This weekend it’s the fifth round of the 2023 MotoGP championship in France at Le Mans.
Of course, you want to know how you can watch this weekend’s race, so here’s everything you need to know about the action as well as the full 2023 calendar, plus your options for streaming as well as watching on TV.
When is the French MotoGP race start time?
- Sunday 14 May at 2pm local time, which is GMT+1 (that’s 1pm BST, 8am ET, 5am US West Coast)
Free practice is televised on Friday and Saturday, followed by Qualifying. Here’s the schedule for the weekend. All times are local time (GMT+2).
- Friday 12 May Practice 1: 10.45-11.30am, Practice 2: 3.00-4.00pm
- Saturday 13 May Free Practice: 10.10-10.40am, Qualifying: 10.50-11.30am
- Sunday 14 May Warmup: 9.45-9.55am; Race start – 2pm
Here are the start times around the world.
MotoGP
Is MotoGP shown on free-to-air TV?
In some countries it is but in most places you’ll need to have the right paid-for TV package.
In the UK, for example, BT Sport has exclusive rights to live coverage until 2024.
Race highlights are available on ITV4. an tune in on Monday 15 May at 8-9pm. Highlights from the last couple of races can also be found on ITVX.
In the US, you can watch a re-run of the race on NBC on Saturday, April 22, at 3pm ET.
If you don’t have BT broadband, you can still get BT Sport by buying the Monthly Pass, which costs £29.99. But for those who do have BT broadband, adding a TV package is simple.
In the USA, NBC has exclusive broadcast rights for MotoGP for the 2023 season. Coverage will be on either NBC or CNBC and will also be streamed on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app. Only some will be shown live (such as the Grand Prix of the Americas on 16 April at 2.30pm ET, with the majority broadcast later after the race on the same day.
Here’s a list of the broadcasters in various countries and regions that (as far as we know) will show MotoGP races in 2022:
- UK: BT Sport 2
- USA: NBC & CNBC – full list of broadcast times here
- Australia: Foxtel / Kayo Sports
- Canada: Rev TV (via cable providers)
- Africa: SuperSport
- Asia: Fox Sports
- Belgium: Canal +
- Benelux: Eurosport
- Brazil: Fox Sports
- Czech Republic Slovakia: Nova Sport
- France: C8
- Germany: Servus TV
- Greece: CosmoteTv
- Indian Subcontinent: OSport
- Indonesia: Trans7
- Italy:
- Japan: G+
- Japan: Hulu
- Latina America: ESPN
- Mexico: ESPN2
- Netherlands: Ziggo Sport
- Poland: Polsat Sport
- Portugal: Sport TV
- Russia: motorsport.tv
- Spain: DAZN
- Sweden: ViaSat
- Switzerland: SRF
- Thailand: PPTV HD
MotoGP VideoPass
Wherever you are in the world, you can get the MotoGP VideoPass, which lets you stream live and on-demand coverage of every GP on your devices – and TV if you have an Android TV, Apple TV, Roku or Amazon Fire TV.
It costs 199.99€ for the full season. Streaming is in Full HD – not UHD sadly – but it also includes 45,000 videos to watch dating back as far as 1992.
Watch MotoGP with a VPN
Using a VPN allows you to watch MotoGP even if you’re not in your home country when a race is on. Alternatively it means you might be able to watch races live for free by watching a streaming service showing the race on free-to-air TV and streaming it on its website. You simply launch the VPN, connect to a server in your country and, from abroad, you can watch as if you were at home.
Of course, this works the other way round, too, and allows you to watch races on TV networks which stream online but are region-locked. You may still need an account for that TV service, but with a good VPN such as NordVPN you can get around those regional blocks.
We can’t show you how to unblock every single streaming service or which VPN unblocks each one, but here’s a quick guide so you can see how simple it is to use a VPN to appear to be located in the same country as the streaming service even if you’re really somewhere else. Bear in mind that you’ll need an account with the streaming service and, if relevant, a current subscription if it isn’t free to watch (as most aren’t).
Sign up for NordVPN
Jim Martin / Foundry
By default, the Complete plan is selected, but if you only need the VPN, click on Get Standard. At the top, choose between a two-year, one-year and one-month plan.
Follow the prompts to create your account and pay.
Install the NordVPN app
Jim Martin / Foundry
If you’re using a phone or tablet, just head to its app store (Google Play for Android) and search for NordVPN, then install it.
If you’re using Windows, then log into your NordVPN account in a web browser, go to the Downloads section and click Download app next to Get NordVPN for Windows. Run the downloaded file to install it.
Launch NordVPN
Jim Martin / Foundry
Launch the app, and sign in using the email address and password you entered when creating an account with NordVPN. On Windows you should see a screen like this, but other apps are very similar.
Either use the list of locations (the word icon at the top left) or scroll the map to connect to the country where the streaming service is based. Here we’re connecting to London, UK for BT Sport 2.
If prompted, allow NordVPN to set up a VPN connection. You might have to enter your Windows password or, on a mobile device, your passcode.
Wait until the VPN is connected
Jim Martin / Foundry
You should see a message to tell you the VPN is connected. You can see this with the green CONNECTED and a padlock above United Kingdom.
Open your streaming service app
Jim Martin / Foundry
Open the app for your streaming service, or head to its website.
Sign in with your account (create one if you haven’t got one) and then navigate to the MotoGP coverage. It should play just fine as the VPN makes it appear that you’re in the UK, even if you’re somewhere else in the world.
MotoGP 2023 calendar
Round | Race Date | Start time | Country | Circuit |
1 | 26 March | 2pm BST | Portugal | Portimao |
| 2 | 2 April | 6pm BST | Argentina | Termas de Rio Hondo |
| 3 | 16 April | 8pm BST | USA | Circuit of the Americas |
| 4 | 30 April | 2pm BST | Spain | Jerez |
| 5 | 14 May | 1pm BST | France | Le Mans |
| 6 | 11 June | 1pm BST | Italy | Mugello |
7 | 18 June | 1pm BST | Germany | Sachsenring |
8 | 25 June | 1pm BST | Netherlands | Assen |
9 | 9 July | 10am BST | Kazakhstan | Sokol |
10 | 6 August | 1pm BST | Great Britain | Silverstone |
11 | 20 August | 1pm BST | Austria | Red Bull Ring |
| 12 | 3 September | 1pm BSP | Spain | Catalunya |
13 | 10 September | 1pm BST | Italy | Misano |
14 | 24 September | 19.30am BST | India | Buddh |
15 | 1 October | 7am BST | Japan | Motegi |
| 16 | 15 October | 7am BST | Indonesia | Mandalika |
17 | 22 October | 4am BST | Australia | Phillip Island |
18 | 29 October | 7am GMT | Thailand | Chang |
19 | 12 November | 6am GMT | Malaysia | Sepang |
20 | 19 November | 5pm GMT | Qatar | Lusail |
| 21 | 26 November | 2pm GMT | Spain | Valencia (Ricardo Tormo) |
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Author: Jim Martin, Executive Editor
Jim has been testing and reviewing products for over 20 years. His main beats include VPN services and antivirus. He also covers smart home tech, mesh Wi-Fi and electric bikes.