Between March and November of every year, MotoGP riders compete on 20 different circuits worldwide. This schedule requires them, their teams, and their equipment to travel frequently, using air, land, and sea transport.
Since MotoGP riders need to maximize as much of their time as possible, most of them will travel on commercial flights, either first- or business class, to get to their various destinations. MotoGP’s more prominent names might even charter a private jet.
The remaining MotoGP team members, such as the media and mechanics, also travel by air, using economy class. Other logistical travel details depend on where the MotoGP is traveling and what is being transported. While on tour, each MotoGP rider has specific transportation and accommodation needs included in the travel plans.
MotoGP Travel Destinations
Before discussing the various aspects of MotoGP traveling, one must first understand the yearly circuit calendar and how it impacts transportation methods.
When talking about traveling, MotoGP teams will often refer to one of two types of races:
- European Races
- Flyaway Races
How MotoGP teams (including equipment) travel depends primarily on whether the circuits are. Traveling between European courses, for example, is a lot quicker and easier than the international or ‘flyaway’ circuits that require crossing the ocean and time zones. The latter refers to courses in the following countries (based on the 2022 MotoGP calendar):
- Qatar
- Indonesia
- Argentina
- The United States
- Japan
- Thailand
- Australia
- Malaysia
When considering modes of transport, it is thus highly dependent on whether the MotoGP race is within Europe or further afield.
How Do MotoGP Bikes And Equipment Travel?
As mentioned, flying is the go-to mode of travel for most MotoGP riders, regardless of whether they are racing in Europe or elsewhere. The same assumption cannot be made for their bikes and the MotoGP teams’ gear, materials, and equipment. These items use different modes of transport based on the destination.
European Races
When the MotoGP schedule has a series of back-to-back European circuits, the riders’ bikes and various other equipment get transported on land, i.e., it gets driven to different tracks.
All MotoGP teams, whether KTM, Honda, Suzuki, etc., have trucks that move from place to place. After the last race on a Sunday, every team must dismantle the entire garage and the hospitality, gather their equipment and the bikes, and pack it all up in transportation containers. The trucks must then be loaded with all the boxes and driven to the next circuit destination.
Flyaway Races
More complex traveling logistics come into play when it comes to flyaway races.
Dorna Sports, S.L. (better known as Dorna) is the commercial rights holder for Grand Prix motorcycle racing. When it comes to MotoGP traveling, they organize every aspect of the transportation process. With the help of other companies, like DHL, they arrange the shipment of all the MotoGP teams’ bikes, materials, gear, and equipment.
As with European races, all equipment must be boxed up and put into crates in the teams’ trucks, from the riders’ bikes to the last tool. This cargo amounts to about 400 trailers, equal to 800 containers, weighing approximately 360-380 tons. Each MotoGP team sends between 10 to 12 tons of cargo, while Moto3 and Moto2 teams have much less (4-6 tons per team).
The rest of the cargo consists of general MotoGP goods, such as camera equipment, merchandise, etc.
The next step is getting the trucks to transport this cargo to either one of two places: the airport and the harbor.
Air
MotoGP charters a cargo plane that transports all the teams’ containers to the specific destination, including the MotoGP safety cars and support gear for broadcasting the events.
Once the loaded trucks arrive at the airport, the content gets transferred to 150 containers. Most of these containers (not all) will then be loaded onto four Boeing 747 planes, transporting these MotoGP goods to the specific destination. The rest gets transported by sea.
For example, a team like Suzuki Ecstar moves about 45 crates between races, of which 30 travel by air. These crates include all the essentials for the next races, like the riders’ bikes, priority tools, computers, panels, televisions, and so forth.
Sea
Every team in MotoGP has the right to transport freight of about 9.500 kilograms paid by Dorna. If they exceed this limit, the team must pay for the additional weight, increasing the costs significantly. For this reason, the groups arrange for some of their cargo to travel by ship.
The goods that teams send by boat are transported in several containers, each about 40 feet carrying roughly 4,500 kilograms of cargo.
The contents of these containers include materials to build the hospitality (e.g., tables, chairs, kitchen materials, etc.), non-technical materials used to create the garage (e.g., cables, panels, extra tools, boxes with generators, merchandise, etc.), and flammable products (e.g., oils, lubricants, cleaners, etc.).
Land
Cargo planes and sea freights deliveries only get the goods to the destination ports. After it arrives, the delivered cargo must be loaded onto 35-40 trucks, transporting the 600-plus containers to the race venue.
Where Do MotoGP Riders Stay While Travelling?
While at events in Europe, most MotoGP riders stay at the track in motorhomes (RV), with some preferring to sleep in hotels or MotoGP team accommodation.
Many years ago, MotoGP riders traveled in motorhomes to get from one race venue to the next. Nowadays, riders (e.g., Marc Marquez, Andrea Iannone, and Pol Espargaro) use it to relax between sessions, get some rest, and recover before or after a race. Some riders even share motorhomes.
The problem with motorhomes is the lack of space at the racing venues. For this reason, Dorna declared in 2011 that only MotoGP riders would be allowed to live in motorhomes at the racing venue’s paddocks, which meant that Moto2 and Moto3 riders could not use their motorhomes or campers. They now must stay with their teams in hotels.
MotoGP Riders’ Individual Travel Habits
There are a few unusual habits (call it quirks?) that some MotoGP riders have when they are traveling.
For example, the Spanish rider Marc Marquez only packs blue and red underwear when he travels: the blue he wears during training sessions, and the red underpants get worn on race day.
Brad Binder, the South African-born MotoGP rider, never travels without his beloved parrot. The parrot is older than his brother, fellow rider Darren Binder!
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Conclusion
Between March and November, MotoGP teams cover a lot of ground travelling between European and flyaway races. The riders travel mostly on commercial flights, either first- or business class, whereas their bikes and the teams’ equipment get transported by land, sea, or air.
