GP Moto Racing 2
Table of Contents
Summary
If you’re open to the idea of getting humbled in a browser racing game, look no further. GP Moto Racing 2 looks basic enough until the AI riders leave you for dead on the first corner, and you’ll genuinely struggle to play catch-up if you don’t nail your remaining corners to perfection.
You get to choose between Race mode and Time Attack, and you’ll likely find yourself venturing over to TA earlier than expected. It offers better payouts, no rivals breathing down your neck, and a much easier route to racking up cash and earning a faster bike. Once you’ve put the saddle time in, the races (might) start going your way.
One pleasant surprise that you’re probably not expecting is that there’s a “brake” mode (kinda like an e-brake in drift lingo) where you can kick the back end out, which is a rare sight in two-wheel racers.
Hit space, and you’ll start sliding, allowing you to pull off tighter angles and power your way onto the next straight. It’s not gonna replace your favorite drifting games anytime soon, but it’s a welcome bonus to an otherwise challenging circuit racer.
Features
- Release date – May 3, 2021
- Difficulty – Intermediate/Advanced
- Levels – 10 circuits
- Number of vehicles – 3
- Vehicle customization/upgrades – No
- Multiplayer – No
- Mobile – No
- Developer – Vitality Games
Physics
The bikes grip up well, but they’re also tail-happy if you hit the “brake” on entry. It can be useful for corners you’ve overcooked a little, as you’ll scrub off some speed and you’re then able to accelerate out of the slide, making it feel more like a powerslide than a traditional lock-up.
Holding the brake for long durations keeps the rear sliding about, kinda like pulling a handbrake, and you’ll gradually come to a stop. So use it sparingly when needed.
While it’s controllable and predictable enough to become a useful cornering tool rather than a gimmick, the racing line still wins for pure speed unless you absolutely nail it. Think outside-inside-outside, clipping the apex, and letting the bike run wide on the exit. If you spend a lot of time tandeming in drifting games and going wide, the grip-focused line you’ll need to target feels quite a bit different.
There’s also a subtle automatic braking feature that kicks in if you enter a corner too fast (which illuminates on the right side of the screen). It’s kinda like traction control rather than an actual brake, and if you approach the corners without losing grip, it usually won’t activate. Our guide to drifting goes a little deeper on the differences between a racing line and a drift line if you wanna understand why the two are so different.
Graphics
For a 2021 game, it still looks pretty damn good. Bike movement is fairly realistic, the nitrous flames are a nice touch, and the sun flares are properly glaring at times.
They aren’t on the same level as something like Stunt Bike Extreme, which looks stunning, but runs on a much newer engine while providing 270 levels of trials bike carnage.
Controls
PC/laptop/Chromebook
- W/Up arrow – Accelerate
- S/Down arrow – Brake/reverse
- A/Left arrow – Lean left
- D/Right arrow – Lean right
- Space – Brake/slide (drift)
- Shift – Nitro
- C – Change camera
Mobile/tablet (iOS/Android)
Despite claims on some sites that this one works on mobile, we couldn’t even get the keyboard to open for the name entry screen when testing on Android. So, as far as we can see, it’s a desktop-only experience, unfortunately.
We’ve got loads of motorcycle games that work perfectly on your phone, though. One-button options like Moto Boss (think Drift Boss, but with a huge selection of bikes) keep things simple with auto-acceleration and hold-to-steer controls across increasingly fast tracks if you’re finding this one a bit tricky (which is fair).
How to Play GP Moto Racing 2
Initial Setup
The home menu is bare-bones. A gold cup in the top-right shows your achievements (more on those later), and the H button toggles between high and low quality. Start on high and drop it if your device struggles.
Enter your name, and you’re at the bike selection screen. You start with $100, which won’t buy you anything. The two unlockable bikes cost $10,000 and $27,000, so the starter is all you’ve got for a while. Only Track 1 is available.
Getting Started
Click ‘Play’ when you’re ready to head into the action.
If you try race mode, at the beginning, you’ll have a rolling start, overtake your rivals early, and think this is gonna be a walk in the park.
Then, if you’re anything like me, you’ll overcook the first corner, and they’ll fly past. When you try again, focusing on being more sensible, they’ll take the first opportunity to sneak through a gap.
When you fall off (and you will), it takes a few seconds for the bike to reset. Your opponents aren’t gonna hang around, which often means your fate is already decided. I lost count of how many attempts the first track took to secure a win, but that’s what makes it refreshing compared to most browser games. You have to actually put some effort in!
One thing worth noting is that the light-grey asphalt areas beside the track are fair game (or anywhere, for that matter). You can use them for cheeky overtakes, even in the races, without getting penalized. You’ll rack up a penalty for bigger shortcuts in Time Attack mode, but even then, it’s still pretty lenient.
Venturing onto the grass is a completely different story. It kills your speed and also makes the tires ridiculously slippery. Spend too long on it, and you’ll end up in this amusing, seemingly permanent slide where all you can do is enjoy the views while your rivals vanish into the distance. It’s fine to drive straight over short sections (if you want an unfair advantage), but you’ll soon realize it wasn’t the best idea to go in with too much speed and angle.
Another browser game we know of with this kind of unforgiving “earn your spot” circuit pressure is Super Star Car, which has the same format, but you get to go behind the wheel of a selection of F1 cars across 14 real-world-inspired tracks.
Game Modes
Race
Each race is a two-lap race against two AI opponents, with ten tracks to work your way through. Finishing second is enough to unlock the next circuit, which you’ll soon be grateful for. Even last place pays $300, so you can bank the cash from that (every little helps, right?), hit restart, and go again immediately.
There’s no difficulty adjustment setting. You’re simply expected to learn the ropes and improve over time.
Time Attack
This is where you’ll probably find yourself spending most of your time early on. There are no rivals to worry about – it’s just you and the clock.
Times that would leave you at the back of the pack in Race mode are often enough to earn three stars here, and the payouts are way better. By Track 5, a three-star result pays $3,000 (if you get three stars), making the $10,000 bike feel a lot more achievable.
It doubles as a practice ground, too. Learn to control your speed, time the braking points, experiment with slides, and get comfortable with each circuit before tackling them in races.
Progression is completely separate between the two modes. So, unlocking a track in Time Attack doesn’t open it in Race, and vice versa. You’ve gotta work your way through all ten tracks in both if you want to complete the game.
If you’ve got the lap-time obsession from this one, Polytrack is the perfect four-wheeled alternative if you get hooked on shaving milliseconds off your times. You get to compete in ghost races against your own best times across unlimited community-built tracks, and it’s even harder than this one to master.
Bike Selection
The garage is small with just three bikes in total, and the two you’ll want are locked behind $10,000 and $27,000 price tags.
Both of the premium bikes handle better and carry more speed, but don’t expect a total transformation, and it certainly won’t be enough to patch over poor skills. There aren’t any visible stat bars to compare them, so the differences show up in the corners more than on paper.
Just three bikes is admittedly a little disappointing. However, the same team behind this game also made the popular Burnout Crazy Drift game, which has the same $100-start, ten-track, separate-progression format but with five pre-modified JDM cars and a dedicated drift mode alongside the racing.
Or, if you want a bigger roster with zero grind required, all 12 supercars in Speed Racing Pro 2 are unlocked from the start, as well as six varied race circuits.
Track List
You get 10 choices, numbered ‘Track 1’ through ‘Track 10’, and any keen MotoGP fan will spot the familiar locations from the series.
Later tracks have longer laps and bigger payouts, with some offering many more opportunities for cheeky shortcuts if you’re desperate to scrape through. (Just remember to watch out for the grass!)
Tuning & Customization
There’s no tuning or upgrades, and the closest you’ll get to customization is the different color designs and tires on the three bikes. They all look near-identical otherwise.
For upgrades, you’ve gotta check out what’s quickly become the most popular motorcycle game at Drifted, Traffic Road. You’ll need to take on the highway traffic behind the ‘bars of 30 bikes, each with power and handling tune-ups, paint jobs, decals, and a challenging career spread across two islands.
Advanced Tips & Tricks
Use Time Attack to farm cash for the unlockable bikes
At the start, Race mode pays just $300 if you find yourself finishing in last place. However, Time Attack pays four figures if you can land three-star results (which is easier than you might think). Work your way through the Time Attack mode, purchase a better bike with your earnings, then head back to the races with a better chance of landing pole position.
Don’t save your nitro for the perfect moment
The meter refills super slowly, and the races are only two (often short) laps. If you keep waiting for a completely full bar, you’ll barely use it. Just fire it off whenever you’ve got a decent stretch ahead, even if the meter’s only half full. It doesn’t last long, but it’ll give you a quick (and much-needed) burst of acceleration.
The camera angles are… different
Try pressing C on a long straight, preferably when you’ve already lost a race. The alternative views are quirky, unpredictable and kinda sketchy, so make sure you only test them when you’ve got nothing left to lose.
Keep an eye on the achievements
The gold cup on the home menu rewards you for everything from (finally) securing your first win to losing five races in a row, crashing into opponents, and riding the wrong way around the track. Some of them you’re not likely to unlock by accident, so they’re worth checking out if you want a reason to have some more fun.
Learn the braking points before you worry about drifting
The powerslides are fun, but the racing line is almost always faster. Save the drifting for Time Attack sessions where there’s nothing on the line. In the words of the Drift King, we drift “not because it is the quickest way around a corner, but the most exciting way”!
GP Moto Racing 2 FAQ
How many bikes are in GP Moto Racing 2?
Three. You start with a free bike and get to unlock two more for $10,000 and $27,000.
Can I play GP Moto Racing 2 on my mobile?
We were told it works on mobile devices, but we couldn’t get past the name entry screen on Android, so it’s a no from us.
How do I earn money faster?
Head into Time Attack, which pays way more than Race mode. A three-star result (which is way easier than winning a race) will soon earn you four-figure payouts.
What’s the best way to improve in GP Moto Racing 2?
Spend time in Time Attack learning the braking points, kicking the back end out, and perfecting the racing lines for each track. These skills will transfer directly to Race mode, assuming you don’t get rammed off the track by your AI opponents!
Do I need to win races to progress?
No. You can finish second and still unlock the next track in Race mode. You’ll need 2 or 3 stars to do so in Time Attack.
Can I drift in GP Moto Racing 2?
Yes. Press space to kick the back end out and slide through the corners. It’s more of a powerslide than a full drift, but it’s fun and controllable.
Is progression shared between Race and Time Attack?
No. Both modes have a separate track unlock path, so you’ll need to progress through all ten tracks in both.
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Bill is a writer and photographer who has been part of the Drifted team since 2015. His work extends to various print and online publications, including Wangan Warriors.
As part of the King of Nations team, he traveled extensively for several years, capturing top-tier international drift events worldwide. His hands-on experience, including rebuilding his own Nissan Silvia S15 drift car, gives him unique insights into drift car building and global drift culture.
When not behind the lens or keyboard, Bill can be found browsing classifieds for his next JDM project or shredding virtual tires on popular simulators like Assetto Corsa, CarX, and Forza.
You can learn more about Bill’s story here or follow his socials on X (formerly Twitter), Flickr, Facebook, and Instagram.
