The MotoGP calendar has been growing more and more and this year will equal the record of Grand Prix races, 21. It would have been 22, but the one in Argentina was canceled, and 22 is the maximum possible.
Still, it is a heavy burden for teams and riders, especially from the point of view of fatigue and time spent away from home. And so many events per year could lead the public to lose interest in a sport that, until not many years ago, was somewhat restricted, with not much more than 15/16 Grand Prix races annually?
Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna, does not believe that the current size of the calendar will deter public interest. The Spaniard even told GPOne.com that there would be races all year round if it were feasible:
– I believe it is the opposite: we do not have more races because it would be too demanding for teams and riders, ideally we would start in January and end in December, but that is impossible.
According to Ezpeleta, without races, media exposure decreases: ‘Whenever you are not racing, you disappear. People like to see races every week, or every two weeks. We do not go beyond the 22 GPs, but the public would like that’.
