MotoGP | Ezpeleta: “We’ll stop at 22 races, we can’t do more”

Hungary will return to the MotoGP calendar after more than 30 years since its last presence and will do so in 2025 in a completely new structure, the Balaton Park. After many doubts, the entry next year has finally been made official in a presentation that was held right at the racetrack that will host both MotoGP and Superbike.

Motorsport.com was present at the event and had the opportunity to chat with Carmelo Ezpeleta in a round table. Many topics were discussed, from the return of the Hungarian event to the calendar to the entry of Liberty Media next year, passing through

New adventure, new track… How did this idea come about?
“We had been thinking about having a race in Hungary for a long time, the last time we were there was in 1992 on another track and the race was very nice. But unfortunately that track is not safe for MotoGP yet. We thought about different possibilities and we were contacted by a company that wanted to create something on Lake Balaton and we came here to check if there was a possibility of having a grand prix. But unfortunately the company arrived in the middle of the crisis and everything stopped. Then, in 2007 Gabor Talmacsi became world champion and we started talking to the Hungarian government, there were different projects, but in the end the agreement was reached with Balaton”.

“It was necessary because other countries needed a slot and luckily we had the chance to do it here. It wasn’t possible for this year because of the renovations, but for next year it will be ready. It’s very important for us, in this area there is a lot of interest towards MotoGP. The possibility of having a grand prix here will be interesting and it will be important to build more ‘Gabor’ in the future. Many Hungarians are competing in the Red Bull Rookies Cup and other championships, we are focusing on this. Hungary has shown with Formula 1 that the grand prix is ​​very appreciated, it is a great promotion in the center of Europe. We made this decision because there is a lot of interest. The agreement we reached with the Hungarian government is special, usually we don’t go beyond 5 years, instead here we signed a 10-year one because the project is huge. For sure 10 years with MotoGP, for Superbike we will see, but the idea is to keep the same period also with the production-derived series”.

Three years with Balaton, potentially Hungaroring…
“We had been talking to the Hungarian government for a long time, then the pandemic happened and we didn’t have the chance to move forward with the project. When we took it back, we evaluated several options, including going to the Hungaroring, which however needs to be re-homologated at the moment. Now they are focusing on rebuilding the facilities for Formula 1 and we will take it into consideration later. For the next three years, MotoGP will definitely go to Balaton, also because the FIM homologation officials who work with us and others think that at the moment there are no grounds for homologation. However, in terms of safety for Balaton, we are sure that the project to resurface the curves will be completed successfully”.

Will the number of races on the calendar increase significantly?
“It will increase. We have an agreement with the teams and the Federation that the maximum number of races in a season will be 22. Honestly, I don’t think we have the capacity to do more races. Next year we will start very early and finish late, MotoGP is a particular category in which it is easier for riders to get hurt than in other categories. We think that 22 is the right number and we don’t want to increase it further”.

In 2025 there will be Czech Republic, Balaton, India… which other track will enter?
“I’ll say it when the calendar comes out, it’s not time to say it yet. We’ll present the calendar next week, it will have 22 races. Later on there will be more races coming, we have five races in the Iberian Peninsula and it will be difficult to keep them all after 2027. Rotations? I don’t think so, honestly. I’m not 100% sure, but we prefer to have stable grands prix every year”.

There was also talk of a second race in America…
“We talk to many countries, it depends on the level of interest. I am happy with it, we have been leading this championship since 1992 and the priorities have changed over the years. For me it is important to involve the national government in every project, as is promotion. We do not want to have an empty grand prix”.

Are you thinking of something new to invite people to come to the dance floor?
“We started last year with the Sprint Races. For me it is important not to build more grandstands than necessary. When we were in Indianapolis, for example, we had 65-70 thousand spectators in a place that holds 300 thousand. It was horrible! On television you are giving an image of disinterest from the people because the grandstands are empty. These are marketing issues that we are discussing, for us it is important to consolidate each MotoGP race as a big event that also has a big economic impact. At the beginning we thought about big races, now we think about big events”.

Every time MotoGP announces something, people outside think that Liberty Media had something to do with it…
“There is nothing at the moment, we are not talking to them. Liberty Media will bring their experience and explain what they are doing. For me the important thing is that people come and don’t see boring races, we have a great sport that is also very interesting. The aim is to make many more people interested, but we cannot compare the car industry with the motorbike industry. It is about reaching more people and opening the market to many more people, not just motorsport fans”.

Lewis Hamilton is interested in buying a MotoGP team. Can he help the project of bringing the boys to MotoGP?
“Dorna has been developing a department called ‘Talent promotion’ for several years which is creating a lot of opportunities. It is a big cost for us, there is the Asia Talent Cup, the European Talent Cup, the Northern European Talent Cup, the British Talent Cup, the Junior GP and the Mini GP. This is a network that helps young people have a lot of opportunities. Even if motorcycles are cheaper than cars, motorsport is expensive. If young people are strong, we take care of it. Next year, two riders who have raced in the Asia Talent Cup will race in MotoGP, who are Somkiat Chantra and Ai Ogura. They would never have made it to MotoGP if they had not raced in the Asia Talent Cup. For me, team ownership is irrelevant, because these things come from Dorna.”