We’re always excited when March comes around, and that’s not just because of the promise of spring. It’s also because it marks the return of high-octane, full-throttle, two-wheeled thrills – and indeed spills – in the form of the new season of MotoGP racing! 

You can watch every race live on BT Sport and the Virgin TV Go app, which means that if you’ve got the need for speed, there’s absolutely no reason to miss a moment of the fast-paced action – from the first race in Qatar on Sunday 6 March through to November’s finale in Valencia. 

So to get yourself ready for the brand new season, read our guide to everything you need to know about MotoGP in 2022…

Some of the best races are back

Restrictions on travelling and gathering in crowds put paid to some of MotoGP’s most popular races in the past two seasons, but this year’s schedule contains the full slate of 21 Grands Prix. Five countries that saw their last two races cancelled – Argentina, Australia, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand – are back on the calendar, while Finland, which in 2020 was due to host a MotoGP for the first time since 1982, will finally get to do so. Indonesia is another returning venue, hosting its first race for 25 years, which will also be MotoGP’s first street race since 1986.

We’re crossing our fingers, touching wood, clutching our lucky cuddly toys and doing everything else we can think of to help ensure there’s a complete MotoGP season this year. 

There’s been a team shake-up 

The past few years haven’t seen much change to the starting teams, but it’s a different story in 2022. Having previously partnered with Gresini to supply them with racing bikes, Italian team Aprilia are entering with their own factory vehicles for the first time in almost 20 years. Gresini will now use Ducati bikes.

Malaysia’s Petronas left the competition at the end of last season but their management team is back, newly rebranded as RNF, while Esponsorama ended their decade-long participation and will be replaced by VR46, another team to use Ducati as their bike constructor. 

However, the big factory teams – Ducati, Yamaha and Suzuki, who took the top three places in last year’s team championship – are all present and correct and gunning for more success.

Spain’s riders can re-establish their dominance

Until France’s Fabio Quartararo ended the run last year, Spanish riders had won every MotoGP title since 2012. In fact, despite the country’s recent dominance of the sport, in 2021 only one of the top six riders was Spanish.

This was partly because six-time champ Marc Márquez missed a chunk of the season with injury, but Joan Mir in particular will have been disappointed not to win a single race after taking the 2020 title. Can a rider from this MotoGP-obsessed nation regain the crown in 2022? With nine Spaniards lining up on the grid, they’ve got a good chance… 

Tech3 KTM has an exciting new look

After a disappointing 2021 in which they finished last and didn’t achieve a single podium place, Tech3 KTM have secured the services of two exciting new talents. Spain’s Raúl Fernández broke Márquez’s record for the best ever rookie season in Moto2: he won eight of his 18 races in 2021 and was on the podium 12 times in all. 

However, he was pipped to the Moto2 title by his Red Bull KTM Ajo team-mate Remy Gardner of Australia, who took five wins and showed remarkable consistency as he scored an impressive 311 points, finishing four ahead of Fernández. They may be aged just 21 and 24 but they clearly deserve their opportunity in MotoGP – and they could be the future of the sport. 

There’s an opening for a new superstar

The legend that is Valentino Rossi retired from racing last season after 21 years and seven championship wins. While he may not have departed the sport altogether – he’s the owner of the new VR46 team – his departure from the ranks of the riders has left a superstar-shaped gap that a number of competitors will be vying to fill. 

Marc Márquez is the obvious candidate, as he strives to add to his six MotoGP titles and draw level with Rossi, but his recovery from injury has been more complicated than expected and he has admitted he may not “be the same Marc as always, but an evolution version of him”. Quartararo and Mir, the last two champions, will also have the opportunity to establish their credentials. 
 

The dark horse could be Maverick Viñales: the 27-year-old from Catalonia, now riding for Aprilia, has nine MotoGP wins under his belt and will think the time is right to move up a level. And yes, that’s his real name and yes, his parents named him after Tom Cruise’s character in Top Gun.

It’s a family affair

There’s more than professional success on the line for some riders: sibling rivalry is a factor too. Alex Márquez, younger brother of Marc, made his MotoGP debut two years ago; he’s now at LCR, the Honda satellite team, and breathing down big bro’s neck as Marc attempts to return to winning ways with the Honda factory team.

Meanwhile Brad Binder, who became the first South African to win a MotoGP in 2020, is joined on the grid this season by little brother Darryl, making the step up from Moto3 with the RNF team. And for the ninth season running, Aleix and Pol Espargaró of Spain will also face each other on the MotoGP gird. There could be a few frosty looks over Christmas dinner this year if racing rivalries get too heated…

You can watch every race and every qualifying round of the 2022 MotoGP season live on BT Sport – here’s your guide to all the races scheduled to take place this year.

MotoGP on TV – 2022 race calendar

MotoGP Qatar 

Sunday 6 March, 11.15am, BT Sport 2 HD (CH 528)

MotoGP Indonesia 

Sunday 20 March, 3.15am, BT Sport 2 HD (CH 528)

MotoGP Argentina

Sunday 3 April, BT Sport

MotoGP The Americas

Sunday 10 April, BT Sport

MotoGP Portugal

Sunday 24 April, BT Sport

MotoGP Spain

Sunday 1 May, BT Sport

MotoGP France

Sunday 15 May, BT Sport

MotoGP Italy

Sunday 29 May, BT Sport

MotoGP Catalonia

Sunday 5 June, BT Sport

MotoGP Germany

Sunday 19 June, BT Sport

TT Assen (MotoGP Netherlands)

Sunday 26 June, BT Sport

MotoGP Finland

Sunday 10 July, BT Sport

MotoGP Great Britain

Sunday 7 August, BT Sport

MotoGP Austria

Sunday 21 August, BT Sport

MotoGP San Marino

Sunday 4 September, BT Sport

MotoGP Aragón

Sunday 18 September, BT Sport

MotoGP Japan

Sunday 25 September, BT Sport

MotoGP Thailand

Sunday 2 October, BT Sport

MotoGP Australia

Sunday 16 October, BT Sport

MotoGP Malaysia

Sunday 23 October, BT Sport

MotoGP Valencia

Sunday 6 November, BT Sport

Don’t have BT Sport?

You can upgrade to our Virgin TV Maxit package online via your My Virgin Media account here and get all 4 BT Sport channels in HD. If you’ve not registered for My Virgin Media or have forgotten your sign in details just head over to myvirginmedia.com.

Not heard about Virgin TV Go?

Don’t let anything get in between you and your essential viewing with Virgin TV Go. With loads of sport and Box Sets to try out, you’ll always be entertained wherever you are!

The app is available to all Virgin TV customers at no extra cost and is compatible with Android, iOS, Windows 10 and PC/Mac. Get downloading (from the links below) and you’ll be one step closer to watching what you want, when you want. 

Download the Virgin TV Go app from the Apple app store

Download the Virgin TV Go app from Google Play

Download the Virgin TV Go app for Windows 10