The fifth round of the 2023 MotoGP World Championship, the 2023 edition of the French Grand Prix, will be held at Le Mans this weekend. The event at the famous Circuit de la Sarthe (Bugatti Circuit) is special as it is the 1000th Grand Prix weekend in the history of the World Championship.
Here are some facts and figures about the most incredible history ever written:
1949 – The Grand Prix was introduced in 1949 with four classes for individual motorcycles: 500cc, 350cc, 250cc and 125cc. The first race to count towards the World Championship was the 350cc race at the Isle of Man on Monday 13 June 1949, won by Freddie Frith on a Veloset.
817 – Honda is the most successful manufacturer in GP racing with 817 wins, ahead of Yamaha (520), Aprilia (295), MV Agusta (275), Kalex (165) and Suzuki (162).
432 – Valentino Rossi is the rider with the most GP starts: 432, meaning he has contested more than 43% of all Grand Prix weekends.
393 – From the first race in 1949 to the Spanish Grand Prix in 2023, 393 different drivers have taken the first step on the podium. The latest “new winner” is Ivan Ortola, who recently won the Moto3 race in Austin.
235 – Valentino Rossi has the most podiums (235), ahead of Giacomo Agostini (159), Dani Pedrosa (153), Jorge Lorenzo (152), Angel Nieto (139) and Marc Marquez (139).
125 – 125 different drivers have won Grand Prix with a total of 284 titles. Giacomo Agostini holds the record with 15, ahead of Angel Nieto (12 + 1), Mike Hailwood (9), Rossi (9) and Carlo Uppiali (9).
122 – Agostini is the most successful rider with 122 GP victories ahead of Rossi (115) and Nieto (90). Marc Marquez is fourth with 85 wins and Hailwood with 76.
73 – Assen is home to the most Grand Prix weekends. Every year since the World Championship started in 1949 till 2019. In 2020, the Dutch TT was canceled due to the pandemic, so the counter now stands at 73 Dutch TTs that count towards the World Championship.
73 – Since 1949, 73 different circuits have organized a Grand Prix where the premier class appeared at the start. Mandaliga is an Indonesian circuit added to the MotoGP calendar in 2022.
30 – Since 1949, 30 different manufacturers have won one or more Grand Prix world titles. Honda leads with 72 titles ahead of Yamaha (37), MV Agusta (37), Aprilia (19) and Suzuki (15).
29 – Since 1949, 29 countries have hosted at least one Grand Prix. Spain leads Italy by 103 runs by 143 runs.
29 – 29 nationalities have won one or more Grand Prix. Italy has 876 wins, ahead of Spain (700) and the United Kingdom (413).
20 – In 1949 there were six Grand Prix weekends in Europe. In 2023, 20 Grands Prix are scheduled in 17 different countries.
19 – The list of 125 world champions crowned since 1949 represents 19 nationalities. Italy is ahead of Spain (57) and the United Kingdom (45) with 80.
1 – Of the 125 world champions, 70 (more than half) have won only one title, but 55 are multiple world champions.
Useful Links SHARK Grand Prix de France:
Time Table and Full Results
Where to Follow on TV
Photo report
