How To Watch MotoGP: Portugal Start Time & Live Stream

It’s the first round of the MotoGP championship of 2023 this weekend in Portugal: the long wait is over.

Of course, you want to know how you can watch the 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 Portuguese MotoGP race start time?

• Sunday 26 March at 2pm BST (also 2pm local time)

Free practice is televised on Friday and Saturday, followed by Qualifying. Here’s the schedule for the weekend. For those in the UK, remember that clocks go forward on Sunday morning, so times on Sunday are in British Summer Time, while timings for Friday and Saturday are in GMT.)

• Friday 24 March Practice 1: 10.45-11.30am, Practice 2: 3.00-4.00pm
• Saturday 25 March Free Practice: 10.10-10.40am, Qualifying: 10.50-11.30am
• Sunday 26 March Warmup: 9.45-9.55am; Race start – 2pm

Here are the start times around the world. The race begins at 9am for those on the US East Coast, and 6am for those on the West Coast.

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. For the Portuguese race, you can tune in on Monday 27 March at 10.15pm. They’ll also be on ITV X.

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

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).

1.

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.

2.

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.

3.

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.

4.

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.

5.

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