Balance sheet of an organization that has profoundly transformed the World Championship since 1992: more sponsors, riders-characters, the creation of MotoGP as a global brand, the expansion of circuits and manufacturers
Massimo Falcioni
April 10, 2022 – 05:52
– Milan
On 7 April 2022 there was the anniversary for the 20 years of MotoGP and on Sunday 10 April the 500th GP of the Dorna era, the Spanish company that since 1992 has managed the World Championship, revolutionizing it in the last thirty years, will be held in Austin, Texas. in the image and in the technical, competitive and economic substance. The motorcycling world championship, born in 1949 and for 43 seasons organized by the Fim, turned the page becoming a global and media sport, passing from a management characterized by passion but also from amateurism to professionalism, especially in communication and sponsoring, with show at the center. business, emulating Formula 1 racing.
motogp, because yes
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The displacements have gone from seven to three even if it is the new premier class, MotoGP (since 2002) at the center of the world championship, with Moto3 (since 2012) and Moto2 (since 2010) as a side dish, mostly in the role training for young drivers and opening each day of racing. The rounds of the “new” World Championship have been organized in more than 20 countries, 65 riders of twelve nationalities have won at least one world title: 29 in Moto3, 24 in Moto2, 12 in MotoGP. In the Dorna era, the most successful rider was Valentino Rossi (9 world titles), followed by Marc Marquez (eight titles). Never in the history of motorcycling had a rider (Rossi) reached levels of popularity in Italy and in the world equal to or even higher than the stars of other great sports such as football, F1, basketball, tennis, cycling, skiing, boxing. Dorna contributed, not without flaws and excesses, to building the champion-star by making Valentino Rossi the emblem of “his” MotoGP. A “perfect” motorcycling, then? No.
motogp, why not
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Just think of the excesses of certain fans lapped by fanaticism typical of other sports and also of the downsizing, as well as the actual cancellation, of the national championships which, for decades, especially in Italy with the Mototemporada, had held high the flag of passion with historical competitions of great level, of great popular participation, also useful for the image and business of entire territories. That motorcycling of “Days of Courage” that hinged on everyone’s passion by making everyone protagonists had the limit of remaining within the boundaries, albeit wide, of the fans: this was above all due to the lack of live television support, a tool that then has multiplied the audience by turning the international audience into business. That business that today seems to be the central objective, if not the only one, of the World Championship, with the risk of transforming it from a sport into a “money machine”.
motogp, positive balance
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The fact remains that the overall balance of these 30 years of MotoGP and these 500 GPs managed by Dorna is positive because motorcycling has grown in all respects, conquering a top position in the world. Today the world championship managed by Dorna (with the support of Fim – the International Motorcycling Federation -, Irta – the association of the Teams – and Msma – the manufacturers in the paddock – as well as the national federations) enjoys greater safety on the track, it is run in the main continents , this year with the record of 21 rounds in 17 different countries, is followed by over half a billion people who are passionate about racing-shows, has the support of international sponsors with a business never seen before in 73 years of world championship. Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta summarizes the balance sheet as follows: “We started in 1992 and since then the 500 Grands Prix have been fantastic. It is an incredible achievement. The championship has now improved a lot. The best result, in my opinion, was the improvement in safety. When we started working with Irta we were trying to make the championship safer and that was the main goal. The second goal was to give MotoGP the opportunity to expand around the world. In recent years MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 have had the opportunity to race under the same conditions, creating incredible competition in all classes “. How to blame him?
the power of tv
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With the advent of Dorna, motorcycling has become a global sport and show-business, spectacular for those who follow it (paying) in every continent on the circuits and in front of the TV and profitable for the sponsor company, especially for the image returns due to live television and the media in general. This has led to a business never seen before in the racing world with benefits for the promoter, for Case and Team, for the drivers, for the organizers of the individual rounds. In particular, in recent years the riders (especially the top five in MotoGP) have enjoyed contracts and engagements like never before, however well below what the big names in Formula One and other sports such as football, tennis, basketball earn. and US boxing, golf. However, even today in the World Championship, especially in Moto3 but also in Moto2, the “rider with suitcase” rule still applies. Dorna’s CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta himself admitted that until the recent past: “There were people with a lot of money who bought their places in MotoGP too, now not anymore”.
the future of motogp
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What is the future of this MotoGP? Precisely in this 2022 the world championship is facing the first season without Valentino Rossi, a symbol of the Dorna era and show-business motorcycling. Without the Doctor on the track there is already a drop in the television audience and in general revenues that the most optimists estimate at a loss of more than 30%. There is, as expected, a sports and media void that is not easy to fill, especially with Marc Marquez, for many Rossi’s designated heir, in physical conditions not yet stabilized after the serious injury in 2020 and after the latest accident in the warm up of the first GP of 2022. Ezpeleta says: “Valentino’s career and successes are unique. In our sport it is not something essential to have only one icon for a long time. In the past, Kenny Roberts dominated between 1978 and 1980, then came other Americans like Lawson, Mamola, Rainey, Spencer, Schwantz. And after that the Australians, first Doohan and Gardner and then Stoner. There are always different generations. But I think Valentino is irreplaceable “. Then, however, just on the eve of the Austin GP, Ezpeleta specifies: “If someone wants to insinuate that after Valentino’s farewell everything in motorcycling has to be redone, that’s not the case at all. In MotoGP there is nothing to redo because it has its own consolidated entity. Never like Dorna have we intentionally tried to create a character, fueled a rivalry or forced the image of a pilot to make him more or less popular. Of course, Valentino has led an entire generation, but it is also true that in recent years he has not achieved many successes. And this is precisely because the generation of drivers that followed him was a generation of successes ”. In summary, Don Carmelo says this show-business motorcycling is the best motorcycling ever.
motogp show
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Obviously, there is no shortage of limits and forcing, especially for limiting regulations with technically “equal” bikes, with the risk of having train races, races without a soul, making the world championship lose “identity” and “heart”. But there is no turning back. If anything, it is up to Dorna, in the wake of what has been done in the last 30 years and in these first 500 GPs, to go further, not in the line of revolution but of evolution. Yes to show-business races because the concept of “poor but healthy” sport leads to lock him up in a ghetto, to the point of canceling him. A show business, however, not an end in itself because the world championship must remain a sport, for the promotion of motorcycles and motorcycling as well as for the sponsoring companies. A sport for all fans or simple sportsmen, not only for the “few but good”, bringing the general public closer and closer to racing and its world, not only as spectators increasingly distant but as real protagonists.
April 10, 2022 – 05:52
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