This weekend the MotoGP World Championship is preparing to face a very important celebration: its 75th anniversary. Since the championship was born in 1949 with the Isle of Man TT, its history has seen the birth of several legends in both the premier class and the minor categories. And this weekend the teams are focused on celebrating just that, the history of the most important two-wheeled championship in the world.
The various brands and teams agreed that the British Grand Prix at Silverstone would be the perfect date to celebrate 75 years, with special liveries on each bike, commemorating a key moment in the history of the manufacturer, team or country they represent. And these liveries were unveiled in the pitlane at Silverstone on Thursday.
The first brand to reveal its special livery was Yamaha (pictured above). The Iwata-based manufacturer showed a bike with red and white as its predominant colors, paying homage to the legendary bike that the Japanese made in the 70s, during the era of 15-time world champion Giacomo Agostini.
Luca Marini, Repsol Honda Team
Photo by: Lorenza Dadderio
Then it was the turn of Honda, the most successful brand in the history of MotoGP, with blue as the main color, yellow parts and white and red lines. It is a decoration that pays tribute to the bike with which Freddie Spencer became 500cc champion in 1983, which he also did in 1985, when he was also 250cc champion.
Team LCR continued with two different liveries, having as always two separate main sponsors. While Takaaki Nakagami’s RC213V is a nod to his home country, with the Land of the Rising Sun, Johann Zarco’s incorporates a nice detail, the old logo of Castrol, his main sponsor, in what is also a tribute to Mike Hailwood. As for the colours, however, they remained similar to the usual ones.
Johann Zarco, LCR Honda Team
Photo by: Lorenza Dadderio
The reference brand of MotoGP today, Ducati, has therefore taken over from the Japanese. The Borgo Panigale company has continued to focus on red and white as its main colors, returning to the beginning of its history in the premier class, and has launched a livery in honor of the bike ridden by Loris Capirossi in the 2003 season, the year in which the Italian gave him his first victory.
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Photo by: Lorenza Dadderio
One of the bikes that surprised the most was the next one, that of Pramac Racing. The predominant color is red, with black parts, in honor of Garelli ridden by one of the greatest legends of Spanish motorcycling, Angel Nieto, in the 1983 season. It also incorporates the famous 12+1 logo. Thus, it stood out as one of the most special bikes of the weekend, in a team that counts among its ranks the blood of the “Maestro”, with his nephew Fonsi.
The Pramac Racing livery
Photo by: Lorenza Dadderio
Pertamina Enduro VR46, of course, opted for a livery that celebrated its owner Valentino Rossi. The team led by friend Uccio Salucci painted its Desmosedici GPs with the colors of the sun and the moon, two icons that the nine-time champion carried as a flag during his career.
Marco Bezzecchi, VR46 Racing Team, Fabio Di Giannantonio, VR46 Racing Team
Photo by: Lorenza Dadderio
At Gresini Racing, both Marc Marquez and his brother Alex will pay homage to the most important figure of their team, Fausto Gresini, by painting their bikes white, like the Garelli 125cc with which the Italian won his titles in the 1985 and 1987 seasons. A color that the Faenza-based team had already used during the Misano races in the last two years.
Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing, Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing
Photo by: Lorenza Dadderio
Trackhouse Racing is the new kid on the block in MotoGP, but that hasn’t stopped them from sporting their own vintage livery on their Aprilias. On a shade of blue, the Americans feature the faces of several legends of American motorcycling, such as Kevin Schwantz, Wayne Rainey, Nicky Hayden, Randy Mamola, Kenny Roberts Sr. and Eddie Lawson, among others.
The Trackhouse Racing Team livery
Photo by: Lorenza Dadderio
Aprilia, for its part, has rethought one of its most glorious projects in the minor categories. The “Perla Nera” design is inspired by the livery of the RSV 250 that the Noale manufacturer fielded in the 250cc class between 1994 and 1996, the years in which Max Biaggi was three-time world champion in the quarter-liter class.
The liveries of Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales, Aprilia Racing Team
Photo by: Aprilia Racing
The latest to be presented were KTM and its satellite team, Tech3. The factory team will wear the white and blue colors that adorned Wolfgang Felber’s KTM LC4 in 1988 and that were also the basis of the Mattighofen-based company’s corporate logo at the time.
The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing livery
Photo by: Lorenza Dadderio
The color scheme chosen by Hervé Poncharal’s team is also similar, but with the GasGas brand taking center stage. In the French team’s box, however, it was fun to see the vintage clothing proposed by the mechanics.
The Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 livery
Photo by: Lorenza Dadderio
#MotoGP #vintage #75th #anniversary #World #Championship #liveries #Silverstone
