How Does the MotoGP™ Championship Work?

There’s no sport on earth quite like MotoGP™, watching the best and the bravest riders locked in an intense battle for supremacy across a whole season of 22 thrilling Grands Prix. But how does the MotoGP™ championship work?

The FIM Grand Prix World Championship (that’s the full, official title) is the elite, the best of the best, with ‘FIM’ standing for the governing body, the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme.

Whether you’re new to MotoGP™ or just looking for a refresher for the current season, here’s your guide to the most exciting sport on earth and the premier motorcycle racing championship.

MotoGP™ Season Structure

The MotoGP™ season format takes riders and fans on a worldwide adventure across Europe, Asia, Oceania, North America and South America, concluding in Valencia, Spain, in November.

In the 2025 season there are 22 Grands Prix, generally taking place every two weeks, across whole weekends of exciting action.

The 2025 MotoGP™ Calendar in full:

• Thailand | Chang International Circuit | 2nd March
• Argentina | Termas de Río Hondo | 16th March
• USA | Circuit of the Americas | 30th March
• Qatar | Lusail International Circuit | 13th April
• Spain | Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto | 27th April
• France | Le Mans | 11th May
• UK | Silverstone Circuit | 25th May
• Aragon (Spain) | MotorLand Aragón | 8th June
• Italy | Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello | 22nd June
• Netherlands | TT Circuit Assen | 29th June
• Germany | Sachsenring | 13th July
• Czechia | Automotodrom Brno | 20th July
• Austria | Red Bull Ring-Spielberg | 17th August
• Hungary | Balaton Park Circuit | 24th August
• Catalonia | Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya | 7th September
• San Marino | Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli | 14th September
• Japan | Mobility Resort Motegi | 28th September
• Indonesia | Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit | 5th October
• Australia | Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit | 19th October
• Malaysia | Petronas Sepang International Circuit | 26th October
• Portugal | Autódromo Internacional do Algarve | 9th November
• Valencia | Circuit Ricardo Tormo | 16th November 

MotoGP™ Teams and Riders

The riders are the stars of the MotoGP™ world and there have been some great historic names in the sport, such as MotoGP Legends Mike Hailwood, Giacomo Agostini, Kenny Roberts, Mick Doohan and Valentino Rossi.

The 2025 MotoGP™ rider and teams line-up is as follows:

2025 Rookie Riders and Team Changes

Ai Ogura, Fermin Aldeguer, and Somkiat Chantra are the three rookies in MotoGP™ in 2025. Being classed as a rookie means it is the first full season for the rider in the premier class of the World Championship.

Meanwhile, for experienced riders such as Marc Marquez, Jorge Martin, Maverick Viñales, Enea Bastianini and Franco Morbidelli, 2025 is their first season with their current teams. Rider moves from one team or manufacturer to another are often tantalisingly exciting for fans, who are keen to see how a rider will perform on a new bike or with a new team.

How the MotoGP™ Points System Works

Every MotoGP™ World Championship season runs over the course of up to 22 Grands Prix to decide who is the overall champion, based on the points accumulated in each race. 

The MotoGP™ points system means that only the first 15 riders to finish each race are awarded points, with the winner getting 25 points for their victory. The runner-up receives 20 points, with 16 going to the rider in third place and 13 to the rider in fourth. After this, the points go from 11 to 1 for the riders from 5th place to 15th place, so every moment in the race can be crucial when chasing points.

Things work differently in the MotoGP™ Sprint. Introduced in the 2023 season, these are races that are run at approximately 50% of the full race distance on the Saturdays of Grand Prix weekends, offering an afternoon thrill for crowds ahead of the main race the next day.

The winner of each Sprint receives 12 points, with 9 going to the second placed rider and 7 and 6 points respectively for third and fourth place. In Sprints, only the top nine riders receive points.

MotoGP™ Race Weekend Format

How does the MotoGP™ championship work across a typical Grand Prix weekend? The standard schedule for a race weekend looks like this: 

•       Friday morning, 45-minute session: Free Practice 1
•       Friday afternoon, 60-minute session timed for entry into Qualifying 2: Practice
•       Saturday morning, 30-minute session: Free Practice 2
•       Saturday morning, 15-minute session: Qualifying 1 (Q1)
•       Saturday morning, 15-minute session: Qualifying 2 (Q2)
•       Saturday afternoon: MotoGP™ Sprint
•       Sunday morning: 10-minute Warm-up
•       Sunday afternoon: Grand Prix

How the World Champion Is Determined 

A key thing to understand is how MotoGP™ champions are determined. Between the Grand Prix and the Sprint, a successful rider can gain up to 37 points in one weekend, which can go a long way towards becoming World Champion, even if gaining the maximum of 814 points across the season is highly unlikely in such a demanding sport.

For example, over the past two seasons, Francesco Bagnaia won the MotoGP™ title with 467 points in 2023 and was pipped to the title a year later by Jorge Martin’s 508 points. Both seasons were 20 races long, so the maximum points available was 740, which demonstrates how competitive this sport is.

That intense rivalry is just one reason why millions of fans around the world love tuning into MotoGP™ each season.

Tiebreakers and Special Cases

How does the MotoGP™ championship work if two or more riders finish on the same points? So far there has never been a tie when it comes to the MotoGP™ title race and the current points scoring system makes it unlikely that there will be. However, if it were to happen, the regulations are as follows:

“In the event of a tie in the number of points, the final positions will be decided on the basis of the number of best results in the races (number of first places, number of second places etc.).

“In the event that there is still a tie then, the date in the Championship at which the highest place was achieved will be taken into account with precedence going to the latest result.”

Memorable MotoGP™ Championships

There have been many thrilling finales to MotoGP™ title battles, including final day drama in the 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons. In 2022, Francesco Bagnaia had been 91 points behind Fabio Quartararo earlier in the season but clawed his way back to win the title on the final day in Valencia.

A year later, he again won it right at the end after rival Jorge Martin crashed out, but in 2024 the Spanish rider earned his revenge in the final race at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Will we see more last day drama in 2025?

Want to know more about the Saturday Sprints in MotoGP™? Click here for the ultimate guide to MotoGP™ Sprints.