MotoGP, the world’s premier class of motorbikes, is back again – and going into the 2022 season, it has a first-time champion just like Formula 1.
Fabio Quartararo is defending his first riders’ title, having taken five victories and 10 podiums on the way there during his first season with the Yamaha factory team.
However, others, including six-time champion Marc Márquez and 2020 champion Joan Mir, as well as 2021’s rookie of the year Jorge Martin, will be hoping to put up a strong challenge.
MotoGP also welcomes back an Aprilia factory team for the first time since 2004. And after his retirement as a rider, Valentino Rossi returns as a team owner, as his VR46 Racing Team makes its debut.
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The first three grands prix of the season have seen three winners – Enea Bastianini in Qatar, Miguel Oliveira in Indonesia, and Aleix Espargaró in Argentina. Espargaró currently leads the riders’ standings at this early stage in the season, with Ducati at the top of the constructors’ standings.
Here’s how you can keep up to date with all the action – as well as the latest on Moto GP’s new Drive to Survive-style reality/documentary series.
MotoGP 2022 – watch live in the UK… and beyond
BT Sport has signed a long-term deal to broadcast MotoGP and its support categories for viewers in the UK and Ireland. Running until 2024, this new agreement builds on the channel’s long-standing association with the series, which started back in 2014.
The channel airs practice, qualifying and the races from MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3 and the MotoE World Cup (which is open exclusively to teams running electric motorcycles). Coverage can usually be found on BT Sport 2, but you can check exact start dates and times on BT Sport’s very own ‘what’s on’ page.
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BT Sport’s coverage also offers a 360-degree camera view via its mobile and tablet app, if you want to really immerse yourself in the action.
As for access and cost, BT Sport has a Monthly Pass which is contract-free, priced at £25 for every 30 days’ worth of access. You also don’t need to be a BT Broadband customer in order to take up the pass.
In addition to MotoGP coverage, you’ll get selected Premier League matches on BT Sport, plus coverage of the Champions League, Europa League, Europa Conference League, UFC, WWE and Premiership Rugby, as well as top-flight football from France and Italy in the form of Ligue 1 and Serie A respectively.
Streaming service DAZN holds the rights to MotoGP for a growing number of European locations including Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Austria, Andorra and San Marino.
In the US, you’ll need to tune in to NBC’s sports coverage. Five races will be broadcast live, with the remainder on a time delay. Its first live race of the season, the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas, will air this Sunday, April 10.
Alternatively, you may be able to take up MotoGP’s own season-long video pass for comprehensive coverage. You can find out more about pricing and availability on a country-by-country basis via its website.
MotoGP 2022 calendar
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Here’s the full rundown of grands prix for the 2022 season. 21 rounds are planned this year, including an early August date for the British grand prix at Silverstone and a return to the schedule for the Japan, Thailand, Australia and Argentina grands prix.
The Motorcycle Grand Prix of the Americas at COTA in Texas has also moved from October to April, and Finland will host a race at Kymi Ring in July for the first time in nearly 40 years. The Indonesia grand prix also returns after a 24-year absence.
March 6: Qatar grand prix
March 20: Indonesia grand prix
April 3: Argentina grand prix
Apr 10: Motorcycle Grand Prix of the Americas
Apr 24: Portuguese grand prix
May 1: Spanish grand prix
May 15: French grand prix
May 29: Italian grand prix
June 5: Catalunya grand prix
June 19: German grand prix
June 26: TT Assen
July 10: Finland grand prix
Aug 7: British grand prix
Aug 21: Austrian Grand Prix
Sep 4: San Marino and Rimini Riviera grand prix
Sep 18: Aragon grand prix
Sep 25: Japanese grand prix
October 2: Thai grand prix
October 16: Australian grand prix
October 23: Malaysian grand prix
Nov 6: Valencia grand prix
A number of grands prix which were scheduled as replacements for 2021’s postponed and canceled races, such as Doha, Algarve and Emilia Romagna, will not return in the 2022 schedule – at least as far as things currently stand.
MotoGP documentary – how to watch MotoGP Unlimited
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Yes, the word is out – MotoGP now has own Drive to Survive-style documentary series called MotoGP Unlimited. You can see the trailer at the very top of this article.
The series premiered on Amazon Prime Video globally in March, and looks back on key developments including Valentino Rossi’s farewell, Fabio Quartararo’s debut riders’ championship, Marc Marquez’s return from injury, and the breakdown in Yamaha and Maverick Viñales’ relationship (his contract was terminated by mutual consent partway through the 2021 season and he will ride for the Aprilia factory team this year).
Reception from the motorsport press has been fairly warm. Autosport’s review praised its narrative approach, largely keeping to chronological order (unlike Drive to Survive) in terms of welcoming newcomers to the sport and suggests that it “improves on the formula” set out by Netflix’s Formula 1 show.
Meanwhile, The Race praised “often touching, very frequently funny” moments in its review, but acknowledged that there are “probably not an amazing amount of revelations for the really hardcore MotoGP fan”.
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