A Beginner’s Guide to MotoGP Betting

MotoGP Basics 

The Moto Grand Prix season is the world’s oldest motorsport championship and it is split into four classes, Grand Prix, Moto2, Moto3, and MotoE. 

Grand Prix is the highest level and it allows a maximum of 1,000cc motor limits and four-stroke engines. The Moto2 class has 765cc displacement with three cylinders and Triumph Motorcycles Ltd. solely supplies it. The Moto3 class has single-cylinder 250cc four-stroke engines and it is only open to riders between the ages of 16 and 28. Finally, MotoE is the newest class, introduced in 2019 it is only open to electric vehicles and uses Energica Ego Corsa motorcycles. 

Most betting occurs on the Grand Prix, which takes place from March to November each year. It sees drivers race on tracks across the world, such as at Silverstone in the UK, the Mugello Circuit in Italy, the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, and Losail International in Qatar. 

When it comes to a race, there are three 45-minute practise sessions that are held on the Friday and Saturday preceding the race. The times set in these session then count towards qualifying with the combined results determining whether a rider participates in Qualifying 1 or 2.  

Qualifying 1 consists of the riders whose times are eleventh place and below. It is a fifteen-minute session in which drivers have the chance to qualify for Qualifying 2. The two fastest from Qualifying 1 go to Qualifying 2, for a total of 12 riders competing in a 15-minute session to determine the starting order of the race.  

On the race day, each of the classes will have a warm up session before the races begin. Normally, the smallest category goes first, and it works upwards until the Grand Prix race, which is the last event of the day. The races themselves are between 95km and 103km and will usually last 40 to 45 minutes. There will be a set number of laps, the number of which varies from track to track. Pit stops are allowed, but are rare. They usually happen if riders need to change tyres due to changing weather conditions.  

Drivers are awarded points for where they finish in the races, and at the end of the season, the driver with the most points wins the championship. There is also a Constructors Championship, which is won by the most successful constructor over the course of the season. 

Betting on MotoGP 

There are plenty of different things to bet on in a MotoGP race, and this means that there are many different betting markets available. Here we will take you through the most popular of them so that you know exactly what each one means and how to use it. By using the different markets in combination, it is possible to build advanced betting strategies. However, this is not necessary and you can use them in the way that suits you best. There are 24 riders that take part in each race, and this means that there are over a million different combinations of finishing results for each race. In other words, the betting options are virtually limitless.  

Drivers’ Championship  

This is simply a bet on which driver you think will be the overall winner at the end of the season. Very often, if you are placing the bet early in the season, then there are some very generous odds available, even on the favourite riders.  

Constructors Championship  

This is a bet on which of the constructors will win the Constructors Championship. As with the Drivers’ Championship, the earlier the bet is placed, the more generous the odds will be.  

Race Winner  

This is the simplest type of bet on a single race. You are simply backing one of the riders to win. It is a great place to start if you are new to MotoGP betting and even when backing a favourite, you will often find some excellent odds. 

Head to Head 

This is a great type of bet to use if you want to back a driver but you do not think they will win the race. It puts two riders against each other and you are simply betting on which one you think will do better. It doesn’t matter where the two riders finish in the race, as long as your chosen one finishes ahead of the other, then you win the bet. 

Pole Position 

This is a bet on which rider will come top in qualifying and take the first grid position, known as the pole position. It can be a very exciting bet to place as drivers are extremely competitive about taking pole, as it can give them a big advantage.  

Qualification Winning Team 

This is a bet on which team will come out top in qualifying. If you think that the riders in a team are fairly evenly matched, but you think they will win qualifying, then it is a way to back them all without having to be specific.  

Qualification Winning Margin 

This is a bet on how much a rider will win qualifying by. You will be given a number of options and choose the one that you think is most likely.  

Fastest Lap  

This is simply a bet on which rider will produce the fastest lap over the course of the race. It doesn’t matter where the rider finishes in the race or even if they complete it, you win the bet as long as they have claimed the fastest lap time.  

Top 3 Finish 

If you think a rider is going to do well but you are not sure they will win, then this is an excellent bet. You are simply backing them to finish in one of the top three positions. It gives you some flexibility and can add a great deal of excitement to watching the race.  

First Driver/Team Retirement 

This is a bet on which of the riders or which team will be the first to retire from a race. There is no guarantee that any rider will, but it can be an interesting bet to use.  

Race Winning Margin 

This is a bet on how much you think a rider will win a race by. It can be a hard thing to predict, so the odds are often very generous.  

What to Consider When Betting on MotoGP 

As with all forms of betting, there can never be any guarantees as upsets happen all the time. However, the key to improving your success is to do as much research as possible. This will help you place better-informed bets, and should help you win more. 

There are plenty of things to consider when researching MotoGP. You can start with the obvious and look at how riders have been performing recently. You should also look at how they have performed on specific tracks in the past; some riders will have excellent records at some venues but very poor records at others. 

There are other things to consider. For instance, does one rider have extra motivation to score high points, and if so, how is this likely to affect their driving style. Similarly, keep an eye on the newspapers; they may contain titbits of information that can be very helpful when judging a bet.  

Ahead of a race and on the race day itself, you should be carefully watching the weather forecast. The weather can have a huge impact on how a rider performs. Some suit dry conditions while others may be braver in wet weather. You can also look up historical data to see how riders have performed in similar conditions in the past.  

The qualifying rounds and practise sessions are an excellent chance for you to assess the riders ahead of the actual race. It is hugely important to look at them as closely as you can, as it can be truly illuminating. If you see that a rider is consistently struggling around the track, then you probably won’t want to back them. Alternatively, you may see that a driver makes rapid improvements over qualifying, so you could use this for a head-to-head market or a podium finish.  

You can find a huge amount of information about MotoGP including many statistics about the riders, teams and tracks. The more of it you can take on board the better. By using the above betting markets combined with your research, you should be well on the way towards betting success.