Top 10 Legendary Motorcycle Races
If there’s a more exciting form of motorsport than motorcycle racing, we don’t know about it. Even as spectators, the unrivalled mix of high-speed and elbow-to-elbow motorcycle competition can keep our heart racing nearly as fast as the competitors. Whether you’re simply a fan or you’re a rider, we’ve assembled 10 of the most intense and exhilarating motorcycle races in the world that push the boundaries of biking even further.
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1. Daytona 200
Although we think witnessing the early Daytona races on the hard-packed sand of the beach would’ve been cool, the Daytona 200 motorcycle race has been a Florida fixture for more than 60 years. The 200-mile race has changed considerably over the decades with some arguing that the shift away from the banked track and the drop from the top-spec Superbike machines diminished the race’s appeal. However, there’s no arguing when it comes to Daytona 200’s iconic place in American motorsport history, and it’s still an event full of excitement.
2. AMA Supercross Championship
Although Daytona hosts a Supercross event in its infield, there’s just something crazy cool about shipping in 500 truckloads of dirt to make a dirt bike course in the middle of a football field, which is exactly where most of the AMA Supercross Championship races take place. Catching this wild, wheeled circus anywhere it’s hosted is bound to be a good time, but our vote is for the season-ending spectacle at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. There, a full season’s worth of energy is unleashed in a final dirt-slinging blitz that sees riders bound off jumps for 70-plus-feet of air.
3. Andler Hill Climb
The possibility of injuries is pretty high with any sort of serious biking competition—that’s why it’s important for all riders to know motorcycle racing safety—but the likelihood of both broken bones AND bikes is never higher than at the Andler Hill Climb. Situated on the wall of an old quarry in Belgium, competitors launch themselves up the hill with as much speed and nerve as they can muster, only to find themselves unlikely to reach the summit before flying off their bike…and then they have to watch the machine tumble down the hill again. Anyone with an ounce of sympathy as spectators will surely cringe at every metal-twisting bounce.
4. Pikes Peak
In Colorado Springs, there’s a more famous hill climb event known as Pikes Peak. While it’s a dirt and gravel path at one point, the hill climb now covers roughly 12.5 fully paved miles and reaches 4,700 feet in elevation, all while rounding 156 turns. With plenty of opportunities for competitors to miss a corner and careen over the edge, Pikes Peak is no stranger to danger. The two-wheeled record has stood since 2018 when Rennie Scaysbrook posted a sizzling 9-minute, 44-second time on an Aprilia Tuono V4 1100.
5. La Baneza
Since the mid-1950s, a small town in Leon, Spain has hosted a sensational road racing event. A 1.75-mile course winds through the extremely narrow streets of La Baneza, with corners so tight it demands small bikes. Using 125 cc Moto3 race bikes, competitors put on a show for tens of thousands of happy spectators. But what makes this race truly special is how the community embraces it as a whole. Local residents are known to open their homes to competitors and fans alike, giving this event a sense of camaraderie and support for local motorcycle racers like no other.
6. Suzuka 8 Hours
No list of the top motorcycle races would be complete without including the most important endurance race at the legendary Japanese Suzuka track. For eight hours straight, teams of two to three riders pilot some of the fastest 1,000 cc race bikes at dizzying speeds to see who can accumulate the most laps. The excitement begins with a LeMans-style start where the riders need to run to their bikes, start them up, and take off. In 2024, a new event record of 220 laps was set aboard a race-spec Honda CBR1000RR-R SP.
7. Tennessee Knockout
Extreme enduro has been growing in popularity in recent years, and while competitors agree to disagree on which is the toughest of all, one name keeps coming up on everyone’s list. The Tennessee Knockout has quickly earned the respect of competitors due to its sprint format rather than long-haul ride. Here, riders are pitted against each other in heats for 30-minute runs, which means the distances covered aren’t huge, making it better for spectators to enjoy the action. Courses start with riders clamouring over logs, stumps, culverts, and tractor tires before venturing into the hilly woods where they’re expected to navigate fields of rocks and boulders that don’t even look possible to ride over.
8. Dakar Rally
At the other end of the enduro spectrum is the Dakar Rally. This extreme race originated in the late 1970s and took two- and four-wheeled competitors from Paris, France across the Sahara Desert to Dakar, Senegal over the course of several days. Over the years, the route has changed to include more southern parts of Africa and then South America before landing in Saudi Arabia. While the four-wheeled machines that compete in Dakar have typically been purpose-built for the event, the motorcycles have been decidedly closer to the bikes available on the showroom floor. The terrain is unforgiving and the competition fierce (motorcyclists often need to worry about getting run over by other competitors), making the Dakar one of the most spectacular races found anywhere.
9. Macau Grand Prix
Another event that’s as famous for its four-wheeled racers as those who compete on two wheels is the Macau Grand Prix, a key part of the MotoGP World Championship series. As a street circuit, the course features a few fast straightaways with hard corners and fierce crash barriers, all of which can combine for extremely challenging riding.
10. Isle of Man Tourist Trophy
Arguably the most famous—and most dangerous—racing spectacle in the world, the Isle of Man TT pits some of the most steely nerved riders in the world on a wild 38-mile course across open countryside. The route goes through towns and over a mountain on the tiny British Isle of Man, with average speeds in excess of 136 mph. Notoriously, the TT is also the deadliest motorsports event, having claimed more than 150 fatalities at official race functions over the years (with more than 250 in total with affiliated events). Incredibly, since the Isle of Man TT began in 1907, Michael Dunlop and his uncle Joey Dunlop have combined to claim 55 wins!
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One of the best parts of motorcycling is that there’s a type of racing to suit whatever your interest may be. You can expect plenty of thrills and astonishing skills put on full display during these competitions.
Jeff Wilson
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