Market frozen, for now
The MotoGP is experiencing a very particular and unusual situation: many riders with expiring contracts have agreed to switch teams next year and move to another team, but at the moment none of these market moves can be announced because there is no agreement on the future of the premier class between the Manufacturers and the MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group, the entity formerly known as Dorna.
So the various new pairings, Acosta-Ducati, Bagnaia-Aprilia, Martin and Ogura-Yamaha, Quartararo-Honda and so on remain frozen. Naturally, the negotiation for the future of MotoGP mainly concerns Liberty Media, which has acquired control of the championship and aims to significantly grow it commercially just as it has done with F1.
May, the month of truth
After months of waiting and uncertainty – it was expected that an agreement could have been reached already during the Austin weekend but instead the negotiations failed badly – we should now finally be approaching the finish line. The former Spanish manager Ricard Jové, who is now an active commentator on MotoGP affairs, suggested during the latest episode of the podcast Duralavita that in May the situation should finally be unlocked, allowing teams to announce their respective market moves. The crux of the negotiation between Manufacturers and MotoGP – which is still unclear how it will be resolved – mainly concerns the profit sharing: teams no longer want a ‘simple’ fixed fee, even if increased compared to the current one, but a percentage of revenues, as happens in F1.
“MSMA, the teams and Liberty/Dorna still need to sort out some details – said Jové – obviously the teams are asking for more money than they currently receive and Liberty/Dorna is asking for greater involvement in everything related to commercial events: organizing promotional events, having riders who act as fixed substitutes and who can also serve as brand ambassadors, participating in events as happens in Formula 1. According to what I am told perhaps in the first half of May, around the Le Mans weekend or maybe just before, these agreements will start to be closed. And then everything will happen in an organized way – concluded the former Spanish manager – so that the various confirmations of the different signings will start to come out in order, one after the other, to avoid confusion”.
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A crucial moment for the future of MotoGP
The agreement that will be defined in these weeks will be crucial for the long-term future of MotoGP. Everyone has sensed the atmosphere and is aware of how the impact of Liberty Media could enormously increase the money flow surrounding the Motorcycle World Championship. In this regard, the words spoken about a month ago in Miami by Derek Chang, president of Liberty Media, are thought-provoking. “Motorcycling represents another opportunity, we consider it another high-level sports brand, similar in some ways to Formula 1, but actually different in other aspects. The level of danger and risk that this sport involves is really off the scale – highlighted Chang – and if you go to a race it is something you perceive. Our job is to take that feeling and spread it through some of the same methods we used with Formula 1, whether it is fan engagement at the track, access through social media, increasing rider visibility, broadcasts, the right sponsorship partners, the right people to collaborate and interact with while we take this sport to a different level. If we look at the data, MotoGP probably has half the fans compared to F1, yet, depending on the revenue stream considered, we monetize about 10% or 20% compared to Formula 1. So we clearly see this gap and this potential“.
It should therefore not be surprising that the Manufacturers, anticipating a probable increase in product visibility and thus greater economic revenues, want to ensure they secure their generous slice of the pie.
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