Motorcycle sport is incredibly diverse: 360 km/h on a Grand Prix circuit, two weeks across the desert, bikes without brakes on a speedway oval. Filter by type and discover what to watch.
Where: Worldwide, ~20 rounds on 5 continents
The Grand Prix world championship — Formula 1 of motorcycles. Riders race purpose-built prototypes that are not sold to the public. Support classes Moto2 and Moto3 are the path to the top class.
Why watch: The fastest, most technical bikes and riders on earth; close fights to the last corner.
Famous names: Giacomo Agostini, Valentino Rossi, Marc Márquez, Francesco Bagnaia
Where: Mostly Europe, plus Australia and other countries
The world championship for bikes based on production models you can buy in a showroom. Three races per weekend and very close racing.
Why watch: You can ride the road version of what the pros race.
Famous names: Carl Fogarty, Jonathan Rea, Toprak Razgatlıoğlu, Álvaro Bautista
Where: France, Japan, Spain and more
Team races lasting 8, 12 or 24 hours, with 2–3 riders sharing one bike. Classics: the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Bol d'Or and the Suzuka 8 Hours.
Why watch: Night racing, lightning pit stops and team strategy.
Famous names: Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki factory teams
Where: Isle of Man (UK), Northern Ireland, Ireland
Racing on closed public roads between stone walls, houses and lamp posts. The TT lap is 60 km long, and the fastest riders average over 210 km/h. Extremely dangerous and legendary.
Why watch: The purest and boldest form of motorcycle racing.
Famous names: Joey Dunlop, John McGuinness, Michael Dunlop, Peter Hickman
Where: Europe, Asia, the Americas
Races on natural dirt tracks with jumps, ruts and sand. Two races per weekend, around 30 minutes each plus two laps. The world championship is MXGP; the USA has AMA Pro Motocross.
Why watch: Huge jumps, brutal physical effort, chaos at the start.
Famous names: Stefan Everts, Antonio Cairoli, Jeffrey Herlings, Ricky Carmichael
Where: USA stadiums (plus a world championship)
Motocross moved into football and baseball stadiums on tight, man-made tracks with huge jumps and whoops. A spectacular evening show.
Why watch: Stadium atmosphere, jumps of 20+ metres, close racing.
Famous names: Jeremy McGrath, Ricky Carmichael, Chad Reed, Eli Tomac
Where: Europe, the Americas, worldwide
Timed special tests on forest and field trails linked by road sections. The International Six Days Enduro (ISDE, since 1913) is the oldest event in the FIM calendar.
Why watch: Long days, navigation, and bikes you can race and ride.
Famous names: Stefan Merriman, Antoine Méo, Steve Holcombe
Where: Austria, Romania, USA, South Africa and more
The extreme branch of enduro: vertical rock climbs, boulder fields and mud. Erzbergrodeo in an Austrian iron-ore mine (since 1995) and Red Bull Romaniacs are the most famous.
Why watch: Epic climbs where often only a handful of riders finish.
Famous names: Graham Jarvis, Manuel Lettenbichler, Taddy Błażusiak, Billy Bolt
Where: Europe mostly (Spain, UK, Italy), Japan
Riders tackle sections of rocks, logs and walls without putting a foot down. Penalty points, not time, decide the winner. The world championship began in 1975.
Why watch: Unbelievable balance and bike control.
Famous names: Jordi Tarrés, Dougie Lampkin, Adam Raga, Toni Bou
Where: Saudi Arabia (formerly Africa and South America)
The most famous rally raid: two weeks and roughly 8,000 km across deserts and dunes with navigation by roadbook. Started as Paris–Dakar in 1978; held in Saudi Arabia since 2020.
Why watch: A true adventure: survival, navigation and endurance.
Famous names: Cyril Neveu, Stéphane Peterhansel, Cyril Despres, Marc Coma, Toby Price
Where: Baja California, Mexico
A non-stop desert race along the Baja California peninsula, roughly 1,000 miles (1,600 km). Riders share bikes and race through the night.
Why watch: Raw desert racing with a legendary atmosphere.
Famous names: Malcolm Smith, Johnny Campbell, Steve Hengeveld
Where: Poland, UK, Sweden, Denmark, Australia
Four riders, four laps on an oval dirt track, around one minute. 500 cc methanol bikes with one gear and no brakes, slid sideways through every corner. Poland has the world's biggest speedway league.
Why watch: Short, intense heats and full stadiums.
Famous names: Ivan Mauger, Tony Rickardsson, Tomasz Gollob, Bartosz Zmarzlik
Where: Sweden, Russia, Austria, Germany, Netherlands
Speedway on ice with tyres covered in long steel spikes. Riders lean so far that their knees and shoulders touch the ice.
Why watch: Insane lean angles on a frozen track.
Famous names: Nikolay Krasnikov, Dmitry Koltakov, Martin Haarahiltunen
Where: USA mainly
American oval dirt-track racing with high-speed slides. American Flat Track (formerly Grand National Championship) is one of the oldest American series. Many MotoGP riders train on flat track.
Why watch: Full-throttle slides at over 150 km/h.
Famous names: Kenny Roberts, Jared Mees, Briar Bauman
Where: Europe, USA
A mix of asphalt and a dirt section on one track, ridden on supermoto bikes with huge sideways slides into corners.
Why watch: Spectacular drifts and jumps in one race.
Famous names: Thierry Van Den Bosch, Marc-Reiner Schmidt
Where: USA, Europe, Australia
Two bikes, a straight line, usually a quarter mile (402 m). Top Fuel bikes run the distance in under 6 seconds at over 400 km/h.
Why watch: Pure, violent acceleration.
Famous names: Larry "Spiderman" McBride, Andrew Hines
Where: Worldwide shows, X Games
Not a race but a show: riders launch off ramps and perform backflips and tricks, judged by style and difficulty.
Why watch: Jaw-dropping tricks and flips.
Famous names: Travis Pastrana, Tom Pagès, Nate Adams
Where: USA, Europe
Riders try to go as high as possible up an extremely steep hill, often with extended swingarms and paddle tyres. The "Widowmaker" hill climb in Utah is legendary.
Why watch: Man and machine against gravity.