Earlier this week, Liberty introduced that it had acquired 86% possession of Dorna Sports activities and the MotoGP World Championship in a deal value €4.2 billion.
Below Liberty’s possession, MotoGP hopes to copy the success F1 has had in breaking by to a wider viewers for the reason that American media big took it underneath its wing in 2016.
The US is a key marketplace for MotoGP, which is able to go to the Circuit of the Americas in Texas for its subsequent spherical on 14 April, and Trackhouse Racing’s takeover of the previous RNF Aprilia squad means it now has a workforce baring the Stars and Stripes.
Ezpeleta satisfied that MotoGP can grow to be “a reference” within the US with Liberty’s steering.
“The very first thing is that the curiosity in the US is widespread to everybody, to all sports activities, irrespective of the place their traders are from, and it’s one thing that each one sports activities need to do, to develop in the US,” Ezpeleta advised Por Orejas, Motorsport.com’s Spanish language MotoGP podcast.
“It’s clear that having Liberty as a companion will certainly facilitate this development. We come from an vital previous in the US.
“It surprises many individuals, even these of us who’re on this planet championship, that the US has had extra champions within the premier class than Spain, for instance.
“Nearly twice as many, actually. So, there is a vital previous linked to that market that’s clearly attention-grabbing as a result of it’s a world chief culturally, socially, economically and in addition due to its financial impression on the enterprise.
“So, what’s of curiosity? Sure, it is usually a market that a big a part of it’s positioned in a time zone that’s optimistic for Europe, it is rather good for Europe, so it’s our market, it’s nonetheless our fundamental market.
Miguel Oliveira, Trackhouse Racing Crew
Picture by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Photographs
“That is very enticing additionally for the US to have the ability to have races that in Europe are within the afternoon, ? That is an attention-grabbing half as effectively.
“After which all the companies which were seen have are available in to put money into the game [F1] and within the groups and within the drivers and so forth. It is extremely attention-grabbing, it’s clear that Liberty may help us greater than different individuals.”
F1 has additionally expanded its US presence to 3 occasions – Austin, Miami and Las Vegas – plus it has races in Mexico and Canada, whereas MotoGP has slimmed down to only its Austin race throughout the entire of North and South America for the reason that Argentina GP was cancelled earlier this yr.
He added: “We now have had this fixation for a while. It’s a very sophisticated marketplace for all sports activities.
“What System 1 has executed is extra the exception than the rule.
“There have been many sports activities which have tried to develop in the US and it’s actually sophisticated.
“Additionally considering that we, of the 21 races we maintain this yr, 20 are in a really sophisticated schedule for them.
“So, it’s troublesome to seed there. After which they see it as a very totally different sport than what they’re [used to].
“That stated, I feel we now have tremendous vital and tremendous optimistic qualities for the US.
“One, that there isn’t a comparability, as an instance, of robust championships to battle for nationally, like System 1 might need had with NASCAR or IndyCar, we do not have that, will we?
“It’s clearly the world reference of two wheels. We solely lack visibility in the US.
“Then we now have a product that could be very straightforward to grasp, quite simple, we now have a product of twenty-two minutes or 25 minutes on Saturdays, 45 minutes on Sundays, which could be very optimistic for younger audiences and much more so for American audiences.
“Subsequently, we imagine that each one this along with the values of sports activities could make us a reference in that market.”
Extra reporting by Oriol Puigdemont and German Garcia Casanova
