This week, Liberty Media announced the acquisition of 86 percent of Dorna, thus becoming the owner of MotoGP. Although the management team will not change, this opens up a world of possibilities for the premier class of motorcycle racing, with great potential from a marketing and media exposure perspective.
The capabilities of the American company in this area have already been evident in Formula 1, which they acquired in 2017. Now, MotoGP hopes to have the same type of growth. Pit Beirer, director of KTM Motorsport, spoke about this to the site SPEEDWEEK.com, showing great satisfaction:
“This is very good news for us. When we finally found out, we were really pleased. For us, and for the sport. If you see what Liberty Media has done and continues to do for Formula 1 in terms of sports marketing, we see this as a unique opportunity to take MotoGP to the next level.”
A central figure in MotoGP for several decades, Carmelo Ezpeleta will continue to be the CEO of Dorna – with the current management team and headquarters in Madrid also remaining. In other words, a different approach by Liberty Media compared to their approach in F1, where they quickly changed directors.
About Ezpeleta, Beirer commented: ‘It is simply exceptionally good what Carmelo Ezpeleta and his team have created over so many years. In the day-to-day business of MotoGP, Dorna’s experience is first class. It is truly remarkable, Carmelo Ezpeleta is a very strong leader with good visions for the sport and, above all, he is right in the middle of the action. He cares. Ezpeleta is omnipresent in all GPs, he personally sits in the safety commission every Friday. Operationally, Dorna is very well positioned’.
