Full Interview: Carlos Ezpeleta Reveals Key Points on MotoGP Future
In an in-depth interview with Motorsport Network during the British Grand Prix, Carlos Ezpeleta, MotoGP's Sporting Director, explains his desire to introduce a budget cap and discusses the main talking points of the championship, with particular focus on the evolution it has undergone since Liberty Media's acquisition.
Video Transcript
Thank you very much for coming over.
Hope you are comfortable.
We're having a really nice weekend here at Silverstone.
Let's go with it.
Thank you.
Thank you for having me.
Before going into the more, general, questions, I would like to know if you have any update regarding Qatar.
We know the situation there is not, let's say, super stable.
Yeah, we have postponed the race until the end of the season, but I don't know if you have any last-minute update regarding that.
Obviously, I mean, we're, we're, we're closely monitoring the situation, you know, from, from, from, from the wider, view and, you know, working closely with authorities in, in Qatar to see when a decision has to be taken.
It's clear to say that w- we need to ensure that the race would be, with all sort of safety, you know, for, for, for the paddock, the fans.
That's very clear to us.
So, you know, right now we're, we're, we're waiting to see how the situation evolves, and, you know, ultimately we'll, we'll, we'll need to take a decision within the next, within the next weeks.
We've recently got the announcement from Formula 1 that, the, the Grand Prix of Bahrain will be hosting, in, in Malaysia, in Sepang.
Is MotoGP considering this kind of formula or no?
Being in the same family as Formula 1, that question is, you know, of course around our minds.
The reality is that the situation is also quite different.
You know, we, we only, have o- one race in the Middle East and from a commercial standpoint, you know, 21 events clearly would be sufficient for, for a MotoGP season.
Having said that, working of course primarily with, with, with Qatar, with, with, with our promoters and with, with authorities, there is a wish to have the, the Qatar Grand Prix somewhere else.
I think it's something that we can, we can look at.
H- having said that, it's, it's quite complicated because we're in a time of the year where, you're basically ruling out most of the circuits in Europe.
You are also, I mean, l- logistically not able to do anything that you want because we have, you know, we have, Portugal and Valencia then after, after Malaysia and, you know, just the weather and the restraints and obviously for, for MotoGP, the, the, the, the circuits who are able to host MotoGP, it's quite limited from a safety standpoint.
So of course, we'll, we'll look into it, but obviously right now we're focusing on delivering Qatar.
We really hope that, that we can be there.
It's, you know, it's an incredible event.
It's a great circuit that the circ- that the riders love.
So we're I mean, the focus and the wish is definitely that we're able to be in Qatar in, in November.
You've spoken frequently about expanding the MotoGP, global footprint.
How satisfied are you, and how would you define success in that area in five years' time?
People tend to think directly at the, at the race count, when, you know, when we speak about footprint and, you know, of course the, the, the business and the sport is much wider than that.
Of course, your, your head immediately goes to race count, you know, within Europe and outside Europe.
We are 14 in Europe, eight outside this year.
We'll be 9 and 13 next year.
And I think that that number's probably gonna be 50/50, you know, fairly soon, I would say.
Mm-hmm.
And I think it's normal.
You know, we're, we're, we're overly indexed in, in, in South and Central Europe, from a, from a global standpoint, but the reality is that a lot of, a lot of those events are extremely successful.
We also always want to, you know, ensure fans that we're gonna be faithful to our, you know, to our legacy events and to, to, you know, to, to, to those, to those big events that have drawn such a, such a big crowd, you know, over the, o- over the decades and decades and, and have, you know, been a part of MotoGP and building MotoGP.
I think, I mean, in, in terms of the numbers, like I said, I, I expect that to balance out sort of 50/50 quite, quite quickly, you know, in two, three, two to three years' time, and then I would sort of make a, side remark in terms of, you know, it's, it's not only the races, it's also, you know, how do we build fandom, you know, in, in, in the different regions of the world.
It's not only sort of in Europe and outside Europe, it's, you know, it's North/South hemisphere, Western hemisphere, Eastern hemisphere.
And you can't do everything at once, especially, you know, because of the time zones of the races, which is, you know, so something that we're, we're looking at very carefully.
We're focused on, on expanding our audience in, in the, in the UK and the US and Southeast Asia.
As, as you build the sport and the property, doing many things at once is, it's quite difficult.
We need to make sure that we have sort of a year-round presence when we're building these markets because when you're going and having one race only and then disappearing out of that market, it's really hard to build continuous fandom.
So you can't have a thousand priorities, and we, you know, th- those are the ones that we've set ourselves, but we, we do see that, you know, it's, it's extremely important to grow outside our, our, our mature markets.
Mm-hmm.
If you compare today's MotoGP with the champion that you were helping to manage, five years ago, what do you think the biggest cultural change, has taken place inside the, the company?
I mean, in- in- inside the company, I mean, there, there's been a, a, a, a clear sort of uplift of, of how we're seeing things and how, you know, how, how we're targeting to do things.
Five years ago we were mid-pandemic, so I don't I'm, I'm not sure that that's the, the, the- Part of, yeah the ri- right comparison.
Um- Let's say six but I think from right before the pandemic- Yeah to now, there's been internally in, in our organization just like a, a huge evolution of, of, of, of how we are, just from, you know, the people who are around the table of course.
And there's been a lot of changes and, and I think, you know, th- this year has been definitely focused on recruitment and on, you know, building the, the, the management, you know, level of, of MotoGP, internationalizing it.
And I think that that's been a very clear message not only within the company but within the, the wider paddock that, you know, we, we wanna bring new people in from, from different backgrounds, from, from different cultures and countries into MotoGP as, as a global property that MotoGP is.
And I think, you know, the, the mindset especially also with, with, with the new ownership is to look at how we, we build, you know, premium IP, to look how we are, you know, building MotoGP with a vision of, you know, three, five years out, which is quite different to, you know, the, the, the ownership strategy that we had before.
And, and for us, right now we're, we're looking at things, you know, quite, quite long term.
We're in a rush to s- to set the foundations for that, but, you know, ev- every, ev- every decision is, you know, what, what is this doing for MotoGP, long term?
And, you know, at the end, the, the focus had been very much on the racing for us and, and how do we make the sport safer and more exciting on track, you know, work on the, the TV production and, you know, make the, you know, the, the teams, the, the technical regulations.
Of course, that will continue to always be a focus for us because we wanna continue being the best motorsport on the planet.
But the, the sort of the commercial and marketing promotional efforts, and how that, that, you know, how those both align with the vision to, to build, you know, MotoGP globally, I think it's, it's more present every day in, in, in our company.
Looking ahead to the introduction of the new, the new, technical regulations next year, do you consider 2027 as the beginning of the new era in MotoGP both off track and on track, or it cannot consider that way?
So I mean, every, every time I'm asked about 2027, I always sort of make, make a caveat about the, about this year because I think it's important to, to, you know, to, to speak about this year.
Can I sort of r- speak about last time we asked, we Yeah, you asked me that question in- Sure Kuala Lumpur and you s- you, you said, "I fear that this year is gonna be very long for a number of people- Yes and, and that everything will be decided- Yes in Sep- Yes, yes in September" and I t- I said, "Look, I, I, I'll tell you one thing.
I, I have a, a similar feeling, but one thing is always right and is that, you know, whatever you're thinking In MotoGP, whatever you think is gonna happen in February, it never happens."
At least, you know, maybe you'll get one of the guys right, but- Fair enough, yeah you don't, you don't get everything right.
So we're, we're, we're sitting here, you know, eight months later and, you know, we, we definitely have a championship.
So I think I, I always, you know, w- when speaking about 2027, always wanna be respectful of, of, of, of the current year, because, you know, the riders are, are out on track and they're, you know, they're fighting tooth and nail clearly this year, and we're having an amazing season to watch.
I think some unexpected, names, both of, you know, on the teams and manufacturers as well as on the riders, so we're, we're really happy to see that and, and again, that is all fruit of what the teams and the riders are doing, but also, you know, just the, the wider technical regulations and how everything is built.
In, in terms of 2027, of course everybody's excited, as excited as '26 is.
There's a technical regulations matter and the, the change in tire supplier is sort of an, an additional factor which, you know, it, it just, you know, just rattles the cage, I would say, in terms of, you know, how the, how the, how the manufacturers are thinking about their bikes and the riders are about the feeling.
So it really, it really does set a clean slate.
Again, I, I think we would I'd, I'd be surprised if it's, you know, everything's upside down from now, of course, you know.
You know, the, the riders and the teams who, who, who are, you know, at the top, will, will probably, you know, to some extent continue to be so.
But I, I do think that it's a, you know, sort of a, a, a, a new era on, on track for sure, one, one that I think a lot of people will, you know, remember and I think just also visually the bikes, you know, without the ride height devices, without the whole shot devices, all of that together, it's going to I mean, it's, it's, it's really gonna be a change about, you know, how the, the athletes have to manage the- their, their machines as well as how the fans, you know, enjoy it.
And then on, on the commercial side, we're doing, you know, quite a bit of recruitment and how, you know, restructuring in the, in the, in the organization.
Th- that put together I think it does set a, a, a new milestone.
Having said that, from our side, from, from the commercial and promotional area, things take quite a bit, you know?
You, you, you bring people on board and yeah, and they have to learn the sport.
It's, it's so important for, you know, anybody coming in at the MotoGP group level to learn the sport, learn what, what this means to fans, you know, and be authentic to that as, as we continue to build that, and we, we don't wanna change, you know, MotoGP or its personality, you know, and just uplift, you know, its global, its, its global presence.
The new commercial agreement, we're not gonna call that MotoGP Conquer agreement because I think many people don't like that name.
We'll can call it the Breno agreement.
We can call it the Breno agreement.
Will shape MotoGP, let's say new, new, new reality for the next five years.
How difficult was to, to make all different realities, and, and, let's say, priorities for promoter, manufacturers, and independent teams, to, to commit in a single path?
I, I wouldn't say it's, it was, I mean, extremely difficult to, to be honest.
It's been a, you know, a negotiation which is sort of the center of, of, of, of, of the sport together, together with our agreement with the FIM.
But I think it's normal that, you know, after there was the, you know, the acquisition by Liberty Media, the, the manufacturers who are, you know, r- really investing into the, into the sport as well as the teams who are sort of the core pillars of how we go racing, they, they wanted to know also, you know, what, what, what's the vision behind MotoGP, what, you know, what, what, what is the strategy, how does, you know, how does Liberty Media together with MotoGP group see, see this evolving and what are gonna be, you know, the, the main points of, you know, where are we gonna invest, how are we gonna invest?
And then, you know, also even from the technical regulations, how do we see this going forward from a governance point of view?
We were lucky enough to have the, you know, the five best manufacturers, in the world in our paddock.
You know, the, those are five household names for, for anybody who knows what a motorcycle is.
They are very different Between them.
And I think that, that, that is great for us, and great for e- for everybody.
But clearly, you know, in, in sort of size and shapes and targets and, you know, technology also, they're quite different and, you know, they also have, you know, different budgets and, you know, so all p- putting that together and aligning them, l- look, h- this is how we see this moving forward, is important.
So I think that there's a joint, you know, interest and vision and, and sort of, you know, ambition between, between all of us.
L- look, this is the potential that this sport has.
We don't wanna change the sport.
The sport is, you know, the incredible, you know, the, the best racing that there is in the world.
That's thanks to what we've all do- done together, in the past decades.
How do we now, you know, take that to a wider audience and do that together?
Mm-hmm.
And I think that that, the conversation's mainly been about that.
You were just talking about Liberty acquisition.
Has Liberty changed the way MotoGP, measures success?
Yes.
I mean, I would, I would say Liberty Media, and, and the people around the table that we have definitely has changed the ambition of success that we, that we've set ourselves.
How we measure success, I mean, I think it's, I mean, there The, the KPIs that any company has, but having said that, there are, there are more things are on the table and, you know, just really about how we think about, about us, our brand, our, our presence, our perception, you know, all those non-financial, you know, non, let's say, direct, easy to go numbers where, you know, for Liberty and, and for us are, are really important right now.
So I, I do think that, that there's, th- there's definitely been a, let's say an expectation and a, a level of sophistication that the MotoGP didn't have before.
Are the, the commercial metrics becoming as important as the sporting ones, when you evaluate new project?
I, I would say that's only sort of relevant to, to, to, a, a race- Yeah 'cause is that a, a, you know, a race and race location are the only deals or projects that actually have any sporting implications versus a media partner, et cetera.
Yes.
Those are, those have sort of, you know, visibility and, and, and, and commercial implications.
And I think as, as you look at the wider business, you know, with every choice that you have, you have, you know, you know, a, a number of, of factors and, you know, when you're making a decision, either it's a no-brainer or you're measuring, you know, either the, the decision is an investment, which can come in many shapes in terms of, you know, I'm making an investment in, you know, by taking a lower fee or media rights, you know, sponsorship, et cetera, but I'm getting this over here because I'm getting more presence, more visibility.
I would say that compared to, to, to the past, right now, the, the, the financial part actually has l- less- Less less of a, a- Relevancy an importance or, and relevance and it's, it's, it's more about, you know, how, what that does for MotoGP long term and how, you know, how many fans do we think we can bring into the sport, how many All of that, you know, the brand presence, what that, what does that do for our perception globally?
On the sporting side, it's pretty black and white, you know?
Does it, the, the- Yeah you know, does it meet, you know, does it meet the standards safety-wise, everything, everything that we wanna do?
It's not a choice.
It's a must.
On the sporting side we're, we're, you know, we've done an, an amazing job at making sure that we're at a high level everywhere where we go in terms of, you know, safety, but also, you know, what, what that does for the racing and for every decision in terms of the technical regulations and every decision that we do is gonna be to improve racing always.
Let's talk a bit about Adelaide, which I think it's one of the m- most ambitious projects for MotoGP in the last decade.
We're gonna have a race in 2027, still, I think we still don't know the day, but it will be probably at the end of the year.
How is the project going?
How are the preparations going?
Are we gonna be on time?
It's all- I agree.
I think it's, it's probably I mean, I think it's the, probably the most ambitious project that, that we've, that as, as MotoGP group we've, we've ever had and, I think, you know, it's gonna, it's gonna really set the tone for a new era of MotoGP where, you know, again, we don't, we don't see, you know, a, a project in Adelaide being replicated 10 times around the year in MotoGP, but I, I think it will really open, you know, o- open eyes around the world to say like, "Look, this is possible."
Again, you know, we're, we're, we're very bullish about it.
You know, we've worked very, very closely with the South Australian Motorsport Board, and the government of South, South Australia and, you know, City of Adelaide to get to where we are.
There was, you know, a lot of work put into the sort of the circuit and the layout and, you know, you know, emphasizing in terms of, you know, h- how do we make the, the best circuit possible, you know, within these constraints, one, from a safety point of view, which is a, an, sort of a, an, an, a no negotiation- you know, the, the circuit will be safe.
But also then, you know, once, once that was, you know, cleared, you know, how do we do it in terms of, you know, minimizing impact, you know, improving the racing and all of that.
So I, I would say on that side that we're very ha- you know, we're, we're very proud of the work that's been done, you know, with the FIM over the past, you know, decade where, you know, the tools that we have- Mm-hmm are, are very, very different to what we used to have, you know, 20 years ago or 15 years ago, and that's probably why this conversation, we're very comfortable about this conversation now and we probably weren't when everything was more analog, let's say, in terms of, you know, the safety, you know, runoff areas and et cetera.
Now, you know, we're, we're, we're really comfortable, you know, how we're doing things, together with FIM.
The race will, will, will be on the calendar.
There will be a, a, a layout announced, you know, fairly soon, and the race will, will happen in sort of, you know, the, the latter part of, of 2027, and I think there's huge expectations.
We announced the, the deal as, as you know ear- earlier this year, and there's been a huge hype.
You know, we The, the promoter has received hundreds of thousands of, you know, literally hundreds of thousands of, of, you know, reservations for tickets.
The popularity of, of, of the government since, you know, since the announcement has, has, has, has gone up, so we're really, really excited about that project.
Once the, the Adelaide project was official, have you been approached but by any other, let's say, city, for the future?
Not, I mean, not, not- Or, or they are waiting n- yeah, I, I, I, I mean, I, I don't know what, I mean, there's, there's, there's thousands of cities in the world, so, I can't speak on behalf of them, but the, we, we have been approached by cities around the world.
So you have been already?
We have been approached by cities around the world.
I think the Adelaide, you know, it just opens up a, you know, a, a huge possibility for other cities around the world.
There, there is expectation.
They do wanna see how, how it unfolds in Adelaide.
Yeah.
There, there are conversations, but they're ones, again, when you don't know the, the details and the, the intricacies of the sport, you know, you, you read the headline and then you think you can have a circuit in, you know, in, in, in any city, and that's not the case.
That's not the case, yeah.
You, you, you do need a lot of space.
As we all know, Australia's very strict on the environmental aspect.
How have you, or how are you dealing with this?
Or how have you dealt with, with that in case that everybody's, that everything is, is sorted?
First and foremost, you know, we, we have a, a ourselves also, you know, a, a very clear, you know, environmental and sustainability, you know, targets.
As, as, as, as everybody knows, you know, n- next year there will be, you know, w- we'll be racing on 100% sustainable fuel.
You know, we've reduced fuel tanks.
We've also, you know, we're, we're also doing a lot in terms of our logistics and our output, operationally.
And, you know, the, the, the, the environmental impact on the park has been center of mind for us since the beginning.
Mm-hmm.
And, you know, everything that we were changing, we were then resetting somewhere else, so for example, you know, all, all the permanent asphalt that, that will, will, will be laid, you know, there's other areas that are, that are gonna be converted into green lands for, you know There's been a, a very, and again, I think that this is, you know, credit to, to the FIM and, and the team of MotoGP group that have worked on this, you know, really, you know, threading the needle in terms of, you know, where, where the track is going to minimize impact sp- specifically on native trees, which is, you know- Mm-hmm the, the, the, the, the most important part.
And then making sure that, you know, evidently, the, the one, the ones that, need to be relocated or w- we will, and we will a- you know, make sure that the, that the net is positive, that we're, you know, offsetting it with trees being replanted anywhere else and, and, and, and as part of that, a wider sustainability, you know, approach that we're doing together with, with the government of South Australia.
So going forward, we definitely wanna do, you know, as much as we can to, to really offset the, you know, the, the impact.
Mm-hmm.
With the calendar already at, at close to its, its practical limit, because we have 22, and I think as you have said many times, it's already there, how do you decide whether a, a venue deserves a place in the calendar?
I mean, which are the, the main criteria to If you can give me bullet points, like it has to be, it has to have this, this, this, and this.
I mean, fir- first and foremost, it has to have a circuit, which is sort of homologated and- Yeah so all, all of That, that is sort of a non-starter, so yes.
And then I think the, the reality is, you know, that we have, we have 22 events, and as, you know, as, as events come in, other events will, will- Mm-hmm will probably have to leave the calendar.
I mean, it's cyclical.
The, the immediate target and goal is gonna be, you know, how, how do we You know, we're overly indexed in Spain and center- Yeah you know, in the center of Europe.
Quite a no, no-brainer, you know.
New events will come on, th- and there's, there'll be some that have to leave just because we're overly indexed in that area.
So, you know, as we go forward and, you know, we have 22 events which are all magnificent and each have, you know, its own personality and, you know, each one is sort of a mini Super Bowl and they're sold out- Yeah because that's the vision that we have, again, that, that will be the, the value that they create for us, you know, that w- we, we don't shy away from the fact that we wanna be, more, more globally present, that we wanna have circuits closer to, you know, major cities, to major airports where w- we're, we're, you can really tap into a new audience and, you know, you have the hospitality there, the accommodation for j- you just need to make it easier for the fans, and then when the fans are at the track, you need to show them a, you know, the best, the best racing in the world, which we already have, but also the best experience in the world.
There is a wish and an investment on our side to work with the current promoters, you know, the circuits that will always be on the MotoGP calendar- Yeah to make sure that they're also improving their experience.
So I think it's, it's, it's also how do we improve the events today as we're bringing new events, the, the events that will stay on the calendar, how are we improving those together with the, the events that we're bringing in?
When Liberty Media, made the acquisition, many people thought, "Okay, they wanna do the same in MotoGP than they did with, Formula 1."
But I think we, we've talked about that, we've spoken about that, and, I think the effect, the growth of, Formula 1, it's a unique case in the history of the sport.
But with all the pandemic, with the Drive to Survive, with the end of the 2021 season finale, it was the perfect storm.
But is there any specific plan or action that you're planning to try to, I wouldn't say replicate, because it's impossible, any commercial thing, any big shot?
Any When you say any big shot, no, I, I don't think, I mean, I think, you know, it's, it's a th- it's a thousand or 100 small, small things.
Yeah.
100 things that you do that in combination build a brand, a, you know, a, a, a premium IP basically, which is what we're trying to do.
I think that there was, with Formula 1, Liberty Media has, you know, and, and, and the t- and the team at Formula 1 have done a, a superb job.
I think one of it's a growth story that I don't think that pe- that, that, you know, humanity comes across, uh- Yeah you know, many, many times.
So, so definitely kudos, kudos to the, to the, to the Formula 1 team and to Liberty, of course.
But we're very fortunate to have- you know, a lot of, a lo- a lot of those, a lot of those people are on the table at, at our board, right now because, you know, the, the, the names that, that we have, you know, arou- around the MotoGP board now are, are, are impressive.
And we also have, you know, very close ties with, with the, with the Formula 1 management now, and, you know, having all that experience, it's really, really helpful for us.
There's not a playbook, as, you know- people call it.
There's not an F1 playbook, you know, there's a But clearly, you know, it They're two different properties with different fans who want different things from the sport.
But the, you know, how you're, how you're doing things, you know, you know, the opportunities, you know, within the digital world, within merchandising, within licensing, with commercial, within hospitality, those opportunities are all out there for, for us, for MotoGP.
You just have to, you know, do them in a way that are authentic to MotoGP and, you know, the, the, there isn't, you know, there isn't the wish to emulate This is not Formula 1 on two wheels.
That's not what we're trying to do.
Yeah.
But, you know, within that, you know, the, all those things that, that we're doing, that we wanna do, a lot of them are things that Formula 1 did, but, you know, we're, we're doing it in a way that's authentic to MotoGP, and I think that there's a, a lot of opportunity.
As far as I understand, MotoGP is leaning towards, Rio de Janeiro for the next, season launch event.
Are you happy about how the, this, this event, the season launch, has been established itself as kind of traditional already?
Yeah, I mean, I mean, the, the target was to have something, you know, that, that repeats every year and that we're able to, you know, continually invest in.
I think that the I mean, the, the teams and the manufacturers are, are extremely, you know, ha- happy with, with, you know, the, the evolution.
I mean, it's been two years only, but you know, the, the, you know, the upgrade from the first to the second year was, was, was, was really big.
The presence, you know, the, the, the, that landmark and with the Petronas Towers in, in, in KL and, you know, the MotoGP tracks, the, the MotoGP bikes on, on, on the streets, I mean, it really set, you know, a, a new bar.
And the, the, the reality is, you know, y- you know, separate to that conversation, but all the media was like, "You know, MotoGP bikes on the, on the street, love that.
It's incredible."
So, and, and we're, we're, we're kind of lucky with the weather, so, you know, we're, we're Again, I think it's, it's, it's Those are some of the things, again, that, that it's in a We're doing it in a way that is, you know, authentic to MotoGP.
I think it's a, it's a great way to get a glimpse out of, you know, the, the, you know, the, the, the, the, the, the new bikes, the new, the, the riders, the lineup, and really to expand our footprint, you know, outside of the races themselves.
So we're really happy.
It's having a, you know, a great impact, we think.
We think, you know, next year's, next year's, season launch is gonna be even bigger.
We're looking forward to announce that quite shortly and, you know, ma- making sure that we're, you know, improving on that year by year.
Mm-hmm.
North America remains a, a really strategic, market for, not for only for MotoGP but for most of the sports.
How would you, how would you describe, MotoGP progress there?
And I think you make a very good point.
I mean, it's a, it's a strategic market and an important market to everybody, and, I mean, MotoGP is not FIFA, so it's, it's, um- Yeah you know, we have our size and we're, we're, we're, we're very bullish and ambitious, but we I mean, there's a reality to things and the investment that you can make, and everybody's fighting for North America.
So again, I, you know, the, the F1, story is, is one that's, I think, is hard to replicate for any sport, and, you know, other sports have been trying for decades and decades.
Having said that, we already have, you know, an engaged audience, you know, that we see, you know, either through our video pass or through our broadcast, you know, when, when, when we, when we have races on, on, you know, on, on good platforms.
You know, we see, very solid numbers for, you know, watching MotoGP, like we saw this year, with, with, with the USA Grand Prix on, on Fox.
So, you know, we, we There is a fandom there, and I think that the sport could not be better suited for, an American audience- a young American audience where, you know, the sport is as good as it gets from a motorsport p- point of view, but is also, you know, it's young, it's athletic, it's energetic, you know.
It, it's, it's really easy to understand.
So I think, you know, w- we're well-positioned from a sporting and then sort of a product point of view, and then we're also doing a lot of investments on our broadcast product to, to make sure that we're evolving that, too, you know, in- into a product that is easier to understand for new fans.
I think that there's always, you know, a, a question over, you know, race footprint and, you know, a second race in the States, we'll, which we're definitely looking into.
Again, you're limited to the circuits that- exist for MotoGP, and that's not many.
But I think there's interest also from the market in seeing, you know, what, what Liberty Media's doing with MotoGP and, you know, is this, is this gonna be really the next big thing?
So again, the US is It's also difficult for us because we don't have that many races in the, on the, on the Western Hemisphere in terms of the time zone.
So I think we're looking at, you know, a variety of things that we can do to, to help that market, you know, whether it's from, you know, the, the, the broadcast, part of it but also, you know, the sponsors and everything, which is really helping you develop that, that, that, that market.
How crucial would be a second race, as you just mentioned?
How crucial would be, or is nothing I mean, of course it's important, but would you describe it as a crucial thing?
I, I think that we have our work cut out for us regardless, you know.
We have a lot of work to do, in the US with or without a second race, and, you know, even at Austin, there's, there's a lot of There's definitely a l- a lot of opportunities.
So, a second race, I think it, it helps you, you know, go from, you know, one week a year to two weeks a year, so you're doubling the impact basically in the market.
But the, the, the real, the, the real target is, you know, how do you, how do you make sure that MotoGP is present in the US, you know, 52 weeks a year?
So the second race is I, I would say it's important but not crucial.
We were talking about the regulation change that's coming next year, and I think that we had this conversation a few years ago about the impact that the budget cap- Had in Formula 1.
Isn't no way to think about that in, in, in MotoGP because it changed completely the universe for the Formula 1 teams because they were saving, they, they went from investing, I don't know, 300, million a year to being limited to 140, 145, so it's a huge, difference.
Yeah, I mean, you're, you're basically going from infinite to a number.
Yeah.
I would say that there's absolutely the desire on our side to, to, to consider that, you know, very, very thoughtfully.
We I, I would make one sort of caveat, though.
It was needed for s- for different reasons, you know, when, when, f- we don't have a problem on track, and that ha- I think that that is very important to sort of highlight.
You know, we, we, we don't MotoGP does not have a problem on track, so a, a budget cap wouldn't solve anything specifically on track, I think.
Mm-hmm.
Actually, you're seeing now that, you know, some of the manufacturers with, with lower budgets are actually performing- Yes you know, outperforming the rest.
So w- we have an incredible sport on track, an incredible racing, and I think everybody in the world agrees to that.
What I do think it's that it's, it's, it's really important to build a b- a bit of, you know, rational and reasoning to, you know, how we're doing things and why we're doing this, s- especially the manufacturers.
So I, we know, we, we absolutely want to pursue a, a, a budget cap, and we've been, we, we, we've been very clear also with, with the manufacturers on this.
It's gonna be, it's gonna be very difficult to get.
There isn't a m- you know, it's ambitious also because the manufacturers are, are extremely connected to their factories.
You know, they're not sort of separate entities somewhere else in a different, you know, location.
They're, they're very, you know, intertwined with the manufacturers themselves, and they're all very different.
So I thi- I think that's something that we just have to, to think about, but I think if, if there's a You know, where, where there's a will, there's a way, and, you know, together with the manufacturers, I'm sure we- we'll, we'll get to that.
W- we haven't had a budget cap in the history of MotoGP because I don't think there's been a need.
What we've done very well is sort of control the regulations, um- Mm-hmm you know, the technical regulations to make sure that, you know, deeper pockets doesn't immediately or automatically mean a win.
You know, because there's, you know, we've limited, you know, what they can do and how can they invest, you know.
The of, of course, the riders are extremely important as well.
When you have a tenden- you know, a tendency, you invest whatever it takes to get you to win, it's a very slippery slope for everybody because you're not only doing that to yourself, you're also doing that to sort of the wider you know, all the teams, all the manufacturers, and then sort of it escalates till forever.
So actually putting a ceiling on that, it would also allow, you know, an, an equal f- playing field for everybody.
The reality of any sport is that, you know, at the end of the day, at the end of the season, one guy wins, so one team wins, one manufacturer wins, one rider wins.
Mm-hmm.
Period.
But all 22 riders, all 11 teams, and all 5 manufacturers have to make a living out of this.
Until now, everybody has, you know, whether it's directly or indirectly, everybody has, but you need to, you know At, at the end, it doesn't matter how much you're spending, it just matters how much you're spending versus the rest of the players, you know?
Yeah.
And it doesn't matter how fast you are, it only matters how much faster you are than the rest of the players, and that's what, you know, that, that's f- what we're trying to get, you know, ev- everybody around the table to sort of agree to.
So, w- when, you know, if we're able to get to that and, and, and when we're able to get that, I think it'll also help the, you know, everybody around the table to be able to sort of invest into the, you know, the, their commercial functions, their marketing functions long term because, you know, at the end of the, the technical part of it will be capped.
I'm sorry, can I ask you something else because I'm getting excited about this topic?
Uh- You can ask anything you want but in, it wouldn't be in the next five years, right?
Because, the new agreement wouldn't allow that to, to happen, or is there any room for change?
I, I think, I mean, clearly within the next five years everything has been agreed to, so everything that we- Okay I mean, ev- ev- everything, any changes to that have to be agreed between all parties.
Um- It is, it, it, it is a super easy matter to happen as we- Yeah, yeah, it's, it's really easy for all of us to, to agree.
I mean, I think, you know, you're speaking about Adelaide being an ambitious project.
Th- this one is, I think, even more ambitious, to be honest, on getting everybody to, together to the table, but I, I, I mean, we, we, we see this as long term, and clearly, I mean, ev- everybody has to get their heads around it, and I think there's a lot of implications, but, you know, it's something that we don't see it as a sort of a need to balance the sport, you know, on track.
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
We see this as sort of a rational- The thing is that we were talking about that in, I think it was in a Formula 1 venue many years ago, and I was telling you, "Yeah, they have applied this budget cap, but this is not possible in, in MotoGP," and you said, "Hmm, I think, yeah, we still have some margin."
Is there still a margin to, to m- make a difference?
Do, do you mean on the budget side from- Yeah is there a margin?
I- Because in Formula 1 we've seen that the margin was huge, and they have applied the m- the, the budget cap, and it's not that they haven't lost many things, but they have won many other things in terms of, yeah, profit and stuff.
I don't know if, if the motorcycle, the MotoGP, has I wouldn't say that margin because that's impossible because the numbers are really, different, but is there a, a room for this budget cap to make a difference in, in, in MotoGP?
So, I mean, I, I don't, again, I don't like to sort of continuously compare MotoGP and Formula 1.
The- there are many sports that have diff- that have done very well, including MotoGP, but what, well, I mean, I would say a number of things.
First, if, if you look at Formula 1, and I think that that's one dynamic that I, that I hope to see, I think we will see in MotoGP is sort of team valuations, and we're already starting to see it, you know?
If, if you look at, and I reiterate, you know, the incredible story of growth that Formula 1 has But that's where valuation has really showed has been in the teams themselves- Mm-hmm you know, which have really, you know, multiplied hugely what, what, what the league has, you know, over the last years, and I think a huge part of that is the budget cap.
I have heard from a number of people who were involved in the budget cap that, you know, the bigger players were the ones who were more resistant- Yeah and have then been the most thankful, that the budget cap was introduced.
Because again, at the end, it's differential that makes the difference.
It's not, you know, how much you're spending, it's how much more you're spending than the rest of them.
And if you can limit that, then I, I mean, I, I, I don't I, I think it's a no-brainer, you know?
If, if, ev- everybody, you know, everybody used to complain or, or was complaining about how expensive it is to go racing, and if you can just tell everybody, you know, "Spend less and we'll all get the same result," that is, you know, that, that, that is a, a huge advantage for everybody, you know, from an, from sort of a fairness point of view, but also from sort of the, you know, an investment point of view into the teams and the commercial functions.
The, the, the matter itself, it's not that simple, you know?
It's not only the, "Okay, let's all agree to just spend, you know, 50 million."
Yeah, a number.
But that's, yeah.
Yeah.
It has to be made in a really, you know, concise way to make sure that there's no, there's no loopholes.
It'll always be, you know And I've had conversations with, with everybody that was involved on, on, on the four-wheel side, but, well, sorry, with a lot of people who are, are involved in the four-wheel side, and you know, it, it's also been, it's, it's, it's evolved with time, you know?
And you know, they, they've refined it, and I think, you know, that experience is very useful for us and we will have that.
But again, it's, you know, w- we need to make sure that we're building something which is, you know, from a legal point of view, very solid and then, you know, it is actual, a real budget cap without any loopholes.
It'll, it'll be a l- a very long conversation with the manufacturers.
Mm-hmm.
I think we also need to make sure that we're listening to the manufacturers in terms of, you know, and, and we will, we will of course, into, you know, what areas of the bike do they think that they want to invest in?
And from an industry point of view, which have more road relevance, how do they see that market moving, you know?
The, the motorcycle market is a huge market around the world, and how do they see that evolving, you know, and what areas of the bike do they, you know, whether it's the engine, the, you know, the, the chassis, the aerodynamics.
Wh- wh- which areas of the bike do they, do they wanna, you know, have, have that proprietary knowledge that, you know, and experience that actually makes a difference to them, you know, what, in, in, in their day-to-day business?
So all, all that put together it's, I mean, it's, it's a- It's complex, yeah it's, it's very, very complex.
But I, I do think that, you know, I think there is an opportunity, and you're speaking about scale, but I actually think that some of the manufacturers actually do have, you know, a, a significant, you know, space to, to, to reduce their budget.
If we can agree to, to do this in a way that makes sense for all and is fair for all- Mm-hmm which I think it's, it's really important.
I think ultimately, you know, the, the fans on track are fans of MotoGP.
They're really knowledgeable on the sport and the machines.
They know everything about, you know, they, they're really, you know, a big part of our fandom is really avid and they know a lot about the sport.
But I don't think that they, you know, the way that we would do the budget cap is, I think it's, it, it should be seen as sort of a- Yeah deceleration of sort of the, the progress, you know, and the, and the innovation in the bikes more than sort of, you know, changing the bikes itself.
But the reality is that unlike, you know, in four wheels, we have a ceiling, and that ceiling is safety.
Mm-hmm.
And but the budget limitation is a way to, you know, help that also because, you know, w- we can see here this weekend, I mean, you know, the, the, the lap times that we had in Silverstone yesterday- Yeah, insane is just insane and, you know, and, and it's the last year of, you know, everybody, "Oh no, the, you know, the bikes for '26 and '25 will be very similar," and we are- One second so fast.
Yeah.
You know?
So and, you know, everybody will argue, you know, "Oh no, you know, we've done things to improve this, you know, you know, the, the ride height device improves the safety of the bike.
You know, the tire, you know, we've done things to..." And yes, you know, the rider comes into the box and says, "Oh, you know, I've had this problem, that problem," and you know, the, the, the smartest people in the world resolve those problems, and they'll say, "Oh no, we've made the bike safer."
No, you, you made it faster.
Faster.
And faster means, you know, the nature of the riders will always push to the limit, and that evidently means that, you know, every d- every, every year you're crashing faster.
So you know, all of this actually makes sense together to make sure that, you know, w- we're, we're building some, some reasoning behind this because I mean, we don't see the bikes going 400 kilometers per hour, and I think, you know, we have to be mindful of that because the circuits cannot get infinitely bigger.
Mm-hmm.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
It's been an absolute pleasure.
Thanks.
Thank you very much
