MotoGP has visited many countries since the beginnings of the world championship in 1949. Belgium is one of the first countries on the calendar of the Grand Prix Moto.
Belgium is one of the first six countries chosen for the inaugural season, with Isle de Man, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland and Italy. It is the Spa-Francorchamps circuit which has the honor of representing the Belgian nation on the calendar. The “Toboggan of the Ardennes” will be the host of 40 Grands Prix, leaving its place at the Zolder circuit once, in 1980.
MotoGP in Belgium
Bill Doran is the first pilot to win in the queen category, on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Only nine pilots won a race on one of the two Belgian circuits in 41 editions. The biggest winner is none other than Giacomo Agostini, who has eight success in the Reine category (1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1973). The Italian pilot is followed by John Surtess and Mike Hailwood, who each have four victories. Randy Mamola won during the only race that took place on the Zolder circuit. The last winner in Belgium is Wayne Rainey, on the handlebars of his Yamaha, in 1990.
On the manufacturers’ side, Belgium smiled at MV Agusta, who won 19 times in 500cc (1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 and 1975). The Italian manufacturer is far from Gilera and Suzuki, who have only six successes.
-The end of the MotoGP in Belgium
In 1991, the Belgian circuit disappeared from the calendar for security reasons. Since then, the Spa-Francorchamps circuit has been trying to return to the MotoGP calendar. Different approaches were made, as in 2017 where Nathalie Maillet, former head of the Belgian site, started discussions before Carmelo Ezpeleta explains that “The major problem remains security. For us, it is practically impossible to approve this circuit for MotoGP“. In 2019, the Walloon government granted a loan to the Spa-Francorchamps circuit to modernize its infrastructure, with the aim of hosting international motorcycle competitions. The FIM EWC returns to the Belgian track in 2022.
Questioned in 2023, Amaury Bertholomé, director general of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, explains that “FIM requirements for the arrival of MotoGP are incompatible with the circuit“,
