Rennie Scaysbrook | April 1, 2024
New MotoGP commercial rights holder Liberty Media has announced a raft of changes for the two-wheeled series as it aims to more closely align it with the crown jewel in Liberty’s portfolio, Formula One.
Liberty Media purchased approximately 86 percent of Dorna, the Spanish-based enterprise that has been in control of MotoGP since 1992, for €4.53 billion ($4.51 billion). Liberty will also take over as the exclusive rights holder of Moto2 and Moto3, the FIM Enel MotoE World Championship, the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship and the new FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship.
Liberty Media has confirmed Pirelli, the Italian brand responsible for the control tire in Formula One and in WorldSBK, will become the sole tire supplier for MotoGP, replacing French company Michelin who will be demoted to supplying the tires for the Dorna personnel golf carts seen in the MotoGP paddock.
Valentino Rossi and Lewis Hamilton proved MotoGP and Formula One can share the track in practice, now we’ll see it for real.
The mooted change to 850cc for MotoGP engines for 2027 will no longer happen, with Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei stating his desire to see a return of large capacity two-stroke motors with a ban on rider-aids such as traction control, wheelie control, and ride height devices. There will also be a reduction of the aero winglets that has seen MotoGP machines look more like bi-planes than motorcycles in recent years.
“We believe the pinnacle of the sport was during the glory years of Kenny Roberts on his yellow and black ‘Speedblock’ Yamaha and, as a two-stroke lover myself (Maffei is a known connoisseur with a range of vintage two-stroke weed wackers and hedge trimmers), I think 750cc V4s with no rider aids is the way forward for the manufacturers as we look at expanding this series into 2027 and beyond.”
Two-time MotoGP World Champion, Casey Stoner, has already signaled his intention of a racing comeback on the oil burners and is said to be busy training in his homeland of the Gold Coast in Australia.
However, most interesting of all is the proposal of a combined MotoGP and Formula One race to be held at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, in 2025.
Liberty Media, concerned by the lack of attendance for MotoGP but thrilled at the attendance for the Formula One meeting at the same venue, feel the best way to boost the former’s appeal with the America public is to combine the two events in an exhibition event that will not count towards championship points for either series.
“Formula One is roughly 25 seconds per lap faster around CoTA,” begins Maffei, “so we thought we would we would start the bikes at the beginning of the esses but make it a rolling start. That way the bikes will at least have some kind of an advantage given they have around 97.2 percent less rubber to use than the F1 cars do.
“This has never been attempted before and I believe will only add to the spectacle of both series and bring a record number of people through the turnstiles.”
The event is set to be documented by Netflix in its new series Drive to Ride.
Liberty Media is set to formally announce these changes and more via company spokesperson, April Fool, at the upcoming Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas in Austin on April 11, 2024.
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