The hectic travel schedule of MotoGP.

The tyres and petrol are ready and waiting in Motegi, Phillip Island, Sepang and Rio for the MotoGP circus to arrive. The bikes and freight will be joining them soon. It's flyaway time for MotoGP and for the first time in the 52-year history of the sport there are four grands prix in succession outside Europe. Transporting the travelling circus round the world can be a nightmare for everybody involved, but you can guarantee the likes of Rossi, Biaggi, Capirossi and Barros will be lining up on the grid at the right time, riding the correct machines during the next four hectic weeks.

Two massive 747 cargo jumbo jets left Valencia and Luxembourg late last week loaded with 17000 kgs (170 tons) of equipment en route to Narita airport near Tokyo for the start of their World tour that visits Japan, Australia, Malaysia and Brazil in just 28 days before returning home to Europe.

For MotoGP 500 teams like Barcelona-based West Honda Pons the real work to prepare for these four vital races started immediately Alex Barros crossed the line for a brilliant second place at the last European race of the season at Valencia in Spain. They raced back to Barcelona to pack 24 metal containers full of everything they will need in the next four weeks, from their million dollar NSR Honda machines to the tyre warmers and coffee making machine. The total weight of the boxes was 6000 kgs (six tons) and every item had to have its separate form for customs clearance in the four different countries.

The West Honda Pons team send 25 personnel to each race outside Europe and so hotels and three mini-buses and one car has to be organised at each venue. Unlike the freight, the team will return to Spain after the Malaysian Grand Prix before flying off to Rio for the final race of a long year that started in Japan back in April.

The freight started its journey in either Luxembourg or Spain before landing in Tokyo. On Sunday evening, after the Pacific Grand Prix at Motegi, the teams have to go through the packing process all over again. The 170,000 kgs is then taken by road back to Narita airport. On Monday it's loaded onto two jumbos en route to a military airport just outside Melbourne in Australia. The same process is repeated with a fleet of trucks taking the containers down to Phillip Island for the race before the packing up starts once again immediately that chequered flag drops. It's then back to Melbourne to catch the Monday flight to Kuala Lumpur In Malaysia. The Sepang circuit is situated right next to the airport. On Sunday night after the race the boxes are packed again and on Monday are flown straight to Rio in Brazil for the final race of the season.

It's not only bikes and spares that are included in the freight. Around 30,000 kgs of television, communication and signage equipment that is vital to the efficient running of each event is required at every venue. This also has to be packed up immediately after the race to be ready to leave on the truck for the airport.

So that's the machines, personnel and spares reaching their destinations on time, ready for that first practice session on Friday morning or in the case of Brazil, Thursday morning but what about the fuel and tyres. The fuel in particular can't be flown around the world and so both the fuel and tyres are transported by sea, months in advance of each race.

Two seven metre cargo shipping containers are used by both Michelin and Dunlop to transport their selection of tyres to each race. Customs officials insist that the same number of tyres leave the country that are bought in before the race. So no old tyres are thrown away because they have to be counted up and put back in the containers for the journey back to Europe. If new tyres are required at the last minute they are air freighted in or in extreme cases travel with the technicians with their personal luggage in the hold.

Transporting the fuel can be an even bigger problem but despite problems with late arrival at Interlagos in Brazil a few years ago it's always been there when needed.

Of course there are problems which usually occur when the crates are being loaded or unloaded onto the trucks which transport them to and from the respective airports.

Honda Racing Corporation Technical Director Roger vd Borght has seen it all. " The main problem is broken bikes and parts because with the boxes being so heavy the forklift trucks just tend to shove them in," he explained. "I remember a few years ago there was major damage to Mick Doohan's bike at Phillip Island when they lifted it up and it dropped out of the truck. Also the teams share freighters and the problem is all the equipment for every team is put in together depending on the shape and sizes of the boxes. They have to fit everything in so that there are no gaps on the planes and this means you can end up with boxes from Yamaha and Suzuki all piled in together."

It all gets sorted and the show will hit the road at 14.00 at Motegi on Sunday afternoon in Japan without a hint of the amount of work that has to be done before the repeat performance in Australia just seven days later.