This is an authoritative illustrated history of MotoGP and the World Motorcycle Championship featuring exclusive contributions from the legends of the sport.

Officially licensed and published in the 60th anniversary year of World Championship motorcycle racing, this book presents a fact-packed and statistics-laden year-by-year history, concentrating on the premier class (500cc, then MotoGP) but not forgetting the other categories along the way. Beautifully illustrated and designed, written by acknowledged experts and featuring extensive data compiled by MotoGP’s official statistician – all these elements combine to create a history book with a difference.

This illustrated history jam packed with more than 150 stunning photographs celebrates high performance motorbike racing since the start of the world championship in 1949.The daring exploits of motorcycle race legends Valentino Rossi, Barry Sheene, Casey Stoner and John Surtees are all gloriously celebrated in Moto GP: The Illustrated History. Each racing decade is dissected and discussed, as are the big incidents, top personalities and technological innovations. To complete the book, motorcycle racing's greatest names – including John Surtees, Giacomo Agostini, Kenny Roberts, Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner and young phenom Marc Marquez – provide exclusive personal insights and accounts of what it is like to race at speeds of 180mph. Moto GP: The Illustrated History is a unique book which brilliantly conveys the exhilarating spirit of this popular sport.

Until the 1970s, North America was considered a backwater with respect to world championship–level motorcycle road racing. European racers viewed American riders as being less talented and rode around in circles on tracks made of dirt. That all changed when Kenny Roberts exploded onto the Grand Prix racing scene and became the first American to win the world championship in motorcycle road racing's premier class. Roberts' success launched an era of American dominance that lasted for nearly 20 years and still echoes through the annals of the sport. This is the story of the legendary American riders who beat the Europeans at their own game, including Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz, Kenny Roberts Jr., and the most recent American world champion, Nicky Hayden. With additional chapters about the American World Superbike champions and those Americans who competed for the World Championship, this is the story road racing fans have been waiting decades to read.

MOTORCYCLE RACING. Ring of Fire covers the recent history of MotoGP, from American Nicky Hayden spectacularly overturning established champion Valentino Rossi in 2006, through the emergence of wild young Australian Casey Stoner as the new champion in 2007, to the fierce rivalry between them and Spaniards Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo in what would prove to be one of the most closely-contested years of racing in 2008. It gives a behind the scenes look at World Superbike Champion James Toseland's attempts to break into this elite, and looks back at the tradition of reprobates, romance and debauchery in the paddock dating back to the 60s and stars like Mike Hailwood and Giacomo Agostino. Rick Broadbent introduces us not just to the stars but also to the officals, mechanics, doctors, team owners and fans who make up this white-knuckle ride of a sport.

MotoGP is Formula One on two wheels - originally the 500cc world championship, it was rebranded in 2002 - is the world's fastest, most advanced and celebrated form of motorcycle racing. Features exclusive interviews with the sports greatest names in MotoGP including Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner and John Surtees. The sport is watched in more than 200 countries around the world with an average audience of around 320 million television viewers per event. Many MotoGP riders are household names and their influence on popular culture transcends the sport, including Valentino Rossi, Barry Sheene, John Surtees, Nicky Hayden and Casey Stoner. Average on-track attendance at MotoGP races across the globe in 2006 was 120,000 per event, with around 222,000 spectators in Valencia. Races are televised live on cable/satellite television on Eurosport across the continent and many of the Grands Prix are also shown live on BBC.

Jorge Lorenzo really came of age in 2010 when he took the MotoGP season by storm and became the runaway World Champion, winning nine of the season's 18 races, finishing on the podium 16 times and accumulating the biggest points score ever achieved in the championship. And he finally toppled team-mate Valentino Rossi's domination. Here, then, is the third edition of Lorenzo's quirky, insightful and highly readable autobiography, updated to cover the 2010 season in full.