In 1992 Bernie Ecclestone he already held a key role in the Formula 1 paddock, having created the FOM, an association capable of managing television rights, race prizes, contracts with race organizers and sponsorships. A considerable power, which helped the sport to establish itself at an increasingly professional level. But at the time Ecclestone had also targeted the World Championship, with the aim of taking over the management of television rights and therefore reaching out also on two wheels. To do so, he had already alerted Carlo Pernat, a long-time manager, offering him to become his own man in the role of president of IRTA – the association that brings together all the teams -, but receiving a clear refusal as a response. Ecclestone’s plan failed and this made the fortune of Carmelo Ezpeleta and Dorna, who was able to take home the rights and raise the then ‘500’ to the current level of popularity held by MotoGP.
But as they say, ‘sometimes they come back’ and this is the case of Ecclestone, who, despite the 92 springs, certainly does not seem to have lost his nose for business. In 2021 the Petronas Sepang Racing team by Razlan Razali faced a more than delicate moment, with the sudden announcement of the farewell of Petronas, the Malaysian state oil giant, the lintel of the entire project in the team’s world championship. So Razali had to opt for a sharp downsizing of his entire business, closing the Moto2 and Moto3 teams, and looking for the best combination to try to survive in MotoGP. Then came the Italian With U as main partner, and the team changed its name to RNF. What is new, according to what is reported by the Gazzetta dello Sportwas the inclusion – in the folds of the team crisis – of Bernie Ecclestone, who he had in mind of detect the slot on the starting grid from Razali. To confirm the intentions of the British manager, Carmelo Ezpeleta: “It is true that he wanted to own a MotoGP team. We have had a few encounters, but did not go through “.
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