MotoGP is a Grand Prix motorcycle racing competition held on circuits worldwide. With riders reaching speeds of over 350kph, it combines the thrill of speed and the demands of physical and mental endurance with cutting-edge technology, set against a backdrop of intense competition. It’s a high-stakes, adrenaline-filled sport celebrated by motorsport fans around the globe.

MotoGP is now evolving into a digital-first, global entertainment brand. As it embarks on this journey, Pentagram was tasked with reimagining the MotoGP brand, consolidating its various sub-brands (including Moto2, Moto3, MotoE, and eSport) and creating a comprehensive brand identity system for both its offline and online communications. The new branding aims to strengthen MotoGP’s connection with its audience and partners and engage a new generation of fans.

Research revealed that the MotoGP brand was able to evolve on multiple fronts. The current fan base is highly loyal, but the sport wishes to expand. To do so, MotoGP needed a better understanding of each facet of its audience and more effective ways to engage them, as well as strategies to reach new fans across different geographies and cultures. It also needed to tell a single, cohesive brand story that truly fits “the most exciting sport on earth.”

The existing branding, which evolved over many years, no longer reflected the core of the sport today. While the logo retained brand equity and recognition, it lacked visual clarity, especially in digital environments. Over time, the sub-brands had also become less recognisably related to the core identity.

In a sector already filled with the logos of different teams, sponsors and partners, standing out and cutting through the visual noise presented an exciting challenge. The new identity needed to reflect the highly visible, global nature of the MotoGP brand, remaining impactful and recognisable season after season.

MotoGP’s need for effective digital communication informed every aspect of the project. Other interrelated issues also needed to evolve to match the new brand, from the complex brand architecture to the limited and static visual assets, including typography and patterns.

The Pentagram team developed a highly flexible design system that captures the energy and dynamism of the sport while accommodating its many teams and global locations. The team established the brand strategy, architecture, verbal identity, messaging, fan manifesto, new logo, consolidated sub-brand system, custom variable display typeface, and customised text typeface (in collaboration with F37® Foundry), along with a colour system, motion design guidelines, patterns, and iconography. A brand film by Nomad was commissioned for the new identity’s launch at the final GP of the 2024 season in Barcelona.

At the centre of the MotoGP universe, the new logo is directly inspired by the sport itself, taking its rounded form from the lean of the riders as they go around corners at incredible speeds—something which is unique to the track-based nature of the sport. This lean is reflected in the letter ‘M’; the ‘O’s suggest the wheels' geometry, with the ‘t’ representing the rider between them. The ‘GP’ evokes the track and helps the logo retain a strong, sporty aesthetic. 

Each brand element is crafted for flexibility as MotoGP evolves. Rather than fixed assets, each component is designed with motion and dynamism in mind.

The new custom MotoGP typeface (created in collaboration with F37®) takes inspiration from the logo and features a set of alternate characters that inject energy and movement. The variable typeface provides maximum flexibility across headlines and text, working particularly well in motion as a dynamic brand element.

The team’s approach to colour was to keep the masterbrand neutral, sitting outside the rainbow of different colours of the teams, sponsors and track environments. This allows the main MotoGP brand to work alongside any colour combination, giving flexibility and longevity for future seasons. Rather than defining static fixed colour values, different sections of the colour wheel were assigned to the different business areas and sub-brands. 

The visual elements are directly inspired by the sport’s incredible speed and energy. During events, the bikes often blur into a mix of colour and sound as they speed past. This motion, along with the shifting directions and seemingly impossible angles of riders as they take corners, is mirrored in the animated brand elements, creating a series of energetic, vibrant, and adaptable brand moments.

The tone of voice, developed by Pentagram’s Brand Narrative team, combines the energy and momentum of motorsport with a welcoming and collective spirit that celebrates the wider MotoGP community. Used throughout the brand communications, the strapline “Faster. Forward. Fearless.”, captures the essence of MotoGP’s fastest bikes, forward-thinking manufacturers, and fearless riders, reinforcing its place as “the most exciting sport on earth.”

Pentagram’s Angus Hyland comments: “Working on the new MotoGP identity has been an incredible honour. It was great to collaborate with the MotoGP team to reimagine this iconic brand, and impossible not to get caught up in the excitement of the competition and the people who shape it. We hope fans around the world will embrace the new look and feel as MotoGP races into its next chapter.”

Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of MotoGP rights holder Dorna Sports adds: “We’re very excited to reveal our new identity and invite fans around the world to meet the new MotoGP. Working with Pentagram has been an incredible adventure leading to what we hope our fans will agree is an incredible result. A brand is more than a logo, and MotoGP is more than a sport. The process has taught us a lot about both and we’re very proud to show the world the results. The key question throughout has been, ‘What is MotoGP?’, both now and looking forward to who we want to be, and we hope this new identity communicates every aspect of that, from the speed to the passion and everything in between. For us, it's incredible how different this logo and brand is to our previous, and yet it feels like the perfect fit—and has done from the beginning. This is MotoGP."

By bringing together the riders, sponsors and teams with the fans old and new and capturing the passion and excitement at the very heart of the sport, Pentagram’s dynamic and future-proofed new brand identity will help MotoGP evolve seamlessly into a leading fan-centric global media and entertainment brand.