Let's talk MotoGP: MotoGP is in great danger! 1/2

These are certainly the most serious articles I have had to write. And I never thought I was going to tackle this subject. At the moment, MotoGP is in great danger, while the motorcycling world is busy talking about Pecco Bagnaia, Marc Marquez or Peter Acosta. Behind the lyrical flights of fancy relating to the dense Portuguese Grand Prix, a dark play is unfolding, which could impact all of our daily lives. MotoGP is for sale. And the intentions of those who want to buy it scare me.

Before beginning this long analysis, which will be divided into two parts for easier reading, I would like to return to an essential point. These papers only reflect the opinion of their author, and as no one has yet dared to approach the subject from this angle, I make absolutely no secret of it.. I'm going into controversy, but that's not why I'm writing this. It is the passion that is expressed.

 

What's going on ?

 

For simplicity, Liberty Media Corporation, owner of Formula One Group (set of entities responsible for the promotion, distribution and management of the Formula 1 product) since 2017, the point of repurchasing is certain Dorna Sports. And therefore, the MotoGP operating rights for a little over four billion dollars. You can find more information on this gigantic maneuver by clicking here.

I am aware that many fans of MotoGP also follow Formula 1 closely, but a large part also doesn't care about it. It is for them that I write these articles, because F1 has changed radically since its takeover by Liberty Media. And not necessarily for the better, as I will explain at length. As a great fan of motor sports, and of sport in general, I must point out severe changes, which, once transposed to our discipline, could alter its essence.

 

 

F1, once glorious and prestigious, no longer makes me dream as much. I noticed that this was the case for many other fans. Liberty Media would not only bring negative things, it is true. For the sake of intellectual honesty, I will also return to a few points in their favor. But this analysis remains subjective; and for me, only for me, All this is far from auspicious.

 

Always more

 

The F1 season has just ended. We are in winter, warm, remembering the exceptional feats of our favorite drivers last season. “I can’t wait for it to start again” we thought. You too know this feeling of lack, as if our year was punctuated more by the Grands Prix than by public holidays and other school holidays. With Liberty Media, this nostalgia has disappeared. Excess is one of their many signatures.

From now on, we eat Formula 1, we drink Formula 1. Everyone talks about it, everyone is for this or that. How could we miss that since that's all we're talking about. From March to December, day and night, we have F1 available. When it's not on the track, it's on Netflix with Drive to survive, a series that made the product trendy. Enough is enough. With no less than 24 meetings without counting the Sprints, F1 loses its exceptional side.

 

 

Clearly, I don't want as many MotoGP races. Seeing them all the time is getting used to the unique, drowning the etheric oil produced by our champions in low-grade alcohol. You will retort to me, quite rightly, that with 22 rounds, we are not far from it. That's the whole problem, and that's why the buyout is inevitable. For several years, MotoGP has wanted to do like Formula 1. Between the scripted documentary on Amazon Prime, the Sprints – which were already a bad idea in F1 – and the recruitment of Dan Rossomondo – which we’ll talk about again, let’s get straight to it.

With Liberty Media, it is the assurance of “winning” a boring communication, an avalanche of MotoGP. Like an excellent perfume that is abused. The result would be a diluted, extended product, to be consumed everywhere, all the time, like in a fast food restaurant.

 

The fiftieth star

 

I don't imagine it any differently, if of course, the authorities validate this buyout. For what ? Because Liberty Media is an American company; I was careful not to say it, but you could have guessed it from reading the first point. I really like Uncle Sam's country, and am also passionate about their sports leagues. But that doesn't fit with the spirit of MotoGP.

Americanization has partly killed Formula 1, although historically, it is much more international, professional and sanitized than MotoGP. Yes, we can make a Lewis Hamilton, a Daniel Ricciardo or a Max Verstappen a star, even in the USA, because they stick to the telegenic spirit so appreciated across the Atlantic. The result is long, embarrassing shows before the races., where the pilots, despite themselves, must act as if they were happy to be there.

I see from here the attempts to sell Pecco Bagnaia, Marco Bezzecchi, or Aleix Espargaro. The difference, for a good twenty years, is simple. MotoGP riders are real racers, enthusiasts, who never stop training on two wheels. In F1, apart from Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso – who are always racing left and right, none embody the essence of motorsports.

The heroes of MotoGP are much more authentic, more human, closer to a historical and sporting reality. Imagine for a moment that Johann Zarco was told to clown in front of the impervious audience of Las Vegas, more present for the party and the DJs than the race! This would make for a pathetic spectacle, light years away from the DNA of the world motorcycling championship. And this is also what is happening in F1, in Miami, Austin, and Las Vegas. One is not enough; Americanization rhymes with multiplication and sanitization.

 

 

I do not deny the importance of the American market, because it is true that MotoGP misses the public there. But do you really want to head towards potential urban circuits, devoid of soul, all for a show intended to attract the have-you-seen, only seduced by the idea of ​​reposting all this on the networks social? Me no. If we push the comparison, the United States has much more importance in the history of motorcycle Grands Prix than in F1, so let's pray for a return of Laguna Seca.

At Dorna Sports there is already a man responsible for this: Dan Rossomondo. He is a cornerstone, and every statement from him makes a Liberty Media buyout obvious. In order not to complicate the reading of this article, I refer you to another writing where I carefully studied its role. You can find it by clicking here. MotoGP has already become Americanized, of course, but it's nothing compared to F1.

That's all for this first part. The foundations have been laid and the two main problems linked to a potential takeover by Liberty Media have been substantiated. In part 2, I come back to other concerns that are less important but no less embarrassing for us, enthusiasts. So, see you in the next part, available now by clicking here! 

I can't wait to read your reviews! So, tell me what you think in the comments!

 

 

Cover photo: Michelin Motorsport / The presence of Fabio Quartararo is just a coincidence. Just, I had the same expression when I found out the news about the buyout.