The United States of America is a market with growth potential for many sports, and recently Formula 1 is showing that it is possible to gain a large number of new followers there. The increase in popularity has been driven by Liberty Media and its initiatives since acquiring the championship in 2017. Now, Americans are preparing to complete the purchase of MotoGP, whose sports director Carlos Ezpeleta is confident in a closer relationship with US fans.
The Spaniard stated in a conference with investors: ‘I think the US gives us a lot of potential and significant opportunities. It is a country that may not be known to many of us, but we have had seven US champions in the premier class in history – which is more than we had from Spain, for example. So, it is a country with a lot of past success for MotoGP, a lot of legacy, and we are looking to build on that in the future. We already have interest for more events there in the future and we believe that our sport is very good for the American audience: it is high intensity, a short race time, very easy to understand for new audiences, so we think it is a perfect combination‘.
Ezpeleta then recalled: ‘We already have things happening: we added an American team to the premier class this year with Trackhouse Racing looking to be very successful with great personalities. So, we are definitely looking into this‘.
Greg Maffei, CEO of Liberty Media, also spoke about the growth potential of MotoGP in the United States of America, considering it is a sport well suited to the audience in that market:
– The format of our sport is tailor-made for the American audience. It’s a 45-minute race, with the Sprint on Saturday being 25 minutes. So, if you think about today’s content and how it’s consumed, we have the perfect sport for young adults, both men and women. And I would say that with the technology we bring with over 60 cameras in a weekend, we show a product that is simply special. And I believe that when we do a better job of marketing in America, it will gain resonance and I think they will truly love the sport.
