That's what's called a loss, but in times of major crisis, Dorna spared no effort in the war effort to preserve both its troops in the paddock and its theater of operations. 94 million euros is the bill that the promoter had to pay for having made the courageous and risky decision to carry out the 2020 season of the Motorcycle World Championship in the middle of a pandemic. A championship which ultimately included a total of 15 Grands Prix, all on European soil to avoid intercontinental transfers and without the presence of the public in the stands of the circuits...
The elements and figures come from Palco23.com who looked at the annual accounts of Dorna. The company headed by Carmelo Ezpeleta achieved a total turnover of 209 million euros in 2020, i.e. 30% less compared to the 2019 season, closing the annual report with losses of 94 million euros.
On the total turnover, 66% revenues came directly from televisions through audiovisual rights with an amount of 137 million euros, i.e. 35% less compared to 2019 by offering a lower number of races. There was also a drop in the share of advertising revenue with 42 million euros billed (-14%) and television services offered by Dorna itself, which were 28 million euros, i.e. 15% less.
Presented like that, it's not joy, but it could have been worse. Thus, Dorna did not take any credit to be able to face these 94 million euros of losses thanks to the positive cash situation they had before the pandemic and the private financing they received via various lines of credit . Additionally, despite the obvious decline in revenue over the past year, Dorna was able to help the Moto2 and Moto3 teams during the most difficult months of the pandemic from April to June 2020, with a contribution of 25 euros per month and per rider to be able to pay the teams' salaries, i.e. 1,5 million euros per month for both categories.
Dorna gave six million euros between April and June to the teams for their survival
In the case of MotoGP, the six private teams present on the grid benefited from a special loan of 250 euros per month during these three months so as not to find themselves in a situation of non-payment with their mechanics and staff due to the fear of the sponsors and the delays which occurred in the payment of the sums to which they had committed. In total, it is estimated that Dorna gave six million euros between April and June to the Moto3, Moto2 and MotoGP teams to ensure the continuity of all jobs in the paddock.
Looking back on this year, Dorna assumed that 2021 would also end with losses due to the prolongation of the epidemic situation in most countries, and, although at present they cannot make any estimate due to the uncertainty that reigns throughout the world, they hope that this year's results will not be as bad as that of 2020. It will be recalled that the calendar provides 19 races, four more compared to the previous year…
