The speed record of the Moto GP was set by racer Andrea Dovizioso in the warm up of the 2016 Qatar Grand Prix - 361 kph, which translates to roughly 224 mph. This is just one of the many fascinating facts and figures you can find online. The Moto GP is among the fastest motor sports ever - it is for motorcycle racing what Formula 1 would be for the four-wheeled motor sports. It is a worldwide rolling circus with 18 participating circuits in 15 different countries, from Spain to Argentina and the United States. We can be sure many college athletes would love to have such a sport in their curriculum - the high speeds and the fast vehicles make it very attractive for both youngsters and older generations. So why have motor sports never become a part of the college sports circuit?
It's not the drivers that race but the engines
Motor sports are a very different kind of sport than anything currently played in universities. The driver or pilot is an individual that reaps all the glory - but it's the work of a team of technicians, engineers, mechanics, and others that help him (drivers are usually men) achieve the victory. Motor sports only promote the team effort behind the scenes, so they are not the perfect means to teach the young of the benefits of sportsmanship and team effort other, team-based sports do.
For teaching youngsters about teamwork, leadership, collaboration, and sportsmanship, traditional team sports like basketball, football, and lacrosse, are a perfect choice.
Then again...
Building such a high-performance engine like the ones used on the Moto GP tracks - they are not the same as the stock models have, mind you - takes not only engineering brilliance but also an incredible attention to detail. Besides, it takes meticulous testing, continuous fine-tuning, and a lot of team effort. Motor sports are very popular and always in need of talented and able hands to create the highest-performance engine possible.
To this end - and because of most of the world's Formula 1 teams being based in the UK - British universities have introduced courses and specialties linked to this area of sports engineering. Several universities in the country offer courses in motorsport engineering, teaching students about solid body mechanics, engineering materials, principles of vehicle design, vehicle performance, and so on. And not just one or two colleges have such courses - there are several institutions that have such specialties in their curriculum.
Motor sports are, albeit indirectly, inside the universities of the United Kingdom. They could find their way to those in the US, too, under similar conditions.
