is an undulating motorsport race track in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium. History Built in 1963, Zolder hosted the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix on 10 separate occasions in the 1970s and 1980s, a ...

circuit due to problems with the new asphalt at Spa-Francorchamps in 1979. After the problems were resolved, Spa-Francorchamps became the host again from 1981 onwards. The last race was held in 1990, and was subject to controversy. At the time, the FIM–IRTA war was raging on, and the Belgian Grand Prix became a casualty of this.

Bernie Ecclestone Bernard Charles Ecclestone (born 28 October 1930) is a British business magnate, motorsport executive and former racing driver. Widely known in journalism as the "F1 Supremo", Ecclestone founded the Formula One Group in 1987, controlling the c ...

decided to double the ticket prices for the 1989 Belgian Grand Prix compared to the 1989 Dutch TT which was held a week earlier. This was much to the anger of the Belgian fans and as a result of this, many fans stayed at home for the 1990 Belgian Grand Prix. This drop in spectators, in combination with the race being held on a Saturday rather than a Sunday (which was similar to the

Dutch TT The Dutch Tourist Trophy, also known as the ''TT Assen'', and also sometimes known as the Dutch Motorcycle Grand Prix, is an annual Dutch motorsport event established in 1925 for road racing motorcycles held on the TT Circuit Assen, also known ...

at the time), caused the Belgian GP to be scrapped from the 1991 season onwards.

Future

Improvements to the circuit to make it suitable for motorcycle racing were made in autumn 2021 in time for the 2022 endurance season, and the Spa 24 Hours motorcycle race debuted at Spa in June 2022. It is unknown if Spa or another Belgian circuit will apply for MotoGP.

Official names and sponsors

*1949–1975: Grand Prix de Belgique des Motos/Grote Prijs van Belgie voor Moto's (no official sponsor) *1976-1978: Grand Prix Belgique/Grote Prijs Belgie (no official sponsor) *1979: G.P. Moto (no official sponsor) *1980, 1982: Grand Prix of Belgium (no official sponsor) *1981: Grand Prix Moto (no official sponsor) *1983: GP Johnson of Belgium *1984–1985: Johnson GP of Belgium *1986: GP of Belgium (not mentioned in the name but the race was sponsored by Johnson) *1988: GP of Belgium Gauloises Blondes *1989: Belgium Motorcycle Grand Prix (no official sponsor) *1990: Belgian Motorcycle Grand Prix (no official sponsor)

Formerly used circuits

File:Spa 1996.jpg, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, used in 1949–1979, 1981–1986, 1988–1990 File:Circuit Zolder-1975-1985.svg, Zolder, used in 1980

Winners of the Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix

Multiple winners (riders)

Multiple winners (manufacturers)

By year

''A pink background indicates an event that was not part of the

championship.''

References

Sources

* {{MotoGP races Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps Recurring sporting events established in 1921 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1990 1921 establishments in Belgium 1990 disestablishments in Belgium