Editing Grand Prix motorcycle racing (section)

===Pre-MotoGP era===
* 1949: Start of the world championship in Grand Prix motorcycle racing for five separate categories, 125cc, 250cc, 350cc, 500cc and sidecars.<ref name="Circus"/> [[Harold Daniell]] won the first ever 500cc Grand Prix race held at the [[Isle of Man TT]].<ref name="MotoGP Milestones">{{cite web |url=http://www.crash.net/motogp/feature/72234/1/motogp_milestones_1949-2003.html |title=MotoGP Milestones |date=22 May 2003 |publisher=crash.net |access-date=29 January 2016 |archive-date=22 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722173702/http://www.crash.net/motogp/feature/72234/1/motogp_milestones_1949-2003.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* 1951: Sidecars reduced in engine capacity from 600cc to 500cc
* 1952: [[Ken Kavanagh]] wins the [[1952 Ulster Grand Prix|1952 350cc Ulster Grand Prix]] to become the first Australian competitor to win a world championship Grand Prix race. [[Ray Amm]] wins the 1952 350cc Nations Grand Prix to become the first African competitor to win a world championship Grand Prix race.
* 1957: [[Gilera]], [[Mondial (motorcycle manufacturer)|Mondial]] and [[Moto Guzzi]] withdraw at the end of the season citing increasing costs. [[Bob McIntyre (motorcycle racer)|Bob McIntyre]] wins the longest ever Grand Prix race of {{convert|301.84|mi|km}}, held over 8 laps of the Isle of Man.<ref name="MotoGP Milestones"/>
* 1958: [[MV Agusta]] win the constructors' and riders' championships in all four solo classes, a feat the team repeat in 1959 and 1960.<ref name="Circus"/>
* 1959: [[Honda]] enters the [[Isle of Man TT]] for the first time.
* 1961: The 1961 [[Argentine motorcycle Grand Prix|Argentine Grand Prix]] is the first world championship race held outside of Europe. [[Kunimitsu Takahashi]] wins the 1961 250cc German Grand Prix to become the first Asian competitor to win a world championship Grand Prix race.
* 1963: The 1963 [[Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix|Japanese Grand Prix]] is the first world championship race held in Asia.
* 1964: The 1964 [[United States motorcycle Grand Prix|United States Grand Prix]] is the first world championship race held in North America.
* 1966: Honda wins the constructors' championship in all five solo classes. [[Jim Redman]] wins Honda's first ever 500cc Grand Prix at [[Hockenheimring|Hockenheim]], also the first win for a Japanese factory in the premier class.<ref name="MotoGP Milestones"/>
* 1967: Final year of unrestricted numbers of cylinders and gears. Honda withdraws in protest.
* 1968: [[Giacomo Agostini]] (MV Agusta) wins both the 350cc and 500cc titles.
* 1969: [[Godfrey Nash]] riding a [[Norton Manx]] becomes the last rider to win a 500cc Grand Prix riding a single-cylinder machine.<ref name="MotoGP Milestones"/>
* 1971: [[Jack Findlay]] rides a [[Suzuki]] TR500 to the first ever win in the 500cc class for a two-stroke machine.<ref name="MotoGP Milestones"/>
* 1972: as 1968. The death of [[Gilberto Parlotti]] at the Isle of Man TT causes multiple world champion Giacomo Agostini and other riders to boycott the next four events on grounds of safety.
* 1972: Last year of 500cc sidecars.
* 1972: [[Giacomo Agostini]] wins his seventh consecutive 500cc championship, all with [[MV Agusta]].
* 1973: The deaths of [[Jarno Saarinen]] and [[Renzo Pasolini]] at the Italian round at Monza cause the 250cc race to be cancelled.
* 1974: The [[Suzuki RG 500]] is the first square-four in the 500cc class. The constructors' title is won by a Japanese brand and a two-stroke for the first time ([[Yamaha Motor Racing|Yamaha]]).
* 1975: Giacomo Agostini (Yamaha) wins the 500cc class, making Yamaha the first non European brand to the riders' championship in the premier class with two stroke engine.
* 1976: [[Barry Sheene]] wins the first 500cc championship for Suzuki. After the [[1976 Isle of Man TT]], the FIM gives in to the riders' boycott and removes the event from the Grand Prix calendar.
* 1977: [[Formula 750]] becomes a world championship for 750cc machines.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fim-live.com/en/article/110th-fim-anniversary-flash-back-1976-1979/|title=FIM History Flash Back 1796-1979|work=FIM-live.com|access-date=10 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218163229/http://www.fim-live.com/en/article/110th-fim-anniversary-flash-back-1976-1979/|archive-date=18 February 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Barry Sheene]] wins the 500cc class. The British Grand Prix moves from the Isle of Man to the [[Silverstone Circuit]] on the British mainland.
* 1978: [[Kenny Roberts]] (Yamaha) wins the 500cc class, the first American to do so.
* 1979: Kenny Roberts leads a rider revolt by threatening to form a race series to compete against the FIM world championship, breaking the FIM hegemony and increased the political clout of Grand Prix racers, which subsequently led to improved safety standards and a new era of professionalism in the sport.<ref>{{Citation |first1=Noyes | last1=Dennis |year=1999 |first2=Michael | last2=Scott |title=Motocourse: 50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix  |publisher =Hazleton Publishing Ltd |isbn=1-874557-83-7 }}</ref>
* 1979: Last year of the Formula 750 class.
* 1982: [[Antonio Cobas]] develops a stronger and lighter aluminum twin-beam chassis to replace the steel backbone [[Motorcycle frame|frame]] used since the 1950s, and by the 1990s, all the major racing teams in Grand Prix competition used the aluminum frame design.<ref name="Framing the Future: The Legacy of Antonio Cobas">{{cite web|url=http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2004/Apr/040414cob.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040902232711/http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2004/Apr/040414cob.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 September 2004 |title=Framing the Future: The Legacy of Antonio Cobas |publisher=superbikeplanet.com |accessdate=14 December 2010 }}</ref>
* 1982: Last year of the 350cc class.
* 1983: [[Freddie Spencer]] (Honda) wins the 500cc class. Spencer and [[Kenny Roberts]] win all 500cc races of the season between them.
* 1984: [[Michelin]] introduces [[radial tyre]]s in GPs.
* 1984: 50cc class replaced by 80cc.
* 1985: [[Freddie Spencer]] (Honda) wins both the 250cc and 500cc titles.
* 1987: [[Push start]]s are eliminated.
* 1987: [[Wayne Gardner]] (Honda) wins the 500cc class, the first Australian to do so.
* 1988: [[Wayne Rainey]] wins the first 500cc race using [[Disc brake#Racing|carbon brakes]], at the British GP.
* 1989: Last year of the 80cc class.
* 1990: The 500cc class grid switches from five to four bikes per row.
* 1992: Honda introduces the [[NSR500]] with a [[big bang engine]].
* 1993: [[Shinichi Ito]] and his [[fuel-injection|fuel-injected]] NSR500 break the {{convert|200|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on}} barrier during the German GP on [[Hockenheimring]].
* 1998: the 500cc class switches to unleaded fuel.
* 1998: [[Mick Doohan]] wins his fifth consecutive 500cc title, all with [[Honda Racing Corporation|Honda]].
* 1999: [[Àlex Crivillé]] (Honda) wins the 500cc class, the first Spaniard to do so.
* 2000: [[Kenny Roberts Jr.]] (Suzuki) wins the 500cc class, he joins his father [[Kenny Roberts]] to claim the championship and thus making them the only father and son to have won the 500cc championship.
* 2001: [[Valentino Rossi]] wins his first premier class title and becomes the final two-stroke champion in the premium class.