The MotoGP is the pinnacle class of world championship road racing that developed primarily in Europe after FIM (Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme) consolidated the regulations for motorcycle competition for the first time in 1949. In the past, the pinnacle class was the 500cc class of the Road Race World Championships, but in 2002 the regulation was changed to create the MotoGP class in which 2-stroke machines of up to 500 cc and 4-stroke machines of up to 990 cc competed together.

Then the regulation was changed again in 2004 to limit the MotoGP class to 4-stroke machines only, and the displacement limit was reduced to 800 cc in the regulation from the 2007 season. Since then, new regulations have also made a single maker the sole supplier of tires for MotoGP, limited the number of tires that can be used by a team during race week and reduced the number of test days. In 2010, another regulation change limits the number of engines a single rider can use during the season to six.

With all these changes, MotoGP has now entered a new era. The bikes to be used are factory machines developed solely for the MotoGP. With a light chassis of around 150kg, the machines achieve a maximum output of over 200 hp and will reach speeds of over 320km/hr. The latest electronic control technology is employed throughout the new machines. Competitors compete for position in approximately a 40-minute races on paved circuit with a length of 4~5km, with laps capped to about 110 to 120 km.

Italian riders, including Valentino Rossi and Giacomo Agostini, have the best all-time records, winning a total of 20 titles in this premier class. Yamaha has a total of 14 titles, including ten in the GP500 and four in the MotoGP.