A total of 11 MotoGP teams will present 12 vintage or old school designs on their motorbikes in the British Series at the Silverstone Circuit on 2-4 August 2024. They are doing this to celebrate MotoGP’s 75th anniversary.

The first motor racing Grand Prix was held on June 17 1949 at the Isle of Man TT at the Snaefell Mountain Circuit, England, which was won by Harold Daniel. The 1949 GP500 world title was won by British racer, Leslie Graham. AJS ended the season as constructors’ world champion.

Teams and racers will use these old school motorbike designs for the Grand Prix race on Sunday (4/8/2024), but the designs will already be on display at the Silverstone Circuit pitlane on Thursday (1/8/2024). Each team is free to choose their own style based on their history.

The following is a photo gallery of old school MotoGP motorbike designs for the 2024 British Series, along with the reasons and history behind the choice of patterns. Come on, check it out!

Monster Energy Yamaha

Yamaha chose a red-white-black livery which is of course one of their legendary liveries in the world of racing. This livery was first worn in 1964, and became iconic in the 1970s thanks to Jarno Saarinen and Giacomo Agostini. Not only Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins will wear this livery, but also Remy Gardner who will be the wildcard rider.

Repsol Honda

Repsol Honda chose the livery worn by Freddie Spencer to win the 1983 GP, when he beat Yamaha icon, Kenny Roberts sr. Joan Mir also decided to wear Randy Mamola’s helmet pattern as a tribute.

LCR Honda Castrol-Idemitsu

As usual, LCR Honda presents two different styles. Johann Zarco uses the Honda motorbike livery that Mike Hailwood used to win the 1966 GP250. However, the livery is dominated by Castrol green. Meanwhile, Takaaki Nakagami uses a livery inspired by the Japanese flag, based on the long history of Japanese riders and manufacturers in MotoGP.

Ducati Lenovo Team

The Ducati Lenovo Team squad chose the Desmosedici livery used by Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss in 2003, Ducati’s debut in MotoGP. Pecco Bagnaia admitted that he encouraged Ducati CEO, Claudio Domenicali, to choose this livery because it is iconic. Enea Bastianini also decided to wear a helmet with a pattern as a tribute to Mike Hailwood.

Prima Pramac Racing

Prima Pramac Racing is known to be close friends with the late 13-time world champion, Angel Nieto. His nephew, Fonsi Nieto, also serves as the team’s sporting director. They also chose to use the pattern worn by Angel Nieto when he won the 1983 GP125. Jorge Martin also used the helmet pattern worn by Nieto in the same year.

Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team

The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team squad has only been competing in MotoGP for three years. However, they found a vintage pattern with a great idea, inspired by the ‘SoleLuna’ helmet of the team owner and nine-time world champion.

Gresini Racing

As a team founded and owned by the late Fausto Gresini, the Gresini Racing squad of course chose the livery of the team boss’ motorbike when they won the GP125 in 1985 and 1987. However, this livery has actually been used by Gresini every time he races at Misano in 2022 and 2023.

Trackhouse Racing

Trackhouse Racing only made its MotoGP debut this year, so they don’t have an old school style. However, they participated with a clever idea, namely attaching the faces of Grand Prix winners from the United States such as Nicky Hayden, Ben Spies, Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Kenny Roberts sr and jr, Kevin Schwantz, John Kocinski, and Randy Mamola.

Aprilia Racing

Aprilia Racing has a long history in the Grand Prix event, especially with four-time GP250 world champion, Max Biaggi. For this reason, they chose the Aprilia RSV 250 livery that Biaggi used to win the GP250 world title in 1994, 1995 and 1996. For the record, to this day Biaggi is still Aprilia’s global ambassador, you know.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

Before being known as orange-red-black, KTM was known as white and blue in the past. This livery will be used by Jack Miller and Brad Binder, which is inspired by KTM’s first road racing motorbike, the LC4. The bike was developed in 1989 by Wolfgang Felber, who currently serves as vice president of KTM’s road racing technology department.

Red Bull GASGAS Tech 3

GASGAS has only competed in MotoGP in the last two seasons. As a result, they don’t have old school styles for their motorbikes. However, they wear a white and red livery, which is quite similar to Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. Unfortunately, neither Red Bull GASGAS Tech 3 nor MotoGP explained the reasons behind this livery design.