The Kings Of Social Media in MotoGP™

It may come as no surprise but it is Valentino Rossi who leads the charge well and truly as the rider with the biggest social media following, across the entire spectrum; trumping even the official MotoGP™ account in terms of followers on both Facebook and Twitter (AARRGGHHH) – still some catching up to do though when it comes to Instagram!

Here’s a breakdown of the Doctor’s numbers at the time of writing:

Facebook Likes: 13,344,614

Twitter Followers: 5,490,680

Instagram Followers: 5,569,235

Just because you have the most followers, doesn’t necessarily mean you have the best social game. That’s not to sniff at what Valentino or Marc etc. do on their respective profiles – they’re busy men with different priorities than the rest of us. But who is making that extra effort to give fans as much insight as possible into the life of a MotoGP™ rider?

That title has to go to Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro (@aleixespargaro). Not a day goes by without Aleix gracing our IG feeds with story posts about cycling, his newborn twins, dogs, coffee, sushi and those utterly EPIC Andorran views. Whether he’s at a race circuit, or on holiday – Aleix loves to stay connected. He’s even prone to jump into various conversations with fans and journalists alike on Twitter too (sometimes not all fun and games, mind..) but that’s all part of the social media life, we guess.

Want to really get in touch with some of your MotoGP heroes? You’re in luck, as previously mentioned, sometimes, some of them respond to tweets online! Most notably is social interaction king, Aleix Espargaro – but also more recently Jorge Lorenzo (@lorenzo99) has been delving into his Twitter mentions and responding to comments and questions a few nights per month. Tweet replies from a 5-time World Champion - pretty cool, hey? Here’s some examples below!

Now then, there’s being active on social media the way Aleix Espargaro does it, then there’s the way his teammate Scott Redding (@reddingpower) does it. The Brit has taken his IG and story game to all new levels in recent months and whilst things may not have been going overly well for him on track, you can’t say he’s not doing everything he can to enjoy himself off it. Lip syncing to Cardi B, new tattoos, getting his knee down on a bicycle, convincing MM93 to give him a pair of his own brand shoes (and subsequently putting them through their paces!!), pulling stoppies, jumps on his scooter, turning up to Thursdays at races in just his swim shorts… it’s ALL going down on Redding’s Instagram. He may not have next year sorted but he is undoubtedly worth a follow to see what he gets up to from here on in….

If comedy is what you’re looking for, well also make sure to keep an eye on the Twitter and Instagram feed of Redding’s former teammate, Danilo Petrucci (@petrux9). He may not be up to much when it comes to everyday content, but is a guaranteed laugh with the captions at some point over race weekends!

When we say stylish, we’re obviously talking about one of the Italian riders. Any guesses who? That’s right, Andrea Iannone – as much a full-time Instagram influencer as he is motorcycle racer. There are photos on his main feed and stories from all kinds of situations: riding, behind the scenes, dinners, visits, photoshoots (sometimes with his model girlfriend) – you name it! One thing’s for certain, he’s always ready for a photo to be taken. If you want to learn how to up your stylized Insta game – @andreaiannone is where you need to go to learn.

Want the ultimate insight into the life of a MotoGP rider? Well what better way to see what it’s like than through their YouTube channel?! There’s only one man on the current grid who has done this and that is the Angel Nieto Team’s Czech whizz, Karel Abraham (@karel_abraham17 on Instagram)! Join him on trips to the far east, on track at home in Brno or behind the scenes from tests – you don’t get as much of a unique insight into MotoGP rider’s life as this: