2023 is a big year for the FIM MotoGP™ World Championship. More Grands Prix than ever before and the introduction of the MotoGP™ Sprint at every event already promise fans one of the biggest, best seasons they’ve ever seen – and that’s not all. The sport will begin this new era with all-new theme music composed especially for MotoGP™, and the instantly iconic theme will accompany new opening titles.
The new MotoGP™ theme will debut just ahead of the Grande Premio TISSOT de Portugal as the sport returns to the world stage, giving the heroes of the hour the perfect walkout music as they prepare to battle it out for the biggest crown on two wheels.
The music has been composed by Marco Beltrami, an Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning composer more usually found scoring some of the biggest films on the planet. With a career already spanning three decades and credits across a multitude of genres, Beltrami is the man behind the music for some of the most recognizable films and franchises in cinema, including Scream, Resident Evil, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Live Free or Die Hard, World War Z, I Robot, 3:10 to Yuma and more – with more and more blockbusters added every year.
Now, Beltrami adds the MotoGP™ theme to his impressive resume of work and achievements. As a huge fan of the sport, the project was one of passion and the result designed to reflect the feats of his heroes: the MotoGP™ riders. A true aficionado of both his craft and motorcycle racing, Beltrami took inspiration from Beethoven and the bravery he sees out on track to create the music, producing the perfect call to action for fans around the world as MotoGP™ prepares to return to the circuit and the screen.
Marco Beltrami: “I pursued this project because I‘ve been a fan of MotoGP™ for a long time. I remember the classic races of Rossi vs Nicky Hayden, and I thought that these guys were just heroes to me. So cool. And I thought they needed something thematic that encapsulated it. So this was really a passion project for me.
“These guys are my heroes, and I also have musical heroes. One of my musical heroes is Beethoven. So when I was thinking about this, I immediately thought it has to be something simple, rhythmic, heroic. The first place I looked was Beethoven, his ninth symphony, in the second movement you have a really simple rhythmic motif and I thought maybe that’s the starting place for my theme.
“For me, the first thing this had to do was encapsulate the heroic nature of what these guys do. The second thing it had to do… these guys to me are the coolest, and it had to encapsulate that - melodically that was something I wanted to incorporate. Putting these ideas together is really where I started from a musical standpoint.”
Carmelo Ezpeleta, Dorna Sports CEO: “We’re very much looking forward to revealing the new music for MotoGP. Our sport is spectacular and the mission was to create a theme that reflects its DNA, giving the show a real identity for our millions of fans around the world. To work with such a respected, globally recognisable Hollywood composer is just fantastic."We couldn't be happier with the result, nor with the chance to welcome Marco Beltrami to become part the sport. His work and achievements speak for themselves, and it makes us very proud to see the MotoGP theme join such a distinguished list of compositions and projects. We're also delighted to see how much Marco loves MotoGP. That passion shines through and we hope he enjoys seeing the finished result take its place in MotoGP history as much as we will."
Make sure to tune in for the debut of the new MotoGP™ music and opening titles on Thursday at 11:00 CET, and turn the volume up to enjoy the full symphony of sound as we get in gear for the Grande Premio TISSOT de Portugal – with more MotoGP™ than ever!
Get to know Marco Beltrami a little better with our full interview, available here on motogp.com.