Freedom and MotoGP: What’s happening, what’s not / MotoGP

Formula 1 rights holders have now also acquired MotoGP. They will adopt proven methods – but not others, for good reason.

If the competition authorities give the OK, it will be effective in 2024: Liberty Media will take over 84 percent of Dorna and then control not only the popular four-wheeled racing series but also its single-track counterpart. What does this mean for MotoGP? Classification.

What is coming

Win on social media

Lewis Hamilton is the most popular F1 driver with 36.7 million followers on Instagram, Marc Márquez has 7.1 million. The official F1 Insta account is followed by 27.7 million, that of MotoGP with 15.6 million. Most brutal: Valentino Rossi, a retired driver (16.1 million), has almost 8 times more followers than the second most popular active driver (Fabio Quartararo, 2.1 million). This means nothing but: Liberty Media must create new heroes among the target youth, as they did in F1. The second thing is a good way to do this:

Focus on reality

“Save to Live” on Netflix, despite all the criticisms that are acceptable, is the driving force behind Formula 1. “MotoGP Unlimited” or “There Can Only Be One”? In many small, very small siblings, they are by no means true counterparts of the same song. The only movie that came close to it like “Drive to Survive” was “Marc Márquez – All In”, but that only reaches Marc fans or everyone who wants to be one. The gold in MotoGP is real on the street: the characters are still real people, largely unspoiled by hyper-correct media nonsense. What worked well in F1 can be great in MotoGP. But you should do just that.

The Rediscovery of America

American drivers have dominated the motorcycle world championship for years, almost decades, while American athletes in F1 have always remained an exception. For a long time, Formula 1 racing on American soil was between the exotic (Long Beach) and the embarrassing (Indy, Dallas), while motorcycle racing regularly produced classics: who could outrun Valentino Rossi or Marc Márquez there Laguna Seca. ever forget? In 2013, three MotoGP races were held in America – something that F1 managed 10 years later, after Uhuru took over. No doubt: you know how the American market works. The fact that there is an American team, Trackhouse, also plays into the hands of the new hosts.

What will not come

City courses

While in F1 the mountain comes to the prophet more often (with Las Vegas as a famous example), in MotoGP races will continue to take place only on permanent race tracks. Dorna Ezpeleta’s boss and Liberty representatives confirmed this in an investor call midweek. The obvious reason: driver safety. In general, there are no plans to make major changes to MotoGP’s DNA, Uhuru boss Greg Maffei tries to assure: “MotoGP is a very exciting product and we have no plans to change the game.” A man should be judged by his actions.

Shared TV rights

It was important for those involved to insist on this right from the beginning, and for good reason: if the TV rights for Formula 1 and MotoGP were combined, then you could immediately raise a white flag to the EU competition authority in Brussels. Of course, it must be possible for TV broadcasters to acquire only the rights to one series or another. In this regard, the biggest construction sites are elsewhere: MotoGP is particularly strong in Spain and Italy, while the interest in F1 is more geographically spread. Reviving motorcycling in the UK would be a good start.

More races

Those involved in Formula 1 and MotoGP are already groaning under packed calendars. In the case of MotoGP, the Saturday race is added every weekend – something that F1 regularly allows itself. Even if one area or another were to be changed in the coming years, it would probably be possible to expect a race to add or subtract 20 a season here and there. What will happen under the same roof is better coordination between the two race series to eliminate scheduling conflicts and lead spectators gracefully from one Liberty Premium product to the next throughout the weekend.

And the eternal idea of a joint mega race weekend between F1 and MotoGP on the same track? Ezpeleta: “Just because we belong to the same group, the basic problems will not disappear. But the idea is there and we can work on it together.”