The first ever motoGP race was organized in 1949, by the FIM, with the aim of providing a league where the best motorcycle manufacturers could go head-to-head. Obviously, the FIM has had a fair amount of influence on the evolution of motorcycles in general, and it has had a major indirect contribution in the development of racing and street-legal motorcycles as we know them today.

When the World Motorcycle Championship came to existence, there were a whole bunch of racing classes as the FIM aimed to allow a wide array of scooter and motorcycle makers to test their machines and engines under racing conditions. There was a 50cc class which was later transformed into a 80cc one, only to be completely abandoned from the racing calendar, soon after.

The 125cc class is alive and well to this day, though initially there were four-stroke engines used in it. As experience gradually proved the superiority of two-strokers at this engine-capacity, the four-stroker was abandoned.

The 250cc class is another one of the initial engine-classes that survives to this day, the 350cc however, got ditched in the 80s.

The 500cc class returned to four-stroke engines in 2002 and the capacity was raised to 990cc. Starting 2007, the engine capacity for the moto-gp class, as it’s known today, was restricted to 800cc.

A series of changes in the race regulation also occurred, making an already spectacular sport even more enjoyable for the viewers.