MotoGP promoting special special liveries to celebrate 75th anniversary

Autosport understands that MotoGP rights holder Dorna has held several meetings with premier class teams to help honour the occasion.

Dorna has suggested that the special liveries on the bikes should be vintage in nature and limited to one round, likely the Dutch Grand Prix on 28-30 June.

The series initially considered the possibility of holding these celebrations at the inaugural Kazakhstan Grand Prix as it was initially scheduled for 16 June, the date closest to the 75th anniversary of the first-ever world championship round. The 350cc race in question was held on the Isle of Man on 13 June, 1949 and won by British rider Freddie Frith.

However, with doubts starting to emerge about the event at the Sokol circuit, and amid the uncertainty about the reception the event would receive in Kazakhstan, it was prompted to look at other options. The Kazakhstan round has since been postponed to later in the year due to flooding in the region, although an exact date is yet to be announced.

With Kazakhstan no longer in the running, it now looks like MotoGP is set to hold its special event at the iconic TT Circuit Assen, the home of the Dutch GP, at the end of next month.

There are some teams on the grid that are absolutely committed to the idea of running special colour schemes on their bikes, while others have asked for more time to think about it – although probably all of them will end up signing up for the idea.

It will be one of the several special events Dorna has planned for its 75th anniversary season. As well as creating a special logo for the occasion, it will also commemorate the maiden premier class race, which was also held on the Isle of Man, on 17 June, 1949.

Over these 75 years, the championship has produced a total of 126 champions across all classes, while the country with the most grand prix victories is Italy (890), followed by Spain (729).

The 2024 MotoGP season resumes this weekend with the French Grand Prix at Le Mans.