MotoGP Analysis – What will change (and what won't) with Liberty Media | FormulaPassion.it

Great potential

Liberty Media he concluded the purchase of 86% of MotoGP for 4.2 billion euros, betting on the great entertainment and financial potential of the MotoGP. The Sprint races and the 45-minute Sunday races have enticed the American owners, thanks to recent market research which makes MotoGP perfect for the youth target, both male and female, of the USA

What won't change

“MotoGP is an incredible product, we have no intention of changing it“, assured Greg Maffei during the call with the investors of Liberty Media and Dorna for the presentation of the plans for the MotoGP. The 22 races will remain on the calendar, considered a correct number of appointments. The men of the American giant in fact consider MotoGP to be at a much more advanced level than Formula 1 was at the time of their purchase, at the end of 2016, which does not require any particular upheavals.
Therefore, there is no intention of revisiting the formatat least for now.
The 'new' MotoGP will not have street circuits on its calendaras underlined by the ownership once and for all.
Furthermore, in this phase Carmelo Ezpeleta will remain as CEO of Dorna, who, with the rest of the previous management, will retain 14% of the share package.

What will change

For Liberty Media, MotoGP is a diamond in the roughwhich will need to be introduced to a new audience who will quickly become attached to it. We will take part in the starting grid ceremony and focus on the women's world championship as a key to growth and development.
MotoGP will then review the location of its events, focusing more on the United States (in 2024 there is only Austin on the calendar) ed exiting even further from Europe (currently 12 appointments out of 21), winking at the countries with the best television rights. The Spanish races will decrease, now 4: Jerez, Barcelona, ​​Aragon and Valencia. Carmelo Ezpeleta has also made no secret of his ambition to return to Argentina as early as 2025, Javier Milei permitting.
Finally, the umbrellas could disappear from the starting gridas already happened in Formula 1 in 2018.

The Antitrust obstacle

As clarified in this morning's statement, the agreement between Liberty Media and the previous owners (Bridgepoint's English and the Canadian Pension Fund) will have to pass the scrutiny of the competition authorities of the various nations. The president of the American giant, Greg Maffei, said he was confident, as “the sports entertainment market is very large and F1 and MotoGP are only a small part”. Liberty Media then confirmed that the two categories will be sold separately to broadcasters. The objective is to obtain the green light from the various antitrust authorities by the end of the year and applications for the green light will be submitted in the United States, Brazil, Europe and the United Kingdom as soon as possible.